Colonial spanish school

Our school was founded in 1991 by an European and an Ecuadorian, with the aim of bringing together the best of European and Latin American culture: European gravity and structure with South American “joy of life”. This doesn't mean that we only take European students – in fact, many of our students come from Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, for example.

We'd like to point out that our name doesn't mean that we celebrate colonialism, but rather that we celebrate the heritage of Quito, the beautiful colonial architecture of the old city

Courses

Intensive Spanish Course: This course is for those of you who have a limited amount of time to study Spanish. This course won't leave you fluent in Spanish, but will equip you with the language and confidence you need for your travels in Latin America, as well as a general understanding of Ecuadorian culture.

Extra Intensive Course: This course is for those of you who have a limited amount of time to study Spanish. This course is not designed to leave you fluent in Spanish, but rather to equip you with the language and confidence you need to travel in Latin America, as well as a general understanding of Ecuadorian culture.

Survival Spanish Course: This course is aimed at those of you who want to learn Spanish more than a basic level... In this class you will increase your proficiency in speaking and understanding Spanish. Verb tenses beyond the present will be introduced. You will emphasize oral expressions through dialogue and activities. The course consists of three levels (beginners through to pre-intermediate) which are covered over four weeks (four hours study per day, usually 9am to 1pm). These four hours include an (optional) break to relax, recharge your batteries, have a coffee, chat with other students and/or enjoy the sun.

Spanish for Travelers Course: The Spanish for travelers course is the most popular course amongst foreigners who wish to come our school to learn Spanish.. this course have the principal goal to do an integrated four-skills approach, prepares intermediate students to use Spanish in real-life situations by emphasizing oral communication and by developing the other basic language skills. By the end of this course you will have covered 40% of the main areas of the Spanish language.

Regular Spanish Course: This course is aimed at those of you who want to learn Spanish as a second language. This course has been designed to consolidate the language skills and to build communicative skills, it emphasizes the natural use of practical, high-frequency language for communication. There are six levels in the course: beginner through to advanced. The whole course lasts eight weeks (four hours study a day). These four hours include an (optional) break to relax, recharge your batteries, have a coffee, chat with other students and/or enjoy the sun. We recommend four hours a day, but if you want to study more than this, no problem. In addition to studying, you can also take part in the (optional) school activities.

Semester Spanish Course: This course is aimed at those of you who want to learn Spanish as a second language and then do voluntary work as well as three months voluntary work in an NGO. This course has been designed to consolidate the language skills and to build communicative skills, it emphasizes the natural use of practical, high-frequency language for communication. There are six levels in the course: beginner through to advanced.

Proficiency Spanish Course: We've designed this course for those of you who have an advanced level of Spanish and want to perfect this. The main aim of the course is to address your mistakes and grammatical weaknesses and generally improve your use of the language. As well as correcting your errors you will also increase your grasp and use of Spanish. At the end of this course you will have a superior level of Spanish, and you wlil have no problems dealing with everyday life.

Program

The Help programme: Twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) we have a teacher on hand in the school, to help with homework, explain grammar, or to simply chat with students! (If you can’t come into the school you can also speak to the teacher over the phone). We find that this helps students to reinforce their studies, as they have the opportunity to ask specific questions arising from classes or to get extra help with the things they find difficult. There is no extra cost for this programme.

Cookery classes: Once a week, one of our teachers prepares a typical Ecuadorian dish with the students. This is a practical way to learn how to make some of the dishes that you may have enjoyed eating here. You will see the kinds of ingredients we use here, and some of the traditional cooking methods. It’s a sociable event which gives you the opportunity to chat with other teachers and students in the school, and above all, to practice using the Spanish that you have learnt in your classes. If students are interested in taking a professional cookery course, we can put them in touch with professional chefs.

Salsa classes: Salsa, Latin America most famous dance, can be daunting if you don’t know the basic steps. So once a week we organize salsa and merengue classes where you can learn the basics and and gain more confidence to go out to the lively bars and clubs in Quito! We also have an arrangement with a dance school if students want to take a professional dance course (of about 10 hours).

Language practice activities: Once a week we run some kind of practice activities. These are fun activities! Typically we run some kind of interactive game which is first fun and sociable, and secondly gives students plenty of opportunity to put into practice what they’ve been studying in class.

Home stays: Many of our students choose to stay with an Ecuadorian family (we arrange this). This not only gives you a home away from home, but also plenty of opportunity to practice speaking Spanish. The families look after you, give you the chance to take part in everyday life, such as going shopping or family get-togethers and parties.