Learn Spanish in Spain - Ten Things to Consider Before Enrolling With a Spanish Language School

By Steve Sutherland

Do you want to learn Spanish in Spain? Going on a 'language vacation' to Spain, studying Spanish at a language school and practicing the language while exploring the culture and meeting the local people is a wonderful experience.

However, while there are many great schools out there, you have to do some research before enrolling with one to avoid some of the school operators who cheat students and don't fulfill some of their promises. Sometimes the school is not at fault but students get the wrong idea about the school, courses or services so taking the time to learn as much as you can about the school that you are considering can avoid these misunderstandings.

This article sets out ten things that you should consider before enrolling with a Spanish language school in Spain.

Price

While price may important to you, making a decision based on price alone is short sighted. Price should be considered alongside many other factors to determine 'true value' to you as the student.

Language School Awards

Has the school that you are looking at won any awards that distinguish it from all the others. See below for more details on one award for language schools in Spain.

Bigger is better

Look for schools that have been established for many years, are larger in size or are part of national chains (they have several schools across Spain). This increases your chances of finding a professional school as these larger business have a lot more at stake with their reputation.

Location

Students are often disappointed to find that their chosen school in the city of their choice is not centrally located. Make sure that you are indeed 'close to the action' or far away from it if you prefer.

Classes and Schedules

Taking break times into account, exactly how much class time will you be getting with a native teacher? Is there any time scheduled for self study or culture classes?

Smaller Class Sizes

Being in a small class is much more effective than being in a larger one as you get more face to face time with the teacher and classes can progress much faster.

Your Fellow Students

Spanish schools in Spain are really international with students coming from all over the world but some schools tend to have large groups of students from certain countries due to good relationships with agents in those countries. Ask the school about their nationality mix and remember that if your classmates cannot speak English then you will be practicing your Spanish much more by communicating with them outside of the classroom.

Hidden Costs

Find out if their are any hidden charges. Most schools are upfront about this but some students are surprised when they arrive at a school and find out that they have to pay additional textbook charges or fees for using the internet for example.

Accommodation

If the school is arranging your accommodation make sure that you know all the details concerned. The key details to enquire about are about deposits, location (distance from the school), transport from the accommodation to the school and lastly the schools policies on accommodation changes if you are not happy with what they have organised and wish to change.

Refunds

If you have to cancel or postpone your trip are you able to have your fees refunded or have your starting date postponed?

If you take the time to do some research and ask the school staff a lot of questions about the school that you are considering and their courses then you stand the best chance of finding a great school. Going to learn Spanish in Spain should be a great educational and cultural experience for you if you do your homework before booking.

Click here to visit Babylon Idiomas, the school in Spain that I recommend (with schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville). Babylon Idiomas was nominated by language travel agents around the world as the 2008 LTM Star Spanish School, in an awards ceremony organised by Language Travel Magazine in London. For more details on the awards click here Steve Sutherland is a language travel agent in Taiwan who has had experience placing Taiwanese students into language school programs around the world.