MOVING TO SPAIN – IS LEARNING SPANISH REALLY NECESSARY?

The answer I would give is a qualified: no.  In fact, one of the reasons for moving to Spain – and certainly coastal Spain -  is that you can survive quite happily without speaking a word of Spanish.  Living proof of this, if ever it was needed, is my own mother.  After living in Spain (on the Costa del Sol), for well over thirty years, she barely speaks a word and yet has enjoyed a fulfilling life in Spain throughout that time.

In fact, I can recall meeting only one person from the UK who spoke Spanish fluently before moving here and, ironically, she was a Valenciana who was returning permanently to Spain with her British husband.  All the other Britons that I have met have had little more than a smattering of the Spanish language – at best.

You may ask (fairly!) how do they survive?  Well, actually, rather well is the truth.

Spain is used to receiving foreigners with some 50 million holidaymakers coming to Spain every year.  It has, therefore, established an informal ‘infrastructure’ to deal with people who speak little or no Spanish – although the caveat to this is that it applies largely only to coastal areas of Spain.

Pretty much any Spaniard under around thirty years old understands at least some English, as learning English is now compulsory in Spanish schools.  In fact, the pressure to learn English is massive – with the Spanish government, annually, stressing its critical importance.  Meanwhile, businesses around high density foreigner areas have realised that to gain trade they have to speak at least some English to benefit financially from foreigners.  As a consequence, many Spanish lawyers speak English and Spanish banks often have English speaking account managers.  This follows for staff working in garages and bars, shops and estate agencies.  Even tradesman have often picked up sufficient English to work effectively with Britons.

Furthermore, over the past thirty years or so, coastal Spain has also seen a considerable number of Britons and other internationals set up businesses in Spain specifically to service foreigners.  British dentists and doctors can be found with practices that are aimed purely at ex-patriots and this the case with everything from offices selling insurance to financial advisors, car showrooms and even mobile mechanics.  There are British building companies and tradesman – and even a few ‘British’ shops that specialise in all things British.

Not surprisingly, there are many translators available who will often tailor their help to you, should you just need an hour or two of their time.  To make things easier still, every area seems to have its weekly local ‘British’ newspaper crammed with advertisments for British supplied services.  Needless to say, these papers are complemented by the internet and seemingly endless English language Blogs, Forums and information web sites.

The other notable advantage of Spain over virtually any other Mediterranean country is that learning the native language at a very basic level is not difficult.  A surprising number of Spanish words are almost the same as English and this allows even the lingusitically challenged quickly to learn Spanish to a basic level sufficient to get by on a daily basis.  Of course, real fluency is a different matter altogether – unfortunately!

In short (whilst I personally disagree with this policy), as a Briton you can enjoy life in Spain for years with no necessity to learn Spanish.  In fact, for many ex-patriots the ‘Spanish’ part of living in Spain rarely impacts upon their daily lives.  In a way, this is one of the wonderful things about Spain – its ability to absorb non-Spanish speaking foreigners and provide them with a long term, viable way of life.  After all, in fairness, many people move to Spain because of its easy communications to the UK, better climate, cheaper property and the delights of an al fresco life.  Integration is not part of their ‘game plan’ – let alone having to learn a foreign language.

 So, if you are thinking of moving to Spain then worry not about learning Spanish as an essential pre-requisite to moving here.  It is not – although few people would deny that speaking Spanish will undoubtedly enhance your overall life in Spain.