Chatting away in English can earn you bed and board (with wine) in a scenic Spanish village. But the language-learning scheme is not just a social whirl, writes Jeananne Craig
Last summer, Irish student Carmen Bryce found herself on a minibus winding its way through mountainous central Spain to the medieval settlement of Valdelavilla. As she and her fellow passengers approached the abandoned village in which they would spend the next week, Bryce experienced some second thoughts.
"I did start to wonder what I had let myself in for. It was a bit like the opening of a scary film. There was nothing for miles and there were even vultures from a nearby sanctuary circling overhead. The scenery was stunning, but it seemed like there was no escape."
Downpatrick-born Bryce and her fellow passengers had enrolled in a week-long language immersion course with Pueblo Inglés, an organisation helping Spaniards to improve their English language skills through conversation with English-speakers from across the globe.
Each Pueblo Inglés programme has about 20 Spaniards and the same number of native English speakers, or "Anglos". Some of the Spaniards are professionals sent by their employers to develop their English, others are individuals who sign up and pay out of their own pocket.
In return for constant chatting in English, the "Anglos" get free bed and board for the week in one of the stunning provinces of Soria, Salamanca or Jaén. And because all activities are conducted through English, no knowledge of Spanish is required.
"The concept here is simple," says Maria Goyanes, operations manager for Pueblo Inglés. "The Spaniards need to learn on-the-street English, and in the intense environment at the English village, doing so much talking and meeting so many diverse people, they can really immerse themselves in the language".
"Spanish people learn English grammar and vocabulary in school but don't use it in everyday life," says Goyanes. "We compare it to learning sport in a classroom. Until you actually practise it in the real world, you have no idea how good you are." The demanding schedule involves hourly one-to-one conversation sessions, group activities and presentations. Even meal times involve being paired up with Spaniards for conversation, albeit over free-flowing wine.
Despite her initial misgivings, Bryce found her week at Valdelavilla highly rewarding.
"I went there thinking I'd just grin and bear it to get a free week in the sun, but it turned out to be a brilliant experience," she says. "The groups were quite segregated at the start. It's hard enough to meet strangers, let alone ones who speak a different language. But we soon made friends and had great fun socialising.
"There were all walks of life there: Spanish businessmen pulling up in sports cars, and Australian backpackers who needed some free food and accommodation. One woman I was paired with was 70.
"I found it really enlightening in that any stereotypes I had just melted away. People are people wherever you go."
Waterford teacher Ray Power is a Valdelavilla veteran who spent a week there last July. With four summers at the Gaeltacht and a TEFL qualification under his belt, Power is no stranger to language courses, but he found Pueblo Inglés different. "It was similar to the Gaeltacht in that both were very structured, but at Valdelavilla you weren't just shoved into a classroom. No one was keeping an eye on you."
Like Bryce, Power says the first few days of the course proved challenging. "There were some teething problems. It was hard for the Spanish to get used to the accents, switching from Irish to Australian to Canadian, but we got into the flow.
"At first, in our one-to-one chats we covered the basics, like family and work. Then you get to know them away from the boundaries of the course, like at night in the bar, and find common ground through politics and football. I found myself discussing the Basque peace process and comparing it with the Troubles in Northern Ireland."
Power now teaches history at an international boarding school in St Gallen, in Switzerland. "For most of our pupils, English is their second language. I suppose the time at Pueblo Inglés has made me more aware of the difficulties that they have," he says.
More than 200 Irish people have taken part in Pueblo Inglés since its first programme was launched in 2001, with some 70 per cent returning for more week-long sessions.
"We find that the Irish and Spanish get along very well", adds Goyanes. "Their mentality is so similar. They both love to talk and enjoy themselves. They are the last to go to bed at the end of the night."
"But this is not a free holiday," she adds. "It is an exchange, a give and take. Mentally it is very strenuous and takes courage. Of course, fun is crucial to what we do but if people are just looking for a break they should go elsewhere."
• Pueblo Inglés programmes run all year round. Further information can be found at www.vaughanvillage.com