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Two sisters and former pupils who studied Spanish write about their experiences below. We were fortunate to hold a live Teams talk with them and the current Pre-Sixth Spanish groups last month.

Lydia

I chose to study a language at university as I enjoyed studying A Level Spanish. Initially I looked at just studying Spanish, but a lot of university courses offered Spanish courses alongside beginners’ Portuguese. Studying languages opens lots of opportunities in the future but is also just such a fun and enjoyable degree to study.

I chose to study Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American at the University of Leeds because of the study abroad options the course offered. To complete my studies, it is compulsory to spend two periods abroad studying/working in a Spanish or Portuguese speaking country. Because I had already studied Spanish at A Level I had to choose to spend my term abroad in the second year (April 2022-July 2022) in Spain. My university offered the options of an intensive language course or an independent work placement. I chose the language course in Granada, Andalucía.

I spent three months in Granada. I lived on my own with three other Spanish students and travelled around the area. I studied intense language grammar 9am to 1.30pm every weekday and the rest of my free time was filled up exploring different parts of the city and making new friends. I am currently in Rio de Janeiro studying modules in Portuguese (this seems daunting, but it is manageable!) and living in a new apartment with other Brazilians my age. I have been here for two months, and I am staying in the country until July.

Live Teams talk to Pre-Sixth pupils.

November 2022.

Hattie

I decided to choose Spanish at A Level as I loved studying it at GCSE. I really enjoyed learning more about Spanish history as I had never learnt anything about it before. I study a joint degree and the language is my minor, that is Mathematics with a European language (Spanish) at the University of Liverpool. Basically, my course is 75% Maths and 25% Spanish so I study three Maths modules and one Spanish module a term. As I only do one module, I only study the grammar/vocabulary/ language side of Spanish, which is the part I wanted to study the most (I still do learn about culture when doing exercises in seminars etc.).

I have many friends that study other subjects like Law, Economics, Film Studies and History along with Spanish so there are so many options if you want to study one subject but also want to continue with a language. Currently I am on my year abroad studying at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have been here two months and I am loving it! I have chosen to study Maths modules here and all my classes are taught in Spanish. It’s not possible to speak English at all! It was very hard at first, Spanish here in Argentina is very different, the accent and different meaning of words… so at the beginning I made a lot of mistakes. However, everyone is so patient and especially as I am so far away from home. People are always surprised to hear I am from the UK and get very excited and are happy to help! I have also had time to travel around the country since I have been here. In September I went to Iguazu Falls (las cataratas de Iguazú) and this weekend I have been in Córdoba capital and the province. I’m glad I chose to come here as it’s really pushed my Spanish to improve. Unlike in Europe a lot of people here can’t speak English so you have to persevere! I’m staying here until August and hope to travel more and make more Argentinian friends. As for the future, I’m not sure of my long-term plan but I am absolutely certain that I would like to work in a job speaking Spanish or in a Spanish speaking country.