LEARN SPANISH IN VENEZUELA - SPANISH COURSE CARIBBEAN

The school is located in a one story tropical house in a very quiet residential area, Playa El Angel, by Pampatar, away from tourism, but close enough to easily access all tourist facilities and only 30 minutes walking distance from the beach. The school has a front and back garden. The teachers are highly qualified, speak more than one language and participate constantly in teacher seminars at school and abroad. Shopping malls and Isla Margarita's major city Porlamar are only a few kilometers away.

Playa El Angel is close to some important shopping malls and Pampatar, one of the most typical and beautiful towns, where the San Carlos castle is located, a Spanish fort from the time of the conquest, The Casa de la Aduana (House of Customs) and many typical restaurants. The host families are located nearby, so our students can walk every day to school. In the program we include 3 excursions per week to the most beautiful locations of the island, in order to let our students take with them a good impression of this nice island.

The school has a large library with various types of didactic material, considering the different mother tongues, Spanish skills and learner types.

In addition to the regular Spanish courses for 5 levels, 4 Spanish language courses for special purposes with internship are offered:

• law
• medicine
• business
• tourism

Seminars for teachers: the school organizes updating courses in Hispanic civilization for Spanish teachers. We also prepare our interested students for the DELE (Official Spanish Diploma from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Sports and from the Universidad de Salamanca).

Our partner school is an examination centre of the DIE (Diploma Internacional de Español). This diploma is offered in 10 levels and 3 spezialisations, and you can take the oral exam at school, before finishing your courses.

If you are studying in a North American University, please ask for our course description (Syllabus) if you want to obtain credits.

• Five levels
• 25 lessons per week of classroom instruction (45 Minutes)
• Classes from Monday to Friday, from 9.00AM to 1.20PM including 2 breaks
• Small groups, max. 6 students
• Experienced and highly qualified teachers
• Teaching material
• Final test and certificate
• Accommodation in homes is available with two meals per day
• Excursions and activities to practice your Spanish while enjoying the country and learning about the culture

All our courses include 3 excursions per week in the afternoons. The accommodation includes breakfast and dinner, private room with bathroom.

We also offer designed courses for special purposes and specific professions that require a vocabulary that is not commonly focused on in general Spanish courses. We combine classroom instruction with language practice in an actual working environment, for example, a doctor will be able to spend time in a hospital where he will have the opportunity to speak Spanish under the same conditions as he would at home.

• Specially designed for professionals and students with an interest in the field.
• Intermediate Level required
• Participants will improve communication with Spanish speaking colleagues and clients or customers and learn about the Venezuelan legal or economic system.
• You can choose from 1-4 weeks of classes, 25 lessons per week.
• Small groups, max. 6 participants or one to one lessons.
• After the completion of the classroom instruction the school will organize a suitable placement to practice your Spanish skills in an actual working environment, which will provide an excellent source of future contacts.
• During the course we organize excursions and activities three days a week.
• Teaching material.
• Accommodation in homes with breakfast and dinner, apartments or hotels are available.

Program content:

• General aspects of the teaching of Spanish as a Foreign language (ELE).
• Main teaching models and the foreign language learning.
• Cooperative learning techniques.
• Assessment and preparation of materials.
• Course planning.
• Development of communicative activities in the classroom.
• Distant teaching and learning of ELE.
• Learning process and assessment techniques.
• The Spanish International Diploma (DIE) levels and characteristics of the exam.

Course target:

Spanish Teachers, Language and Philology students of the last semesters with interest in teaching Spanish as a foreign language.

You can choose between 10 and 30 lessons per week. The price for the one-to-one lessons also includes the excursions. The one to one lessons are only possible in the afternoons. Schedules vary according to the students and teachers arrangements. For private students the excursions will take place in the mornings. The teaching material will be provided by the school.

The one-to-one lessons are available for all Spanish levels and our courses for special purposes like health, law, business, tourism and preparation for the DELE.

• 1 lesson = 45 minutes
• In our one-to-one classes you will learn in a very intensive and concentrated manner according to your own learning rhythm.
• The most effective way to learn Spanish in a short time.
• You can choose from 10 to 30 lessons per week.
• Experienced and highly qualified teachers
• Teaching material
• Final test and certificate
• Accommodation in homes is available with two meals per day
• Excursions and activities to practice your Spanish while enjoying the country and learning about the culture.

• 25 group lessons per week
• 10 individual lessons mostly in the afternoons
• 1 lesson = 45 minutes

This course, as all the other courses, includes excursions in the afternoons.

General information about the DELE:
DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) is an official exam for Spanish as a foreign language of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, the Universidad de Salamanca and the Instituto Cervantes.

The exam can be taken twice a year in 59 countries worldwide and in 215 cities in Spain, normally in two sessions, in May and November. It is not offered in Venezuela.

The exam is offered in 3 levels:

• Diploma Inicial
• Diploma Básico
• Diploma Superior

Requirements:

For taking the DELE you need to fulfil the following requirements:

• Citizenship of a country where Spanish is not an official language.
• For taking the superior diploma you need to be over 16 years old.
• You have to obtain inscription and payment in the corresponding centre of your country.
• After the inscription and payment are done, you'll receive a notification with the date and hour of your exam.

For further information about the exam you can contact the following addresses:
Instituto Cervantes: http://diplomas.cervantes.es

The starting dates are only mandatory for participants with no knowledge of the Spanish Language. If you already have Spanish knowledge you can start on any Monday. There are some national and international holidays where the school is closed, no classes will be offered and there will be no refund for those days. Nevertheless the school organizes full day excursions to the beach for the students. Those are: January 1^st, Carneval Monday, Easter Friday, May 1^st, July 5^th, September 6^th, December 25^th

Courses for teachers : July 7th , July 21st 2008

Starting Dates for 100% beginners:
2008: January 7,21; February 4,18; March 3,17,31; April 14,28; May 12,26; June 9,23; July 7,21; August 4,18; September 1,15,29
October 13,27; November 10,24; December 8,22

School Activities:
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays we leave for our excursions around 1.30 pm, depending on the distance of the sight we are going to visit. The excursions are included in the course rate, only the tickets for the museums and National Parks, and the boat in La Restinga has to be paid by each student, but these are very little amounts. On Fridays we have Salsa and Merengue dance classes from 2.30 pm.

• Pampatar, with its Fortress Santiago de La Caranta (1586)
• La Asunción: Capital of Margarita, with the oldest church in South America, and the Castillo de Santa Rosa
• El Valle del Espiritu Santo
• Juan Griego: Fortress of La Galera (1811)
• La Restinga Lagoon National Park
• and the many different beaches Margarita has to offer

Windsurfing and Sailing: Playa El Yaque is well known internationally for its steady winds and tranquil waters.

Diving: Ideal ocean depths are to be found in Los Frailes, Coche and Cubagua for the practice of this sport. Security is taken care of by PADI qualified companies.

Surfing: Local and national enthusiasts of this sport meet here all year round in Playa Parguito, next to Playa El Agua, where strong waves of medium size roll in.

Golf: A growing sport that is rapidly gaining ground. Presently at the fabulous golf course at the Hotel Isla Bonita and shortly at the Margarita Golf and Country Club

Fitness: Fitness centers, spas and excellent tracks for walking, jogging and cycling. There is a finess center within walking distance to the school.

You still have questions? Just send us an email

More about Venezuela, Culture, Food

The airport in Margarita is called Santiago Mariño and is located outside Porlamar. There are various charter flights that fly straight to the Island from Europe, Canada and the US. Please contact a travel agency in your home country for such flights.

All other flights arrive in Maiquetía, the International Airport of Caracas. The airport is not really in Caracas, it is in another town called Maiquetía and it is 30 minutes by car form the capital. The national airport is right beside it (5 minutes walking distance) and from there over 20 flights a day leave for Porlamar. The flight time to the Island is 30 minutes and the cost is about 50 US$ one way. In low season it is possible to buy a ticket from Caracas to Margarita at a counter of one of the airlines, in high season we recommend to book the flight from your home country.

From Porlamar Airport you can take advantage of our pick up service.