The blog of the Spanish schools in Spain

“Una caña, por favor” (A beer, please)

June 15th, 2012

In Spain it is very usual to join some friends to have a beer or a caña (draught or barrel beer in a small glass) in a bar, be it before lunch as an aperitive or after work to disconnect and have a good time with friends.

Also, one of the first activities students undertake when they arrive in our country or when they are already learning Spanish in Spain, is to go out with friends from the school to drink beers in some of the many bars or tascas in the Spanish cities.

A medium-size bottle of beer

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The best television series to learn Spanish in Spain

June 7th, 2012

All along our blog we have been giving a series of pieces of advice on how to improve your knowledge of the Spanish language outside school, such as to listen to music or watch Spanish cinema. We would now like to recommend you watch Spanish television series, since it is a very good way to practice Spanish in Spain.

The same way as with films, watching series in Spanish helps not only to learn new vocabulary, it also helps to learn the way Spanish citizens pronounce and express themselves.

A protagonist of the TV series Aída

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The 8 best things Spanish students can do in Tenerife

May 31st, 2012

The island of Tenerife is a place where students from the Spanish school have a great offer of activities to undertake. Here we leave you a series of pieces of advice to never get bored on this big island:

• Go for a walk in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island capital, and discover its different cultures, its monuments, and talk with the people.
• Go to the Parque Nacional del Teide and climb up to the top of the volcano, which is the highest point in Spain, 3.718 meters high, and the landmark of the city. It is the most emblematic natural monument of the Canary Islands, where you can enjoy beautiful landscapes and a great fauna and nature. It is without a doubt an excursion you need to do during your stay in the city.

Teide, a must see for students of Spanish in Tenerife

El Parque Nacional del Teide

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Learn Spanish in Denia and enjoy the “Bous a la mar”

May 24th, 2012

In the town of Denia in the region of Alicante, one of the most original and well known parties from the Spanish Summer is celebrated, the “Bous a la mar” (bulls in the sea). It is a show that attracts thousands of tourists every year and that all students undertaking a Spanish course in Denia enjoy.

It takes place during the town’s patron saint festivities, celebrated in honour of the Virgen de la Santísima Sangre (Virgin of the Very Saint Blood) (7th to 15th of July), declared of National Tourist Interest in 1993.

A bull during the “Bous a la mar”

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Spain, World heritage

May 17th, 2012

Spain is a country that receives millions of tourists and thousands of Spanish students every year. All arrive with the intention to spend some days, some weeks or a year in our country while they enjoy the charms of all the beautiful spots in cities and villages.

Nevertheless, what most of them do not know is that Spain is the second country in the world with the biggest number of sites declared World Heritage by UNESCO, after Italy, even though Spain beats this country for tourism thanks to its beaches, climate and others charms.

Toledo es una ciudad Patrimonio de la Humanidad

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Gastronomy for Spanish students: The horchata

May 10th, 2012

The horchata (or horchata de chufa) is a sweet and refreshing drink, very characteristic of the city of Valencia. People have it all year round, but it is without a doubt one of the favourite drinks of the citizens and students in the Spanish schools in Valencia to cool down during the hot summer months.

It is made with water, sugar and tiger nuts, small tubers obtained from the roots of a plant named juncia avellanada.

Horchata is a drink for Spanish students

A glass of horchata and fartons

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Sports in the Spanish schools: Fernando Alonso, the Formula 1 magician

May 3rd, 2012

Formula 1 is the most famous auto competition at an international level with successful drivers such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. A name has been added to this list years ago, and that is the name of a Spanish pilot that many students learning Spanish in Spain have heard of, Fernando Alonso.

It is the most famous and awarded Spanish pilot in the history of the best Auto racing category, he became Formula 1 champion on two occasions (in 2005 and 2006).

Enjoy Formula 1 in Spain. Fernando Alonso

The Spanish driver Fernando Alonso

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Enjoy the summer in Spain and learn Spanish in an intensive way

April 19th, 2012

Next June comes one of the favourite times for Spanish and for students who would like to come to Spain to learn Spanish, Summer. This season is one of the most attractive ones to undertake an intensive Spanish course, since it allows to learn and, at the same time, to enjoy the country.

Summer is a time suitable for studying Spanish in Spain

A Spanish beach in summer

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Learn Spanish in Spain and celebrate the night of san juan

April 11th, 2012

The night of San Juan is a very ancient festivity where the year’s shortest night is celebrated and the summer is welcomed in the north hemisphere. It takes place on the night of the 23rd to the 24th of June and is celebrated in many cities, so that if you are learning Spanish in Spain you can be part of this great night.

It is a celebration surrounded by legends, traditions and rituals carried out during a magical night where everything is about fire and water.

The celebration of night of San Juan on a Spanish beach

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Practical vocabulary for students of Spanish in Spain

April 5th, 2012

When a student comes to learn Spanish in Spain, it is important for him to know the basic vocabulary to avoid communication problems. Here we leave you a series of words about the city that I can be very useful:

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Gastronomy in the Spanish schools: the mona de Pascua

April 3rd, 2012

With the Holy Week in Spain comes one of the typical products from the Spanish gastronomy for this time, the Mona de Pascua (Easter Cake). This sweet is very common in the Valencian Community and Catalonia, and its presence has been growing in many other cities over the last years, so, if you are undertaking a basic Spanish course in Spain you can buy it in many bakeries.

Its name comes from the arabic munna, which means “provision for the mouth”, and it is a present that the Moorish made to their masters. Nowadays, it symbolises the end of Lent and the Holy Week.

The mona de Pascua is a dish to eat Spanish students

Traditional Mona de Pascua

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The 7 best things that Spanish students can do in Málaga

March 28th, 2012

The city of Malaga is one of of the best destinations of the Costa del Sol, a very lively place with a great offer of activities for students undertaking a course in one of the Spanish schools in Malaga. Below you will find 7 pieces of advice to never get bored in this Mediterranean city:

■ To go for a walk in the city’s historical centre is an essential activity since it allows you to enjoy the city culture and history through its main monuments and buildings, from the Cathedral to the Roman theatre.

■ To visit the fortress of Alcazaba and the Castle of Gibralfaro, the two major exponents of the city’s Muslim past. Located high on the Monte of Gibralfaro, both offer magnificent views of the city.

Study Spanish in Malaga and enjoy the city

Views of the city of Málaga from Mount Gibralfaro

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The Spanish language to conquer United States

March 22nd, 2012

The Spanish language is spoken by over 450 million people in the world, it is the second most studied and the third most used on the internet. This data shows that Spanish enjoys a great vitality and its presence in many countries becomes more and more important every day, the United States is one of the places where it grows the fastest.

In United States the importance and presence of Spanish is growing quickly among its inhabitants. Also, with more than 50 millions Spanish speakers, it is the second country behind Mexico counting the biggest community of Spanish speaking citizens in the world, beating other nations such as Spain, Columbia or Argentina.

The Spanish language progress in the United States

Pedro Almodovar and Antonio Banderas at the Golden Globes 2012

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Learn Spanish with films from the Spanish cinema

March 16th, 2012

To watch films in Spanish can be very useful to learn Spanish and is one of the best resources any student can and should use to improve their knowledge of the language. It is often a very common activity in the Spanish schools in Spain and most organise cinema sessions for the students.

We recommend you to watch mainly films from the Spanish cinema, since this is good not only to improve your words and expressions vocabulary but also to exercise the hearing comprehension and to observe the gestures, way of saying things of the natives.

A group of girls in a Spanish class

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The success of a song about the Spanish language

March 13th, 2012

Two young Colombian musicians, two guitars and a song about the Spanish language became a big success over the last days on social media and went around the world. More than 2 million people have already viewed the video of the song “Qué difícil es hablar el español” uploaded on You tube by the two brothers a little more than 10 days ago.

The song tells how difficult it is to learn Spanish in a very funny way through the story of a student wanting to learn Spanish, since, depending on the Spanish speaking country you are staying in, the words’ meaning changes. So, something can have a very different meaning in Mexico, Venezuela or Argentina.

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Alicante brightens up with the Spring Festival

March 9th, 2012

Spring will be here on the 21st of March and the city of Alicante wants its citizens and visitors, including students from the Spanish courses, to celebrate it with the most important electronic music festival in the province, the “Alicante Spring Festival”.

It is the fourth edition of this great event which is all about electronic music and indie pop. It will take place on the 31st of March in the Zona Volvo of the Port of Alicante and you will be able to enjoy it during the day as well as during the night, until very late in the morning.

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Spanish Schools and gastronomy: The olive oil, Spanish liquid gold

March 7th, 2012

Be it to dip bread, to put on toast, to season a salad or to fry in the pan, there is nothing better than using the Spanish liquid gold, the olive oil. Together with iberian ham and wine, it is one of the favourite products of Spanish, tourists and students from the Spanish schools in Spain.

Also, it is not only a basic ingredient for many dishes of the Spanish gastronomy, but also experts state it is very beneficial for the health and prevents illnesses. So, if you are undertaking a course in a Spanish school in Spain do no hesitate to use it in all your recipes.

A toast with olive oil

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Enjoy the Fallas in Valencia, the celebration of fire

March 2nd, 2012

The city of Valencia starts preparing the celebration its inhabitants really look forward to, it brings the city to a standstill for some days every year, it attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world and students from the Spanish courses can enjoy its main elements, music, fireworks, light and colour… we are talking about the celebration of fire: the Fallas de Valencia.

The Fallas is the most important and spectacular celebration of this city and it is a great tourist attraction, it was declared celebration of International Tourist Interest. The celebration is a tribute to San José, patron saint of carpenters, and it takes place between the 15th until the 19th of March.

Make a Spanish course in Valencia and enjoy the Fallas

One of the monuments of the Fallas 2011

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Why not work and study Spanish in Spain?

February 28th, 2012

Some days ago we were talking about learning Spanish in Spain with a Spanish course. We would now like to present a different way to improve your knowledge of the Spanish language, work and study in Spain.

It is one of the best solutions not only to learn Spanish faster and easier, but to integrate in the culture and life of the country, since working while studying Spanish in Spain, allows the student to be constantly in contact with the language and with the citizens, which forces them to communicate in Spanish and to practice every day during their stay in the country.

Two Spanish students in a restaurant

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The 7 best things students can do in Salamanca

February 24th, 2012

The city of Salamanca is the Spanish student city of excellence, a very lively place with a great offer of activities for those students who are undertaking a course in a Spanish academy in Salamanca. We leave you 7 pieces of advice so you never get bored in this World Heritage city:

■ To visit the Playa Mayor of the city is like visiting the heart of Salamanca. Considered one of the most beautiful places inSpain, it has become the meeting place for tourists and students.
■ If you get a chance, do not miss the Holy Week in Salamanca. This celebration is worth seeing, receiving thousands of visits, it was declared of International Tourist Interest.

Salamanca is a great city to learn Spanish

Plaza Mayor in Salamanca

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