Hola desde California!

[lychee]

Hola,

Thanks everyone for all the useful information on this website, especially the podcasts! I'm from the Bay Area, California, but I study in Los Angeles. I'm applying to study at la Universidad Complutense de Madrid next school year as a study abroad student. I was in España for a good few weeks this past summer and loved it...and I'm looking to improve my Spanish dramatically in order to study with other Spanish students.

Are there any other study abroad students? I would love your advice as to the difficulty of courses and the best way to prepare for a full year abroad.

Muchísimas gracias! Saludos.

[Jon Hundt]

wow, this place is becoming a hot spot for Bay Area people!

[Margot]

Hola,

Thanks everyone for all the useful information on this website, especially the podcasts! I'm from the Bay Area, California, but I study in Los Angeles. I'm applying to study at la Universidad Complutense de Madrid next school year as a study abroad student. I was in España for a good few weeks this past summer and loved it...and I'm looking to improve my Spanish dramatically in order to study with other Spanish students.

Are there any other study abroad students? I would love your advice as to the difficulty of courses and the best way to prepare for a full year abroad.

Muchísimas gracias! Saludos.
Hola Lychee
Since you're in LA now - here's a bit of advice that might be helpful before you start studying in Madrid (how lucky you are!)...If you can carve out the time, and (even more important) if you're willing to work really hard - enroll in Spanish 3 or Spanish 4 at Santa Monica College with Professor Rebecca Anderson; she's utterly fantastic - very demanding, very hard but, at the same time - wildly wonderful. Yoú'll get mountains of homework - much of it online; they're both 5 unit courses. When you finish - you'll have a really solid grounding as far as grammar is concerned. I still make lots of mistakes - but at least I recognize them and understand why what I've written or said is, in fact, incorrect. The classes are pretty small - particularly Spanish 4 and theres also a great Language Lab at your disposal. The Spring Semester begins in mid-Feb and lasts about 16-18(?) weeks. Go for it!
Hope this suggestion helps.

[Acosta]

Hola Lychee
Since you're in LA now - here's a bit of advice that might be helpful before you start studying in Madrid (how lucky you are!)...If you can carve out the time, and (even more important) if you're willing to work really hard - enroll in Spanish 3 or Spanish 4 at Santa Monica College with Professor Rebecca Anderson; she's utterly fantastic - very demanding, very hard but, at the same time - wildly wonderful. Yoú'll get mountains of homework - much of it online; they're both 5 unit courses. When you finish - you'll have a really solid grounding as far as grammar is concerned. I still make lots of mistakes - but at least I recognize them and understand why what I've written or said is, in fact, incorrect. The classes are pretty small - particularly Spanish 4 and theres also a great Language Lab at your disposal. The Spring Semester begins in mid-Feb and lasts about 16-18(?) weeks. Go for it!
Hope this suggestion helps.

Margot where in Los Angeles are you from?

[Margot]

I live up in the hills - about a 5 minute drive from the Beverly Hills Hotel.....(not that I EVER go there!)...do you live in LA?

[Acosta]

I live up in the hills - about a 5 minute drive from the Beverly Hills Hotel.....(not that I EVER go there!)...do you live in LA?

I live in Torrance, 10 miles south of the LAX.

[Margot]

...which therefore probably puts you about half an hour closer to Ben and Marinas Madrid fiesta in April.....how I'd love to be there, wouldn't you? - but, alas, 16 hours in an airplane - not to speak of the cost!....LA is entirely too far away, isn't it?:mad:

[lychee]

thanks for the suggestion, margot.

i'm enrolled in spanish 5 at UCLA, but my spanish 4 experience was pretty bad. I didn't learn nearly as much as I could have, and the only way to get me to learn new grammar is during class since it's hard to find chunks of time outside of classes. I like your suggestion, and will still look into it (maybe night classes?) if I feel like I'm not learning enough and as long as I have a car.

I was also looking into some of the language schools in the westwood area, since it seems like they focus on small group conversational classes. Do you know of any good affordable programs? they usually meet only once a week, which isn't much, but may fit my schedule well. so many people in LA speak spanish, but I feel like its hard to find a place to actually practice it when you're only an intermediate speaker.

thanks!

[Acosta]

thanks for the suggestion, margot.

i'm enrolled in spanish 5 at UCLA, but my spanish 4 experience was pretty bad. I didn't learn nearly as much as I could have, and the only way to get me to learn new grammar is during class since it's hard to find chunks of time outside of classes. I like your suggestion, and will still look into it (maybe night classes?) if I feel like I'm not learning enough and as long as I have a car.

I was also looking into some of the language schools in the westwood area, since it seems like they focus on small group conversational classes. Do you know of any good affordable programs? they usually meet only once a week, which isn't much, but may fit my schedule well. so many people in LA speak spanish, but I feel like its hard to find a place to actually practice it when you're only an intermediate speaker.

thanks!


I took Spanish 1-6 by the UCLA extension.

Who did you take Spanish 4 with?

[lychee]

I took Spanish 1-6 by the UCLA extension.

Who did you take Spanish 4 with?


I hope nobody knows her here! Her name is Karina, and although she isn't a horrible TA, I expected a lot more. Probably because I also took Span 1 at UCLA (2 and 3 abroad), and my teacher, Nadia, was amazingly enthusiastic and organized. I just had higher expectations.

[Acosta]

I hope nobody knows her here! Her name is Karina, and although she isn't a horrible TA, I expected a lot more. Probably because I also took Span 1 at UCLA (2 and 3 abroad), and my teacher, Nadia, was amazingly enthusiastic and organized. I just had higher expectations.

Ok I understand I took 1-6 through the UCLA extension. I think always taking it abroad is always the most ideal learning environment.

[Marina]

Hi Lychee,

I can't tell you how difficult the courses are going to be, but I assure you that you will have a wonderful time with all the other foreign students and the Spanish ones.

Is your course focused only in Spanish or will you be attending to other classes as well?

[lychee]

Hi Lychee,

I can't tell you how difficult the courses are going to be, but I assure you that you will have a wonderful time with all the other foreign students and the Spanish ones.

Is your course focused only in Spanish or will you be attending to other classes as well?

Thanks Marina,

I get to choose whatever courses I want to take. I will probably take a couple of advanced Spanish courses for int'l students plus a couple of electives (art history, photography) for the first semester.

I'm scared of the second semester. Since I have to take some courses towards my major, I'll be taking biology classes in Spanish. I know it'll be difficult at first, but it won't stop me from going... :)