Cursos de español para extranjeros basic urban modern medio medio-superior y superior en Monterrey

“Spanish as a foreign language”

Our goal is to provide the participant a 360° of what we live within a modern urban Spanish not just in classroom but outdoor lessons such as markets, parks, other schools, museums, communities outside of town , ecological parks, the mountains, etc.etc. Discover all your senses in Monterrey Mexico…. Our objectives when offering the Spanish classes are two: in the first place we want to offer the student an effective way of learning a second, third or even fourth language, and second, while learning the language get an idea of the cultural context in which said language is used. This way, the student is not only able to use the studied language but also is aware of cultural differences and challenges.

The future students probably will be a young adult who voluntarily travel in order to learn a new language including its cultural background. So, we can assume that the student is motivated and interested in learning. Furthermore, we can expect the student to have already learned a foreign language, thus being used to the learning process.

The Spanish classed are divided in six levels, these being structured according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) developed by the Council of Europe.

Here are represented the different steps of language acquisitions: A1 Listening: understanding familiar everyday expressions and simple sentencesReading: understanding easy words and sentencesSpeaking: communicating in an simple way of the partner speaks slowly and clearlyWriting: Fill in forms A2 Listening: understanding frequent expressions (related to family, shopping, travelling, etc.)Reading: understanding easy letters (invitations e. g.), publicity, leafletsSpeaking: communicating in everyday situationsWriting: taking notes B1 Listening: getting the essential information of daily communicationReading: understanding letters related to work and hobbiesSpeaking: speaking fluidly about known topics, reasoningWriting: writing texts about personal information B2 Listening: understanding the main information of complex and/or abstract textsReading: understanding articles and texts about current topicsSpeaking: being able to argument and defend one’s opinionWriting: writing without problems detailed letters and texts about one’s specialty C1 Listening: understanding without problems conversations, conferences and detailed reportsReading: understanding specialized articlesSpeaking: speaking spontaneously and fluidly, without much apparent effortWriting: writing using a clear structure, furthermore being able to explain complex subjects C2 Listening: understanding spoken language without problemsReading: understanding any kind of text without problemsSpeaking: take part clearly and fluidly in any kind of conversationWriting: writing letters of any type and complex texts These six levels guide the student and teacher through the learning and teaching process, showing them first basic challenges and then, step by step, advance to higher levels.

The Certificate of Spanish as a Foreign Language (Diploma del Español como Lengua Extranjera, DELE), issued by the Cervantes Institute and the University of Salamanca situates the basic exam at the A2 level, the medium exam at B1 and the superior, certifying mastership of the language, at C1-2. For us, trying to structure the learning process, the CEFR is a better reference model than the DELE scale, since the CEFR levels are equally divided.Depending on the motivation of the student, a CEFR level can be mastered in 80 to 170 hours. Since we already noticed that our future student are quite likely to be highly motivated and might already know a foreign language which makes it easier for him/her to study a new one, and in groups of five, as planned, which allows to take place individual teacher –student interaction, and above all, the location, giving the student the posibility to experience instant succeed and a deeper comprehension for the classes contents.

Counting with all these factor, we can estimate the time necessary to conclude a level in about 120 hours.How to organize these 120 hours? Depending on the intensity of the classes, one should think about two or three hours of class a day, five days a week. In case of taking three hours a day, the 120 hours of one level would be covered in only two month, taking one hour less each day, obviously one level would take three month to conclude.

Taking into consideration the students’ ability to concentrate and assimilate new material, one would strongly recommend the second schedule, leaving the three hours a day only to the most highly motivated.The students will pass an exam before starting class, thus showing their knowledge of the Spanish language. Although, especially in the beginning, it might be more helpful to speak with the student about his/her expectations, necessities and ideas until finding a general pattern that includes everyone’s needs.