In this article we will show you different ways and places that will show you how to learn Catalan; If you are going to live or go to study in Catalonia, you will learn the language, but it is good to give one that you have studied before; You can do it through the different schools or by taking online courses, which are free and paid, it is a matter of searching according to your needs and resources.
Catalan is another language that comes from Latin and is, along with Spanish, one of the official languages of Catalonia.
Within Catalan culture, great importance is given to this language, in addition to the fact that there are several dialects that derive from it.
Catalan has a certain similarity with Spanish and French, we could say that it is a mix between the two, so if you speak French or Spanish, it will be easier for you to learn Catalan.
We find that this language is spoken in an extension of 68,730 km 2 that is not only found in Spain, but also distributed in four countries: Spain, France, Italy and Andorra, where more than 13 and a half million people live. of which approximately 9 million speak it and 11 million understand it, most of these people being concentrated in Catalonia and the Ponet Strip.
The people who understand and speak this language the most are the youngest. As an example, in Catalonia 75% of the population speaks Catalan, but among young people between 15 and 29 years of age this percentage reaches 90%; It can be said that it is rare to find people in Catalonia who do not speak Catalan; so then, this language has not become a language that only older people speak, and we cannot say that it is a language that is about to become extinct, it is also considered an official language in some places and is present in society. Catalan is taught in many schools and in Catalonia the majority of students take the entrance exam in this language, and several teachers use Catalan as their teaching language, between 60% and 100% and it is fully accepted.
That is why some students who live outside of Catalonia and are going to study there could study some subjects (subjects) in Catalan. If this is your situation, it is good that you learn Catalan before entering the university, it will not be a difficult task anymore. Both languages are very similar. There are studies that show that a person who speaks Spanish can at least understand someone who speaks Catalan after 15 days and that it won’t take long to speak it.
What do you need to learn Catalan?
- Want to learn Catalan
- Internet connection
- Notebook for note taking
- Catalan dictionary
Instructions for learning Catalan
- Analyze how much time and money you have to undertake your Catalan study, you can look for books that teach Catalan, different manuals and teaching materials on DVD or CD.
- If you don’t have money, don’t worry, there are also several free resources for learning this language, some of these will ask for a donation, others will ask for some money to access some functions and others will be 100% free, but the important thing is that you can learn
- cat: This is one of the portals where you can access the free version or with paid tutorials, depending on your needs and possibilities. Here you will find four levels (basic, elementary, intermediate and advanced), each level has 3 courses. The free version allows you to have access to teaching material.
- cat: The idea of this course is to focus on those who want to learn Catalan quickly, presenting a very dynamic method where the objective is not grammar explanations, but rather usage of language as such; On this page you can find content for you to have your self-study, or also locate distance classes, which are done through Skype; If you decide to self-study you will find several levels divided into 15 blocks, which will require a minimum of 15 minutes of time.
- Intercat: If you are a mobility student, who plans to visit Catalan universities, this will be the portal for you, you can find courses and guides face-to-face and online. You will have conversation guides, access to basic courses where all the survival language will be learned and which is mainly aimed at foreign students, with a university context and environment in an online way; Through this page you can also process your official Catalan certification.
- Mylanguage: this is a website where you can learn several languages, there you will find basic vocabulary and grammar lessons, accompanied by audio and videos.
- cat: if what you want is to learn or practice Catalan with people who speak this language, the Generalitat de Catalunya has a volunteer system where people who speak Catalan form conversation groups with those who want to practice it, just access the home page and sign up; The requirements are to be of legal age and have 10 weeks with a minimum of hours and, most importantly, the desire to speak Catalan.
- Living in a place where they speak Catalan: the more fully you dedicate yourself to the language, the better it will be, so living for a while in a place where Catalan is spoken will help you; You can choose one of the cities where Catalan is presented as an official language.
- You can search both in Catalonia and Barcelona for different free Catalan workshops or language exchanges that are also free of charge; These are made by different associations and often individuals. For this you must be aware of the different advertisements in the newspapers or on the internet, also on posters or flyers.
- Youtube: on this website you can find various Catalan courses, look for the Institut Ramon Llull channel and look for the Catalan course they have, if you are a beginner it will be very useful for you, since the teaching is done through actors who interpret situations of everyday life.
- Enter the cat youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/VingaCAT/videos and follow the different videos, they are quite useful.
- Search for channels on television or radio that are in Catalan such as “ Cataluya Ràdio” or “ TV3 ”; If you are in Spain you can follow this programming on DTT and if not, you can do it through the Internet.
- Dictionary: it is important that you keep a Catalan dictionary with you and clarify all the doubts that may arise.
- Notebook :Take a notebook where you write down everything you need to practice more.
Tips for learning Catalan
- With perseverance and practice you will be able to learn Catalan.
- Try to immerse yourself as much as possible in the world of Catalan.