LEARN SPANISH IN BARCELONA - SPANISH COURSE IN CATALUÑA

The school is situated in the center of the city - less than 5 minutes walk from the Plaza Catalunya, which is the central square and communications hub of the city.

The language school occupies 6 floors of a large corner building, which has a distinctive, triangular shape (somewhat similar to the famous 'flat-iron' building in New York). All of our Spanish courses are given here, in over 40 air-conditioned classrooms.

The building dates from the beginning of the last century and has many attractive features: a very decorative street entrance, lots of natural light, high ceilings, a marble staircase, etc.

The school's facilities include:

• 40 air-conditioned classrooms, all with natural light
• An "electronic classroom" with Internet access and WIFI
• A library and study centre
• A bar which is open all day providing hot and cold food and drinks
• A terrace where students can relax in the sunshine
• Bathroom facilities for disabled students

More than 2,000 students learned Spanish on the premises last year through the various courses offered. There is plenty of opportunity for our Spanish students to meet native Spanish speakers, make friends and improve their fluency outside the classroom, in the bars or at social events, etc.

Lessons also focus on grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills and a wide variety of materials are used, including published materials from many sources as well as materials which have been written by our own teachers.

Students who attend private classes will have course materials designed specifically to meet their particular needs.

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 levels and that their progress is satisfactory.

MIN. 1 WEEK, 9:30 - 13:30

Our group Spanish courses consist of 4 hours lesson each day, from Monday to Friday. Classes normally take place from 09.30 to 13.30, with a twenty-minute break for coffee taken halfway through the morning.

During July and August, some Standard Courses may be scheduled to take place in the afternoons-evenings, from 16.00 to 20.00. Students who attend afternoon classes are able to attend a special social program of visits and activities that take place in the morning.

Note
Students with some previous knowledge of Spanish may start an Intensive Group Course on any other Monday throughout the year (except holidays).

The school will be closed for public holidays on the following dates: 1 January; 21, 24 March; 1, 12 May; 24 June; 15 August; 11, 24 September; 1 November; 6, 8, 25 and 26 December.

MIN. 1 WEEK, 9:30 - 13:30 + Tuesday – Friday afternoon

The Intensive Plus Spanish courses are designed to give you the opportunity to take more lessons than in the standard course.

Students combine the standard course in the mornings from Monday to Friday with an extra 1.5 lessons of Spanish conversation practice, on different aspects of Spanish culture, each afternoon from Tuesday to Friday, making a total of 26 class lessons each week.

The minimum level of Spanish required to join these courses is Lower Intermediate.

Course content
We look at a different aspect of Spanish culture each day. Subjects regularly covered include:

• Spanish social customs: An insight into the Spanish way of life and how it and its customs compare with those in your own country
• Flamenco: A course which looks beyond the music and dance to the culture of flamenco
• Architecture in Barcelona, including Gaudí (shown, right, Gaudí's Casa Batlló)
• Spain's cultural diversity: The languages, gastronomy, geography and folklore of each of Spain's regional cultures
• Spanish music
• Ferran Adriá and Spanish nouvelle cuisine
• Spanish 20th century art: A look at a range of artistic styles including those of Picasso, Dalí, Miró and Tapies
• The Spanish media: Press, radio, television and the Internet and the language that is characteristic of each
• The Spanish Civil War: the causes, most important episodes and many consequences of the war
• A 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
• Spanish cinema

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). These are offered at three levels: 'Inicial', 'Básico' 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 reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, grammar and vocabulary and oral expression components. All five parts of the exam are taken on the same day. The "Inicial" exam takes a total of 2 hours 50 minutes to complete; "Básico" lasts a total of 3 hours 45 minutes and the "Superior" exam 4 hours.

The school offers courses designed to prepare students for these DELE exams, each lasting 4 weeks. Students have to register for the exams at least six weeks in advance as we want to be able to advise students which level we think they should enter. To do this properly, we need to have the students in the school for at least 2 weeks prior to registration.

The timetable of classes is therefore exactly the same, i.e. 4 hours per day from 09.30 to 13.30, from Monday to Friday. Time will be spent practicing exam techniques, taking past papers, etc.

The exams themselves are currently held at the University of Barcelona. The examination fees (which are set by the University) are shown below, and are subject to change. Exam fees are between 115 and 160 EUR depending on the level of exam.

The school offers courses in Business Spanish which consist of 4 to 6 hour lessons each day (from 09.30 - 13.30 and 14.30 -16.30) for 2 weeks. Students who take the 6-hours per day course can choose to take the business exam at the end of the second week.

Students attend a Business Spanish Course which will provide them with training in General Spanish including work on vocabulary, grammar and all the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) focusing on the Spanish used in a Business context.

At the end of the course, students can take an exam which is organized by the Madrid Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the University of Alcalá. The exams are not obligatory but students should expect a certain amount of classroom time to be spent on activities designed to help students prepare for these exams. These exams are available at two levels, Certificado Básico, and Certificado Superior. The lower of the two levels (Básico) recognizes that students have a basic competence in Business Spanish which should allow them to perform routine tasks in a Business context.

Exam fees (optional): 145 EUR

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 a maximum of 12 students and all levels are available, including complete beginners.

The course also includes a special program of visits to places of interest inside the city, a lunch or dinner in one of the city's typical restaurants, and an excursion outside Barcelona on Saturday.

A typical social program for an Over-50s course may be as follows:

• Sunday 29th of June (2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 weeks)
• Sunday 06th of July (2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks)
• Sunday 13th of July (2, 3, or 4 weeks)
• Sunday 20th of July (2 or 3 weeks)
• Sunday 27th of July (2 weeks)

Two types of accommodation are available:

• Host families - single or shared rooms
  
• Student residence - single or shared rooms

In all cases, the accommodation is with full board. Students with dietary restrictions or any other special needs are requested to make these known in advance. We recommend students bring €80 - €120 per week for pocket money, etc.

The course fee includes:

• Airport transfer service on arrival and departure
• 3 hours of Spanish classes per day in multinational groups
• All teaching materials, tests and certificates
• Accommodation as requested
• Full board (with packed lunches some weekdays and excursions)
• Full social program of sports and other activities including local visits and excursions
• Local bus pass

All these activities, including local transport costs, are included in the course fee.

The Social Program is changed every two weeks so that students staying for longer periods will not have to repeat specific activities. All students are given a copy of the Social Program planned for the following 2-week period when they arrive.

Please note that for these full day excursions outside Barcelona we charge a supplement of €20 to help pay for the cost of the coach and guide.

Barcelona has fabulous beaches within 15 min of the centre

A typical 2-week social program might be:

Accredited

School founded in 1972

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