What is a ‘Charla’?

Put very simply, a ‘charla’ (f*) is a chat - a friendly informal talk, maybe an informal presentation.

It’s one of those lovely words that I describe as ‘culturally weighted’. You can translate ‘charla’ literally as chat, but then you have the Spanish ‘tertulia’ (f) which is a deeper discussion, but generally still fairly informal.

A ‘discusión’ (f) is a discussion, generally more formal. (Think about the verb it’s associated with, discutir - to debate, fight, argue.)

Cultural Weighting

They say every Spaniard has their own political party. This was even noted by George Orwell in his book , Homage to Catalonia “It is difficult to be certain about anything except what you have seen with your own eyes, and consciously or unconsciously everyone writes as a partisan.”

It’s true, and it’s something to love about Spain and the Spanish.

Unlike British society where taboo dinner table subjects are often politics and religion, surrounded by a level of awkwardness, typically Spaniards are open, happy to have a heated discussion, but remain best friends.

That doesn’t give anyone the right to be hurtful or rude, of course, and of course upsets do happen, but what we might consider an insult to ‘a Brit’ might not be in Spanish culture. As British people, Spain is used to us visiting. We are generally expected to be far politer than the Spanish themselves, and best practise is always to be polite, but accept and be unoffeneded when someone is very direct. It’s simply a cultural difference.

Practical examples

So, back to our ‘charlas’. When I think of a ‘charla’, I think of hot Spanish siesta times in rural Spain where even today you’ll see the older generation of men gathered in the shade of a tree playing dominos or cards, and having serious discussions about just about anything. It’s friendly, approachable and you can ask to join in - unless they’re gambling matchsticks or coins, in which case, best wait til they finish. Not because of the conversation…

When I think of a ‘tertulia’ I think of intellectual students around a table in Salamanca’s main square talking about something of importance to their courses or to society as a whole.

Neither example is strict, but it will hopefully give you a flavour of the words and the difference between the two.

And give you the sense of the relaxed approach to ‘charlas’. It’s your time, your chance to put your Spanish into practise.

Charlas with Claire

From Thursday June 18, we’re having some online conversation ‘classes’, ‘Charlas’, seemed the perfect ‘vibe’, which are a great excuse to put your Spanish into practise.

Suitable for beginners through to advanced speakers, ‘Classes with Claire’ brings the (fun) structure to keep the conversation flowing. The topic gives us a theme for the ‘charla’, which will be what the participants make of it, with me moderating and keeping us going, helping out where needed.

You can see the full list of scheduled ‘charlas’ here: online conversation classes.

You can drop in/drop out according to what you want to practise.

Although I’ve delivered presentations online before and hosted discussions, June 18 will be the first time live for these ‘charlas’, so I’ve put a ridiculously low price of just £5 on the first class in case we have technical disruptions. After that they’ll be £10 a class.

(This includes preparation, the technology, materials in advance where needed and follow up if required.)

Book a charla

You can choose your ‘charla’/’charlas’ here:

And if there’s a subject you’d really like to practise/ see covered, just contact me and I’ll schedule it if I can - if you want it, someone else may too!

*(f) or (m) - all nouns (words for things) in Spanish are male (m) or female (f). So ‘el’ (m) or ‘la’ (f) are used rather than the British ‘the’.

It’s not something to stress about - most of the time you can tell from the word ending which it should be, and context will tell your listener what they need to know. Obviously I help students to get it right, but it’s more important that you start to express yourself in a way that can be understood when starting out.