Increase your language proficiency

If your goal is to increase your language proficiency, one of the keys is to meet native speakers and speak in the target language. A great way to do this is by taking on an internship or doing volunteer work. This way you kill two birds with one stone: You communicate with native speakers, and you improve your intercultural understanding of a new workplace as you continue to develop specific professional and conversational skills.

Increased exposure to Spanish and to native speakers is key to increased proficiency, and ultimately mastery or fluency in Spanish. It is often easier to meet native speakers in a purposeful formal setting, where interaction is expected for the completing of tasks or objectives than it is in informal settings where the first step to meeting people often feels more like a huge leap as we expose or threaten our sense of identity.

If it is not easy for some people in their own language, imagine how it feels in a language you know you do not master. But communicating in the target language is a means to an end, so overcoming your initial reluctance is important if you expect to achieve your language proficiency goals.

It is equally important to be realistic about your proficiency goals. You should not expect to become fluent in a few weeks or a couple of months. If you work hard, you can acquire basic conversational proficiency, and start yourself on the road to fluency.

The more immersive your experience, the faster the process of 2nd language acquisition.

CEHS Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

If you are seeking the opportunity to complete an internship related to your major or major and do so in Spanish as a means to integrate professional development and language acquisition, learn more about what the Internship Program includes.

Internship and Volunteer Opportunities in Segovia with CEHS

If you are interested in participating in an internship or doing volunteer work in Segovia, Spain, CEHS offers a broad array of options. All internships are unpaid and undertaken as a complement to the participant’s educational and/or professional training. The opportunity to use one’s acquired skills and knowledge outside the classroom -in a non-academic setting-, and in a different cultural environment is very rewarding and challenging at the same time, and therein its enormous value to the participant. Moreover, given that most internships require communicating in Spanish, the linguistic benefits of the experience are undeniable, and this improvement in Spanish is one of the principal objectives sought by most program participants.
CEHS internships and volunteer opportunities range from 1 to 3 months.

Price

First month: $2,000 (this includes 20 hours of language instruction)

Second month: $1,600

Third month: $1,600

The internship program includes the following:

  • Full room and board with a wonderful host family (other housing options are available, if interested, which may alter the program price)
  • Supplemental Premium travel insurance policy over  length of experience (maximum 3 months) [89 days]
  • Airport pick-up
  • 20 hours of language instruction during first two or three weeks of program

Not included in program cost

  • Airfare
  • Uniform, if required

Application Process

(Materials to be filled out)

One letter of recommendation from a college professor

Application formHousing Profile formWaiver of Responsibility form