Spanish courses in Spain; Recommendations?

[debigetsout]

Can anyone highly recommend an intro, fast track Spanish course, anywhere in Spain? I took Spanish lessons years ago, but was waylaid by learning Dutch, and couldn't cope with both simultaneously. Given how much time I have enjoyed walking in Spain, my Spanish language level is embarrassing. I can consider staying somewhere up to a month in order to learn intensively.

I am also considering Oaxaca, Mexico, although the linguistic differences may not work well for travel in Spain.

 

[alexwalker]

I can give www.enforex.com my highest recommendations. I stayed 1 month at their school in Alicante, with half board in a Spanish home, forcing me to practise my Spanish 24/7. Very educational. And fun, with very professional staff.

Thanks to this I am now enabled to speak basic Spanish for most/all practical situations on the Camino.

The total cost (intensive schooling + half board living) was then (I think 7-8 years back from now) for one month c. 1.200€. It was a bargain.

This organization has school classes many places in Spain, as well in many/most other Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico.

If I should choose to extend my knowledge in Spanish, I would definitely choose Enforex again.

Edit: I should also say that many years on the Caminos afterwards has also been helpful in getting understood/speak on my Caminos.

 

[J Willhaus]

My husband and I went to Ira Flavia in Santiago de Compostella. Price was better than some of the more touristy cities on the coast. We stayed in a shared apartment with other students. Had our own room, shared bathroom, kitchen, and living area. It was walking distance to the school. There are other options for housing as well, but that worked for us.

He went to school in Madrid at AIL for a week or so two years ago. It was a good school. Again he had a shared apartment, but his roommates were slobs and no one did dishes or cleaned up after themselves (All young men in their 20's and 30's while Phil is in his 70's). That was more expensive for both school and housing.

We have considered going to school in either Cadiz next year for a couple of weeks before I start the VdlP in the winter or maybe in Salamanca. Have not done much research on this in the past year though.

Currently he is taking Spanish on campus where I work at the University. Since he is over 65 he gets free tuition. We have also had online classes through CR Languages in Boise over the past several years on and off. It is hard to keep up the skill without a good opportunity to practice. I try to scan the news and read some stories in the newspaper every day from Santiago to maintain some skills.

 

[henrythedog]

Instituto Picasso in Málaga are excellent. I’ve been three times.

 

[Liltravlr]

Can anyone highly recommend an intro, fast track Spanish course, anywhere in Spain? I took Spanish lessons years ago, but was waylaid by learning Dutch, and couldn't cope with both simultaneously. Given how much time I have enjoyed walking in Spain, my Spanish language level is embarrassing. I can consider staying somewhere up to a month in order to learn intensively.

I am also considering Oaxaca, Mexico, although the linguistic differences may not work well for travel in Spain.

Hola! I have researched this to death! I have taken Spanish 2 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala (booked my own accommodation), a week in Cartagena, Colombia (homestay then moved to an apartment: nice lady great meals but no hot water & got locked out when I went out late), a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (own accommodation), & last Sept 2 weeks in Spain: 1 week in Málaga (school residence) & 1 week in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria (own accommodation). I am Canadian & recommend Apple Languages as they issued me a tax form for the Spain tuition! Totally legal & legit (has to be a minimum # of hours/week, so 1.5 yrs of French online 2hr/wk was not deductible, unfortunately, but I got my B2 DELF). I have not used Enforex but they are reputable. The other good company is Don Quijote (latter 2 are Spain-based, Apple is UK/US). I had a blast in each place, very good teachers, but I ended up being the only student in the PV class so that was not as fun. School in Las Palmas had no AC & it was 38C, but great central location & Las Palmas is walkable. The Málaga school has an amazing pool, dance studio, gym & on-site residence where I had half board. They accommodated my gluten-free need well but same menu daily, was ok for 1 week. I booked late so didn’t get a room with AC & it was hot, but nice balcony, frig, & I travel with my own food & kettle so can make a lot of things. The location is a short walk uphill from a small beach, but a good 15 min bus ride from center. I am a beach fanatic so am looking to book this year in Barcelona, Alicante (love both of them, great salsa dancing!) or Cádiz (new city for me) to get my B2 DELE. I am very picky about accommodation & require a pool & preferably a balcony to have my morning coffee in the sun! There are so many options, you need to decide what you want - beach, city, weather, walk or bus to school, etc. I did the Francés last June from Sarría (I did a write-up on this forum), & thinking about Coastal Camino this summer. I had looked at the school in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, great town & beach but they currently don’t offer the B2 prep. The Mexico City & Guadelajara schools are reputable but no beach. Having been to every Spanish-speaking country (I just got back from El Salvador, my 115th UN country), I am of the opinion that the Spanish taught in the schools is all “proper” & it makes no difference where you study. What will be different is outside of class -ie in Barcelona there will be a lot of Catalan, SantiagoDC will have Galician, Basque in Bilbao, etc. My accent is a mixture of my high-school & university Spanish, all my travels & study, & 13 years of dating various Latinos, but I am able to make myself understood anywhere. Buen Camino!

 

[Saint Mike II]

I did investigate the process some years ago. The better options were in Pamplona or Salamanca as both schools were teaching main stream Castilian Spanish.

 

[AmyRKent]

In August 2023, my husband and I studied for four weeks in Jaca, at a program run by the Universidad de Zaragoza (link below). The University runs two, two-week courses (Cursos de verano para extranjeros) at their summer campus in Jaca each August and has been doing so for almost 100 years. You can do just one session or both. The summer residence in Jaca has a dorm with private rooms and bath, a lovely garden, and a swimming pool. The classrooms are in the same building, as is the cafeteria which provides 3 meals/day. The beginning class had 4-6 students and the intermediate class 10-14. The cost was quite reasonable: $2090 for four weeks in the dorm with all meals for two people, and just under $1000 for four weeks of classes, 25 hours per week of instruction, and excursions to the local and surrounding area, for two people. The instruction was excellent (all are foreign language teachers from the University of Zaragoza) and the students are from a diverse number of countries. Jaca is a lively and lovely small city with an active outdoor recreation community, good restaurants, and in odd-numbered years, an international folk festival in August. The best part is that upon finishing the course, we just started walking the Camino Aragonese right from Jaca on Aug 26 and finished in SDC on October 3. A fantastic experience.

Cursos de verano en Jaca | Cursos de español como lengua extranjera

cursosdeespanol.unizar.es

 

[Terenia]

Can anyone highly recommend an intro, fast track Spanish course, anywhere in Spain? I took Spanish lessons years ago, but was waylaid by learning Dutch, and couldn't cope with both simultaneously. Given how much time I have enjoyed walking in Spain, my Spanish language level is embarrassing. I can consider staying somewhere up to a month in order to learn intensively.

I am also considering Oaxaca, Mexico, although the linguistic differences may not work well for travel in Spain.

There are many places in Spain offering Spanish but Salamanca is the place to go. Especially Academia Cervantes. Happy learning.

 

[debigetsout]

Wow, everyone, thanks so much for your suggestions. I have a lot to select from! I suspect that I will be trying more than one of them, and heading out on a Camino route immediately after to test my competency....

 

[henrythedog]

13 years of dating various Latinos,

That should do it.

I tentatively proposed the plan to Mrs HtD and it’s fair to say that it sank without trace.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @AmyRKent ,
thanks for a great report! One small question what level of Spanish did you and your partner have at commencement?? Also did they ask you to complete an entry level test?? Thanks again. Cheers

 

[AmyRKent]

Hola @AmyRKent ,
thanks for a great report! One small question what level of Spanish did you and your partner have at commencement?? Also did they ask you to complete an entry level test?? Thanks again. Cheers

Hola! My husband was A1, still a beginner and I was B1, which was challenging. We had a placement test before we began and were placed in those levels at the start. We stayed in those levels for both two-week sessions.

 

[David Tallan]

That should do it.

I tentatively proposed the plan to Mrs HtD and it’s fair to say that it sank without trace.

I think you should be happy that she didn't want to date Latinos.

 

[trecile]

I am also considering Oaxaca, Mexico, although the linguistic differences may not work well for travel in Spain.

Since it sounds like you are willing to travel, I can recommend a Spanish school in Guatemala. Less expensive than schools in Mexico, and the instruction is one on one.

 

[OZAJ]

I have done two intensive courses at Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas in Granada, each lasting 4 weeks. The first was in preparation for my first Camino starting from Malaga. I had no Spanish before this and learned enough to survive on the Mozarabe/VdlP/Sanabres. I call this survival level. The following year I did another 4 weeks which took me almost to intermediate level.

Accommodation was provided by the school. The costs were affordable at that time. The only negative was that people in Andalucia do not speak pure Castilian, which is what I was taught. So I would confidently go to a bar and understand little of what the locals were saying, though they understood me. Nevertheless it was enjoyable and very useful and I really like Granada apart from the proliferation of motos. Oh, and the abundance of caca de perros which was formidable, but now much improved.

 

[JoshuaJames26]

Hi there OP.

Did you find a Spanish school in the end?

I can recommend Speakeasy BCN. I think it's the top-rated school in Barcelona...at least, the school is in the centre of the city (Gothic Quarter). I didn't do the intensive course but I know it's really popular.

One of the things I liked about it was they do 'Spanish immersion'. So all of the classes are in Spanish, even asking questions. So you learn super fast...I think in a month you should be able to move up a few of the language levels for sure.

Barcelona is also an awesome city maybe Mexico also an adventure, but it's a real buzz to live in the centre of Barcelona for a month!