Granada

Program Outline

We offer two intensive language courses with six different levels. General-A is a program with 4 hours of class a day. Classes begin at 9:30am and continue until a break at 11:15am. The first two hours consist of in-depth study of specific aspects of the grammar, practice exercises and the correction of homework from the night before. After the 30 minute break the final two hours consists of oral and written exercises; comprehension practice - audio-visual material -; analysis of documents - magazines, books, television, radio - and conversational time related to the specific subjects studied during the morning. Classes end at 1:35pm.

General-B is a six-hour/day program. Courses start at 8:30 and finish at 2:30 with a 30 minute break at 11:15. The basic outline of this program follows the description above for General-A, but with the additional first and the last classes used to focus on the points of the language most needed by the individual student.

Other courses:

• Courses for Specific purposes; Spanish literature and literary criticism, culture and society, commercial and business Spanish as well as a course for Spanish teachers.
• Preparation for official exams: for D.E.L.E., diploma of Spanish as a foreign language; for the Business Spanish Certificate of the Chamber of Commerce. This is mainly for European students.
• Private and semi-private courses, for one or two persons.

Location

The school is located in a Carmen, a Grenadian house with a garden, in the Albaicin, the old Moorish quarter of Granada, on the hill across from the Alhambra. The city is one of Europe’s most visited locations and the heart of Granada is very popular with university students from all over the world.

Accommodation

We offer a wide range of accommodation able to suit any needs of our students. You can choose individual or double rooms in shared flats with other students or a homestay with a Spanish family. When living with a family, students can stay in either a single or double room, with half or full board. There are also student residences in Granada and all housing options are within a 15 walk from the school.

Cultural

Granada is world famous as a university town as well as for its cultural importance and well preserved Moorish Alhambra. All of our programs have several cultural activities weekly, many of which are at no additional cost. Free cultural activities include weekly movies, thematic evenings and musical events. In addition there are activities in which the students only pay for what they do, these include cultural immersion in the city (guided tours to monuments, afternoons in typical bar’s...) and excursions to other places in Andalusia that are interesting. All of these activities are very inexpensive do because of our connections and agreements with the local bars, restaurants, hotels, car and bus rental agencies, etc.

Start Dates

Classes start every Monday of the year for students with some Spanish ability and every second Monday for absolute beginners. The last week of December and the first of January, the school is closed.

Climate

Granada is situated in the south of Spain, 40 miles from the Mediterranean coast and 20 miles from Spain’s biggest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada. During the winter it is very sunny, with evenings that can get cold enough to wear a jacket. Like the rest of southern Spain, summers are sunny and very warm, with cool nights because of the city’s proximity to the mountains. Granada’s autumn is very pleasant and notable for its many fall colors. It is mostly sunny, but you can count on a couple of days a week of at least some rain. Spring is a period of vivid aromas, especially in the Albaicin. The mildness of the weather allows people to ski in the morning and swim in the Mediterranean in the afternoon.

Local Color

The Albaicin is the old Moorish quarter of Granada and is the perfect place to live the history and Spanish lifestyle. This area of the city is famous for its Flamenco dance style, which is taken from the rhythms of gypsy music. The school is a 3 minutes walk from the modern centre of the city, a place full of tapas bars, dance clubs and students from every corner of the world. The nights don’t get started until close to midnight and they don’t end before sunrise!

Points of Interest

On top of the hill across from the Albaicin you will find Granada’s symbol, the Alhambra This magnificent monument took the Moors over five centuries to build and has become one of Europe’s most visited monument. The Albaicin, the Moorish section of town where the school is located, is a beautiful place to visit. Its twisting and winding streets have many unbelievable buildings, houses and restaurants, which students can explore at their leisure. The 15th century cathedral is one of the most impressive in all of Spain and is the burial place of the “Catholic Monarchs,” Ferdinand and Isabella. Old streets and the Alcaiceria, the old Moorish silk market, surround the church.

Hot Tip

Every morning students take a break from their classes at 11:15am and they go over to the San Nicolas café’s balcony, which has a frontal view of the Alhambra sitting on the opposite hilltop. Students drink coffee or have something to eat while they enjoy one of Spain’s truly spectacular views. The beautiful sunsets, with the last light of the day glowing off the Alhambra is absolutely a site not to be missed.