https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Madrid-based English teacher Simon Sternberg hit upon a revolutionary idea to improve Spaniards’ grasp of English. https://www.thelocal.es/20201120/discover-the-app-that-is-changing-the-way-spaniards-learn-english Fri, 20 Nov 2020 10:16:44 +0100 discover-the-app-that-is-changing-the-way-spaniards-learn-english A new ranking suggests the Spanish are making very little progress when it comes to mastering English with Spain ranked the worst in the EU... even below the notoriously-bad-at-English French. https://www.thelocal.es/20201119/revealed-spanish-ranked-worst-in-eu-at-speaking-english Thu, 19 Nov 2020 12:44:19 +0100 revealed-spanish-ranked-worst-in-eu-at-speaking-english A new ranking suggests the Spanish are making very little progress when it comes to mastering English with Spain ranked second worst in the EU... even below the notoriously-bad-at-English French. https://www.thelocal.es/20191105/why-cant-the-spanish-speak-english-very-well Tue, 05 Nov 2019 13:32:03 +0100 why-cant-the-spanish-speak-english-very-well The Royal Spanish Academy is fighting against the anglicization of Spanish with a new campaign. https://www.thelocal.es/20160524/spain-launches-campaign-to-stop-invasion-of-english-words-languages Tue, 24 May 2016 16:14:37 +0200 spain-launches-campaign-to-stop-invasion-of-english-words-languages A new proposal from the ruling Popular Party could see Spain say adios to the practice of dubbing foreign programmes on television as a way of improving the nation's English proficiency. https://www.thelocal.es/20151204/spain-considers-ban-dubbing-to-boost-english-language-skills Fri, 04 Dec 2015 14:13:33 +0100 spain-considers-ban-dubbing-to-boost-english-language-skills After a report placed Spain 23rd out of 70 countries in the new world English learning ranking, The Local asked experts to suggest ways the nation could improve. https://www.thelocal.es/20151105/heres-how-the-spanish-can-improve-in-english Thu, 05 Nov 2015 17:16:33 +0100 heres-how-the-spanish-can-improve-in-english Nearly 100 percent of Spanish primary school students are studying English, ranking Spain among the top European Union countries for multilingual learning. https://www.thelocal.es/20150924/spanish-primary-schoolers-rank-among-top-in-eu-for-learning-english Thu, 24 Sep 2015 15:16:19 +0200 spanish-primary-schoolers-rank-among-top-in-eu-for-learning-english The Spanish Prime Minister has revealed his poor English skills by inadvertently divulging some of the more basic gaffes he has made when attempting to speak English. https://www.thelocal.es/20150914/rajoy-unintentionally-reveals-his-most-common-english-gaffes Mon, 14 Sep 2015 18:12:18 +0200 rajoy-unintentionally-reveals-his-most-common-english-gaffes As one of the only industries in Spain that has not only weathered the crisis, but positively flourished during it, it is boom time for English in Spain. So why are Spaniards finally embracing the language that for so long was held at arm's length? https://www.thelocal.es/20150518/spains-newfound-love-of-english Mon, 18 May 2015 11:55:30 +0200 spains-newfound-love-of-english A fascinating language map lets readers compare words across 30 different European languages at the same time. See if you can find out what words are unique to Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20140116/language-map Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:20:00 +0100 language-map It turns out using a foreign language is not always a disadvantage. People are better at making rational decisions when they are not using their native language, new research by Spanish scientists shows. https://www.thelocal.es/20140108/people-are-more-logical-in-a-second-language Wed, 08 Jan 2014 11:12:00 +0100 people-are-more-logical-in-a-second-language A new law will mean that all candidates who began their degree studies in the Spanish region of Catalonia this year will have to pass an end-of-course English exam in order to graduate. https://www.thelocal.es/20131118/catalan-graduates-to-face-mandatory-english-tests Mon, 18 Nov 2013 13:09:00 +0100 catalan-graduates-to-face-mandatory-english-tests Six out of ten Spaniards never actually get to try out the languages they are supposed to need in their job, a new study shows. https://www.thelocal.es/20131004/i-never-use-my-second-language-at-work Fri, 04 Oct 2013 13:18:00 +0200 i-never-use-my-second-language-at-work Bulgaria and Hungary are the only two European Union members who have fewer adults who speak a foreign language than Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20130926/spain-flunks-eu-second-language-test Thu, 26 Sep 2013 18:23:00 +0200 spain-flunks-eu-second-language-test In this week's The Local List, we put ourselves in the shoes of Spaniards left gobsmacked by British habits and traditions. https://www.thelocal.es/20130823/top-ten-things-that-shock-spaniards-in-the-uk Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:27:00 +0200 top-ten-things-that-shock-spaniards-in-the-uk Former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar hinted at a possible return to politics in a TV interview on Tuesday in which he criticized members of the Popular Party, among them his successor, Mariano Rajoy. https://www.thelocal.es/20130522/aznar-finds-fault-with-rajoy-and-hints-at-pm-comeback Wed, 22 May 2013 13:57:00 +0200 aznar-finds-fault-with-rajoy-and-hints-at-pm-comeback English-speaking politicians are few and far between in Spain, but should Spanish MPs' lack of language skills be a reason for national concern? The Local looks at why Spain's political class has struggled to pick up the world's lingua franca. https://www.thelocal.es/20130409/spanish-pm-rajoy-i-cant-talk-to-obama-yet Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:26:00 +0200 spanish-pm-rajoy-i-cant-talk-to-obama-yet