Method

The Teaching Methodology used at Liceo Hispánico gathers the best aspects of all existing methods so that our students can manage their Spanish skills in any situation, context or Spanish speaking country without difficulties. Our aim is to get students develop the right skills and attitudes so teaching is based on abilities acquisition that make them :

• Manage in fluent Spanish in any communication situation or context.
• Avoid misunderstandings or lack of self-confidence.
• Get their communicative aims ( convincing, amusing, etc.) in different situations.
• Recognize the different structures of the Spanish language.
• Know about Spanish culture.

In order to get all these aims, our materials follow the  Common European Framework of Reference for languages. With the help of the school’s  specialized teachers and the wide range of resources, students can definitely improve their communicative skills in Spanish.

The Liceo Hispánico’s materials are based on the Common European Framework of Reference and the Instituto Cervantes. Our purpose using the materials is that the student reaches different objectives and skills. Besides the text book, each teacher will use other materials focusing on communicative competence, such as:

• Videos
• Songs
• Written texts (comics, articles, news, etc.)
• Games
• Pictures
• Websites
• Etc.

For general spanish courses, Liceo Hispánico proposes six levels of education following the indications of the Common European Framework of Reference. In each level the student has to reach different objectives including :

A1 SPANISH LEVEL: With the first level of education the learner can:

• Understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases that satisfy immediate needs.
• Introduce him / herself and others and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has got.
• Interact in a simple way provided the other person speaks slowly and clearly and is able to help. 

A2 SPANISH LEVEL: With the second level of education the learner can:

• Understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
• Communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and everyday matters.
• Describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters of immediate need.

B1 SPANISH LEVEL: With the third level of education the learner can:

• Understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered at work, school, leisure, etc.
• Deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.
• Produce simple connected texts on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
• Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

B2 SPANISH LEVEL: With the fourth level of education the learner can:

• Understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions on his/her field of specialisation.
• Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity with native speakers so that communication isn’t interrupted by any of the speakers.
• Produce clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects and give a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of each choice.

C1 SPANISH LEVEL: With the fifth level of education the learner can:

• Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning.
• Express him / herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
• Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
• Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

C2 SPANISH LEVEL: With the sixth level of education the learner can:

• Understand with ease most of the things he hears or reads.
• Summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.
• Express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating slight differences  of meaning even in the most complex situations.

Beside these general objectives for each level, the teaching staff will set specific objectives for the different courses taught at Liceo Hispánico.

All Liceo Hispánico’s teachers are specially trained in teaching Spanish as a foreign language and as well have Master’s or Doctor’s degree in their area of specialization.In addition, they are dynamic, extrovert, kind and hard-working people and they are able to create a good atmosphere in the education/learning process. The students’ groups are small so the teachers will be able to take care of special needs. Being a member of a group will not prevent students from acquiring communicative competence.

 
Besides the teaching staff, Liceo Hispánico has trained associated teachers for different subjects (Art, History, Literature, Medicine, Tourism, Jurisprudence, Education, etc.) in charge of giving specific lectures to certain students or additional master classes about different topics throughout the academic course.

Every spanish lesson takes 50 minutes and there are  morning sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 14:00 p.m and afternoon ones from 17:00 p.m. to 20:00 p.m. Afternoon lessons are usually focused on specific courses such as preparing exams, Spanish as a specialization language, etc. If it is the first time that you study Spanish, as soon as you arrive at Liceo Hispánico you will take a test on reading, listening, speaking and writing skills to help us determine your level.

At the end of the spanish course, the learner will be given  a certificate of his Spanish language level with information about the course hours. In addition, those students who complete courses of at least two weeks, will receive a certificate with information regarding their progress in the course and with marks in the different worked skills.