Hi --
I'm thinking about taking an immersion class in Spain next year. Has anyone tried " Elemadrid "? An recommendations or experiences with programs in Madrid or Andalucia? Thanks!

[ 02-24-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Hi rhopa! Welcome to the group!
I believe there are a few reviews posted in the forum already about =elemadrid= . Use the SEARCH link above/right to find them and others posted for Andalucia. Good luck!

Saludos, MadridMan

MadridMan -

Thanks for the reply. Your sight is wonderful. I'm excited about my first trip to Madrid and the info I've found on your sight has been great.

Since the average Andalusian accent is tough to understand for a beginner, I would choose Madrid. When I studied in Sevilla, we thought our Spanish was horrible until we went to Paris and saw lots of Spainards from other parts of the country that we could understand. Sevilla and Andalusia are so beautiful though and so much fun. I don't regret studying there at all, but noone anywhere had mentioned the accent to me before I went.

I would urge you choose Madrid or a northern locale for an immersion program. My Spanish is not fluent, but I can safelty say its fairly advanced and I have to listen very attently to most speakers from Andalucia or from Extremdura. The drop final consanants, throughout "d" in participle and in gerunds- (e.g. hablando sounds like "hablano"), seseo and ceceo are common (other threads deal with this pheomena), and the silent "h" in Castillian at times has a breathy sound at the beginning of words (e.g. hola should sound like "ola", but for many Andaluces it sounds like "jOLA". Most of my neighbors call their pronunciation "cerrero", as it is incomplete and closed sounding.

Despite this strong regional pronuncation, Andalucia is beautiful with warm people. I hope this suggestion is not taken as an attack upon Andalucia, as it is an important and special part of Spain.

Regads,
Shawn

I studied in La Herradura (50 km east of Malaga) for 8 weeks last summer and had a wonderful time. I would concur with the others in saying that the Andalucian accent is very hard to follow and they tend to swallow the last part of many words. But I did notice that if you understand the Andalucian accent other parts of Spain will seem clearer. I remember at the very end of last summer (after the 8 weeks) I was riding on the metro in Madrid and listening in on conversation (a great way to practice). I was amazed how much more I understood in Madrid then in Malaga. Still, studying on the coast was nice, the school was excellent and I liked the teachers. I am returning to the same school for 4 weeks this summer. Good luck.