Is studying abroad something you can just 'jump into' after studying a language for six years?

Question

Here's the deal: I want to study abroad in Spain. However, I'm not quite confident enough in my spanish speaking abilities even though I've studied it for a long time. My solution to this is to spend some time in Spain before I actually have to start taking classes, possibly volunteering or working. Right now the front runner is taking a TOEFL class and teaching English as a second language to Spanish children.

Do you have any other ideas? Au Pairs don't get paid very well and they have little job security, and it seems like anywhere else you go YOU have to pay THEM to work.

Maybe it seems as if I should just go straight into school but I want to be able to focus on my studies once I get there and not have to worry about understanding everything.

Let me know what you think!

Answer 1

It depends what you are going to study and why.

If you want to study in Spain on an exchange year with no credit (e.g. to improve your Spanish/ enjoy the sun) then just jump straight in.

If you are hoping to study a whole degree or a exchange year with credit (i.e. you MUST pass) then you are best studying Spanish/working in Spain for a few months before hand.

I did an exchange year in Spain (no credit) and for the first few months the classes went over my head. I would not like to have that 6 -12 month handicap if I was doing a whole degree there.

Also think very carefully if you plan to do your entire degree there, the system is very different (to the UK at least) so you must be sure it is the right system for you!

Answer 2

Studying abroad IS something you can just 'jump into' after studying a language for six years. If you have studied for a long time, within a couple of weeks you'll you'll start to feel more comfortable with the language. I studied for a year in France 9 years after completing my degree in French and everything came back immediately. I also studied in a German language school with practicaly no prior formal German instruction. I knew other students thta had only studied the language one year and were able to survive in class.

Or as the person above suggested, you can always spend a summer, semester or year as an auditing student. it's good practice before it really starts to count.

Answer 3

I would say go ahead and jump into it.  I studied abroad in Germany after 5 years of high school German, but none at all during the first two years of college, and I did fine.  If you're really that worried, I'd recommend choosing a school that offers an intensive language program for international students before the beginning of the semester (usually 6 weeks long).