Spanish language school in/near Barcelona?

There may be, but understand that in/around Barcelona, they don't speak Spanish - they speak Catalan. And it's a very big deal to them.

I considered taking Spanish classes in Barcelona last year but decided there was just so much to see in Spain that I didn't want to take the time to do so. I had no trouble finding numerous language schools via Google. The trick is screening out any that might be sub-par (unless you get a great personal recommendation from this board), but there are some reviews on Google that will help.

I'm still thinking about Spanish classes in Barcelona (despite Catalan's status as the preferred language), simply because I loved the city so much and am confident that I would have plenty to do there in my free time, even if I stayed a month or two.

I have been to Barcelona several times and know they speak Catalan, but also know schools for Spanish are available. Just trying to weed some out. Any names of them would be appreciated. Thanks

Perhaps Enric has heard something that would be helpful. I'm sure he'll spot this thread soon.

But of course there are indeed Spanish language schools for foreigners here in Barcelona... plenty of them, in the same way than there are plenty of English, German, French, Russian or Urdu offers too :)) If anything, what many foreign students quickly notice is that, although Spanish is co-official, Catalan is the local language (it's not the preferred Ann, it's simply "the" local language, lol!..) and it's spoken by many, therefore, those seeking a full "immersion" into Spanish outside the classroom might find it more challenging.

I've explained in this forum in the past the peculiar way these two languages co-exist here, but to refresh for those that didn't read it before:

Catalan is the local and official language in Catalonia, where Barcelona is the capital of, and it's indigenous to these shores since over 1000 years ago. It's also the mother tongue to half of its population and the language of teaching at public and private pre-schools and schools as well. Spanish (or Castillian), which is the official language of Spain, is also co-official in Catalonia and is taught at school as well, same than English and French, but as a 'language' subject. Yet PISA test results confirm pupils in Catalonia have a full command of both languages and even those whose mother tongue is Catalan have similar results in Spanish than pupils from Spanish-only regions.

Both languages, Catalan and Spanish, derive from Latin, same than French, Portuguese, Italian or Romanian; they all belong to the same linguistic family. This makes them somehow 'similar' (yet not equal!) in certain ways, especially when it comes to grammar, syntax and the root of many words. Thus, someone proficient in one of them is likely to easily grasp bits and pieces of the others (regional accents permitting!). Despite similarities though, they're not the same, much like English and German or Dutch also belong to the same linguistic family but they're clearly not the same.

Catalonia has been dominated by the Spanish since 1714 and since then there have been several episodes in which Catalans have been forbidden to speak their language, Catalan, be taught it at school or be used it in official matters or at universities, media, etc. The later one happens to be the infamous dictatorship of the Spanish fascist Francisco Franco (1939-1975). Since the restoration of democracy in 1977, some sort of "partial devolution" has facilitated Catalan being recovered as the everyday language for those Catalan-speakers as well as for our government institutions, the schools, press and media, businesses, etc.

Since the early 1900s, Catalonia received three major waves of migrants from Spanish-speaking areas: two from Spain and one later in the 1990s from South America. Today, nearly half of the population has ancestors from those areas yet they not necessarily have Spanish as their mother tongue; some do, others don't and have assimilated Catalan.

With all this background... in today's Catalan multilingual and multiracial society, there's a sort of understanding among its citizens by which everyone uses whatever language, Catalan or Spanish, he feels more comfortable with. Since, as explained above, most of the population understands and is able to speak both, this "solution" allows for everybody's linguistic rights and preferences to be respected by the other party. Thus, it's quite normal to hear both languages in a conversation, one might be speaking in one and the other party responding in the other and it comes so naturally, that one doesn't even pay attention to the fact they're using different languages.

Among the expat and migrant population assimilation varies depending on the geographical area of Catalonia. While in Barcelona and some cities of the industrial belts, newcomers (that's the name affectionately used to refer to expats and migrants that have decided to settle in Catalonia) are less likely to initially learn Catalan, in the rest, they mostly end up relating to locals in Catalan. When a newcomer that doesn't understand Catalan is present in a conversation, Catalan-speakers will normally switch to Spanish to facilitate communication... yet this deference might (or might not) gradually disappear over time as obviously one's expected to eventually "learn the ways of the land". The goal is that no-one is forced to change his preferred language (or mother tongue) so while becoming fluid in Catalan is not necessarily demanded, in time, it's expected one will at least become proficient enough to understand it so the other party can equally exercise his right to continue speaking in his mother tongue (which is the local language after all!).

I don't want to enter here into political arguments so I will not discuss legitimacy, legality, History or anything else... I'm just painting a picture of the day-to-day in Catalonia so those with a wrong preconception can understand what's the reality "in-the-field" and make a decision whether they prefer to learn Spanish here or elsewhere. I'd also like to warn foreign visitors that language is a very sensitive, and highly charged, subject here -much like in some other regions in countries where two or more languages have to co-exist... you know who you are!- so, while it's not a taboo subject and locals will gladly engage in political discussions about it, it's highly advisable to be very respectful at all times with this issue and, frankly, be as neutral as possible.

As per language schools for foreigners, there are many and some of them with a great reputation. Unfortunately, this is an area I'm not familiar with so I sadly can't provide any guidance on it, but a search in Google yields plenty of resources. I have humbly found these two sites that might give some ideas:

• http://www.languagecourse.net/schools-barcelona.php3
• http://blog.unispain.com/top-5-best-spanish-language-schools-in-spain/

Lastly, while I can understand one of the goals of many of you spending a few weeks here in Catalonia is to learn or to perfect your knowledge of Spanish, which you can easily do --noting though that the immersion experience might not be as rewarding as if you were in say, Madrid or Seville for example or any other region where Spanish is the only language spoken. Yet I would like to invite (and incite!) you to take the opportunity and test the waters into learning basic Catalan too, even if it's just a few sentences (start with http://www.parla.cat or even http://wikitravel.org/en/Catalan_phrasebook). As it's natural, you'll find a warmer response from many Catalan speakers (hey, it'll be warm too even if you don't, huh? we Catalans are always very welcoming to everybody, after all, casa nostra és casa vostra!)

On a less sympathetic note... yes we also have a small pouch of migrants and expats that choose not to learn neither Catalan nor Spanish, despite the efforts of our Government facilitating all sorts of tools and courses, and live in a parallel reality within their own communities -I would imagine some of you know exactly what I'm talking about because you encounter the same in your own hometowns. They do not integrate and communication with the rest of the society is minimal or inexistent. The overall feeling is not one of sympathy towards this collectivity I must say. And contrary to what one might think, some of them are from other "Western" societies.