Music and Cultural Activities: A Super Way to Learn Spanish!

Learning a language isn't just about sitting in a classroom and memorising endless lists of vocab. Although this is important, it's just as important to remember that learning Spanish can be fun and interactive too.

Think of all the things you like doing everyday in your native language, such as listening to music. Now imagine doing that in Spanish. These kind of activities don't require much concentration, but over time you will pick up common phrases and new words almost subconsciously, without having to memorise them from an exercise book. Not to mention, discovering new artists and new music in a foreign language is super exciting and before long, we can guarantee you'll have added a Spanish playlist to your Spotify account (if you don’t have one already!).

If you want to step it up a gear, you can even try writing down the lyrics to a song you listen to in Spanish. This is a tricky exercise, but it is great for your listening (and writing) skills, as you can then easily search the lyrics online and see how much you managed to pick up. Don't be downhearted if you only manage to get a few words from the chorus at the start – you'll soon see that your listening skills improve massively and it’s a great way to track your progress!

Of course, by spending time in Spain and immersing yourself in the Spanish lifestyle, you will be exposed to key parts of the Spanish culture such as its fantastic and diverse music. Just take a stroll down the streets of the Casco Viejo in Bilbao and you will find an array of bars where you can enjoy a spot of live music, such as contemporary jazz offered by the Bilbaina Jazz Club Association.

In Bilbao, being fortunate enough to be in the heart of a cultural centre, there are plenty of events and activities like this to discover and to take part in, right on our doorstep! We are currently lucky enough to have the classical music festival ‘musika-música’ taking place at the Euskalduna Palace Conference Centre, which aims to make classical music more accessible and is making music such as that of Chopin, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven more popular.

At the Instituto Hemingway, we place a lot of importance on interaction with the Spanish culture and really encourage our students to take part in cultural events like this which take place in the city. For this reason, we arrange a range of activities among which you are sure to find something that you really love here in Bilbao!

At the Instituto Hemingway, it's different with you!