Foreign languages can provide a gateway to new cultures, new relationships, and new opportunities. And, of course, an organic environment where students engage with native users is one of the best ways for students to hone language skills. At NYU Buenos Aires and NYU Madrid, the University’s two Spanish-using locations, students can learn Spanish in and out of the classroom through language exchange programs, field trips, and everyday conversation.

“A language is never easy to learn, and it’s even harder to learn it by yourself,” explains Haiam Husain Lara, cultural program coordinator at NYU Madrid. “Ultimately, language is used for communication. So studying a language in context is crucial because you’re learning the language in the same circumstances you’ll use it: for conversation. There is just no other better way to acquire knowledge in something so distant yet so close to us.”

Argentina Hoy/Argentina Today at NYU Buenos Aires

In the NYU Buenos Aires class Argentina Hoy/Argentina Today, taught by Language Coordinator and Professor Silvia Luppino, students explore current issues in Argentine society as they practice their Spanish language skills. The class visits sites like the Parque de la Memoria, a riverside park, and the Museo Etnográfico Juan B. Ambrosetti, the University of Buenos Aires’ ethnographic museum, as well as attends a cultural workshop about the Guaraní, one of the Indigenous peoples in Argentina and South America. Additionally, students participate in regular language exchanges with Argentine students through the Asociación de Centros de Idiomas, a local association of language centers. “Students can engage in a lively and relaxed atmosphere and share how they live and study, where they travel, and what they expect,” explains Luppino.

Each semester, Luppino changes the syllabus to reflect the latest trends and topics. Recently, the class attended a screening of the film Argentina, 1985, an Argentine movie about the civil trial of the last dictatorship’s military juntas. “It made a big impact on the students,” says Luppino. “They saw the audience’s emotional reaction, and they could appreciate that this didn’t feel like a ‘past’ event for Argentinians. Rather, it is a central part of the social experience.” That emotional connection to “the real language,” in Luppino’s words, is why immersive learning is so vital. “I always tell students that the journey is not only to cross the equator. Here, their cultural values and certainties will be put to the test, and that includes the Spanish language they learned from textbooks.”

NYU Madrid’s Language Exchange Program

“At NYU Madrid, we aim to ensure each student feels comfortable exploring the city and the Spanish language through activities that require participation and collaboration with native speakers. And we make sure they have fun while doing it,” says Husain Lara. Each semester, NYU students pair up with local university students to participate in weekly language exchanges. Since every student already takes intensive Spanish, the program emphasizes getting out of the classroom. Recent excursions included bowling, museums, and even miniature golf. During each outing, students learn terminology related to the activity in action. For example, during a recent salsa and bachata class, NYU students received cards with dance moves in Spanish while Spanish users received them in English. Then they had to communicate in their non-native languages to coordinate their dances.

“Studying a language in context breathes life into that language,” says Alejandro Pérez Pardo, assistant director for student life and housing at NYU Madrid. “Spanish can be very difficult, and in class, it sometimes doesn’t make sense because you’re not experiencing how it’s actually used. But when you go out, you start to understand why and how to use it—and why it’s important. By actually talking to Spanish people, students bond with one another and develop a real love of the language.” Husain Lara adds, “The idea we want to spread is that a language is never a barrier. Rather, it’s a bridge that helps us cross to another land we haven’t explored yet.”

Written by Dana Guterman