Blogging Spanish : Students

Cervantes Institute to teach Spanish to Starbucks workers

Stacey — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:31:00 GMT

(To read in Spanish, click here ) Spain's Cervantes Institute will teach Spanish to some 100,000 Starbucks workers throughout the United States. By virtue of an agreement signed Tuesday 26 May of 2009, those 100,000 workers will be able to learn Spanish...(read more)

Videos of don Quijote's Summer Camps!

Stacey — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:13:00 GMT

Our Summer Camp programs in Barcelona , Salamanca , Sevilla , Madrid , Granada , Valencia , Guanajuato and Marbella (with 3 camps: Albergue , Alborán , Aleman !) perfectly coordinate your child’s class schedule with social and leisure activities they...(read more)

USA colleges return to Salamanca in 2009 for the 12th consecutive year!

Stacey — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:00:00 GMT

...U.S.A. students during their 3 month stay in Salamanca from Feb-May 2009... This is the 12th year Citrus College and various other colleges that are part of the Southern California Foothills Consortium for Study Abroad have picked the Golden City of...(read more)

UK students learn Spanish in Salamanca

Stacey — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:29:00 GMT

In March of 2008, 4 students of England's Lincoln Minster School had a week-long Spanish immersion experience in don Quijote Salamanca.

Frederick Bowen, Harriet Briggs, Ben Rainthorpe and Chloe Miller began their Salamanca adventure accompanied by their Lincoln Spanish teacher, Estrella Corral-Hardy. Mrs. Hardy informed us that the students were delighted with their stay and plan to return. The following essay was written by Frederick and it details their adventure. Read on!

SALAMANCA '08

At 3:30am on Sunday 30th March, a group of four AS Spanish Students along with our teacher, Mrs Estrella Corral-Hardy and her daughter, embarked on a week long excursion to the Spanish city of Salamanca. The long journey and very early morning start proved to be entirely worth it.

On arrival, we were welcomed by our host families, with whom we stayed in pairs for the duration of our stay. But we did not stay put for long! We were soon out and about the town lapping up the Spanish culture. We all found Salamanca itself to be a stunning city with beautiful architecture. The ancient university, intricately ornate cathedrals and of course the famous Plaza Mayor were simply breathtaking. We were made to feel very comfortable exploring the city because of the safe atmosphere and the high proportion of students to talk to – in Spanish, of course! Every night we went out for dinner, tasting all the local delicacies including black paella, many different types of chorizo, piglet meat (!) as well as the inevitable mountain of authentic Spanish tapas. One phrase we learned very quickly was “Estoy lleno” – I’m full! Experiencing the Spanish nightlife was perhaps where we had the most fun, especially the parties at the school and the Plaza Mayor. We really got an insight into the culture of young people in Spain, with fiestas where all the students dress up in old Mexican costumes and sing to the crowds while playing their guitars to celebrate the end of their degrees.

    After we had settled in, though, it was time to work! Every morning, we attended four hours of Spanish lessons at the Don Quijote language school in Salamanca. We all found these hours to be extremely beneficial. By being put in different sets according to our individual abilities, we were able to progress at a level that suited each of us. We all feel our skills in understanding and speaking the Spanish language have improved greatly because of these lessons – many thanks to Don Quijote and the brilliant teachers!

   As for the afternoons, we spent 2 hours every day undertaking a work experience office orientation in the don Quijote Central Promotions Office. We were able to benefit from this thanks to the team of staff who explained how the offices and the school function, not just in the Spanish centres, but also how they link up with the schools in Latin America. We had to have our wits about us, as not a word of English was spoken, again helping us a lot to improve our comprehension of Spanish native speakers.

   All in all, we each found the experience wholly enriching and would certainly recommend it to next year’s AS students. Many thanks to Mrs Hardy for putting so much time and effort into making it such a success!

Freddy Bowen

Discover Salamanca:

- View PHOTOS of our Golden City

- Watch VIDEOS of our schools and city events

- Become a FAN of don Quijote's in FaceBook!

- Request a FREE BROCHURE!

A don Quijote student wins Instituto Cervantes' Spanish short story contest!

Stacey — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:59:00 GMT

On June 25 of 2008, the Cervantes Institute in Paris organized a short story contest...and we are proud to announce that the winning story was The Enchanted Book by Françoise Corbillon-Epelboin -- a don Quijote student!

The contest was held in commemoration of the 10 years that have passed since the death of Mexican writer Octavio Paz (1914-1998), for whom the library of the Cervantes Institute in Paris is named after.

Françoise presented his story at a superior level and won the grand prize: a 1000€ scholarship to use towards ELE (Español como Lengua Extranjera) courses in any public university or an Instituto Cervantes accredited center of Castilla y León. CONGRATULATIONS!

From September 21 to October 4 of 2008, we had the pleasure of seeing her again as a return student in don Quijote Salamanca. She had decided to further her Spanish skills and chose to study with us for a second time.

¡ENHORABUENA FRANÇOISE! Thank you very much for counting on us for your Spanish classes!

Request a free brochure!

Live Spanish in Salamanca, Ciudad del Español

Stacey — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:20:00 GMT

Every year, Salamanca is the preferred Spanish city where over 30,000 students choose to learn Spanish. This makes Salamanca an important tourist destination as people begin to discover the appeal of this charming city.

The new slogan “Live Spanish in Salamanca” is being actively used to promote Salamanca throughout the world and to attract foreign students who wish to learn or improve their Spanish skills. The administrative office is also promoting it with the Spanish version,“Salamanca, Ciudad del Español”.

Their main focus is to propel the city into becoming the principal reference, the 'must go-to' city for foreigners who want to learn Spanish, out of the potential destinations within the worldwide language tourism industry. They also hope to outshine the competition by providing students with assistance in social and cultural integration with their Student Information and Support center.

Located on the third floor of La Casa de Postas in the Plaza Mayor, just two floors above the Municipal Tourism Office, they have proudly embraced the motto “Salamanca, Ciudad del Español.”

Discover the reason why no one can resist learning Spanish in such a beautiful city!
Watch Salamanca Única, a 13-minute video of Salamanca’s impressive sights and one-of-a kind monuments.

Why not combine language learning with fun and culture in a 1 or 2 week Spanish course in the cradle of the Spanish language? Study Spanish in Salamanca with don Quijote !

don Quijote Salamanca School in print

Stacey — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:17:00 GMT

don Quijote is BEAMING with pride!

Our Salamanca school has recently been featured in the July 2008 issue of the prestigious Italian magazine, Brava Casa!

The article titled “Lingue: Lezioni Con Charme” (Languages: Lessons with Charm) talks about various language teaching schools around the world in which the magazine considers to be of a charming nature, and our don Quijote Salamanca school made the cut!

You can visit Brava Casa’s official webpage to see a glimpse of the magazine. You won’t be able to read the entire magazine since it’s a preview-only online version of the printed magazine, but you’ll be able to skim through a few pages to get the general feel.

If you have access to purchasing the magazine at a newstand, then what are you waiting for? Go read about us!

Get to know our splendid school and see why it was dubbed by the magazine as “magical”.

Watch the following 2 videotours of our don Quijote Salamanca school:

don Quijote Salamanca Video 1

don Quijote Salamanca Video 2

And if you would like to see more of the city itself, here’s another Salamanca city video:

Courses in Spain for the official DELE certification

Stacey — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:27:00 GMT

The D.E.L.E. (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) is an internationally recognized diploma of great value if you want to study at a Spanish University or if you are going to work in a Spanish-speaking environment.

It is the only official accreditation that certifies the degree of mastery of the Spanish language for citizens of countries where Spanish is not the official language. You can obtain this internationally acknowledged diploma by taking one of the exams under the supervision of the Spanish Ministry of Education. The examinations take place once or twice a year at three levels: “Inicial”, “Intermedio” and “Superior”.

The "Inicial" exam lasts a total of 2 hours 50 minutes; the "Intermedio" lasts 3 hours 45 minutes; and the "Superior" lasts 4 hours. All three exams include reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, grammar and vocabulary as well as oral expression. All five parts of the exam are taken on the same day, so confidently preparing for it is the best advice that can be given to anyone wishing to take it.

don Quijote offers a special course to prepare you for any level of the D.E.L.E. exam. If you require a certificate that demonstrates your level of Spanish, this is the perfect prep course for you!

Just remember:
-   You can take this course in any of the don Quijote schools in Spain and Guanajuato (Mexico).
-   don Quijote class start dates for August and November are 2, 3 or 4 weeks before examination date…
-   …and the next official examination dates (in Spain) are August 22nd of 2008, and in November 21st of 2008.

SPECIAL NOTE:
For the August 22nd examination: Registration dates are from 14th of July to 1st of August.

For additional information such as the requirements and documents needed to register, visit this very informative page to learn everything about D.E.L.E.!

Obtaining this diploma will eliminate any doubt employers or anyone might have about your level of Spanish, and will definitely enhance your curriculum, aside from providing you with an inmense personal pride for having accomplished it! Take advantage of this summer and use it as an excuse to study Spanish in Spain and to reward yourself by obtaining an official certificate of your proficiency in Spanish as proof of your efforts!

And the winner of the 2 week Spanish course with don Quijote is...

Celine — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:11:00 GMT

Kamila Hazdrová from the Czech Republic is the winner of a free 2 week Spanish course with don Quijote.

This past September, we had a contest in our Monthly Newsletter offering one of our subscibers the possibility to win a free Spanish course in Spain.

The winner is 24 year old Kamila Hazdrová from the Czech Republic. She participated and won a free 2 week Intensive Spanish course with accommodation and has chosen don Quijote Granada as her destination. She will study there for two weeks in May.

Congratulations Kamila!

Thank you very much for participating and make sure to keep a look out for future contests.

Not yet signed up for our Monthly Newsletter? Sign up now to get lots of information about our special offers, programs and contests.

Do you also want to study abroad with don Quijote? Order your free brochure to get more information about our courses

Advantages for returning students and their friends.

Celine — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:21:00 GMT

We want to say “thank you” to all our students and to show our appreciation, we want to invite you to come and study with us again, and this time, you can bring your friends along too.

If you studied at don Quijote in Spain or Mexico you now can receive a 20% discount off your next Spanish course.

This offer is transferable, so if you’re unable to take another course with us right now, you may transfer your 20% discount to a friend!

Best of all, when you bring a friend along, you both save! Return to don Quijote and bring a friend and you’ll receive your 20% discount and you can give a 10% discount to your friend!

Your teachers are looking forward to seeing you again so sign up now.

Conditions:
- Offer can't be combined with other offers
- Offer available upon request and subject to availability.

NOTE: This offer ends December 31, 2007

Autumn in Andalusia

Paqui — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 09:40:00 GMT

Make this Autumn an unforgetable one, come to Spain and enjoy wonderful Andalusia. We propose you to take a two-week Spanish course in the amazing city of Granada, one of the only 20 finalist cities selected for the New 7 Wonders of the World contest.

To make it even easier and more affordable we have launched a special offer for Spanish courses in Granada.

The offer includes:
2 weeks intensive course in don Quijote Granada school
Accommodation in a single en-suite room in the don Quijote residences on half board basis (breakfast and lunch or dinner)
For a total price of 690 Euro (saving 83 Euro on our normal price!)

Places are limited so don't wait, Ask for more information now and make sure you'll get this special price.

See some pictures of Granada here

This offer is available upon request until November 30th. Offer subject to availability.

The first day in Spain

Paqui — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:46:00 GMT

Here is a great video of our students in their first day at don Quijote Spanish school in Salamanca.

Every year students from over 70 different nationalities choose don Quijote to learn Spanish abroad. Have a look and meet some of them!

10 useful tips for choosing your language course

Paqui — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 09:57:00 GMT

A free pdf report to help you choose the best language school for you!

Get your free report here

Learning languages is very important nowadays, in a world more and more globalised speaking other languages will help you to communicate with foreign friends, partners, colleagues and even with new family members.

The most efficient way of learning a foreign language is to learn it in the country where it's spoken but choosing which language course is better for you can be quite a challenge.

When you invest in a language course abroad, you want to be sure that you are making the right choice, here is a bit of help, a free pdf report with the best tips to help you choose your language course.

No matter what country or school you choose, these 10 practical tips will help you avoid last minute trouble and ensure you get the most out of your experience

Get your free report now

Ask for a free catalogue to study Spanish abroad

Video: don Quijote in the Spanish news

Paqui — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:33:00 GMT

don Quijote's school in Salamanca was recently on the news in the Spanish television because it was chosen as the location for a curious reality show of the Finnish television. In this contest participants have one month to learn Spanish in Spain. Every week they have to show their improvements in the mastery of the language and complete challenges and games in Spanish. Contestants lived with Spanish host families and attended don Quijote school every day. People of all ages participated in the contest to win a holiday in Spain.

The contest will be on Finnish television from October, but you can already get a glimpse with this video from Antena 3 news on Spanish television.

Get more information about studying Spanish at don Quijote contact us for a free brochure!

Read more in the Spanish teaching blog http://www.spanish-teaching.com/blog/_archives/2007/5/9/2930874.html

Watch all our videos in don Quijote's channel in youtube: http://www.youtube.com/donquijoteschool

Je veux parler Espagnol!

Paqui — Tue, 02 May 2006 11:25:00 GMT

Avant de partir étudier en Espagne, sachez que la sélection des universités est rigoureuse.

Choisissez donc bien votre établissement en fonction de votre cursus. Par exemple, Salamanque est le centre universitaire généraliste le plus connu et l’université de Madrid est réputée pour son enseignement du droit et des sciences humaines. Renseignezvous auprès de l’ambassade d’Espagne.

Si vous êtes titulaire d’un bac + 2 et inscrit dans une université française, vous pouvez également partir 6 mois à 1 an avec le programme Erasmus. Pour cela, rendez-vous au service des Relations internationales de votre établissement.

Si vous préférez prendre des cours de langue dans une école, renseignez-vous auprès d’organismes. Des départs sont organisés toute l’année, pour des séjours d’une semaine à un an à Malaga, Barcelone, Madrid, Valence et dans les îles Baléares et Canaries. Le voyage est à la charge du candidat et l’hébergement se fait en résidence universitaire ou en famille. Les formules sont variées : cours particuliers, cours + stage, cours intensifs, préparation au DELE (Diplôme d’espagnol en tant que langue étrangère)... Deux semaines de cours avec hébergement en famille coûtent environ 800 € (hors voyage).

En Amérique Latine: de nombreux organismes de séjours linguistiques ont des écoles au Costa Rica, Mexique, Équateur... Ils proposent des formules classiques de cours de langue, préparation au DELE et la possibilité de partir un an. La plupart des écoles ont une résidence étudiante mais il est conseillé de vivre dans une famille d’accueil. Comptez environ 1 500 € pour trois semaines de cours (hors billet d’avion et hébergement).

Pour des informations gratuites sur des séjours linguistiques: don Quijote
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