The History of Languages in Spain

Nowadays, when we think about what language people speak in Spain, Spanish is the language that comes to our mind. It is the only language that has an official status and it´s also called Castilian for having its origin in the medieval kingdom of Castile, a region of Spain. However, there are many co-official, dialects, and non-official languages spoken in Spain due to the influence of the huge Spanish history.

The Spanish language and the dialects of Spain came from the linguistic evolution of Latin. During the 4th and 5th Century BC, several types of societies lived in the Iberian Peninsula and each one speaks a different language. But, in the year 218 BC, the Roman Empire conquered a part of the peninsula and in 19 BC had conquered the entire peninsula. The Romans named it Hispania and established Latin as an official language creating the Castilian. However, the predecessor languages such as Catalan, Galician-Portuguese, Leonese, and Basque continued to be used in their particular regions (“Hispania”). Several centuries later, Hispania was invaded by the Muslims that caused evolution and modification of the language. When they were expelled in 1492, the kings named Castilian as the official language and some dialects like Leonese disappeared (Sosa).

Currently, the Spanish language is spoken in every region of Spain as the first language. Nevertheless, some states have their own second language like Catalan, Basque, and Galician. For example, in my case, I´m from Castile state and Spanish is the only language that we speak.

English Language in Spain

Spain is one of the countries in Europe that have less knowledge about English language. It was introduced not too long ago. During the 18thCentury, people began to show interest in English, but it wasn´t until the 19thCentury when the first English academies were created. The greatest interest in the English language began in the 20th century, after the Second World War. Nowadays, English is still paramount because it´s the most spoken language in the world (“Idioma Inglés en España”).
In 1704, a tiny peninsula in the south of Spain was conquered by the United Kingdom (Johnson). It´s the only territory where most of the people speak English fluently. Spain is one of the countries with less knowledge of English in the European Union. According to Montero´s article, “Nearly 60% of Spaniards recognize that they can’t speak, read or write in English”. In other words, she tries to demonstrate that, even though English is the second language in the country and it is a mandatory subject in school, people don´t feel comfortable speaking it. It doesn´t mean that anyone can speak English, however, it means that the Ministry of Education needs to make changes to improve the knowledge of that language because English is very important for society.

English Education

Education in Spain is mandatory for children between 6 and 16 years old; however, most of the children start their education at 3 years old. Spanish Education is divided into 4 cycles: preschool (0-3 and 3-6 years); primary education (6-12 years); secondary education (12-16 years) and college preparation (16-18 years). In public and private schools, children start English classes from three years old like optional class. However, it´s a mandatory class from six and older years old (Luján García).

In recent years, public and private schools have received the bilingual school certificate to teach different subjects in English. That sounds wonderful for children to learn more English and increase their knowledge of the language in the country. However, according to Kitson, “The sector has grown so quickly there are not enough trained professionals to meet the demand”. Her point is that many families want their children to go to bilingual schools to be socially prestigious and there are more children than teachers. For this reason, some teachers don´t have the right level of English and cannot teach the class´ knowledge correctly. Therefore, sometimes, if the English level is not adequate, it's better not to take bilingual classes.

English preparation

 The two last years of high school is preparing students for college. After these two years, every student has to take several exams to get accepted into a university. English is one of the exams, but there is no oral or listening test. This is one reason why many students don´t have the adequate skills to hold a conversation due to the fact that teachers focus too narrowly on grammar, writing, and reading. Neglecting practicing students’ oral English skills results in that they often times can´t express themselves when interacting with others. In Lyne’s article, Green states “Don’t study so much grammar, and learn more words instead”.This underlines the importance of expanding one´s vocabulary in order to improve oral speaking skill instead of focusing too narrowly on grammar. It is important to keep in mind that this implies to non-native English speakers.

The last step to complete the English education is to pass the intermediate Cambridge Exam, which is a certificate of English level from non-native people. The exam, which is a requirement for everyone, is called PET or B1 (“Cambridge Exams”). If students don´t have a certificate when they finish their degree, they won´t get their diploma.

Social differences related to English knowledge

Nowadays, English is considered one of the most important languages in the world. Therefore, it is an essential skill to master whether it pertains to expressing oneself, to understanding other people, or succeeding at work. English is a mandatory class for all students starting from six years old. For that reason, if anyone can´t speak English, it refers to that person did not receive proper education or has a low social standing.
In today´s society, people value what other people think of them highly; therefore, they try to be perceived unrealistically perfect. In Spain, the knowledge of languages demonstrates good social status because it implies that a person is educated and cultured. Sometimes, people who can speak English fluently are envied by people who cannot speak it. This especially applies to small cities because they have fewer resources. In these cities, it is rare to know someone that speaks English fluently; therefore, people are usually surprised.

British vs American English

For geography´s reasons, British English is the most common in Spain. Classes, books, and teachers in schools are specialized in British English because it´s the closest country to Spain where English is the first language. However, it doesn´t mean that people can´t speak American English. Moreover, there are private schools and academies where people can learn it. Nevertheless, public English education is based on British English that has some differences from American English. For example, some grammar roles, vocabulary, or accent.

Work Cited

“Cambridge Exams.” Education First,n.d. https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-tests/cambridge-exams/. 21 April 2019.

“Hispania.” Wikipedia, 3 Mar. 2019.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispania. 3 April 2019.

“Idioma Ingles en España.” Wikipedia, 18 Ago. 2018. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma_inglés_en_España. 3 April 2018.

Sosa, Oscar Abel. “Historia de la Lengua Española.” Monografias, n.d. https://www.monografias.com/trabajos11/lespa/lespa.shtml. 19 April 2019.

Jonhson, Ben. “The History of Gibraltar.” Historic UK, n.d. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/History-of-Gibraltar/. 3 April 2019.

Luján-García, Carmen. “The impact of English on Spanish daily life and some pedagogical implications.” Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 2012.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=2ahUKEwjNgJH7uLhAhUKw1QKHbCrDwUQFjABegQICRAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fojs.ub.gu.se%2Fojs%2Findex.php%2Fnjes%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F1034%2F902&usg=AOvVaw0StseNxzCvd4UnhpxEHnzk. 3 April 2019.

Montero, Mai. “Nearly 60% of Spaniards say they can’t read, speak or write in English.” El Pais, 5 Jan. 2017. https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/01/04/inenglish/1483542724_068710.html. 3 April 2019.   Cambridge 

Lyne, Nick. “The 500 problems most Spaniards face when studying English.” El País, 2 Jan. 2017. https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/01/02/inenglish/1483351635_870267.html?rel=mas. 16 April 2019.

Kitson, Melissa. “Why Spain’s bilingual schools are full of teachers with poor English skills.” El País,18 Dec. 2018. https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/12/17/inenglish/1545052143_282469.html. 20 April 2019.