Blogging Spanish : ciudad del español

Special 20th Anniversary Offer: 15% OFF on any Spanish Course!

Stacey — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:30:00 GMT

The celebrations keep on happening at don Quijote...! This time, it is don Quijote Salamanca school’s turn to celebrate its 20th anniversary! Twenty years of hard work, much involvement and dedication have led to twenty years of success… and we want you...(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!

"Spanish is no problem here in Salamanca"

Stacey — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Fragment taken from original article (in German) by Jutta Christoph for mallorcazeitung.es

Language school don Quijote is housed in Salamanca in a former cloister from the 16th century. After the placement test is taken and personal conversation with headmaster Jesús Baz, a guided city tour is given to newcomers of the program. Then the lessons begin in different level classes ranging from five to eight students. The student that requests to be placed in a higher linguistic level class or a lower level can change groups the following day.

"Keep in mind that just because one learns a lot of grammar or vocabulary, does not qualify one to know the language", states Julia Hormigo Espés, who has been working as a Spanish teacher in don Quijote for over ten years. "Language is crippled if one only learns from books" - that’s why don Quijote also offers free extracurricular activities such as history, geography, film showings, talks and music lessons at no extra cost to those students who voluntarily sign up and wish to make the most of their language learning experience.

Result after a one-week Spanish language course of 25 hours and accommodation with a Spanish host family:
- Learning factor: high
- Fun and entertainment factor: high

Receive for free the 2009 brochure at hom e!

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 !