Madrid Travel Forum

So I'm going to Madrid and Granada in September for a vacation and from what I've been reading it seems as if being fluent in Spanish is a necessity for a pleasant experience. I took spanish in High School for 3 years but, as with most High School classes, didn't retain much of what I learned. If it is, indeed, a necessity I'd like to start brushing up now. Any advice from people who live there or have been there themselves would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No - you don't have to be fluent but the more command of the language you have the more comfortable you will feel.
So try to brush up that good grounding from school. At the very least master the basics - the courtesies - greetings, please and thankyou. How to ask directions, numbers, etc.

And don't foget to practise listening to the language. Before visiting my English cousin, her Spanish husband and their children I used to go to sleep tuned in to a Spanish radio station - it was great for listening to the spoken language. Trouble started whe I got there - they all wanted to speak English!
Seriously - just making the effort will open doors and make your trip so much more enjoyable. Have a great time.

Good advice from Ranger. Since you have until September, start studying now. The more you know, the better. You won't find a lot of people who speak English outside the tourist industry. Knowing even a little Spanish will help you get to know the locals better, understand signs and menus better, etc. All together, this goes for visiting any country. At least you want to try, a lot of people don't bother and expect everyone to speak English. Attitude is everything. Smile a lot.

Badger :)

What have you been reading? I arrived here with with only three spanish words in my vocab, ĦSi! and Te quiero. 18 years later I´m still here and having, almost, as much fun. My god father told me that when wanting to learn a second language you should first learn to swear so you can curse everyone. Second, to make love. Everything else you will learn as time goes buy.
Just a thought!
Seagull.

I took spanish classes in high school and college, but never used it afterwards (and I am talking years and years ago ;). But some came back to me. I was able to read the menu and translate signs and stuff. It's always more pleasurable if you can "kind of" communicate in the native tongue. And the locals appreciate your effort in return.

So brush up on your spanish and go conquer Madrid! Have fun!

No you don't have to be fluent in Spanish in those places which are popular tourist destinations, but people always appreciate it if you try to speak their language. It will give you a good opportunity to practice your high school Spanish but you can fall back on English when you run out ;)

Buena Suerte

PS the Spanish accent in Granada is very different to what they teach you in the classroom. You may have some problems understanding some people as they tend to 'eat' a lot of the endings of words and miss out the S altogether. Don't be put off if you can't understand people.

It also depends where you learnt Spanish (eg in America they teach you to say s for ci,ce and z (latin American influence) but in Spain they pronounce those letter as th. Although once again, In Granada you will hear a mix of s or th. You may even hear ths in places where there shouldn't be!

Hope this helps

You can survive in Madrid without spanish. A roommate of my bro who lives there refuses to learn spanish and he works and lives there and even has a spanish girlfriend.

why does your friend refuse to learn Spanish. That is very arrogant if he wishes to live here. Maybe he is covering up for the fact he is UNABLE to learn Spanish.

He is not my friend but my brothers roommate. i dont know why he doesnt want to learn spanish. he is probably too lazy. i myself would learn spanish if i was in his situaution. But i dont know if i would call it really arrogant.

In my opinion I strongly disagree with people who refuse to learn the language of the country they live in. Especially people whose mother tongue is English and assume that there is no need to make the effort because everyone should speak English.

In my opinion it is arrogant, but you are free to disagree.

It is a different story if you make the effort and never succeed to speak it well as language leaning is not your strong point. But it is polite to at least make the effort. I, personally, think it is rude if you don't make the effort.

If you go on holiday to a country I think it is nice to try and speak a few sentences too (even if you pronounce it horribly).

Have a nice day
Julie

i mostly see that people are impressed or happy when you do effort to speak their language so thats why i try to learn at least basics from the language. However i am used to the idea that people dont want/can speak the language of the country they are in since i live in the Netherlands, a small country with a language that is spoken in a very small part in the world. i dont expect people to learn dutch. Many english speaking people dont adapt. i think it is beacuse these people expect us to speak english fluent

I echo many of the comments above regarding making an effort to learn something and communicate in Spanish. Also that yes, it is possible to get by in Madrid (and perhaps moreso in Granada?) with English... but I really think your experience will be far, far richer if you have a basic grasp of some key vocab and an idea of how to defend yourself.

I´ve lived here for a year and half, teach English, and have only started Spanish classes this month (thanks to my crazy workload and irregular timetable). However, I like to talk and meet people, learn about different cultures and so have managed to learn a decent level of Spanish by generally chatting to anyone and everyone. So it´s a bit like ´street Spanish´, refined with some feedback from my students when I explain certain English terminology with them.

I guarantee you will get a greater response from locals if you make a real effort to communicate with any Spanish you can.

I also recommend you check out an audio course by Michel Thomas (which I used to get myself started)... http://www.michelthomas.com/

and have a look at www.donquijote.com .... where you can learn, and also connect with other learners and/or Spanish people to converse (email, MSN messenger, etc)

Good Luck and Enjoy the Journey!! ĦĦSuerte!! ĦĦBuen Viaje!!

m.x