For English speaking players learning a second language is one of the best things we can do for self improvement. Spanish is an excellent choice and opens lots of doors to the world in business, travel/lifestyle and of course women. Roosh and many other successful guys here speak it and it's pretty much a prerequisite for the modern international playboy many aspire to (with a few exceptions I know).
Learning any new language isn't easy which makes it all the more rewarding once you get to a conversational level or above. Anyone saying Spanish is easy is full of shit or an exception not the rule - you need to put in serious effort on a regular basis to progress and the investment is both time and money, but mostly time, which is also money![[Image: undecided.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/undecided.gif)
. For this reason taking an intensive course away from the distractions of life, in a foreign country where you will be surrounded by the language, is one of the best things you can do to fast track your learning. (Best thing is having multiple Colombian girlfriends). My experience is with Spanish but this applies to all other languages. The main benefits of attending a structured language course abroad are:
- You will be speaking the language around 4-6 hours a day or more depending on the course. You achieve more in a day than most people do in a week learning in their own country.
- You are surrounded by the language even when not in classes through radio, TV, people talking in the streets - much of this background language noise gets into your head without you knowing it.
- You have an instant social circle with other students from all over the world. Usually the schools organise nights out, activities and trips where you can continue practicing, get drunk or both.
- You will be in a foreign country on your own, gaining valuable life experiences which will improve confidence no end.
In my experience I went on a course in Barcelona last year, I only did 3 weeks but my Spanish improved more in that short time than it did in the 6 months previously here in England. Maybe some of you are more disciplined but there is no way I could manage more than an hour a day practicing Spanish here with a heavy workload, gym etc. And most of the time it was spent doing online courses/tests, not actually speaking and listening which is the most important part. I started around A2 level and finished at B2, in real terms I could string the most basic of sentances at the start but not really understand much. After the 3 weeks I could go on hour long dates almost entirely in Spanish, still using basic vocab and of course making many mistakes, but I could understand/be understood most of the time.
On top of improving my Spanish and giving me the motivation to continue learning once I returned to the UK I also had an awesome time. I met some great guys at the school - to be honest the majority weren't my kind of people or a much younger crowd but a few of us had a lot in common and went out for food/clubs a few times, beach days etc. Girls wise I did well - went on quite a few dates and got 2 new flags (Spanish and Brazil). I developed my people skills and confidence and honestly had one of the best times of my life. Just before I flew over there I was thinking why the fuck am I doing this - had never been away for long on my own and didn't know what to expect. Coming back it's made me see how much is possible and has pushed me to get out and see more of the world.
My Spanish skills have faded a bit since last year but next stop is Colombia and I'll do the same in Medellin and if in the future I try to tackle the beast that is Russian I'll do the same in Kiev or Moscow.
I thought it would be good if we had a RVF approved Spanish language school thread, covering all over Spain and SA. There's various recommendations in a few of the huge Colombia threads but most are from a while ago or take serious digging to find. I'll go first with my recommendation for Barcelona and hopefully others will add theirs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Barcelona, Spain
School: Camino Spanish School - http://www.caminobarcelona.com/
Price: £260/week course only (Super Intensive & Private)
Time visited: August 2016
I couldn't rate this school higher, absolutely loved my time here - both the language learning and social side of it. The classes are not too big, around 8 people and didn't really have a bad teacher (teachers swap every week). We had 2 x 1 hour group classes in the morning, then you have the option of 2 more 1hr additional conversation classes. The group classes focus on grammar and punctuation etc. the conversion is just an hour of talking about a random subject each day. I also did an extra 1hr private lesson each day and went over whatever I didn't understand from the previous classes, or just talked crap for an hour about anything I wanted. I think this is a great combination of different types of learning so you hit the language from many different sides.
Barcelona itself is a world class city, so much to do - great nightlife/restaurants, beach, as gay as it sounds just walking the streets around Gothic/Borne areas is a pleasure. The school is in a really good location, walking distance from the centre but also right next to a metro stop. Every day after classes there are different activities run by the school to help you socialise with other students and some of the teachers/school staff too, as well as longer trips further away at the weekends.
They actually have on-site accommodation which isn't the best quality and it's pot luck who you will end up with, but is perfect for rolling straight into classes in the morning and is good to build a little social circle to start. I did a week in one of the schools shared apartments, then moved to my own place after for a bit more comfort and privacy - I think this gives you the best of both worlds. Hopefully next time I return to Barca I'll be at a good level with my Spanish but if not I'd definitely come back here.
Learning any new language isn't easy which makes it all the more rewarding once you get to a conversational level or above. Anyone saying Spanish is easy is full of shit or an exception not the rule - you need to put in serious effort on a regular basis to progress and the investment is both time and money, but mostly time, which is also money
. For this reason taking an intensive course away from the distractions of life, in a foreign country where you will be surrounded by the language, is one of the best things you can do to fast track your learning. (Best thing is having multiple Colombian girlfriends). My experience is with Spanish but this applies to all other languages. The main benefits of attending a structured language course abroad are:- You will be speaking the language around 4-6 hours a day or more depending on the course. You achieve more in a day than most people do in a week learning in their own country.
- You are surrounded by the language even when not in classes through radio, TV, people talking in the streets - much of this background language noise gets into your head without you knowing it.
- You have an instant social circle with other students from all over the world. Usually the schools organise nights out, activities and trips where you can continue practicing, get drunk or both.
- You will be in a foreign country on your own, gaining valuable life experiences which will improve confidence no end.
In my experience I went on a course in Barcelona last year, I only did 3 weeks but my Spanish improved more in that short time than it did in the 6 months previously here in England. Maybe some of you are more disciplined but there is no way I could manage more than an hour a day practicing Spanish here with a heavy workload, gym etc. And most of the time it was spent doing online courses/tests, not actually speaking and listening which is the most important part. I started around A2 level and finished at B2, in real terms I could string the most basic of sentances at the start but not really understand much. After the 3 weeks I could go on hour long dates almost entirely in Spanish, still using basic vocab and of course making many mistakes, but I could understand/be understood most of the time.
On top of improving my Spanish and giving me the motivation to continue learning once I returned to the UK I also had an awesome time. I met some great guys at the school - to be honest the majority weren't my kind of people or a much younger crowd but a few of us had a lot in common and went out for food/clubs a few times, beach days etc. Girls wise I did well - went on quite a few dates and got 2 new flags (Spanish and Brazil). I developed my people skills and confidence and honestly had one of the best times of my life. Just before I flew over there I was thinking why the fuck am I doing this - had never been away for long on my own and didn't know what to expect. Coming back it's made me see how much is possible and has pushed me to get out and see more of the world.
My Spanish skills have faded a bit since last year but next stop is Colombia and I'll do the same in Medellin and if in the future I try to tackle the beast that is Russian I'll do the same in Kiev or Moscow.
I thought it would be good if we had a RVF approved Spanish language school thread, covering all over Spain and SA. There's various recommendations in a few of the huge Colombia threads but most are from a while ago or take serious digging to find. I'll go first with my recommendation for Barcelona and hopefully others will add theirs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Barcelona, Spain
School: Camino Spanish School - http://www.caminobarcelona.com/
Price: £260/week course only (Super Intensive & Private)
Time visited: August 2016
I couldn't rate this school higher, absolutely loved my time here - both the language learning and social side of it. The classes are not too big, around 8 people and didn't really have a bad teacher (teachers swap every week). We had 2 x 1 hour group classes in the morning, then you have the option of 2 more 1hr additional conversation classes. The group classes focus on grammar and punctuation etc. the conversion is just an hour of talking about a random subject each day. I also did an extra 1hr private lesson each day and went over whatever I didn't understand from the previous classes, or just talked crap for an hour about anything I wanted. I think this is a great combination of different types of learning so you hit the language from many different sides.
Barcelona itself is a world class city, so much to do - great nightlife/restaurants, beach, as gay as it sounds just walking the streets around Gothic/Borne areas is a pleasure. The school is in a really good location, walking distance from the centre but also right next to a metro stop. Every day after classes there are different activities run by the school to help you socialise with other students and some of the teachers/school staff too, as well as longer trips further away at the weekends.
They actually have on-site accommodation which isn't the best quality and it's pot luck who you will end up with, but is perfect for rolling straight into classes in the morning and is good to build a little social circle to start. I did a week in one of the schools shared apartments, then moved to my own place after for a bit more comfort and privacy - I think this gives you the best of both worlds. Hopefully next time I return to Barca I'll be at a good level with my Spanish but if not I'd definitely come back here.