Learning a language has always been something I have wanted to achieve. Unfortunately I have never had enough self discipline to commit to this in my free time. So finding out that I was able to learn a language during my studies and be credited for it towards my degree was an absolute dream!

Just before the end of year one everyone on the Film Production course had to choose the modules that they were interested in for year two. I chose: Scriptwriting; Producing and Directing; Post-Production; VFX and Spanish. When you choose a language you have to keep in mind that it eats up the equivalent of two optional modules. So where people picked four modules for each semester I could only choose two for each.

a hand holding a spanish textbook in front of cacti.

I chose Spanish as I have a personal connection with Spain. I lived in Valencia for two years and some of my family members still live there so it would be nice to be able to stay there in the summer and not have to worry about trying to translate what I am saying using slowed speech and hand gestures. Spanish was not the only course on the menu, there was: Spanish; French; Mandarin; German; Japanese; Italian; Chinese, and Arabic. So much choice, I have to admit, I was tempted to start a whole new language so as you can imagine, it took me a little while to decide.

I stuck with my first choice of Spanish and it was time for my first lesson. I was feeling excited AND anxious because when you choose a language you have to decide which level you think you are at (beginner, intermediate, expert). I decided that I would go for intermediate because I felt I knew too much for beginner but nowhere near enough for expert.

a birds eye view of numerous laptops on a table

The lessons are really engaging and focus on group work.  I usually don’t like working in groups as I can be very “leave me with it” at times, no idea why, sometimes I just feel as though I work better independently. However when it comes to learning a language group work is so important because those are the moments you get to practice your conversational skills and learn from the students around you. Not only that but group work can really boost your confidence too because you can really see how far you are getting with pronunciation, knowledge and of course that satisfying feeling when you can understand what the other person is actually saying.

This semester we have been learning about many things like: ordering food at a restaurant, what does your house look like, what is your neighbourhood like, houses with history as well as learning about the grammatical side of Spanish. It is a lot harder than I expected but like I said that feeling of satisfaction when you can understand full sentences is the best!

So far my experience in learning a language alongside my studies has been interesting and I truly believe this process has helped me so much. I had always felt more confident in reading and writing Spanish rather than listening to it but now I think they are both starting to weigh out. To think, this time next year I will be well on my way to becoming fluent in Spanish!

Gracias por leer. Estudiar español en Salford!