Spanish Language School in Barcelona, Spain
Spanish Courses Information
The main objective of most of the Spanish courses is to improve the students' communicative skills. The emphasis of classroom activities is therefore the development of the students' abilities to speak and understand spoken Spanish. For this reason, classes are conducted entirely in Spanish and students are given plenty of opportunity to practice the sort of language they are likely to need outside the classroom.
Due attention is also paid to grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills, and a wide variety of materials is used, including published materials from many different sources as well as materials which have been written by our own teachers.
The teaching and the course program are carefully supervised by the Director of Studies, who is also responsible for ensuring that students are placed in the appropriate level and that their progress is satisfactory. While the atmosphere in the classroom is generally relaxed and informal, students should be prepared to work hard and participate fully.
On the first day of the course, each student with any prior knowledge of Spanish is given both an oral and a written entry test so that their level of ability can be ascertained and they can be placed in the most appropriate group. The test normally takes around 40-60 minutes (depending on the student's level).
Students who study with us for a number of weeks are asked to take a test to demonstrate how much they have learned. The results of these tests are then combined with the teacher's continuous assessment report in order to determine whether or not students can move up to the next level of ability.
At the end of their course students will be given a certificate, which indicates the number of hours they have studied with us and the level of ability they have reached.
Spanish immersion courses begin every week, on Mondays, for students with previous knowledge of the language.
Students with no previous knowledge of Spanish may begin group classes on the following dates:
January 2, 16, and 30
February 13 and 27
March 12 and 26
April 10 and 23
May 7 and 21
June 4 and 18
July 2, 16 and 30
August 13 and 27
September 10 and 25
October 8 and 22
November 5 and 19
December 3, 17 and 31
The following Mondays are public holidays, and classes will therefore begin the following day:
April 9
May 28
September 24
Intensive Group Courses
4 hours per day
Intensive Group Courses consist of 4 academic hours per day, Monday to Friday. Classes schedule generally takes place from 09.30 a.m. to 13.30 p.m., with a 20-minute break taken halfway through the morning. Only during the summertime (July-August) group classes may also take place in the afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and students are invited to join a special activity program in the mornings.
Intensive Group Courses are offered at all levels from complete beginners to very advanced. The average number of students per group is 7 to 8 and the maximum number is 10. The minimum age for these courses is 16 years old.
Intensive Group Course & Spanish Culture
These courses are designed for students who want to take more than 4 hours a day of group tuition. They combine a 4-hour Intensive Group Course in the mornings with an extra 1,5 hours each afternoon from Tuesday to Friday, giving a total of 26 hours of tuition each week.
The afternoon classes are designed to give students the opportunity to develop their language skills by discussing various aspects of Spanish culture and history.
Students look at a different aspect of Spanish culture each day. Subjects regularly covered include:
Spanish Social Customs: Students are given an insight into the Spanish way of life and invited to compare Spanish social customs with those of their own countries.
Flamenco: A course which looks beyond the music and dance to the culture of flamenco.
Spain's Cultural Diversity: The languages, gastronomy, geography and folklore of each of Spain's regional cultures.
Spanish Music.
Ferran Adriá and Spanish Novelle Cuisine
Districts of Barcelona
Spanish Art in the 20th Century: A look at a range of artistic styles including those of Picasso, DalÃ, Miró and Tapies.
The Spanish Media: Press, radio, television and Internet and the language that is characteristic of each media form.
The Spanish Civil War: The causes, most important episodes and many consequences of this war.
Brief Introduction to the History of Spanish Literature: From the Middle Ages to the present day.
Spain's Most Popular Fiestas: The Easter Processions, the Fallas, San Fermin, etc.
Arquitecture in Barcelona - Gaudi.
Spanish Films.
Individual Tuition
Individual Tuition courses consist of 1 or more hours of individual tuition per day. Students can either study entirely in this way, or, if they prefer, combine an Intensive Group course in the mornings with additional hours of individual tuition in the afternoons.
The contents, times and starting dates of these private classes can be arranged to suit the individual student's needs. For example, courses can be designed for people who need to develop negotiating skills, presentation skills, telephone skills, writing skills, etc.
We offer individual tuition at all levels from beginners to very advanced. We also offer individual tuition to students of all ages. We can also offer similarly tailor-made classes for two students studying together, providing they have similar levels and linguistic needs.
Spanish and Creative Arts courses in Barcelona
Barcelona is undoubtedly one of the world's most beautiful and inspiring cities. The following two course programs provide students with the possibility of combining their Spanish language studies with the opportunity to explore their creativity and develop their artistic techniques and skills at one of Barcelona's longest established art schools.
Intensive Group Course + Creative Arts
Workshops Available any Monday throughout the year (except holidays and the month of August)
1 week and on
This course combines an Intensive language course in the mornings with a series of four short workshops, each of which introduces students to a different set of artistic skills, as used by such world famous Spanish artists as Gaudi and Picasso.
A) Painting Ceramics workshop
This workshop consists of decorating a porcelain dragon figure (designed by Gaudi) which has previously been fired at 1200º C. The decorative mosaic technique often used by Gaudi is also explained in detail.
B) Glass-fusing workshop
Students will study the many marvellous possibilities of working with molten glass. Each participant will produce a plate or bowl and decorate it according to their own preferences.
C) Sculpture workshop
This workshop focuses on how to make sculptures appear well balanced and less static than is often the case. Each participant will be then be given the opportunity to make a Picasso-style Spanish bull.
These 4 workshops can be scheduled to take place all in one week (one workshop each day from Tuesday to Friday); over two weeks (with two workshops per week), or over four weeks (with one workshop per week).
Each workshop is scheduled to last between 1 and 1,5 hours. All materials are provided and students will be welcome to take home any work they produce.
Intensive Group Course + Intensive course in pottery, sculpture or drawing and painting
Available any Monday throughout the year (except holidays and the month of August)
2 weeks and on
This 2 or 4-week course programme combines an Intensive Spanish course in the mornings with a 24-hour course dedicated to developing skills in one of the following three disciplines: pottery, sculpting in clay, or drawing and painting.
The art course is divided into eight three-hour sessions which can be programmed to take place on any combination of days (from Monday to Friday) over a 2 or 4-week period.
Pottery course:
This course starts by looking at different types of clay and covers a number of techniques such as developing different forms (tiles, plates, vases,) and using a variety of glazes at different temperatures. All the materials required are included in the course fee.
A) Sculpture course (working with clay):
The course looks at how different forms and styles can be developed and also considers the variety of finishes that can be applied to each sculpture. All the materials required in the course are included in the fee.
B) Drawing and painting course:
Using a variety of materials such as charcoal, water colours, oil paints or acrylics, the course focuses on such issues as how to produce light and shadow, how to develop perspective and build volume, how to paint portraits, etc. All course materials, except oil paints, are included in the course fee.
DELE Preparation
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Instituto Cervantes (the Spanish equivalent of the British Council or the Goethe Institute) organizes exams in the Spanish language known as "Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera" (or DELE) examinations. The exams are offered at three levels: "Inicial", "Intermedio" and "Superior". These levels are roughly equivalent to the University of Cambridge's
English language exams: PET, First Certificate and Proficiency (i.e. intermediate, advanced and very advanced). All three exams include a reading comprehension component, a writing component, a listening comprehension component, a grammar and vocabulary component and an oral expression component. All parts of the exam, except the oral exam, are taken on the same day. The oral exam can be scheduled on the same day, the day before or the day after.
The "Inicial" exam takes a total of 2 hours 50 minutes to complete; the "Intermedio" lasts a total of 3 hours 45 minutes and the "Superior" level takes 4 hours to complete.
Our Partner School offers courses designed to prepare students for these DELE exams. Each course lasts for four weeks and the starting dates in 2011 are 26 April, 25 July, 24 October.
These courses focus on preparing the students to take the DELE exams. Students are given access to past papers and are given the opportunity to develop and practice specific exam techniques. During the first week of the course, we advise students which level of the exam we think they should register for, to ensure a successful outcome.
Students can register for the DELE exam at the school.
NOTE: The minimum level of Spanish required to take the course is Intermediate. Students who do not have the level required to take the DELE Preparation Course are advised to take a combination of an Intensive Group Course and a DELE Preparation Course. For beginners, we recommend a minimum 8-week Intensive Group Course, followed by the 4-week DELE Preparation Course.
Business Spanish Courses
The courses in Business Spanish are designed to help students who need to use the language in their work. The aim of these courses is to help improve students' level of competency in many typical work-related activities such as participating in meetings, using the telephone for business, negotiating and selling, making presentations, etc. Students are also introduced to a wide range of business vocabulary and given an insight into the sort of cultural differences that they may encounter while working or doing business in a Spanish-speaking country.
The courses consist of 4 or 6 hours of tuition per day (from 09.30 to 13.30 and from 14.30 to 16.30) for 2 weeks. Students who take the 6-hour per day option can choose to take an exam at the end of the second week organized by the Madrid Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the University of Alcalá. Students who choose to study 6 hours per day should expect a significant amount of afternoon classroom time to be spent on activities designed to help them prepare for these exams. These exams are available at two levels, "certificado básico", and "certificado superior". The lower of the two levels (básico) recognises that students have a basic competence in Business Spanish which should allow them to perform routine tasks in a business context. The second level (superior) recognises a more advanced level of competence and familiarity with the technical language used in the Business world.
The exams are held in the school at the end of the second week. Each exam currently costs 145 euros. The exam fee is not included in the course fee.
Note: We also offer students the possibility of taking an Intensive Group Course of 2 or more weeks followed by a Business Spanish Course. The Intensive Group Course will help students improve their overall level of competency in Spanish, while the Business Spanish Course will focus more specifically on developing competency levels in a range of work-related activities.
Courses for the Over-50s
3 academic class hours per day, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday
Available March 14, May 9, September 26
From 2 weeks and on
These 2-week courses are designed for students over the age of 50 who prefer to study and socialize with people of their own age. The courses consist of 3 hours a day of Spanish classes, which take place from 10.00 to 13.00, Monday to Friday.
Classes are given in groups with an average of 6 students (maximum 10) and all levels are available, including complete beginners. The course also includes a varied program of activities and excursions designed specifically for this age group, featuring evening visits to a flamenco show, a full-day excursion to the Costa Brava, Figueras and the Dali Museum as well as a meal in a typical Barcelona restaurant.
A typical social program for an Over-50s course may be as follows:
Week 1
Monday Welcome cocktail & introductory city tour
Tuesday Guided tour of the Gothic Quarter
Wednesday Visit to the City of Barcelona museum
Thursday Visit to GaudÃ's Sagrada Familia
Friday Evening visit to a flamenco show
Saturday Day trip to the Costa Brava and Dalà Museum
Sunday Free day
Week 2
Monday Guided tour of Montjuïc and the Miró Foundation
Tuesday Visit to GaudÃ's Park Güell
Wednesday Visit to the Picasso Museum
Thursday Evening visit to the theatre or cinema
Friday Lunch at a local restaurant
**Courses for the Over 50s + Creative Art Workshops
This course combines a Spanish course for students over 50 with a series of 4 short introductory workshops on painting ceramics, glass-fusing, pottery and sculpture. All materials are provided and students will be welcome to take home any work they produce.
NOTE: The Creative Arts Workshops/Intensive Art courses will not be available during the month of August. Each Creative Arts workshop lasts for 1.5 hours for a total of 6 hours.
Academic Year / University Preparation Course
This 42-week course is designed for students who want to study a long-term course or to continue their studies at a Spanish University. The course program consists of a 40-week Intensive Spanish group course, followed by a 2-week University Preparation course. These last two weeks are dedicated to developing study skills such as note taking, speed reading, writing assignments and making summaries. Students will also be introduced to the study methods and evaluation systems commonly found at Spanish universities.
Executive Spanish Course
5 day course, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
This is a five-day intensive Spanish language training program which features:
30 hours of one-to-one tuition during the program
Working lunch with teachers every day
Optional guided individual project work (students work on their own in the library or Internet room)
Extensive use of up-to-date, authentic materials
Visits to Spanish companies (arranged on request)
Two evening meals during the course with teachers
Optional evening cultural program (to be arranged by agreement)
These features combine to produce a course which provides an intensive, personalized language learning experience, enabling the course participant to make real progress in those areas which are most important to the individual concerned, while spending only a short time away from work. Each Executive Plus course is designed from both a level test and a detailed needs analysis; each course is therefore tailor-made for each individual student.
Here is an example of an Executive Plus course timetable:
09.00 - 11.00 Individual tuition focusing on grammar or vocabulary
11.00 - 11.30 Break
11.30 - 13.30 Individual tuition working on developing communication skills
13.30 - 15.00 working lunch with teacher
15.00 - 16.00 Guided project work
16.00 - 16.30 Break
16.30 - 18.30 Individual tuition based on project work, or visit to a local company
18.30 - 20.30 Rest period
20.30 - 22.00 Dinner with teacher or accompanied visit to the theatre or cinema
Executive Plus courses can start any Monday throughout the year.
Spanish Teacher Training
Intensive 4 week training program
For fluent Spanish speakers only (native and non-native)
This intensive courses last for 4 weeks (120 hours) and cover both theoretical and practical aspects of teaching.
Program dates:
31st January - 25th February
28th February - 25th March
2nd May - 27th May
30th May - 24th June
4th July - 24th July
1st August - 26th August
5th September - 30th September
7th November - 2nd December
Please contact us for details
Spanish for Spanish Teachers
Refresher and new methodology courses for non-native Spanish teachers
These courses are designed especially for non-native Spanish teachers. They are taught over a period of 2 weeks (40 hours) and focus exclusively on pedagogy and methodology. Teachers learn how to develop their educational portfolio; focusing on group dynamics, techniques of vocabulary presentation and practice.
Course dates:
31st January - 11th February
28th February - 11th March
2nd May - 13th May
30th May - 10th June
4th July - 15th July
1st August - 12th August
5th September - 16th September
7th November - 18th November
Contact UsEngland: 0-800-404 9844
Australia: 1-800-0611 0136
Canada: 1-877-442 0845
New Zealand: 0-800-449-282
Monday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST Saturday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST
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