Intensive 8

It was a great experience and I had a perfect brush up on my Spanish especially the grammar. My teacher was open minded and professional - she listened carefully to my stories and corrected me without ruining my self confidence (-:

The settings around the school are beautiful and there are cafes nearby for your break.
All in all a fantastic course for me.

I found good conditions et nice people there. Lovely quiet place to study!

• Overall I had a positive experience.
• The classes had a friendly cast of fellow students and were well proportioned at 9-10 students
• The teachers were personable, friendly and enthusiastic (will detail exception below)
• The building location and support staff were great.
• I did not make use of extracurricular activities.

• Areas of improvement:
1) proper tables/chairs - the chairs extended notebook support don't offer enough space.

2) beginners classes use of English - teachers at entry/beginners level should deploy a
little more English at times to give context or improve speed. the Spanish only approach
is just not that effective when students don't have a minimum knowledge-base yet

3) Teacher Pilar - her teaching style would benefit from more patience, good will and less self-righteousness.
Depending on her day-form she interrupts students a lot with imminent corrections often with a persistence that lacks
empathy and respect. Myself and others have frequently found this demotivating.
Her instance on traditional conservative teacher-student role-order is out of place in a private school where
adult student are paying clients not under-aged minors. .

I enjoyed my experience in Barcelona in general and had an unforgettable summer speaking Spanish. In ten weeks I learned to speak Spanish quite spontaneously, which was my goal. The classes were helpful and I found studying grammar very useful. I only had ten lessons a week, but they were clearly very important. The teachers and everyone at school were welcoming and generous as well as the family I was living with during my stay. I was happy with the location of my house, because I enjoyed walking around in Barcelona. I was pleased with the school too, because it was comfortable and lovely as well as small enough to get to know people easily. I had fun participating in the activities that were different from each other and a great way to explore the city and meet new people. I also liked the fact that there were activities a few times a week, not too much nor too little.

I think I was the oldest in these two weeks, but that didn't bother me. In contrary I enjoyed it very much meeting other people from all over the world also trying to learn Spanish. Most of them were better than me and I had to be very alert to follow the lessons. Maybe my class level was too high. One of the teachers was too fast speaking (my problem) . Anyway the teachers were fantastic, very engaged, well prepared and friendly. I really felt these two weeks were a very good experience. I'm seriously considering doing this again, if my wife will allow it. The school itself is perfect with rather small classrooms. In that way you are close to your teacher and communication among all participants is easy. I enjoyed my stay very much. Thank you.