Spanish & tapas in Granada

Emily Reynolds
8 weeks in Granada
Intensive Course

I’m an English graduate who wanted to pull up my Spanish, so having spotted CESA’s courses on line I decided that a couple of months in Granada was the ideal solution.  In the weeks before going, I  had visions (nightmares?) of my school days, large classes of mainly disinterested students and feared having a bad teacher who droned on and never noticed how bored the students in front of her were. Despite scouring the CESA website and the Briefing Pack, packed full of useful information, I still worried the reality of the situation wouldn’t match my expectations.

Thankfully, the reality matched CESA’s description and their explanations, given with endless patience over the phone and by email to all my questions, in the weeks it took me to decide on a course and leading up to departure!

The Spanish language school in Granada was very relaxed and was actually great fun.  It never felt that you were working hard, even though you were always learning a lot more than you realised each day.  The Spanish tutors in Granada used so many different methods to teach that there was always variety, but it was actually a structured, continuous reinforcement of what you were learning.  Smart cookies : )

All the lessons were excellent.  The teachers were quick to learn names and to learn our strength and weaknesses.  In fact the teachers were a great team and one lesson flowed into the next seamlessly. The personalities of the teachers was vital to the teaching style over all and I guess this was why the school worked so well.

All staff (teachers and administrative) were approachable , friendly and makde you feel at home and part of school life straight away.  The Spanish school is located in a beautiful area of Granada, and the school cafe made socialising with the other students and teachers so easy.

I made loads of friends amongst the other students.  The school is small enough to ensure you get to know everyone in a few days.  The social activities were well organised and great fun and there is a film night once a week – go – it’s great fun.  Whilst I was there, they were also hosting a group of young classical singers from America, so we had free concerts most nights – bonus!

Granada is a fab university town and was a great place to socialise (even out of term time).  Great tapas bars and I hardly spent any money (nothing like the amount you’d spend in the UK).  The people were easy to talk to and I always felt safe.

I stayed in an apartment, sharing with other students, just 5 minutes walk from the school and the centre of Granada.  It was clean and had everything I needed.

I loved the whole experience and frankly would now (in fact I do, at length whenever the opportunity arises) recommend EVERYONE who wants to learn or improve their language skills go on a language course.  I don’t know why I haven’t been sooner!