The first day at the university in Spanish
Two students meet on their first day at the faculty in Spanish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «¿Tú también acabas de entrar en la universidad?» — Have you just started at the university too?; «Sí, soy estudiante de primero. ¿Qué carrera haces?» — Yes, I'm a first-year student. What are you studying? Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two students meet on their first day at the faculty. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- ¿Tú también acabas de entrar en la universidad?Have you just started at the university too?
- Sí, soy estudiante de primero. ¿Qué carrera haces?Yes, I'm a first-year student. What are you studying?
- Química. Dicen que el primer año es complicado.Chemistry. They say the first year is hard.
- A mí me han dado una beca, así que no puedo suspender nada.I was given a scholarship, so I can't fail anything.
- Yo tampoco. ¿Vives en la residencia de estudiantes?Me too. Do you live in the student dormitory?
- No, comparto piso con dos compañeros de clase. Sale más barato.No, I share an apartment with two classmates. It's cheaper.
- Mira, ahí está el horario de clases. La primera magistral es a las nueve.Look, there's the class schedule. The first lecture is at nine.
- Vale, entonces nos vemos en el seminario del jueves.Okay, then we'll see each other at Thursday's seminar.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Tú también acabas de entrar en la universidad? | — | Have you just started at the university too? |
| Sí, soy estudiante de primero. ¿Qué carrera haces? | — | Yes, I'm a first-year student. What are you studying? |
| Química. Dicen que el primer año es complicado. | — | Chemistry. They say the first year is hard. |
| A mí me han dado una beca, así que no puedo suspender nada. | — | I was given a scholarship, so I can't fail anything. |
| Yo tampoco. ¿Vives en la residencia de estudiantes? | — | Me too. Do you live in the student dormitory? |
| No, comparto piso con dos compañeros de clase. Sale más barato. | — | No, I share an apartment with two classmates. It's cheaper. |
| Mira, ahí está el horario de clases. La primera magistral es a las nueve. | — | Look, there's the class schedule. The first lecture is at nine. |
| Vale, entonces nos vemos en el seminario del jueves. | — | Okay, then we'll see each other at Thursday's seminar. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Spanish in this situation?
“¿Tú también acabas de entrar en la universidad?” — Have you just started at the university too?. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.