Has anyone used gap years to learn Spanish?

[numbersloth]

I will most likely be taking two gap years before medical school. While I'm still playing around with the idea of TFA/peace corps/americorps or even public health research, I'm also really interested in learning Spanish intensively. I know that I am interested in working with underserved communities and want to move to southern states, so I feel like not knowing Spanish would be a huge hindrance. Has anyone has experience doing something like this? How did you go about it?

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[Master_of_Savage]

I will most likely be taking two gap years before medical school. While I'm still playing around with the idea of TFA/peace corps/americorps or even public health research, I'm also really interested in learning Spanish intensively. I know that I am interested in working with underserved communities and want to move to southern states, so I feel like not knowing Spanish would be a huge hindrance. Has anyone has experience doing something like this? How did you go about it?

You can teach English in Spain and take Spanish classes to learn grammar and do language exchanges (a Spanish person teaches you conversational Spanish and you teach him/her conversational English). Plus you get to travel a lot. Highly recommend for a gap year

 

[Lannister]

Go for South America instead of Spain if your main goal is to learn Spanish + travel, since every country you travel to will also speak Spanish. Also South America is amazing.

 

[numbersloth]

Go for South America instead of Spain if your main goal is to learn Spanish + travel, since every country you travel to will also speak Spanish. Also South America is amazing.

Are there opportunities to teach English in South America? Also I would be coming in with zero knowledge of Spanish :-(

 

[Espressso]

I used my gap year to better my Arabic. But I did it informally with my family (they are all fluent and I can speak at an elementary level).

 

[Espressso]

I think being bilingual puts you at a huge advantage regardless of what field you desire to go into.

 

[Lannister]

Are there opportunities to teach English in South America? Also I would be coming in with zero knowledge of Spanish :-(

So, yes to the teaching English, there are probably more opportunities in South America than in Spain.
However. A lot of people say that being immersed in a culture is the best way to learn a language. I generally agree, but not for people who have zero knowledge of Spanish. You need to have some level of basic knowledge before you move to the country, otherwise you'll just have absolutely no idea what's going on. You'll also never learn proper grammar that way, which is important if you ever want to take the certification test that allows you to speak Spanish with your patients.

 

[numbersloth]

I think being bilingual puts you at a huge advantage regardless of what field you desire to go into.

I already speak three languages, but they are pretty useless in America haha

 

[jpkb24]

I think being bilingual puts you at a huge advantage regardless of what field you desire to go into.

Definitely this^

 

[Vrachika]

I've actually been learning Spanish in my gap 6 months...I'm just teaching myself though using old textbooks, recordings and Anki (also doing this to learn how to use Anki for med school). Used to be functionally fluent but haven't practiced in years, so I have lost a lot of it

If I wasn't married with a full time job though, I would totally go here for a few months: https://www.hablayapanama.com

Its a Spanish language school (you can pay by the hour, day, week, month, etc) and its very good. I went here for a week when I was 14. Boquete is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited, and I have lived in Montana and Western NC. There is also a medical mission there that you could probably volunteer at while you are there. You could also probably find a host family in the area to stay with, but Panama is a fairly cheap country in general.

 

[NotYou20]

Are there opportunities to teach English in South America? Also I would be coming in with zero knowledge of Spanish :-(

Tons. Knowing English you'll have no problem finding work if that's your main concern. I disagree with @Lannister that you need to know some Spanish before leaving the country. You could take Spanish classes in South America (Sucre Bolivia is well known for this) for as cheap as $10/ hour for private lessons. Getting a basic knowledge in the states would be great too, just a matter of preference. Wherever you go I recommend living in one place for a while rather than just traveling from town to town

 

[Lannister]

Tons. Knowing English you'll have no problem finding work if that's your main concern. I disagree with @Lannister that you need to know some Spanish before leaving the country. You could take Spanish classes in South America (Sucre Bolivia is well known for this) for as cheap as $10/ hour for private lessons. Getting a basic knowledge in the states would be great too, just a matter of preference. Wherever you go I recommend living in one place for a while rather than just traveling from town to town

Sorry, I guess what I meant is that you can't just move to a country and expect to learn the language. You need some formal education, whether that be in the US or abroad.