Spanish Courses Blog

Escuela Delengua organises Spanish courses the year round for individual students from all over the world who come to learn Spanish in the centre of the beautiful city of Granada, Spain. Throughout much of the year we also receive school and university groups for whom we create and organise Spanish courses for groups which are adapted to each group’s specific needs and preferences, from 5, 6 or 7 days up to several weeks.

In January we started the year with a group of students from the Estatal Lingüistica de Piatigorsk University in Russia, who took part in a 3 week Spanish course, integrating with other international students while undertaking intensive Spanish courses. In January we also received a group of 18 year old students from Nesbru Vidregaaende Skole, Norway, who stayed with Spanish families in the centre of Granada for a week.

Students from the Estatal Lingüistica de Piatigorsk University in Russia enjoy a visit to the Alhambra

In February a group of 14 – 16 year old students from the City of London School came to stay with us for their third year. They undertook a 1 week Spanish course for groups, staying with Spanish families in the centre of Granada while they studied Spanish in the mornings and had guided cultural visits with one of our teachers in the afternoons. Soon after, a group of students from Colchester Sixth Form Centre visited the school. They also stayed with Spanish families and took part in a Spanish course and activities, including a visit to a Spanish secondary school so that they could get to know students of their own age.

City of London School for Boys enjoy typical Spanish food in Granada

In March we welcomed a school group from Rijlands Lyceum in Oegstgeest, Holland consisting of 9 students who took part in a Spanish course in Escuela Delengua and 25 students who didn’t speak Spanish and instead took part in a program of historical and cultural guided visits in English around Granada.

Learning Spanish during a guided visit of the Alhambra and Generalife with a school group from Viborg Katedralskole

In April we had a group of school students from Viborg Katedralskole in Denmark who took part in activities we organised and stayed either with Spanish families or in hotels in the centre of Granada.

Colchester 6th Form College learn Flamenco…

To all the students who have come to visit with school or university groups, and to their teachers; we would like to say thank you for the wonderful time we all had during your Spanish courses. ¡Muchas gracias y hasta siempre!

Make the most of your school trip to Spain to improve your Spanish while enjoying the charm of a city like Granada.

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When it comes to reading in Spanish, for students at Escuela Delengua in Granada it can sometimes seem like a bit of a daunting task.

As the 23^rd April is International Book Day across much of the world, we decided to think about how the students at Escuela Delengua can get the most out of reading in Spanish, whether it be a novel, newspapers or even poetry.

Firstly it’s important to choose a book at the right level. Too easy and you might find you get bored, too difficult and you’ll quickly lose heart. A good way to do this is to ask your teacher at Escuela Delengua. They will have a good idea of your level and will be able to advise you on a good book to take out of the Escuela Delengua library.

Students reading on the terrace at Escuela Delengua

Don’t look up every word. While it might be tempting to pull out your dictionary every paragraph or so, it slows you down and takes all the enjoyment out of the story. While reading intensively may be helpful to understand grammar structures you’re having problems with, doing it all the time may end up being counterproductive as many people soon lose interest in what they’re reading. Try instead to think about the context of the unknown word and infer its meaning.

Read newspaper articles. Articles you find in newspapers are much shorter than books so tackling one doesn’t seem quite so difficult a task. They also contain useful vocabulary, are written in a more simple style than novels and allow you to follow current events in Spain, Latin America and around the world, giving you an insight into the culture

Read something you’ve already read in your native language. This allows you to infer much of the vocabulary without using a dictionary as you already know the storyline making it easier to progress and enjoy the book. For example lots of people start with something like Harry Potter in the language they are studying.

Get rid of distractions. Having the TV on in the background or your housemates chatting on the sofa next to you can make reading in a foreign language almost impossible, especially to start out with. Try to find a quiet place where you’re unlikely to be interrupted while reading, allowing you to concentrate.

The Feria del Libro takes place from the 19th to 28th April

Do you have any other tips for Spanish language students on how to improve their reading skills in Spanish? Let us know in the comments section!

How will you celebrate International Book Day? Here at Escuela Delengua we will be celebrating all week with different activities, which you can see on our website here and include going to the XXXII Book Fair in Granada.

You can also find more information on our Facebook and Twitter pages
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