Languages - Reviews of Universitat de Barcelona (UB) | Spain

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Nienke R

HES Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: Catalan

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning Catalan a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Catalan

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Catalan?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Did not speak it

How much did you improve your Spanish?

My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Because Barcelona lies in Catalunya, they speak Catalan and Spanish there. However at uni, they approach you in Catalan, and then swith to Spanish when you dont understand. Sometimes this is very difficult because Catalan is very hard to learn.

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anonymous

Politechnika Lódzka, Lodz, Poland
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Languages

Language of instruction: Spanish

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?

My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Before coming to Spain I had the intermediate level of Spanish. I did not used programs available for international students at the Univesity of Barcelona since I already had chosen a private language school where I was studying before. What helped me a lot in improving my level of Spanish was the contact with many Spanish people and active participation in social and cultural life of Barcelona.

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Nils v

Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
History, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: Spanish

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

If you show interest in their language, people in general are more helpful and it's a lot easier to become friends. The main reason for thas is that most of the Spanish students don't speak fluentin English or other foreign languages

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Simona M

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
Economics, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: Spanish

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

It was quite easy for me, as Italian, to learn Spanish, but some times teachers used to seak Catalan also if there were Erasmus students, so it was quite difficult to understand explanation as Catalan is not so easy

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DanielZywietz

Universiteit Maastricht, Maastricht, Netherlands
Economics, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: Spanish

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Barcelona is in Catalonia, which is not Spain. 50% of the classes are in Catalan which sounds like a mixture between French, Italian and Spanish. Foreign students don't generally learn Catalan during their stay.

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MATTHEW S

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, United States
History, Undergraduate, Independent

Languages

Language of instruction: Catalan

Was learning Catalan a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Catalan

How much did you improve your Catalan?

My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

While catalan is not spanish and is an entirely different language, I was able to study the class material in english and spanish. I promoted my learning of spanish on the street and with friends.

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

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