Moving to Spain Guide – Chapter 3 – Learning Spanish

Many people who have made the move to Spain find that learning some Spanish ahead of time helps ease the transition and enhances everyday life. Being able to chat with neighbours, navigate shops, and communicate with local officials can make a big difference in how settled and connected you feel. It also opens up opportunities to be part of your new community in a more meaningful way.

You might like to consider starting early, looking for a teacher or language group that suits your style, or even learning with a friend or partner to keep it fun and motivating. Consistency is key – even a little progress each week can go a long way over time.

Here we can read the profile and views of a Spanish teacher who has done this before.

María Seco is a Spanish teacher who lives with her family in Pontevedra in Galicia. She mostly teaches Spanish to people who are going to walk the Camino to Santiago, the great pilgrimage trail. However, many of those who walk to Santiago end up immigrating to live in Spain and continue their lessons with María. This is her advice….

‘Going to Spain on holidays is one thing. Moving there as a resident is a completely different story. Especially if you don’t speak the language.

When you go on holidays, your main concerns are finding good places to eat and taking beautiful pictures of the places you visit. You have already booked your accommodation in advance, from home. In English. Maybe you know a couple of Spanish words, enough to order a beer or a glass of wine in a bar. And even if you don’t, staff at hotels, bars, restaurants and tourist attractions are likely to speak enough English to cater to your needs.

But when you move to Spain, you’re not a tourist anymore. You’ve gone from tourist to resident, and that comes with its own challenges.

One of the things you don’t need to do as a tourist, is dealing with the administration: getting a NIE (foreigners identification number) or registering at your local council, for instance. Unlike hotel and restaurant staff, the people working in public offices are less likely to speak English. Would you be able to ask what documents you need to submit? Or which office you need to go to? And, equally important, would you be able to understand the replies you get?

You will also need to rent or buy a place to live, and deal with all the paperwork involved in that. In Spanish.

• Opening a bank account.

• Dealing with utilities.

• Signing up for different services.
• Going to the doctor.

This is just a sample of the kind of things you’ll have to do when you move to Spain. You may get lucky sometimes and find someone who speaks enough English to be able to help you with your transaction. But you can’t count on that. Most of the time, you’ll be on your own with no English speakers around to help.

Yes, translating apps can help, but only up to a point. They work better with single words or very simple sentences. But even those get sometimes mangled.

I’m sure you’ve seen very odd items on restaurant menus, right?

More specifically, on those menus that are translated into English: tapas of ‘courageous potatoes’ (patatas bravas), followed by some ‘pretty to the iron’ (bonito a la plancha, grilled tuna). And to drink, ‘he came in a bottle’ (a bottle of wine). Or maybe a jug of ‘bleeding’ (sangría).

These are real examples, found in real restaurants. Clearly, they didn’t ask anyone with any knowledge of English for help. They relied on the translating apps. The results are funny… and confusing! But the worst thing that can happen is that you find the menu scary and you go to another restaurant. Or that you order not really knowing what you’re going to eat.

However, when you’re trying to get something fixed in your house, or you need an urgent visit to the doctor, you don’t need to add any more confusion and stress to the situation. You want to explain, clearly, what needs to be done. And you want the other person to understand. You want to explain, clearly, what’s wrong with you. And you want to understand what the doctor says.

You should also consider that language won’t be your only hurdle. Be prepared for things to be different from the way they are back home. Expect things to be done differently. That, in itself, can be a challenge. Add the language barrier to it and it all might become too overwhelming.

This alone should encourage you to start learning Spanish before you move to Spain. You’re not convinced yet? Think of your daily life in Spain. Are you planning to live in an English-speaking bubble? Or would you prefer to enjoy the Spanish way of life, the way Spaniards do?

The best way to achieve the latter is by interacting with the locals, by being a part of the community. And it’s very hard to do that if you don’t speak a word of Spanish. So, do yourself a favour and start learning Spanish. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t need to be fluent. But, if you make the effort to speak the language, you will be welcomed with open arms.’

María Seco is a Spanish teacher from Galicia, Spain. She’s been teaching Spanish for more than 15 years, most of them in Ireland. So, she also knows about the challenges of moving abroad. These days she’s back home in Galicia, still teaching Spanish and writing her blog Spanish for the Camino, where she helps pilgrims learn the Spanish they need for their walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago.