Joe Palamides, ISA: Granada Spring 2024
This semester I took classes at the University of Granada in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas (CLM). The CLM Faculty of the University of Granada specializes in teaching languages, giving classes to Spanish students in foreign languages (English, French, etc) while also teaching non-native Spanish speaking students Spanish. At the CLM I took five classes about a variety of subjects, ranging from a Spanish history class to a class about Public Health where we focused on comparing Spain and the United States. There were students from all over the world in my classes, but the vast majority were from the United States.
My main motive for deciding to study abroad was to immerse myself in the Spanish language. Before going abroad I had studied Spanish for years and taken multiple classes at Pitt, but ultimately there is no better way to improve language skills than by immersing yourself in a country where it is spoken. With that said, the biggest difference between my classes this semester in Granada and the classes that I have had at Pitt was that all of my classes in Granada were given in Spanish. To some that may seem extremely daunting, the idea of taking all of your classes in a foreign language. However, I would say that even with all of my classes being in Spanish they were all easier than the classes I’ve taken at Pitt. The truth is that the “study” part of study abroad is somewhat fallacious. It’s not to say that you don’t take your classes seriously while abroad, and it’s definitely not to say that you don’t learn while studying abroad. This is just based on my experience, but the academic or classroom aspect of study abroad is nowhere near as important as it is while you are at college in the U.S. The point of study abroad isn’t necessarily to sit in a classroom and learn about extremely difficult subjects, but rather to get a general overview and experience of another culture. Based on that, the classes while studying abroad normally aren’t as difficult and don’t require as much time investment outside of class. Simply put, the point of study abroad is not to learn by “studying”, but by living. All of the professors that I had structured their classes around that. For example, one of my professors for a Tuesday/Thursday class only ever scheduled exams/presentations for Tuesdays, since she took into account that some of us could be traveling over the weekend starting on Thursday. This is not to say that the classes weren’t serious, but the idea was to not have classwork weigh down the rest of your life, which is sometimes what happens in the U.S.
To summarize, the academic environment I had while studying abroad was much more relaxed compared to being at Pitt. I would say that was partially because the subject being taught was a bit easier, comparing learning a language to learning chemistry or physics. However the academic environment while studying abroad was also more relaxed because in my view that is its purpose. The ultimate purpose of studying abroad is to learn in practice, not just in theory, and a relaxed academic environment gives you more time outside of class to explore.
*A picture from the patio of the Center of Modern Languages in Granada, Spain. This is the building I had my classes in during my time studying abroad.
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