•The school boasts teachers with many years of experience in the area of teaching and offers a range of different course to compliment any learning style. These include:
• General Spanish (20 group classes + 4 cultural activities)
• Intensive Spanish (20 group classes + 5 one to one classes + 4 cultural activities)
• DELE exam preparation (special 4 week programme preparing for DELE Exam in Oct/Nov and May)
• Special Language Holiday Packages (combining with key festivals like Flamenco Feria, or summer holidays)
• Demi Pair Programme (working with children whilst learning Spanish)
Each Spanish Course includes 4 hours of Spanish class a day, which includes a 15 minute break, plus 4 cultural activities a week plus the other features mentioned above.
There is a Cultural Events program, which is included in every course, where students can take part in 4 different cultural activities. These activities: help the students socialize with each other, learn about a part of Spanish culture, meet Spanish locals and all whilst they learn about the local area and practice the Spanish learned in class. Each week starts with the welcome drink where new and old students get to meet each other and all get to socialize with the Director of Studies and General Manager who always run the event. Tuesday is “Descubrir España” (Discover Spain) where students visit cool sites in the local town, or nearby towns, or get involved in a local cultural activity like dancing or local crafts. Wednesday is normally cooking class where students get to learn how to make Spanish cuisine in a fun competitive atmosphere where the Spanish teacher judges which group were the master chefs. Finally every Thursday we do our special “Español en Acción” event where students socially can only speak 100% Spanish for the entire event. The activity is always doing something cultural and students are prepared with language they would use and everyone who successfully manages to complete the event is awarded a certificate recognizing their achievement.
Each student also receives a learner booklet which gives them fun challenges to do outside of the classroom and acts as a great motivation factor to help them make the most of their learning experience. Also we have a welcome presentation each Monday morning and a farewell ceremony every Friday. Free Wi-Fi is provided in our residence and free pickups are provided from the local airport or train station on Sunday between 16.30-23.30.
The school offers a number of different options for accommodation, with the main one being the onsite cultural residence, where students get to live with their Spanish teachers (there is always minimum one stays full time in the residence) allowing for round the clock language improvement and students get to know the town from a local perspective and experience the true Spanish lifestyle and culture. The majority of the rooms are ensuite and available in a number of different price options. Other options include living with a host family or in a shared flat.
At Spark we have a syllabus with 6 levels coinciding with the Common European Framework, although due to being a small personal school we will not have all levels running at one time which is why students must check their level and weeks to ensure they join the courses in the right weeks. We have an online level test to ensure this.
Our average number of students per class is 3-5 students. Our maximum number of students per class is 9 but due to possible changes in level after the course has started it is possible on occasions this number may go up to 10 or 11, although this is extremely rare.
All students must fill out our online level test in order to allow us to check and confirm availability for their level in a particular week.
As part of our “no hidden costs” policy no additional payment, beyond the 25€ registration fee, exists for the purchasing of textbooks. All students will be given a textbook, even for a 1 week courses, and any long term students who go up a level will also be provided with a new textbook free of charge (please note most other Spanish centres will charge student separately for textbooks). We also operate a purchase back system for any in-date textbook (4€ per book) used on a course which is still in perfect condition and not written in that the students do not wish to take with them.
All students will be provided with a course book that is in near perfect condition, although at times this might be a book that had been used by a previous student, but will never have been written in.
