Featured AIL Student – Sandra

Sandra, our featured AIL StudentHi! I’m Sandra, a twenty-year-old AIL student from Sweden. I started learning Spanish as a total beginner at the start of September this year.

My Story

I chose to take Spanish lessons mainly for my family. My mother’s side of the family is Venezuelan and don’t speak any English. To make communicating with them easier, I decided to start learning Spanish. I went online to find the best language school in Spain. After reading so many amazing recommendations, I decided to study Spanish in AIL Madrid.

My Life in Madrid

I have been in Madrid for two months now. Living in a country surrounded by people who speak the language, I’m amazed at how much my Spanish has already improved. Everyday tasks like ordering in a restaurant, asking a local for directions and talking to store cashiers have become great opportunities for me to practice what I learned in class. I’m feeling more and more comfortable with the language. I can now speak Spanish better than some of my friends who have been studying it in Sweden for years!

My Teachers

The teachers in AIL Madrid are also so warm and welcoming. It really helps when learning Spanish as a beginner. My teacher, Olga, takes the time to make sure we understand everything in lessons. She always helps us with our problems, so no one ever hesitates to ask questions.

The teachers participate in all our fiestas and activities too. This means that most of the time, they don’t even really feel like teachers!

My Future with Spanish

I will never regret my decision to come to Spain. After I finish my time here, I’ll be able to speak Spanish for the rest of my life! If you want to spend your money on enhancing your ‘life backpack’ of skills, I would recommend learning Spanish at AIL Madrid.

Do you want to discover another AIL Student experience? You can read about Peter’s, a private and group classes student who wanted to focus in business Spanish, in our AIL Madrid Spanish Language Students section.

How to ask for directions in Spanish – Spanish exercises

If you’re tired of being enslaved by your GPS, or even worse, you don’t have any signal, then getting lost and asking the locals for help is a great way to practice your Spanish. To learn how to ask for directions in Spanish, why not use these phrases?

Perdona, ¿Hay un banco/una estación de metro/una farmacia por aquí? Excuse me, is there a bank/metro stop/pharmacy near here?
Disculpa, ¿Para ir a……? Sorry, to get to… (insert street name/area)?
¿Sabes dónde está……? Do you know where ….is?

The answer you receive will very likely include common direction verbs such as:
Coger – to take
Girar – to turn
Seguir – to continue (irregular!)
Ir – to go (irregular!)
Cruzar – to cross

Furthermore, it will also nearly always involve the imperative. In the informal singular form, this tense is really easy! To help you, here are the same verbs again in their simplest imperative form.

1. Coge la primera/segunda calle a la derecha/izquierda… (take the first street on the right/left…)
2. Gira a la izquierda en el semáforo… (turn left at the light…)
3. Sigue todo recto… (continue straight on…)
4. Vete a la derecha/izquierda… (go right…)
5. Cruza la plaza… (cross the square…)

Do you want to continue your Spanish learning? You can go to our Learning resources section page and and put you to the test with our quizzes.

Also, in order to put into practice what you learned in this post with the activities that we recommend you in our After-class activities section.

Featured AIL Student – Rachel

Rachel is studying Spanish in AIL MadridHello! My name is Rachel and I’m from Brighton in the UK. I’d like to share my incredible experience studying Spanish in AIL Madrid with you.

My story

Until just recently, the only language I could speak was English. Having promised myself that I would learn another language, I took advantage of a short break between jobs to work as a teaching assistant in Madrid. I work during the day, so I was looking for a language school that could offer me night classes. Most of all, however, I wanted somewhere where I would feel at home.

I came across a perfectly timed night Spanish course for me at AIL Madrid, a language school with great online recommendations. My first class was fantastic! My teacher, Edu, was incredibly friendly and I got on really well with the other six people in my class.

The most difficult part of learning Spanish can be having the confidence to start a conversation in it. However, the atmosphere of the classes at AIL were perfect for practicing. We all helped each other and no one ever laughed if someone made a mistake (and we made plenty at the start!). Edu was also really attentive and always took the time to respond to any doubts we had.

If you want to learn Spanish or simply improve your current skills, my advice would be to apply to AIL. Everyone is so kind, so I always feel at home there. My Spanish has improved dramatically. When I first arrived in Madrid, I never dared to speak to my Spanish friends. Nowadays, they have to ask me to stop – once I start speaking in Spanish, there’s no stopping me!

Do you want to meet another AIL Student? You can get to know Junko, a semi-intensive B1 student, in our Spanish Language Students of AIL Madrid section.