OUR SPANISH CLASSES IN MADRID

All students, except for those who indicate they have never studied Spanish before and have no Spanish skills, need to go through our placement process before their first Spanish class. This allows our academic director to accurately determine the skill level and specific needs of each student. During the assessment, we also take into consideration a student’s language learning background, as well as other languages they may speak. Balancing the results of the assessment with these other considerations means that students are placed as accurately and appropriately as possible.

We believe that the perfect Spanish course book doesn’t exist, as every person has their own needs, strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. We value this diversity. Based on our extensive experience, we have designed our own dynamic materials to make sure our students master the four main language skills—speaking, listening, reading and writing—while still having fun.

Many Spanish learners don’t realize that most of the Spanish learning books on the market are published in Spain, and thus don’t accurately depict Spanish as it is spoken in the Americas. Our specially prepared materials embrace the unique immersion-learning environment we have in Buenos Aires, and use local grammar and vocabulary, while also providing insight into Argentine customs and culture.

Although reading and writing instruction are included in the program, our main goal is to make you feel comfortable using Spanish in daily life. We focus on oral practice—speaking and listening. Classes are taught entirely in Spanish, and within this immersion context you will learn to think and talk in the language.

By using different teaching techniques, we make use of both the classroom and the streets of Buenos Aires, integrating these locations in a way that allow you to participate in real conversations naturally and effectively from your very first day. The result is that you will learn Spanish fast, naturally, and effectively.

In our Spanish School in Buenos Aires we have six levels: Beginner 1 & 2, Intermediate 1 & 2, Advanced, and Superior. We follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Each level is organized depending on the students’ competencies, and where they most need assistance in order to be effective at communicating. The advantage of this framework is that it mainly considers what a learner can currently do with the language, and where they want or need to be in terms of skill. Although different parts of the language system (grammar, vocabulary, etc.) are discussed in our classes, our levels mainly indicate the ability of students to function in communicative contexts. Please refer to our Spanish Skill Level Chart for a more detailed description of Spanish skills by levels.

To give you a better sense of the journey you will take in learning Spanish, here are the approximate number of group class hours (or weeks of class) necessary to reach each level through the Vamos Spanish Academy program:

Since no two learners develop their language skills in the same way or at the same speed, the pace of level progress may vary. Factors that can affect the time to reach each level include:

• Age and motivation
• Linguistic and cultural background
• Extent of exposure to the language outside the classroom
• Amount of time spent in individual study

Our teachers and academic staff will be more than happy to give you tips so that you can make the most of your time when studying!