THE SPANISH LANGUAGE
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world due to the number of speakers who claim it as their native tongue (after Mandarin Chinese). It is spoken as a first and second language amongst 450 and 500 million people. It is the third most spoken language as a first or second language after Mandarin Chinese and English combined, and is the mother tongue to 400 million people worldwide... Read more
INFORMATIONS
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SPANISH SCHOOL IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA SCHOOL DESCRIPTION
Our Spanish School located in the dynamic city of Buenos Aires, Argentina offers the chance for you learn and improve your Spanish in an incomparable setting, and we have a range of Spanish courses and options to suit everybody!. By studying at our Spanish school you will be able to combine our enjoyable Spanish lessons with free cultural workshops such as tango classes, Argentine cooking courses and South American movie screenings, details which set us apart from other destinations. We also offer a wide range of accommodation and the option to do some volunteer work at one of our many local projects.
You can find us on the border of stylish Palermo and suburban Belgrano, a secure and stunning neighborhood, in a charming building with large classrooms, all containing contemporary classroom equipment. We also have a large recreation room for our Spanish students, as well as a delightful green garden and sunny terrace with a nice view.
Walk outside the school and you will find yourself surrounded by quaint shops, cafeterias, cinemas, restaurants and pubs. There are endless options of what one can do during its leisure time. Ten blocks away is the famous Plaza “Barrancas de Belgrano” , the cultural and beautiful neighbourhood Palermo is a 10 minute walk, and at only twenty minutes away is the happening downtown area for those students who wish to partake in the fast space life of this attractive city.
SPANISH PROGRAM
Our school offers customized tutoring at the level and pace especially suited to your personal goals. Our principle is based on interactive, communicative and personal teaching methods that will help you to start speaking Spanish quickly. All standard Spanish courses include four hours of private or group instruction per day. Additional hours can be arranged for.
Successfully implementing the interactive method depends entirely on the personal attention the Spanish teachers are able to give students. Therefore, our groups are small and all courses are (super) intensive. The make-up of the group is determined according to the students’ abilities; the first day of the course begins with an oral and written placement test.
LEVELS AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
There are four levels, fixing the goals for each based on our experience and in accordance with the curriculum of the Instituto Cervantes and the Council of Europe. (*Common European Framework of References). The levels are Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Superior. The standard program includes four hours of instructions per day conducted by two different teachers, allowing the student to hear a range of Spanish accents. Each level takes between five and eight weeks to complete in full.
We work with our own Latin America-oriented text books, which form the basis of the course, in combination with other materials (e.g. newspapers, songs, literature, videos, grammar exercises etc.) making use of overhead projectors, videos, and other audio-visual materials.
All our courses include:
- Study of grammar (theory and practice).
- Exercises to extend vocabulary and pronunciation.
- Development of listening, writing and reading comprehension.
- Techniques of oral communication, guided conversations and role plays.
- Information on Argentinean Culture and Society.
TEACHERS
All our teachers are native speakers and professionals who are committed to giving students the richest possible experience of Latin-American culture and customs. They have been chosen because of their high quality teaching skills, their enthusiasm and their knowledge of history and culture. Coming from different countries in Latin-America they all took our special teachers' training and participate in continuing education during their employment.
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
Our Volunteer Work Program provides the unique opportunity to live and work in Argentina. Students will experience first-hand its rich cultural diversity while cultivating a superior level of Spanish proficiency. Through the Volunteer Program, the school and the volunteers are able to make contributions to Argentinean society and to help bridge the gap between foreign visitors and native “porteños”.
Participants may choose both the field and preferred location, of their volunteer placement. Possible fields of interest include social work, education, tourism, cultural work and catering. A complete list of the approximately 25 projects can be sent upon request.
ACCOMMODATION
Suitable accommodation is a very important component for an effective Spanish Program. For this reason, our school dedicates a great deal of time checking and evaluating our accommodation options and therefore giving you the best possibilities available.
What the best option is, depends a lot on your personality! Because we know that each student is different, there are various options for accommodation in Buenos Aires. You can also combine different options if you would like to try a bit of everything.
HOST FAMILY
The host family option has been developed particularly for those who wish to make a cultural journey with the aim of not only learning the language, but also learning about Argentina through immersion into an Argentine family. Guest families are carefully chosen and monitored through regular inspections and student feedback. The families in the host family program are middle class families. Most of them live about 30 minutes from the school by public transport such as the local bus or the metro.
The student will always have their own private room and will share the living room, kitchen, bathroom and if available, courtyard or garden with the family and any other students. We prefer to place only one student in each family to enable each student the chance to experience the unlimited opportunities of practicing Spanish. Host families provide two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. Special diets may be catered for, such as vegetarian or diabetic, if we are advised in advance.
STUDENT FLATS
For those who are planning for a longer stay in Buenos Aires and who enjoy living more independently, our school offers the interesting possibility to stay in an off campus flat. This comfortable environment is a perfect setting to make other friends and to be more than just a visitor in this happening city. All flats are located in residential neighborhoods such as Palermo, Belgrano, Recoleta, etc., at a maximum 30 minutes distance from the school. These apartments offer the students maximum security and the comfort of a fully equipped kitchen, along with furnished living room and bedrooms.
ACTIVITIES
Our Spanish Programs include a dynamic, interesting and fun leisure agenda that is complementary to the process of learning the Spanish language. All activities are geared towards socializing in a learning environment and increasing the student's knowledge of the Argentinean Culture.
Some of the free activities we offer are:
- An orientation meeting with a small walk in Belgrano
- A welcome drink with the famous Argentina drink “ el mate”, on the first Monday evening so that the students can spend time getting to know each other.
- Tango classes.
- Cooking classes: learn how to prepare empanadas, or other typical argentine meals.
- Music classes: argentine is more than tango!.
- Lectures on Argentinean history and culture.
- Latin American Cinema.
- Participation in our exchange program with Argentinean students.
ARGENTINA
Argentina is home to Latin America's highest standard of living. The excellent health and safety levels, combined with the diverse opportunities for excursions and the famous warmth of the Latin culture, make the 'Southern Cone' an ideal place for a Spanish immersion course.
BUENOS AIRES
Buenos Aires offers a fantastic location for learning Spanish; with a late-night culture and innumerable great restaurants and bars set in neighborhoods brimming with character, there is enough entertainment for many weeks or even months of investigation. Known as the ´Paris of Latin America,´ Buenos Aires is a winning combination of European elegance and Latin beauty.
The city is also the perfect starting point from which to travel and see more of Argentina. Internal flights leave daily to incredible, beautiful destinations such as Iguazu Falls, to Barilcoche and Patagonia in the south and the northern Andes. The lovely Punta Del Este beach resort in Uruguay is only a short ferry ride away.
EXCURSIONS
Our school organizes weekly trips for the students for the weekends. The following list is just a small selection of the many tours we offer:
- Tigre and the Parana Delta
Explore Tigre by heading up on the coastal train to the weekend getaway destination of the Porteños. From here, sail around the hundred of islands that constitute the Parana River Delta, an ecologically diverse and valuable reserve, at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata.
- Tango Show
Buenos Aires is exemplified by its homegrown tango: sumptuous, passionate and cultured. Over dinner and drinks, listen to a live band playing classis tangos, and the singers crooning the melancholic songs of the King of tango, Carlos Grandel, and of course, be awed by watching the intricately choreographed tango performances.
- City Tour
Take the pulse of Buenos Aires with our city tour. Form the historic area around Plaza de Mayo, continue the visit to the famous Obelisk and one of the most important opera houses in the world, the “Teatro Colon”. Then, spanning outward explore the flavorful barrios of Buenos Aires: the colonial San Telmo, the colorful la Boca, the up-to-come Puerto Madero and the fashionable Recoleta and Palermo.
- Estancia Tours
Head out to a working estancia, or ranch, for the day, and witness firsthand the “gaucho” culture. Take a ride out on the vast pampas and enjoy a traditional country “asado” or barbeque over an open fire pit.
- Mataderos
A great alternative on a Sunday afternoon from the markets in the city. Here you can finds high quality hand-made jewelry, wool and wool crafts, horsing gear, traditional clothes and home/made products. The cozy square is filled with leafy trees where local musicians perform traditional folk songs, show traditional clothes and speed down the street on their horses. It has to be said that the Feria de Mataderos is a once in a lifetime experience.
Besides these excursions, we also offer more alternative activities such as:
- Go and drink “mate with medialunes” with a group of students at the “Jardin Botanico”.
- Attend one of the many cultural (free!) festivals the local government organizes.
- Visit one of the many interesting museums, and others.
- Take tango classes.
- Watch a football match, a polo game or a horse race!.
- Take the Evita Peron tour, or a city tour by bike!.
- Go kayaking in Tigre.
- Go to a folkloric music night in a typical “peña”!.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Classes take place from Monday through Friday except on official holidays. A class is 110 minutes in duration and consists of two sessions. Classes are programmed from 9.00 – 1:00 and from 2:00 – 6.00 pm. All courses start on Monday, though students may begin their classes on a Tuesday as well. There are fixed dates for complete beginners only.
All students have to take a Placement test on their first day at school. This test consists of multiple choice questions and a short oral test, which ensures that everybody will be studying at the right level. It is always possible to discuss the results of the Placement Test with our Head of Studies.
Our school offers the opportunity to participate in an exchange program or “intercambio” with an Argentine student with whom you can practice your Spanish and in turn, teach them your own language. This is an excellent way to meet locals and understand their way of living and thinking, and at the same time, to meet lifelong friends in Buenos Aires.
WE RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL BECAUSE:
- Buenos Aires, the capital and culture heart of Argentina, offers you the exceptional opportunity to study Spanish while experiencing the culture of Argentina. This is a top location, no one will ever be bored in Buenos Aires!.
- Our lovely school with spacious, modernly equipped classrooms, a green garden and sunny balconies, is ideally located in a beautiful and safe residential area and will be more like a home for our students.
- Our principle is based on interactive, communicative and personal teaching methods that will help you to start speaking Spanish quickly.
- Our Spanish Programs include dynamic, interesting and fun leisure activities, geared towards socializing in a learning environment and increasing the student's knowledge of the Argentinean Culture.
- Our school also has an extensive and interesting Volunteer Program, which offers our students the possibility to contribute to Argentinean society and to help bridge the gap between foreign visitors and native “porteños”.
If you want more information about this school or if you want to register, please click here
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