Veleta

If anyone is curious about finding out their level of Spanish there is quite a good level test here from the Instituto Cervantes:

http://ave.cervantes.es/prueba_nivel...htm?Idioma=esp

There are 30-60 vocab & grammar questions (the number varies according to how many you get right/wrong), followed by a reading comprehension and finally a listening test. The quality of the audio wasn't great when I tried it, but that might be a problem with my speakers rather than the website.

At the end it gives you your approx level according to the European Framework, eg A1 = total beginner, up to C2 = Proficiency.

Thought it might be a bit of fun for the linguistically minded, and the linguistically challenged too!

Makingthemove

I have been studying with the Instituto Cervantes in Manchester for over 3 years and am now at Advanced Level 1 - though still fail to be able to order a beer - more to do with confidence than anything else!

I will try the test to see if my investment has paid off!

Planning to move to Spain (Valencia area) in May 2011 - hence the Spanish lessons. Some may mock my planning ahead but I like to be prepared!

steviedeluxe

I haven't the heart to tell him....

Veleta

Occasionally I toy with the idea of doing an Instituto Cervantes course to brush up on my Spanish as I haven't formally studied it for about 6 years now.

I'd be interested to know what you think of your course so far? Would you recommend it?

For practical reasons I wouldn't be able to do an attendance course - it would have to be online. But that's ok for me - I spend all day conversing in Spanish, but as time goes by I get less and less sure about my grammar.

Madridboy

Makingthemove

Yep - am fully aware of valenciano (though not sure that is how it is spelt!) - presume that is what you are referring to.

Although to be fair - I consider that learning at least one of the nationally-recognised languages in Spain is a good start to a new life.

In terms of Instituto Cervantes - my own experience is that all the courses have been well taught and the teachers have been extremely patient and entertaining. I have learnt an awful lot about spanish culture (and other spanish-speaking countries), local slang etc as well as grammar.

As a child taught in England in the 70s when grammar was not taught beyond noun and verbs, the learning curve has been steep but worth it.

I have tried the IC AVE (on-line course) and they are good, but would be best complementing, not replacing, a classroom course where you have the chance to converse, ask questions etc. Although if you are looking to refresh rather than learn from scratch, they would be better than a lot of the other options out there!

Madridboy

Sorry, was maybe a little rude to laugh but it did bug me that going to the town hall in Benidorm meant I had to be able to read Valenciano. At least you're making an effort to learn which is more than I can say about many of the ExPat crowd I met in Benidorm. Good on you.

Makingthemove

Cheers

Trying my best - hopefully won't be appearing at Benidorm Town Hall any time soon!

I am all for regional languages, and we have our own attitudes in the UK (eg pubs in Wales that won't serve you if you can't speak Welsh!)

But, it sure makes things difficult when you think you have done the right thing but oh no, this is OUR language!

BTW - we have spent the last five years holidaying in Galicia, but realise that it would not be a realistic option re jobs/language/schooling.

Rosemary

The amount of Valenciano that you hear would very much depend on where you decided to live, whether it was a large or small town, and also whether the place has lots of visitors from Madrid in the summer.

We have found that quite a lot of the elderly or older generation tend to speak Valenciano all of the time so struggle if you use Castellano. There are free Valenciano lessons available in Valencia city and some other large towns so when you arrive with Castellano under your belt you will be very well prepared for adding another language to your repetoire.

Good Luck

Rosemary

mikelincs

It was interesting to see that, in Benidorm, all the street signs were in castellano, while in Albir, just a few miles up the road, they were in Valenciano, suspect it is something to do with the number of tourists, and the fact that IF they have learnt any Spanish, then it will be castellano. We had no trouble just knowing castellano.

fionamw

Where can we find the levels?

Veleta

What levels? Do you mean the European Framework levels?

A1 Breakthrough
A2 Waystage
B1 Threshold
B2 Vantage
C1 Effective Operational Efficiency
C2 Mastery

Eg, the description of A1 is:
"Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help"

At the other end of the scale the description of C2 is:
"Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations."

fionamw

Don't know if European levels & the course ones are the same, but I come out somewhere between threshold & vantage (without having done any of the aural ones because my pc in the village wouldn't support it!!!) so I think I'm ok with that.....

Veleta

Actually I just looked at the course levels and now I'm not sure if they are "in line" with the European Framework. They appear to be the same, ie A1, A2, B1, etc but then I noticed they also have D1 and D2. Unless I have missed out on something the European Framework doesn't have levels D1 and D2 so now I'm not so sure what the Instituto Cervantes levels refer to!

fionamw

Which makes me lower down the pecking order.....