How to Keep Up with Spanish During Breaks and Vacations
It’s this time of the year when you excitedly pack your suitcase for a well-deserved break and at the same time you’re thinking: how am I going to learn Spanish on vacation?
It’s absolutely possible, and you can actually even get more out of studying Spanish during breaks and vacations than during your busy regular season.
Don’t believe me? Keep reading to discover 8 super helpful tips and strategies on how to keep practicing and how to learn Spanish on vacation.
Why Is It Important To Keep Practicing Spanish While On Break?
If you got this far, you probably know that it is somehow important to keep learning while you’re on vacation, but you might not exactly know why it’s so important.
The lower your level of Spanish is, the more detrimental taking a vacation from learning can be.
Learning Spanish is all about continuous practice and moving content from short-term to long-term memory. The shorter your overall learning period is, the less knowledge has been comfortably located in your long-term memory. And the short-term memory, as its name implies, is short, meaning that after a two-week vacation you may discover that you must almost start from scratch.
Let me show you what to do to avoid this conundrum—and learn Spanish on vacation.
8 Tips and Strategies to Learn Spanish on Vacation
Here are some ideas on how to learn Spanish on vacation and come back with even more skills and new vocabulary. You don’t have to do all of them, just choose a few that will help you with the 4 main skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The important thing here is to continue feeding your brain some Spanish even while you travel and relax.
1. Choose a Spanish-speaking Country for Spanish immersion
Traveling to a Spanish-speaking country on vacation is clearly the ideal option. Spanish immersion immensely improves your speaking and listening skills. If you haven’t made your reservations yet, check out this article to Learn About the 21 Countries That Speak Spanish (or focus exclusively on South America) to naturally learn Spanish on vacation.
Read more: Useful Travel Phrases in Spanish: Listen and Practice!
2. Use Your Travel Time Wisely
I love flying. Do you know why? Because a plane is a perfect spot to focus on just one thing and forget about the world beneath you. And to learn Spanish on vacation.
I always buy a Spanish book to read and as I usually travel across the ocean, I have time to finish it before landing. If your flying time is shorter, you can always finish it on your way back.
Why not download a Spanish audiobook, podcast, or a Spanish movie or series to your device? Just put your headphones on and learn Spanish while being entertained.
3. Switch Your Phone to Spanish
Just before taking off, switch your phone language to Spanish. It will force you to use the language and learn Spanish on vacation.
Using Google Maps while driving may be challenging, but anyway, you’re on vacation so getting somewhere on time is not that important. And you’ll learn how to give directions in Spanish in a practical way!
4. Follow Your #destination on social media (TikTok, blogs, Instagram)
While on vacation, people always ask for tips on what to see, where to go, and what to eat. Take a while before you travel and choose some blogs and Instagram or TikTok accounts about the country you’re traveling from Spanish users.
You’ll kill two birds with one stone: get lots of useful tips and improve your listening and reading comprehension.
5. Post on Social Media in Spanish
A great way to learn Spanish on vacation is to challenge yourself and post in Spanish. If you have a TikTok account, why not make a short video in Spanish? You’ve just posted an amazing photo on your Instagram, why not label it in Spanish and add some hashtags in Spanish, too? You may get into interaction with new, Spanish-speaking followers.
Read more: 10 Secrets to Spanish Immersion Using Social Media
6. Write a Travel Log/Diary in Spanish
Keeping a diary or a travel log will give you memories to come back long after your vacation is over and it will also give a boost to your writing skills.
If you already know Spanish past tenses, you can write about your day. If you’re a beginner, try writing down short phrases, or making lists such as things you saw, things you ate, places you went, and the like.
7. Beach Time is a Great Learning Time
Never underestimate the value of beach time for learning Spanish on vacation. It’s easy to read a book or listen to a podcast or an audiobook while working on your fabulous tan.
I would definitely choose something easy, a crime story or another page-turner, to stay in the vacation mode. Maybe a book by Isabel Allende would ignite your love for Latin American literature.
Read more: The Magical World of Isabel Allende in 6 Essential Books
8. Make a Scrapbook and Label it in Spanish
This tip is more on how to link your vacation with learning Spanish after you come back from your holiday.
Why not make a scrapbook? Print your best photos and try to label them in Spanish and add some accompanying text on the sides. Use dictionaries to check any vocabulary you need and later share it with some fellow Spanish learners.
Read more: A Guide to Scrapbooking in Spanish
Keep Learning Spanish After Your Vacation
It’s important to learn Spanish on vacation and it’s important to keep learning it when you come back. Remember, constancy and practice are crucial and you need to find something that will motivate you for years.
Remember that becoming fluent in Spanish can bring you some tangible benefits. Did you know that according to a study conducted by The Economist, a person can earn anywhere from $50,000 to $125,000 extra just by knowing a foreign language alone? It’s really worth some years of time investment.
After your vacation, sign up for a free trial class at Homeschool Spanish Academy. Let our friendly and professional teachers from Guatemala help you reach your fluency goals and practice Spanish in a 1-to-1 conversation! Show off your scrapbook and talk about your vacation! Give us a try today, and check out our affordable pricing and flexible programs.
Join one of the 40,000 classes that we teach each month and you can experience results like these
“This is the best way for your kid to learn Spanish. It’s one-on-one, taught by native Spanish speakers, and uses a curriculum.”
– Sharon K, Parent of 3
“It’s a great way to learn Spanish, from native Spanish speakers in a 1-on-1 environment. It’s been fairly easy to schedule classes around my daughter’s other classes. The best value for us has been ordering multiple classes at a time. All the instructors have been great!”
– Cindy D, Parent of 3
“HSA offers very affordable, quality, one on one classes with a native speaker. My son has greatly benefited from taking classes. We have seen his confidence increase as well as his pronunciation improve, because he learns from a native Spanish speaker. HSA has quick, personal customer service. Our family has been very pleased with our experience so far!”
– Erica P. Parent of 1
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