YoungSanta
3/24/2015 23:41 EST
Do folks have any expience or recommendations for a Spanish Language School. Most likely in Granada. I want to continue to learn Spanish by attending one of these schools for a few months.
|
|
Salsera
3/25/2015 11:09 EST
I booked 2 weeks with 4 hours per morning x 5 days at Xalteva school in Grnada beginning December and was 200% satisfied: Each of the 2 weeks we were only 2 in the course, had a lot of conversation, on topics we chose together with the teacher. We also went to the market buy the ingredients and did some nice cooking together.
I really recommend them: The teachers adapted themselves very well to our level, and there was a very nice atmosphere in the school.
Moreover they also organize trips to sightseeing points.
|
|
|
bushamy13
3/25/2015 11:30 EST
There is this website with quite a few on them.
http://www.nicaraguaspanishlanguage.com/
Our experience has been that the immersion ones are the best (live with family when not in class). For the schools each has their poor, better and best teachers. For Nicaragua, I think a lot of the schools charge quite high considering most teachers are not trained teachers. If you look around you can usually find a private tutor which charges much less since the schools only give a portion of the cost to the teacher. Having said that, there are many good schools to look at in Granada. I agree Xalteva is good and also CENAC.
|
|
elduendegrande
3/25/2015 13:28 EST
Whatever school you choose, bring your own written work materials for independent study. Dictionaries from Mexico are easy to find but other materials are more available Stateside on Amazon.
Living with a local family may be good linguistically, but it may also be an introduction to the Camping Life here. I found it hard to concentrate with the heat, anarchy, bad diet, and cold showers.
|
|
cedelune
3/25/2015 17:26 EST
I have to beg, respectfully, to differ with this last post. I have traveled to Nicaragua four times and studied at four different Spanish schools (3 in Granada), in each case also doing a homestay with a Nicaraguan family. My stays have all been eye-openers in terms of seeing how Nicaraguan families live, day-to-day. I never had, and never expected, hot showers and never had a problem with a "cold" shower which was sometimes pretty warm from the sun. The family's degree of English comprehension can be challenging if you have never spoken a word of Spanish before, but becomes increasingly less important as one acquires and needs to practice the basics. I have been fed minimally (a lot of rice and beans, not much else of interest, or only fruit for breakfast) but a word to the Spanish school, if I was unable to communicate my needs effectively, usually resulted in an improvement, such as an egg or two added to the fruit. Some families are excellent cooks (my last ate a far healthier diet than the previous ones because the husband had been diagnosed with diabetes and needed to eat more healthily to lose weight). I've been surprised with soup for breakfast (it was very yummy) and occasionally with home made candy. Hospitality has varied, too. The only child in one household spent all her time at grandma's house, so the stay with just the single mother was less fun than it might have been. Another family hosts all the neighborhood kids for bingo on Saturday nights and is a gathering place for lots of interesting people.
Beds vary and pillows are more often than not, flat and lumpy. I've learned to bring a travel-size pillow in my luggage, and that works for me. In only one home did I have problems with cleanliness--a patio with green mold growing on it where the household cats did their business, and a shower rather heavily populated with critters of various types.
As for the heat, you get used to it, and having air-conditioning just delays that process. As for anarchy--I have no idea what you mean!
A good Spanish teacher should give their students homework each day, and extra study materials are a great idea.
I would do Spanish school and homestay again in a heartbeat, as long as I can afford the schools, and when I retire there I will find an independent teacher to study with, as bushamy13 recommended above.
|
|
YoungSanta
3/26/2015 21:05 EST
Salsera... Thnxxx 4 the quick reply... I have been considering Xalteva based on info on-line... Santa
|
|
|
YoungSanta
3/26/2015 21:07 EST
Bushamy... Thnxxx 4 the quick reply with info... Santa
|
|
YoungSanta
3/26/2015 21:08 EST
Elduen de Grande... Thnxxx 4 the quick reply.... Santa
|
|
YoungSanta
3/26/2015 21:15 EST
Cedelune... Thanks for the quick and comprehensive reply. Useful info.... I did 2 homestays in Mexico.. Puebla and Playa del Carmen. Both good... I expect Nicaragua will be more modest....Santa
|
|
Salsera
3/27/2015 04:12 EST
With respect to the fees:
Xalteva for example uses a part of the fees to offer free education for school kids (English courses as far as I know).
I guess it will be the same for others.
It is true that the Spanish teachers are often no "real" trained teachers.
Myself I am a video-producer without having studied that (at "my" time no vocational training of this type did exist). If someone loves what he does and he does it well, I do not care how he acquired his knowledge.
I know many people trained "on the job" or autodidacts who do a really great job! One of my teachers at XALTEVA was a former painter - and I really liked his lessons.
On the other hand, I remember "real" studied teachers who just made me yawn...
|
|
KeyWestPirate
3/27/2015 09:33 EST
Learning Spanish is a journey. Any immersion helps. It's both a rewarding process, and a discouraging one.
Your results will depend on your choices, and, to a greater extent, your diligence in staying the course.
I've seen the most competence, gained most quickly, in those who found a "friend". This is not a possibility for everyone, but is certainly an option for some.
The "friend" will provide entree to the family and culture of NIcaragua, an important part of learning Spanish.
In terms of language schools, family home stays vary tremendously. Within the same "school", quality of room and board will vary tremendously, depending on the quality of the family, and their commitment.
This is Nicaragua, aprovechar is king, and you will always be a chele. No matter what the family is paid, you will still get rice and beans and a cold shower (if you're lucky, or a bucket bath if you are not).
You need to address your personal comfort level. YOu can often stay at a hostel for less, and enjoy more immersion than with a family. I personally think family homestay is over rated.
Advice is cheap, so here is mine: The quality of the teacher's education matters little at first, but quickly becomes important. Learning simple phrases to get by doesn't require a rocket scientist as a teacher. Perhaps more important is someone you feel comfortable with, enjoy interacting with.
Realize though, as you desire more competence, most Nicas are very poorly educated, and many barely read and write their own language. Few understand the structure of the language, many don't know the difference between a verb and noun.
At this point, perhaps a year down the road, you will need someone who can truly instruct you in Spanish. This person exists, but you will have to seek him or her out. Perhaps you will find this person at a language school, and move on alone with him.
In the meantime, you hammer away at vocabulary lists, engage as many people as you can in conversation (Nicas are a gracious and patient people). Much Nica usage and pronunciation is different from Mexican and Spanish (I delight in asking Ariana, "are you sure that you are pronouncing that correctly?)
It's a lot of work.
Good luck!!
|
|
|
bamalam999
3/27/2015 13:11 EST
We used Roger Ramirez at http://www.spanish1on1.net/
Spent four hours a day Mon - Friday for a week. They arranged an excellent homestay (where we paid the homestay directly). It was very intensive and very good. We went into it thinking that we were going to have a relaxing time, but it was an intense 1 on 1 training in vocabulary, dictation, grammer, etc.. with home work every night. A couple of weeks later on a long bus ride from San Carlos to Juigalpa I spent hours talking to a Nica school teacher (who taught English) in Spanish. He was amazed that our Spanish was so good after only 20 hours of lessons. One of my memories was the young Roger saying (well almost yelling) otra vas, otra vas over and over at me until I got it right :) . They also had daily excursions in the afternoons included in the price if you wanted to join. Isleta trips, swimming, cooking maybe etc..
|
|
KeyWestPirate
3/28/2015 11:54 EST
I Like It !!
This is Nicaragua at its finest, the inconsistency.
The country is a country of contrasts like this.
There is so much crap, and even with the same school your experience will vary.
I spent a couple of weeks at Hijos del Maiz in El Lagartillo when I first came to Nicaragua.. Great teacher the first week, amazing progress, amazing energy and commitment, but then the school insisted on switching me to another teacher the second week to "spread the wealth". This made absolutely no sense, but there were few students at this time, and many hungry teachers.
http://www.hijosdelmaiz.net/eng/vision.html
Other students' experiences at Lagartillo have varied greatly, both with the quality of homestay, and the quality and competence of the teacher.. The teachers are "maestros campesinos".
My teacher, Lisbet, was completing a university degree in Leon. I got lucky.
Remember, it will NEVER BE ABOUT YOU. In Nicaragua, you need to continually look out for Number 1. You don't have to be rude or obvious about it, just aware. The culture dictates that most will do as little as they possibly can for as much as they can demand. There is little inventive to excel built into the Nicaragua life experience.
You got lucky with Roger Ramirez, the exception to the rule.
|
|
chico1st
4/9/2015 15:40 EST
I went to spanish ya in SJDS which was great, but too many people there spoke english so i didnt get to practice as much spanish as i wanted to.
|
|
Salsera
4/10/2015 11:15 EST
I had the same problem in Granada - but with 6 mio inhabitants and 1.3 mio tourists in 2014 this is not astonishing...
|
|
|