Why do the British suffer so acutely from Linguaphobia?

Tuesday, 22 March 2011 / Published in Learning Spanish in Spain
Learning Spanish on the hoof
On my travels I meet a stream of intrepid Brits in everything except learning foreign languages. They trek the Himalayas in thunder storms and raft the Zambezi with the crocodiles and yet,  no matter how extrovert and gregarious they are by nature, one obstacle seems always to obstruct their path – the language barrier.  Lame

Spanish Courses in Spain – are they really necessary?

Wednesday, 16 February 2011 / Published in Learning Spanish in Spain, Teaching Spanish
Spanish classes in disguise
Spanish language courses in Spain – which one do you recommend? Where should we go? Where is the best place to study Spanish in Spain? I hear the question again and again and I am usually quite baffled by the insistence on a formal Spanish course and the intent search for a formal Spanish school

5 Ways Not to Speak Spanish in Spain

Sunday, 09 January 2011 / Published in Learning Spanish in Spain
The personal touch
1.  Make a bee line for Spanish resorts full of other British people. Here, you will often find impatient English-speaking shopkeepers and waiters who find nothing amusing in waiting half-an-hour for you to mumble your order in broken Spanish, when a two-minute conversation in English would suffice. 2. Head for the large metropolises full of busy

Spanish language course and Walking holidays – Green (and Blue) Exercise Boosts Mental Health

Monday, 02 August 2010 / Published in Exercise and Learning, Learning Spanish in Spain, Walking in the Pyrenees
John, Paul, Sonja and David after a dip in the river near Arizkun
In defence of the Spanish language and walking holidays we run in the Pyrenees I remember an article on how living  near green spaces can be shown to improve mental health. Thanks Paul for routing it out for me!  Add these findings to those of a  previous article on my blog on how exercise is shown to aid mental agility and memory and it therefore makes

Language & Walking – and Science

Monday, 07 June 2010 / Published in Exercise and Learning, Learning Spanish in Spain, Teaching Spanish
Learning Spanish as we walk the Pyrenees
When I started our Spanish Language and Walking holidays 12 years ago the combination seemed to make good common sense! Not only would I, at least, get to do two things I loved, but the walks appeared to add another dimension to language learning all of their own.  Walking  immediately put people at their ease – they could hang

Spanish Courses in Spain. One good reason to learn Spanish with the Basques!

Tuesday, 18 May 2010 / Published in Learning Spanish in Spain, The Basque Language
Basque feast in the square
    The Costas Spain is wonderfully diverse; not only do its foods and fiestas change tantalisingly from one region to the next but so too do its accents! So where best should you look for Spanish courses in Spain? The ´Costas’ can be struck off the list pretty quickly. They are so full of