Spanish Course from a recent student’s perspective

is this your first time here at Spark?

Yes

How long have you been here this time?

Four weeks so far, but I’m staying for thirteen weeks in total

What country are you from?

The Netherlands

What was your reason for coming to Spark?

To study and work on the demi-pair programme

What have you enjoyed the most here?

The weather and the beaches

What has surprised you the most here?

The way of teaching — the classes are very interactive and are the perfect balance of listening, speaking, writing and reading

Ich bin nun seit fast einer Woche hier in Spark, in Spanien und das was ich bisher erlebt und gerlernt habe ist unglaublich! Mir wurde immer gesagt, dass die beste Art eine Sprache zu lernen die ist, in das Land zu reisen und es am eigenem Leib erleben und auszuprobieren. Ich kann das nun bestätigen! Der Spanischkurs den ich morgens belege, hilft mir die wichtigsten Grundlagen zu lernen und abends kann ich meine neu gewonnenen Erfahrungen in meiner Gastfamilie ausprobieren. Ich versuche immer so viel wie möglich auf Spanisch zu reden, obwohl ich noch zu den Anfängern gehöre. Meine Gastfamilie kommt mir  entgegen, in dem sie erst mit mir auf Englisch redet und dann das gleiche nochmal auf Spanisch wiederholt. Somit kann ich alles verstehen was meine Gastfamilie mir sagen möchte und gleichzeitig lerne ich viele neue Vokabeln dazu und kann mich an das gesprochene Spanisch gewöhnen und ein Gefühl dafür entwickeln. Ihr solltet also keine Angst haben, dass eure Spanischkenntnisse nicht gut genug sind, denn die Leute hier sind sehr offen und immer bereit euch zu helfen und auf euch einzugehen!

Auch hier in Spark, in der Sprachschule, wurde ich vorher mithilfe eines kleinen Spanisch Tests, in eine fuer mich passende Klasse einsortiert. Momentan besteht mein Kurs aus sechs Mädchen, davon sind drei aus Deutschland, eine aus der Niederlande, Suzanne, eine aus Luxemburg und eine weitere aus Italien. Wie ihr sehen könnt sind wir eine bunte Mischung aus der ganzen Welt die zusammen gekommen ist um Spanisch zu lernen. Dabei ist das Ziel im Unterricht so viel Spanisch zu sprechen wie möglich und unser Lehrer José unterstuetzt uns so gut es geht dabei. Hinzukommt das er, auch wenn er Englisch versteht, nicht mit uns englisch spricht und wir uns somit immer auf Spanisch ausdrücken müssen. Meine Spanischkenntnisse wachsen von Tag zu Tag und ich lerne dabei unmengen über die spanische Lebensart. In der nächsten Woche kommen zwei neue Schueler zu uns, Spark bietet uns also damit eine super Gelegenheit neue Freunde zu finden und dabei Kulturen aus der ganzen Welt kennen zu lernen!

Jana

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Mein Spanischkurs

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¡Hola! My name is Jana, I am 16 years old and live in Haltern am See, Germany. In the next three weeks of my work and study programme, here at Spark, I will study Spanish in the morning and complete my Internship in the afternoon, for about 3 to 4 houres a day. My main task will be to blog about different reasons why you should come here and study at Spark! If you wish to follow my ten reasons to study Spanish at Spark you can do through this feed. I will also travel around El Puerto Santa Maria for you and take fotos and upload them on the Spark Website so that you can see how wonderful the place is, where you might decide to study. Furthermore, I will be making pictures of the Spark residence, the different classes and the many cultural activities I will be doing throught my work and study experience. I started my  Spanish course last monday and I can already say, they are a lot of fun and the teachers are so nice and helpful. I´m looking foward to having a great time here at Spark and experience a boost in my Spanish skills!

In addition I will be posting some blogs in German for all of you out there that are from Germany  and are interested in my experiences that I will be making soon. I will write about my progress in learning Spanish and how my visit helps to develope my language skills. I am staying in a Host-family, which gives me the opportunity to practice my new learned language skills directly when I come home from school. How great is that?! But I will tell you more about that in my next posts. Until then, ¡Hasta luego!

Jana Marin

10 reasons to study Spanish at Spark

 

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Me at Plaza de Toros

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By the end of my work and study programme here in Spain at Spark Spanish, I want to be proud of my achievements and the things that I have learned. I will take this opportunity and make the best I possibly can out of it and I will value my experiences and skills that I will get over the next three weeks. In addition to learning Spanish, I will receive a first impression of a office environment, which will definitely be helpful in future jobs. Throughout my time in Spain, I will strive to fulfill the 10 values of Spark and they will inspire my future way of thinking in my daily life.

During my work and study period at Spark, I will come across as a very motivated and helpful person, a team player, that is always ready to learn more and not afraid to ask for help. I hope that I can also inspire my fellow students and staff members and that I will be an enrichment for Spark. But above all, my aim is to learn from my colleagues and classmates and gain more of their knowledge and excitement for what they do. For my manager, Douglas, I will be a very reliable person that completes my work on time and gives the best to achieve the tasks as well as possible. By the end of October, he will be able to say that my knowledge and skills have improved and I will have become a more independent and mature person.

In addition I want to become a good friend to my classmates. I will always act respectfully and do my best to be thought of as a kind and helpful person. As I will inspire others. I aim to make them look at me and say because of you, I did it! I look forward to having a great time with them and exchanging experiences, stories and cultures.

I know that I am responsible for my own destiny. All my actions have consequences and I have the power to decide weather they will turn out good or bad. I will be able to master this responsibility and work hard so that I can push myself to my limit and overcome it. In the end of my Internship, I will be proud of myself, of what I have accomplished and learned over the three weeks, so that I can show what i learned when I am back in Germany. I will focus on my motivation for learning Spanish and gather as much experience of work as possible and of the Spanish culture.

Jana Marin

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Food related cultural activities with Spark

This week I organized two food related cultural activities in El Puerto de Santa Maria as an intern at Spark for my work experience program. So, besides learning Spanish at Spark, we are able to explore the Andalusian culture and cuisine.  Read More

Spark is located along one of the most marvelous stretches of coastline in not only Spain but probably Europe. The Costa de la Luz, unlike the nearby Costa del Sol, is relatively unknown tourist spot for Northern Europeans meaning not only do you get the sunshine but you also get Spanish learning experience in an area where little English, or other languages, are known. The Costa de la Luz is however a hotspot for Spanish internal tourism with El Puerto de Santa Maria itself expanding from 80000apx inhabitants in winter to over 250000 in summer and 95% of that is internal Spanish tourism.

So study Spanish where the Spanish go on holiday. Great weather all year round!

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See the other 10 reasons to study Spanish at Spark

The places I have seen as a Spark student and intern learning Spanish

I am in the south of Spain for 16 days now and I have already seen some amazing places. Andalusia is such a beautiful region and especially the province of Cádiz is the hidden gem. The best part is that it is not flooded with international tourists! As a Spanish language student in El Puerto de Santa Maria it is perfect. It is good for practicing my Spanish language skills, therefore I recommend everybody to learn Spanish in the Cadiz province. Read More

I’ve come to the end of my four weeks of Spanish work and study experience at Spark, and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve discovered more about my own abilities and how my time management is not my greatest skill and so needs improving. I’ve learned to push myself and to be focused and committed when working. In future I think I need to be stricter with my goals and focus more, but I think I’m improving. Read More

The first Spanish cultural activity

Buenas noches! I have been at Spark for more than a week now and I have enjoyed every moment of it! My Spanish skills are improving rapidly and I have already organized my first Spanish cultural activity as an intern at Spark during my work and study program here. Read More

Introduction

¡Hola! Me llamo Suzanne. I am a student and intern at Spark for the next six weeks, to improve my Spanish language skills and to gain valuable work experience in Spain. What I like most, is that I can combine my study programme with a work experience programme. Moreover, I will work in an area I am really passionate about – Spanish language and culture. Read More