Lingua Globe

I had the perfect experience at Lingua Globe. I was warmly welcomed. Laura, my teacher, was more than great. She adapted the course to my personal needs, was aware of everything, patient, full of great knowledge and stories of the city, and was a very nice and profound person.

Our teacher Juan was tremendous. He was always prepared with interesting things to talk about and had excellent teaching strategies to engage us in conversation. His humour was greatly appreciated! The students were at different levels and he worked hard to ensure learning at all levels. I would have appreciated more direction with use of the booklet and appropriate homework to complete. I was about halfway through the two weeks when I realized the booklet would be helpful.

The activities were wonderful - both to learn about Salamanca and to practice Spanish comprehension. We were guided on what things to think when we did the excursions which then stimulated classroom discussion.

All the staff were helpful and willing to share information; they shared everything from where to go to rent a car to dining options and wine choices.

My oral and written comprehension improved significantly. Now, I know what I need to focus on to improve my spoken Spanish. Overall, a great experience, the school, the people and the town.

I did not use the housing option so I cannot comment.

Class:

VERY GOOD. The class size was composed of two students at the opposite ends of the beginner level spectrum. The placement exam was entirely written, and perhaps an oral component would have been helpful in the placement process, never the less, the teacher worked very hard at bridging the gap and I would say did so successfully. The format was good where the first class of the day was for general conversation, and the second was for grammar and was supported with a booklet for review and practice.

Teacher:

SIMPLY INCREDIBLE. He had complete mastery of the language, and an immense skill at communicating the concepts in a variety of ways to increase comprehension. He always managed to find stimulating topics on which to converse, so the class conversation was always interesting. He aided this conversation process with his own knowledge and interests including film, art and news. He was always responsive on reviewing, and correcting, homework and journals. Furthermore, he was very personable, and had us laughing with wonderful stories and anecdotes. This is refreshing when in a learning situation for two weeks. The amazing thing here is that he accomplished all this without using a word of English. My comprehension and confidence in communicating soared due to his teaching style.

Facilities:

VERY GOOD. The school is located in a newer building in easy walking distance to the historical areas of the old town. The classrooms are well equipped with white boards and computers.

Location and Activities:

PERFECT FOR LEARNING. Salamanca is about learning Spanish, and the city seems to take pride in it. Everyone, including waiters and shopkeepers, speak to you in Spanish and will easily adjust their speed of speech for your comprehension. The resources are amazing for stimulating class conversation, such as, the large and various collection of museums and monuments. The historical towns surrounding Salamanca provide for fantastic weekend excursions, either through the organization used by all language schools, or by your own transport.

Housing:

I made my own arrangements which worked perfectly for me.

Holiday Weekend:

A MINOR ANNOYANCE. There was a holiday on one of the Mondays, which we were not aware of, so that affected the weekend excursions, which are run by a separate organization to the schools. Since it was a long weekend, the excursions did not run due to lack of numbers committed from the different schools. We worked around this by renting a car, but this was a challenge as we did not know in advance, so most rental agencies had no cars to rent. We finally found a local rental agency, VuelaCar, across from the train station and he was fantastic. Not only did he have a car to rent, he took the time to tell us which cities he thought were best to visit, found the name of a "must" restaurant in Segovia, and loaned us a phenomenal map. Simply, it was the best car rental experience I have ever had. In essence, we transformed a possible negative weekend into a most memorable one.

I would be happy to return and study here in the future.

I had the feeling that I was really learning Spanish. I had a highly qualified teacher who could easily see what my level was, what my difficulties were and where I needed help. The teaching was carried out in a skillful, interesting way. The school building, modern and well equipped, was situated in the centre of the city. A city tour, visiting the old cathedrals and a museum were included in the program as well. I had an apartment (a studio) in the very centre of the city, with which I was very happy.

My course was only five days, but it really came up to all my expectations. I could warmly recommend Lingua Globe in Salamanca.