Hi, I´m Lennart.
I´m 19 years old and live in Westfalia, western Germany. I work as a bank advisor and have been given the chance to be part of a language course and internship in Madrid.
Now I want to tell you a little bit about my impression about the city and the language school. So, where do I start?
Maybe with my arrival: Madrid is breathtaking! Madrid is a unique, beautiful and incredibly welcoming city. And that is, in my opinion, mostly because of the persons here. It is just refreshing to deal with these happy, sincere and relaxed people. I haven´t found a place yet, that has such an unstressed vibe.
You can imagine the city life as following: After work, the habitants simply enjoy some tapas and cold drinks. Or warm, depending on preference and season. At each corner are restaurants and bars and every single one is unique and interesting. To be honest, the madrileños really make it. The locality can be totally unimpressive, but for sure they will serve you something tasty.
Furthermore, there is an unbelievable amount of activities: An amusement park in the city´s center, museums, parks, monuments, theaters, football games, clubs, dancing bars and street festivals, just to name a few. Also, there are rooftop bars everywhere and a metro system that is very easy to use.
The TANDEM language school is located in the heart of this great diversity. While going in, you are greeted by some big stairs made out of dark wood. A chandelier and windows of stained glass light up the entrance room right before classy ornaments at the walls and ceiling receive you gently. High, wooden doors lead to the classrooms, whose are all equipped with modern whiteboards and projectors and even a balcony allowing a view of Madrid.
A contrast to this old, charming building is the very vivid and modern life inside of it. Not only the reception, where friendly employees welcome you heartily, but also spirited conversations and motivated, open-minded teachers create a comfortable surrounding that supports the learning process.
The lessons have a really good balance between the acquisition of the linguistic structure, communication and interesting content. The students deeply look into grammar and develop listening and speaking skills. The permanent contact with the language, both in school and while exploring the city, cause a really fast development towards habituality. I don´t think that there is a more effective or faster way to acquire a language. Only these 3 weeks I spent in Madrid significantly increased my Spanish skills and I can communicate without problems.
And don´t worry if you should come alone, thanks to the pleasant atmosphere and different group activities offered by TANDEM, for example cultural excursions and communicative ventures to bars or other places, it is very easy to find some new friends you can go out with in your leisure time.
After my Spanish lessons in the morning I dived right into the Spanish working life at the afternoon, as I was given the possibility to do an internship at TANDEM. Therefore, I even could work on my language skills in a more specific and practical context. My main task was to overview the school´s website which requested steady exchange of information between me, the principal and the IT company. To be able to change the websites on my own, I attended a workshop about informatics paid by TANDEM. To be honest, I didn´t expect to receive such interesting and meaningful tasks. Especially the chance to extend my professional skills surprised me very positively.
For me, these experiences are representative for the advantages TANDEM offers to its trainees. Not only for the language, but also for intercultural exchange and personal development is it a great enhancement. Both the city and the school seem to welcome you with open arms.
When I think back to the time I smile. It was a very nice experience and I can´t wait to come back.
So, when you contemplate it too, I can just recommend it. Do it! You won´t regret it…
“Spanish course and Internship in Madrid”
This article is also available in German
