Is this a stupid idea? Learning Spanish in Spain.

[DandelionDahlia]

The DC want to learn Spanish this summer.

They’re 13 and 10.

I’m happy to take them to Spain (DP can’t take holiday then).

I can’t drive and we like town/city not countryside.

I actually speak good Spanish but am a bit shy and have a comedy English accent. DC speak basic Spanish, they can hold a conversation.

I have 2 options and would REALLY value any feedback.

1. Two weeks in Castelldefels near Barcelona, language camp for the kids during the day (it’s called Don Quijote), lessons in the morning, activities in the afternoon, sleep in a holiday flat with me at night.

Advantage: not too scary. Fun place by the sea. Plenty for me to do during the day while they’re in camp.

Disadvantage: we are pale and don’t love the heat. Also will they just talk English all day? Also will they hear lots of Catalan and get confused?

1. A northern town - maybe Santander? Gijón? Bilbao? And a daily holiday camp aimed at Spanish kids. Something sporty or cookery. Sleep in a holiday flat with me.

Advantage: much cheaper. Cooler. The possibility of actually talking Spanish to Spanish kids.
Disadvantage: not sure their language level is really up to it. Hard to find and book from the UK. Feels like a leap into the unknown.

What would you do?
Any other options I’ve missed?

Don Quixote is a company which teaches Spanish as a foreign languages so it’s camps will be designed specifically for children like your DC. Spanish summer camps for Spanish kids are run all over the place BUT if your dc don’t speak any, they may feel left out and demotivated.

Another company like Don Quixote is the Cervantes Institute (similar to International House in the uk) and they have camps or the option to stay with a host family and go to the academy during the day for classes.

There are also farmstays which I think look utterly charming!

I don’t think it matters if you’re in a place with another language because if you’re on a Spanish course it’ll be in Spanish. I speak Spanish fluently but not euskera or catalan and I’ve never had an issue in those places as everyone there is bilingual so I just speak in Spanish.

Don Quixote is a reputable company and the Spanish taught on their foreign camps is Castilian not Catalan, even in Catalonia. For older, more advanced students there are optional Catalan courses. I've sent students to them before and they are very good.
Mine went to Salamanca, I used to live there and it's the most beautiful place on the planet. That said, in the summer it is full of tourists and foreign students who come over for the Cursos de Verano- think the equivalent of Oxford and Cambridge in those months. I've also lived in Oviedo and Gijon but wouldn't hurry back to either tbh. Just not for me.

Nobody is going to get fluent in a fortnight- but it goes a long way to ignite a passion for the language and culture.

Remember on any summer camp course, a 10 year old and a 14 year old are unlikely to be put together. If it's a daily camp then it doesn't really matter.

PS- agree with others re: Spanish children's camp.

Thanks for the Salamanca mentions. Just been looking into it and it looks beautiful.

We don’t break up till 22nd July and lots of the Don Quijote courses (Salamanca, Madrid, Valencia) finish on the 30th July.

I suppose they are aimed at private school kids. No good for us.

I’d love to stay a fortnight. TeenPlusCat’s daughter’s success has me wondering if we could stretch to three weeks.

It’s great to hear that Don Q have a good reputation. If we go with Don Q, only Barcelona and Malaga run in August.

I can’t find any public transport around their Malaga base. It’s inland and looks fairly rural. I can’t drive.

Will check out Cervantes Institute.

My DD was 16 at the time & had been learning Spanish at school for 2 years. She struggled initially and I think the 3rd week really helped embed the learning. However the mornings were like 'school'. iirc They grouped by age & ability.

Most summer courses run mainly in July as annual holidays in many European countries are in August.

I work in UK summer schools and it's the same - we are chock full in July and things tail off in August. In July we've always got about 300 kids and by the middle of August when we finish we are down to about 15 and it's quite depressing.

Delibes, Bercer, Sampere, Enforex, Colegio de España are other schools in Salamanca that do summer courses. Delibes has been going for years and is good. Not sure what they offer though.

Careful with Cervantes- every town has a language school called Cervantes for obvious reasons. The Cervantes Institute (equivalent of British Council in the UK, Académie Française in France- so holds language exam sessions, inspects schools and gives them accreditation etc) is different. The website is eee.cervantes.es
There's the search facility to find accredited (by them) courses. Nothing really comes up for children's summer camps.

PAFMO is right that if the kids enjoy it and have fun, that’s a huge advantage.

I don’t want to put them off if they’re not ready for a camp with native speakers.

I'd choose Santander over Bilbao as you might run into a similar issue with Basque language creeping in as you would with Catalan in Barcelona.

I see what you mean Thatswhyimacat.

I want them to feel included.

I wish there was a summer school in Santander with a Spanish-as-a-foreign-language programme. I don’t think this exists.

There are a million ones for local Spanish kids learning English…

What a good idea OP. I’d do it! And follow LaBrujaPiruja’s advice:

“LaBrujaPiruja

I’m Spanish. I wouldn’t go to a region with another main language so option 1 would be a no.
I would go for Santander in option 2. Gorgeous place and plenty of opportunities for beaches (Santander, Comillas, San Vicente, etc.), nature (Cabárceno, etc.) and history (Santillana, Covadonga is not far away),
Also consider option 3, Valladolid and Salamanca are also great for young students.“

Years ago I went to Salamanca for a month to brush up my Spanish. It's a beautiful town but it gets VERY hot in the summer.
Would pick it over Catalunya though for learning Spanish.

If they enjoy languages, I’d have thought the chance to be exposed to another one would be a benefit rather than a drawback. They’d get the formal Castilian lessons at option one, as well the chance to hopefully pick up a bit of Catalan too. The differences and similarities between languages that are very close is always really interesting - I bet they’d get a kick out of understanding words in Catalan. For kids who are into Spanish enough to warrant a summer holiday based around it, that sounds like a fantastic deal.

I’d understand the concern about another language confusing matters if they were complete beginners who absolutely had to bone up on the language in a short period of time, but that’s not the case here.

Yes, exactly.

Might need to take a long-term view.

Don Q this summer and something meant for Spanish kids next summer.

I studied with don quijote years ago. They are excellent and it will be Castilian. It won't matter that they don't speak a word they will learn very quickly. I didn't realise they did camps for younger kids and will definitely look at this for mine when they get a bit older. I didn't speak a word and they have a way of making you understand from the beginning - it's amazing. They will probably speak English outside of class but the teachers even if they speak English will not. I imagine it will be a lot of fun and they will make great friends too.

Taxis in Malaga are fantastic - they have to take you wherever you want (none if the “no south of the river” stuff there!) and they’re not that expensive.

RandomDent that’s good to know, thank you.

pixie5121 no, the DC definitely can’t understand normal native-speaker conversation at normal speed. Not a hope.

So maybe a mainstream holiday camp for Spanish kids would be a bit traumatic for all concerned.

If we go for Castelldefels the DC will need regular basting in SPF 50 though.

I work with foreign language learning as a career. I would go for the option one type of camp. It is really important that their experiences of Spanish are positive and motivate them for learning more. Being put in with Spanish speaking children could be demotivating and isolating if they can't communicate properly with them. Go for the camp aimed at Spanish as a foreign language-speakers this time, and in a year or two, when they are more experienced and more advanced Spanish speakers, then they can go to the second type of camp.

@LaBrujaPiruja

I recommended Valladolid and Salamanca because of the good accent. Santander is also good. But if you venture further west to Asturias and Galicia the accent is not as pure and Spanish can sound almost unintelligible for you. If you venture further east to Bilbao and San Sebastián you will find bilingual children using euskera for games and social activities.

@LaBrujaPiruja thats really interesting what you've said about Asturias and Galicia. I spent my year abroad in Oviedo and a bulk of time in Galicia and I found it relatively easy to understand everyone ( albeit very fast talkers in Asturias, or so it seemed). However I remember going down to Andalusia for a mini break after a year in the North and couldn't understand a word!

Have you looked at the British Institute in Madrid? or asked them for advice - they go outside Madrid? Some Madrilenos speak very fast and no area of any country has an accent that is "pure" but I studied there for a 3 week pre A level course and found the city stunning.

But if you are wanting sports and something for you, do dig deeply. It's worth staying with a Spanish family so there's no let up providing they don't use their excellent English to help you out too much!

Forced to speak a language is one of the best ways to learn it.

I cam over from Germany with decent knowledge on paper but speaking was a nightmare. I learnt it the hard way.

DD only spoke German when she had to. 2 weeks in Germany on farm stay holidays worked wonders. Similar the two weeks German TUI kids club or the 2x 1 week riding holiday in Germany on her own.

My school friend did several times Summer language school in secondary, 2x France, 1x England and 1x Spain. They lived with host families so they had to speak in order to get around. Sjhe loved it but enjoyed being away from overbearing parents and grandparents.

Most likely the language school caters for differnt nationalities and may even split the boys up by age during the day. It will be great for them.

What a lovely mum!

Option one

It is a course designed for people like your kids, it will be perfect. Option two will be too hard.

I also think option one.

And I wouldn't worry about being in Catalonia - I studied French and Spanish at a UK university and spent my year abroad in Barcelona (without knowing any Catalan). Everyone spoke Castilian Spanish and as PP said, there were loads of Latin Americans living there too and they obviously didn't speak Catalan. I loved my year there, my Spanish came on enormously! IMO Catalan would only be needed if you went into rural Catalonia or wanted to enrol your children in school in Catalonia.

The only time I had any issues was once when I went on a bus to a small town to visit a friend and an elderly lady at the bus stop asked me for directions. I was momentarily confused as I found myself not understanding her, but then realised she was speaking in Catalan. I told her in Castilian that sorry, I didn't understand and she switched straight away to Castilian.

@LaBrujaPiruja

I’m Spanish. I wouldn’t go to a region with another main language so option 1 would be a no. I would go for Santander in option 2. Gorgeous place and plenty of opportunities for beaches (Santander, Comillas, San Vicente, etc.), nature (Cabárceno, etc.) and history (Santillana, Covadonga is not far away), Also consider option 3, Valladolid and Salamanca are also great for young students.

Agreed.

Live in Spain also (Valencia). Both regions really have two languages.

Santander...lovely!

@orangejuicepls

I also think option one.

And I wouldn't worry about being in Catalonia - I studied French and Spanish at a UK university and spent my year abroad in Barcelona (without knowing any Catalan). Everyone spoke Castilian Spanish and as PP said, there were loads of Latin Americans living there too and they obviously didn't speak Catalan. I loved my year there, my Spanish came on enormously! IMO Catalan would only be needed if you went into rural Catalonia or wanted to enrol your children in school in Catalonia.

The only time I had any issues was once when I went on a bus to a small town to visit a friend and an elderly lady at the bus stop asked me for directions. I was momentarily confused as I found myself not understanding her, but then realised she was speaking in Catalan. I told her in Castilian that sorry, I didn't understand and she switched straight away to Castilian.

I am speaking for the Valencian community only (but am 99% sure it's the same in Barca) my DD (Spanish but from Madrid) has had to speak Valenciano in every single educational establishment or summer club she has been in.

It is the law that half her lessons are in Valenciano.

Definitely her summer camps were both languages and I feel it could be confusing. Also accents vary in speed!

As a grad student who is not Spanish this wouldn't have applied to you!