Many people like you have chosen the capital as a place to live for its people, its food, its good weather, its inexhaustible cultural and nightlife offerings, its large parks, and its festivals. Madrid is a place that attracts a great number of digital nomads, especially after Spain enabled specific visas for this type of worker.
Many of you arrive having known the city before but with little or no knowledge of Spanish. And of course, although Madrid is an international city, it is very difficult to savor its true pleasures without knowing the language of Cervantes. Or do you plan to survive by only saying “a beer, please”? Why not “take the bull by the horns” (address the problem directly) and, with a few months of an intensive course, make that leap to become just another Madrileño?
Our Intensive 20 is a course taught at all levels that can be started at any time of the year. New groups begin every Monday (with a specific calendar for beginners), which offers great flexibility and continuity in learning. In just a few months, you can go from “not speaking a single word” (having no knowledge) to handling yourself in all situations, or from speaking Spanglish to passing for someone who has been living here for a while. Each week includes 20 in-person group classes (with a maximum of 12 students per class, and each session lasting 50 minutes).
The approach is completely communicative: grammar, vocabulary, and real language practice are combined, with a methodology focused on tasks applicable to the everyday use of Spanish.
At Cronopios, we firmly believe that the beauty of a language lies in the ability to communicate. That is why our Intensive 20 has a daily class dedicated to tasks focused on improving communicative skills. These range from role-playing where students simulate real situations (ordering in a restaurant, looking for an apartment, a job interview, shopping at the market, etc.) to debates (“remote work vs. office,” “countryside vs. city,” “traveling alone vs. traveling with company,” etc.)
They also include interviews (e.g., one student acts as a journalist, another as a famous person or professional), surveys (asking classmates about tastes, habits, or experiences, and then sharing the results), or problem-solving (for example, organizing a fictitious trip with a limited budget) and making decisions together. All these exercises, adapted to the linguistic level, are excellent resources for developing fluency, argumentation, vocabulary, and confidence when speaking.
Look up and observe your surroundings. Can you name five utensils or objects around you? Give it a try! We’ve got several options here, depending on your level of Spanish.
If you’re at an A2 level or lower, try naming the objects around you using the correct article and adding an adjective. For example: la cuchara gris (the grey spoon) or el plato blanco (the white plate). If your level is a bit higher (B1 or B2), you can go further and add a verb to the object. For example: la cuchara mezcla (the spoon mixes) or en el plato se sirve la ensalada (the salad is served on the plate).
This exercise is more neurologically rich than it may seem at first glance. That’s because the brain builds semantic networks to absorb new vocabulary—whether in your native language or a foreign one. It’s crucial that when talking to ourselves, we don’t just say isolated words with no connection. On the contrary, we should build those semantic networks with adjectives or verbs whenever possible. Also, by naming the object with its associated verb, we’re also working on grammar—an easy, intuitive grammar, but still useful and important.
Make a note of the utensils, objects, verbs or adjectives you can’t quite remember in the moment, but that you’ve learned in class. That becomes your follow-up task—look them up later and check the combinations that you’re unsure about.
At a higher level, we can do the same exercise by narrating, in Spanish, the steps we’re taking in our recipe. This allows us to practice all the cooking-related verbs—some basic ones (cortar, cocinar, etc.) and others more complex (hervir, batir, etc.), with all their lovely irregularities. And if we’re really feeling inspired (which is totally possible), we can step into the role of a celebrity chef and start giving orders to our imaginary kitchen team—using the imperative to tell them how to prepare the dish we’ve just made.
The only potential downside? Hunger might strike so hard that we can’t think straight and end up mistaking salt for sugar. In that case, you can always repeat the exercise after eating, once you’ve filled your belly.
This time, it’s the end of the day. We’re in full sofa mode—nothing and no one can move us. We’re exhausted, totally done after a full-on day of Spanish and everyday responsibilities. Let’s talk to ourselves—out loud—about how we’re feeling and why. Some examples: Estoy muy cansada porque hoy en el gimnasio he hecho mucho ejercicio. (I’m really tired because I worked out a lot at the gym today.) Estoy triste porque he hablado con mi familia y los echo de menos. (I’m sad because I talked to my family and I miss them.) Estoy muy feliz porque mañana es viernes y salgo de fiesta. (I’m really happy because tomorrow is Friday and I’m going out.) And so on—to infinity and beyond. Once again, we’re activating grammar, communication, and ultimately, our Spanish learning.
An alternative version of this exercise? Say the same things, but about yesterday—that way, we get to practice the past tenses.
At some point during your end-of-day soliloquy, you’ll likely realize you’re missing some vocabulary—a verb you’ve forgotten, a word that’s right on the tip of your tongue. Look it up or write it down for later. In the meantime, try to express the same idea in a simpler way. What matters is that you speak, activate your grammar, create semantic networks, and hear yourself speaking Spanish. Don’t stress if you can’t say exactly what you want in a more sophisticated way. And as a bonus (though this has nothing to do with Spanish), you’ll probably sleep better—and that’s always a win.
We’ve made the most of two key moments in the day—while cooking and during “sofa mode” (a.k.a. I can’t move)—to talk to ourselves in Spanish. I’m sure you’ll find many other moments of solitude with yourself to activate the language of Cervantes—whose beloved fictional son, by the way, constantly conversed with himself.
Don’t be afraid to talk to yourself in a foreign language. Beyond the emotional and psychological benefits, it will help you activate and deepen your Spanish learning. Make it part of your routine: before bed, after your coffee, while you shower—any time, anywhere. Soon, it’ll become an inseparable part of your life as a Spanish learner.
Join this great little group of people who believe that talking to yourself is the sanest and most useful thing a human being can do to learn Spanish!
Clara holds a degree in Hispanic Philology from the University of Alcalá and a Master’s in Applied Linguistics for the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language (E/LE) from Nebrija University. She has worked as a Spanish teacher at various European universities, the Instituto Cervantes, and the European Commission in Brussels.
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