Sooner or later there comes a time at which there is a desire to learn a new language, preferably if you are planning to stay in the country where it is used every day. Unfortunately, in many cases, such solution is very expensive and requires many sacrifices. If you have chosen Barcelona as the new place to live, you can use this list of alternative ways to learn Catalan (and other languages) for free or “almost free” whenever you want!
Who can afford a 6 or 12 month course at a language school in Barcelona, can choose from a very wide list of options. But you need to keep in mind that most of the young people that are coming to the Catalan capital for the Erasmus program or looking for work, are not willing to spend lots of money on a language course.
If you want to combine studying Catalan with work or college, look for the alternatives that would allow you to study it in the evenings or during your free time, and that would be possible, cheap, and preferably free. You can see few of them below in this article.
1. Learning a language in a bar
Barcelona is a popular tourist destination, being annually visited by millions of foreigners. And if you add the fact that Spain has the highest number of bars per square meter, the solution suggests itself. What would you say to learn a new language over a beer or a coffee? In the Catalan capital it is easy to find someone who would be interested in exchanging some linguistic knowledge.
Several bars organize meetings in which people of different nationalities meet to exchange experiences, while practicing the different languages. In this way, not only to converse in a foreign language, but also to meet new people, gain knowledge of other cultures and broaden perspective on the world.
2. Participating in local meetings
Have you heard about the portal Meetup.com? This web platform is the largest global network of local groups. What exactly does that mean? Meetup helps people organizing meetings between people that want to share common passions and/or make a variety of activities with people from the same city. Here you will find the possibility to participate in activities related to sports, arts, cultural and of course language events.
On the home page you will find a bookmark search for meetups in which you can select your topic, and you will see a wide range of meetings relating to it. Enter the name of the language you want to practice and see how many available opportunities there are! The choice will not be easy!
It’s a great way to meet new people and at the same time learn: subscribe to a group of language exchange, and through the calendar, you will receive information about events organized in this group. Sometimes the dates of the meetings are fixed, which simplifies planning. Meetups knows no limits, so surely you will find the ideal group for you!
3. Everything on line
If you have very little free time and you are not able to participate in any meetings meetup, you are not at a disadvantage position. You can learn directly from home, sitting comfortably on the sofa.
I would recommend you some free sites that will help you practice grammar, build vocabulary and enhance the conversation:
Duolingo.com
Radiolingua.com
App.fluencia.com
Fluentu.com
Intercat.cat
Easycatalan.com
Duolingo.com
Radiolingua.com
App.fluencia.com
Fluentu.com
Intercat.cat
Easycatalan.com
4. Movies
Film fans can quickly improve their language skills by watching movies in Catalan and Spanish.
Most of the movies are dubbed, but the original version can be found in Barcelona easily. Have a look at the main cinemas billboard at guiadelocio.com. There is something for everyone!
As you can see, learning new language can be fun and inexpensive! Spend some time on searching interesting websites, such as for example: cpnl.cat, where you will find the enormity of information, activities and events approximating Catalan environment.
2 Responses
workinbarcelona
Hello! I hope you find someone that can help you learn Catalan. You can see the options we offered in the blog or you can also check http://www.superprof.es/
Imran Lyca
looking for a person who help me to learn Catalan