Teaching Spanish in Formal Contexts<

Teaching Spanish in Formal Contexts

From a young age, during our school years, we are exposed to learning other languages, primarily English or French nowadays. In most cases, this exposure to a second language is aimed at obtaining a certification, which means that learning is focused on that goal.

This approach leads to classes or learning methods being centered on mastering techniques and strategies for solving exam-style exercises, such as fill-in-the-gap activities or paraphrasing tasks.

The same happens with speaking skills, which are always practiced based on the exam format, often requiring students to compare two pictures rather than fostering natural communication, conversation, or real-life interactions. In schools, at least from my experience, speaking skills were hardly emphasized. They were neither properly developed nor evaluated beyond a prepared oral presentation, where students simply had to speak for a couple of minutes about a generic topic, such as recommending a TV show, sharing a travel experience, or discussing similar subjects.

I believe that this teaching method is useful when the main goal is obtaining an official certification, but I don’t think it produces positive results beyond that. Since real communication is not practiced, most students struggle to handle real-life interactions outside the classroom effectively.

Many people avoid speaking due to embarrassment about their accent or fear of making mistakes, and I believe this needs to change. If speaking is not actively practiced, one may understand the language very well but still struggle to communicate. And ultimately, communication is the true sign of language acquisition—the ability to express oneself and interact with others.