Spending eight weeks learning Spanish in Valencia has been a rewarding experience. When I first arrived here, I had a patchy understanding of how basic Spanish grammar works, which gave me a false sense of confidence coming into the country. I was placed into a class that was far too advanced for my level, and I quickly discovered that my listening and speaking skills were practically non-existent. It is fair to say that I was completely baffed in my first week of lessons. I eventually moved down two groups, so I could work on my listening and speaking skills. This level was much more enjoyable, as I wasn’t in a permanent state of confusion. I have noticed my progress continue to grow steadily over the weeks. Now, I feel like I have enough Spanish to get by on my own and develop my skill independently. Understanding street chit-chat is becoming easier, watching Spanish T.V. is becoming more enjoyable, and I can usually interpret written texts. The teachers at Taronja are young, fun and competent people. Rather than forcing us to fill out boring and repetitive exercise sheets, they make learning more enjoyable by providing innovative activities and games to keep the classroom engaged. The timetable is constantly rotating, so we can benefit from various styles and techniques of each teacher. Valencia is a truly beautiful city in a variety of different ways. The centre of the city is built around two lively squares, made up of old monuments, statues, restaurants, and constant buzz of passing tourists. The surrounding streets are full of character and are brought to life by the detail of their design, the classical Valencian balconies, and the numerous restaurants. The Turia park is another incredible feature of the city. It used to be a large river flowing through the centre of the city, but people decided to drain it after serious floods in the 1950s. Now, it is a riverbed, which has been converted into a lush garden, where people go to escape the city, exercise and relax.
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