Even if you are moving to an area full of fellow expats, it will still be beneficial to learn Spanish and a few words of the local dialect, if you live in Catalonia, Valencia, the Basque Country or Galicia.

Learning Spanish will broaden your horizons, give you more opportunities and make it easier for you to feel settled in Spain. There's nothing more frustrating than not being able to converse with your neighbours!

Here are just a few reasons why you should learn Spanish:

1. To converse with neighbours.
2. To deal with enquiries regarding utility bills.
3. To enjoy travelling around Spain and to travel to other Spanish speaking countries.
4. To be able to order in restaurants and to say what you need in shops.
5. To ask for directions.
6. To deal with phone-calls.
7. To understand letters.
8. To talk to your children's teachers.
9. To make new friends in your local community.
10. To get work.

There are many different ways to learn Spanish and it may take you a while to find a way of learning that suits you. Experiment with different ways and mix and match so you don't get bored. You need to make time to learn Spanish and you need to be motivated. Make time in your diary and stick to it so that it becomes a habit.

Tips for learning Spanish:

• Don't spend lots of money on resources and courses – There are so many free resources on the Internet, so don't spend money until you have figured out your best way of learning. The BBC Language website www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish has many different audio courses and you can do an online test to gauge your level of Spanish and then have relevant courses and resources recommended to you.
• Language schools – If you need to kick start your Spanish learning and are really serious, you may want to consider attending a language school. There are many language schools in Spain which offer intensive, total immersion courses. These are great, you can spend a week or two in a beautiful Spanish city learning Spanish by day and practising it at night with new friends.
• Listen to native speakers – Before you leave for Spain, you can tune your ears into Spanish by finding Spanish TV channels, Spanish radio stations on the Internet etc. You can find a list of Spanish radio stations which stream live on the Internet at www.listenlive.eu/spain.html
• Talk to locals – If you are already in Spain, try to converse with your neighbours and the locals. Carry a dictionary around or a phrasebook or cards with useful phrases on and practise them. Spaniards are friendly people and love it when someone tries to talk to them in their own language.
• Don't be afraid to make mistakes – We learn by making mistakes and making mistakes is a big part of learning a language. Be brave and try things out. Have fun learning Spanish.
• Start a relationship with a Spaniard – only try this if you are free and single! Going out with a Spaniard is a great way to learn real conversational Spanish and also gives you motivation to learn.
• Don't do “Holiday Spanish” if you are living in Spain – You need to learn vocabulary and verbs which are going to be useful to you in everyday life, not phrases to do with travel.
• Focus on speaking and listening – Conversation is going to be more important for you at first so concentrate on listening and speaking activities then learn how to read and write Spanish.
• Spanish Classes – Enrol in Spanish classes or find a tutor. Many municipalities offer free Spanish classes for foreigners so they are worth going to.