The Best Place to Study Spanish February 14, 2023
By A student (International Studies, Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/24/2022 to 12/15/2022 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid
I became much more comfortable in professional+academic Spanish, and through my internship was able to experience life working in an NGO working with immigrants.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Some course were much more well structured than others, but all of my professors were passionate and enjoyable. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I would highly recommend a homestay for linguistic+cultural immersion. |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Since I only took classes at the Sede Prim with other Middlebury students, my main connections with Madrid residents were made through my internship and homestay. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not use |
| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Great host families, internship placements, travel opportunities, cheap and convenient public transport, outdoor recreation opportunities (ie. Madrid has free climbing walls and 8,000ft mountains), everybody should study in Madrid |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
The majority of students on the program treat study abroad like a vacation and are willing to eat out in restaurants almost daily. This wasn't an option for me, and I bought lunch for 5 euros or less from various grocery stores. Breakfast and dinner with host family |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About $65– including cheap lunch every day and going out once or twice |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Middlebury gives you the tools and support to greatly improve your Spanish. Follow the language pledge! |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 300 Level Spanish |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | If your goal is to improve your Spanish, make friends with other students on the program who intent to abide by the language pledge. While it will sometimes feel silly, this along with a homestay and immersive classes will almost guarantee fluency by the end of the program. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Work hard on assignments and turn them in on time. The workload is relatively light, but there's definitely no grad inflation here. This was by far my lowest semester ever by GPA. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Syntaxis Superior |
| Course Department: | Spanish |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | A fast-paced and well structured advanced syntax and grammar course. However, the course relied heavily on fill in the blank homework assignments. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Spain and the European Union |
| Course Department: | Political Science |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The class was poorly structured and a significant portion of each class meeting was not spent on course material, although the professor is an entertaining lecturer. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Art in the Prado |
| Course Department: | Art |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
