Our Methodology
We focus on each individual student so that everyone gets a meaningful and effective Spanish language experience.
Teachers guide and provide constant feedback to help students take charge of their own learning based on their needs and objectives.
We provide students with the tools they need so that the whole learning process will be dynamic, participatory, and interactive.
A fully immersive program maximizes natural skills development and confidence using Spanish in real life situations.
We adjust our teaching methodology as your language abilities advance.
Communicative approach
Classes focus on meaningful communication rather than only studying grammar rules in a rigid class environment. In this approach, students are given cooperative tasks to master a correct and controlled use of language.
Classes employ peer communication in group activities to encourage students to focus on their own goals and needs, while the teacher maintains the important role of facilitator and monitor.
Lexical/communicative approach
An important part of learning a language consists of being able to understand and produce lexical phrases. Students are trained to be able to perceive patterns of language (grammar) as well as to have meaningful set phrases (idioms) at their disposal. Such set phrases make up a larger portion of spoken dialogue than unique words and phrases, so instruction focuses on mastering oral skills and vocabulary over grammar.
Task-based approach
Students are given tasks (such as playing a game, solving a problem, sharing information, talking about their experiences, or providing their personal point of view) that they must complete using their Spanish skills.
Activities reflect real life, and students focus
on meaning, which helps them to develop
language fluency and confidence. This approach is considered a branch of Communicative Language Teaching.
Beyond
the traditional approach
Modern teaching approaches have moved away from traditional lesson formats where the focus was almost exclusively on mastering grammar and vocabulary through controlled activities such as memorization of dialogs and repetitive writing exercises.
While grammatical competence is an important dimension of language learning, it is clearly not all that is involved in learning a language, since one can master the rules of sentence formation and still not be very successful at using the language for meaningful communication.