Over the October half term, around 20 Year 10 students hosted Spanish exchange partners in Sevenoaks, and then flew and stayed with them in Malaga. Although we only spent three weeks with our exchanges, we all had so much fun getting to know and spending time with them. When we hosted our partners here, we were able to show them the fun and exciting parts of Sevenoaks and London, and we also practised our Spanish a little by trying to communicate, but in England we were allowed to speak English for most of the time.
However, we were not forced to actually speak much Spanish until we went to Malaga. Living at an exchange’s house was a completely new experience for most of us, and the fact that we were put into a situation where no one spoke much English really forced us to become immersed in the language and customs of Spain and actually use what we have learnt in Spanish. Living with a host family and being in complete language and cultural immersion is incredibly helpful to learning the language, and I am so glad to have had these few weeks to improve my Spanish.
I had so much fun visiting all of the sites in and near Malaga, including the world-famous Alhambra, the fascinating historical caves of Nerja, the beautiful town of Frigiliana, and fun (but very wet) downtown Malaga. This part of the trip was more comfortable for most of us as we were speaking in English for the most part, and we enjoyed seeing different areas of southern Spain. Overall, the trip was so much fun, and I would definitely recommend it. Not only do you get to spend your holidays in Spain, but your Spanish improves dramatically by having to speak it constantly without another option.
Nina Chang
