Is the Summer Program for Me?

Students who enroll in the summer program tend to be engaged with regular studies in their home country and taking advantage of their summer break to learn Spanish in Spain. There are also a large number of people from a variety of backgrounds who decide to combine their Spanish vacation with a quality learning experience.

The summer courses are similar in structure to the intensive and semester-long courses. Students can choose between 15, 20 or 25 classroom hours per week. Setting this program apart from the others is the larger variety of optional Spanish subjects available to choose from, as well as the possibility to sign up for additional conversational lessons.

Four distinct language levels are available for this course, ranging from complete beginner to advanced speaker. Students take a proficiency test on their fist day of class to determine their appropriate learning level.

The daily class structure is as follows:

• Hours 1-2: Spanish language and grammar.
  The goal of this course is to improve the students´ fluency in the target language, while also focusing on grammar and vocabulary. The teaching methodology used follows a communicative and functional approach to the language, which is accomplished through implementing a variety of activities that center around real world communicative contexts.

• Hour 3: Students Take Optional Subjects:
  TRANSLATION INTO SPANISH FROM ENGLISH
  By analyzing the main structures and mechanisms of the student's native language compared to those of Spanish, students will further develop translation techniques as they also practice using real texts of many different styles.
  ANALYSIS OF LITERARY TEXTS
  In this course, students will take an in-depth look at texts from different genres written by Spanish and Latin American authors. There is also a focus on other texts written with stylistic intentions.
  BUSINESS SPANISH
  This course is designed for students who plan on using their Spanish skills in a business setting. Students will learn vocabulary that is more specific to the business world as well as develop their language skills within this context.
  CONTEMPORARY SPANISH HISTORY
  Students will achieve a deeper understanding of Spanish culture by exploring the most important events and people of the 20th century and their role in shaping modern Spain.
  SPANISH CULTURE
  This course aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of Spanish culture through examining aspects such as geography, politics, and history. There is additional discussion regarding the customs, behavior and values that form a part of Spanish character.
  CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION
  Through this course, students will develop their speaking and writing skills by creating a variety of oral and written products.

• Hour 4: Students take optional subjects:
  ORAL SKILLS PRACTICE
  In this course students will participate in guided activities that simulate real contexts in order to further develop their speaking and listening skills.
  CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION
  Through this course, students will develop their speaking and writing skills by creating a variety of oral and written products.
  ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN PRESENT-DAY SPAIN
  The goal of this course is for students to have exposure to basic concepts that will enable them to understand and discuss the current issues in Spanish society and economics.
  SPANISH ART
  In this course, students will be exposed to the main periods and trends of Spanish art. Students will analyze a variety of methods (paintings, architecture, sculptures) of the most significant works created in Spain.
  CONTEMPORARY SPANISH LITERATURE
  This course focuses on the main literary trends and the development of literary genres by the most important Spanish and Latin American writers in the 20th century. Students will be presented with a chronological order as they explore the works of these great writers.
  

• Hour 5: Students take optional subjects:
  SPANISH CULTURE
  This course aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of Spanish culture through examining aspects such as geography, politics, and history. There is additional discussion regarding the customs, behavior and values that form a part of Spanish character.
  WRITTEN SKILLS PRACTICE
  This class focuses on students improving their written communicative skills. This goal will be accomplished through reading comprehension activities and students producing a variety of written texts.