Expresiones en español con HOMBRE

Taronja is a great Spanish school and also great fun! I have been to Taronja twice before, both times for 2 weeks of their intensive course. The course is for 20 lessons a week, over 4 hours each day Monday to Friday and there are also lots of cultural and social activities run by the school for students, normally without extra charges. These include cooking presentations at the school, cultural walks, lessons off-site at interesting locations, group outings to restaurants, bars and other attractions and cultural presentations at lunch-times as well as the weekly paella party for current and past students.
Teaching is done in small groups (6-10) of people with a similar level of Spanish and is done in a creative way and all in Spanish. As well as following a broad curriculum and working towards the standard learning levels, the lessons include a lot of fun activities and all sorts of diversions into exploring Spanish language and culture.
I can recommend this school very highly and Valencia is a beautiful city well-worth exploring. It is especially good during the Las Fallas festival 15-19 March each year and I will be returning to Taronja again this year 2019 to see it.

Nice and cool to be here, am a filmmaker learning Spanish at the moment, am finding it interesting already.....

OVERALL As a school teacher (of Maths and some other things), I had supported the Spanish trip here with my pupils in April 2023. I could see what a transformative experience it was for them so much so that I wanted it for myself. My time at Taronja can only be described as excellent. Everyone at the school tries to ensure you have the best time possible which is impressive based on the carousel of students who come-and-go each week. All the staff treated me with kindness and respect. Thank you to Maxi and Fernando for running such a unique place. The last 4 weeks at Taronja have been exciting, interesting, eventful, busy, enjoyable and compact with information. The last time I studied a language was 14 years ago. I was not very keen on languages in school but my time spent at Taronja has made me believe that I can learn a language to a much higher level than I ever thought possible. That alone has been worth it. LEARNING EXPERIENCE The teachers were fun and engaging. As an absolute beginner, I did the Intensive course + conversation class + private lessons. That helped with my exposure to the language and the private classes were helpful in ironing out some issues. I did this for the first three weeks, then extended by a week and "dropped down" to "only" the intensive course, which is plenty. If I were building up for an exam I would definitely pick up the private classes again. And the conversation classes were energetically delivered to give you important insights of Spanish conversational etiquette. Overall, I was able to enjoy lessons taught by patient, *knowledgeable* and kind teachers, who have reminded me about the importance of these characteristics in my own teaching practice. Teaching beginners must be tough and it was done with grace, style, poise and importantly, a smile. Thank you Laura, Carmen, Antonio, Miguel Angel, Nestor, Carol, Jenny, Nerea, and especially Mica and Paula for your infectious energy and humour. ACADEMIC ADMIN The organisation of the timetable and classes was clearly communicated in advance via WhatsApp. I know some people didn't feel as though they were in the right class for their level and changes were made almost instantly to help. This was managed by the academic team. SUPPORT Organising, arriving, and extending my stay was made very easy by the ladies at the front desk, in particular Elena and Roza! Emails were responded to promptly and they were always so helpful. Waving to them in the morning and getting a wave back made things feel a bit more like home! SOCIAL Plenty of opportunities to socialise with others at the school. Most people I attended school with were between 19-25. But there was also a considerable contingent of older pupils too (e.g. 31, 40 and 70!). This is all taken into consideration when forming classes and social activities. There are activities organised by the school for every day of the week. I went during high season (i.e. the summer) so there were a lot of people. Some activities are linked to other language schools which broadens your pool of potential connections. A lot are free. Many are heavily subsidised. Because there is a fluid change of people from week to week the extent to which you find things socialable will depend on who you share your time at the school with. But similarly minded people would pay money to attend a summer school, so it's likely to be fine for you, as it was for me! As an over-27, I was added to a WhatsApp group for additionally organised activities. BOCARIOS (Interns) An excellently led intern team support the activities and were a good group to talk to in general. Very helpful! GENERAL THOUGHTS When in Spain and doing things, there is a naturally occurring opportunity to practice the language. Whether you decide to is your own choice! And indeed your experience in general heavily depends on you 😇 . Approach it with an open heart and fresh eyes.

As a retired teacher (university) I was very impressed with the techniques used by the instructors. The classes are engaging; the teachers are motivating and supportive. I enjoyed the diversity of students in the classroom ( countries and ages). At the beginning of each week learning outcomes are presented. Then each class starts with a review of the days learning outcomes and ends with a recap of achievements-- theory, activities, and new words. Each class offers ample opportunities to practice new skills with a wide range of activities. Everyone has numerous chances to speak in every class with carefully crafted activities that are inclusive and fun. The small group size adds to the comfort for those of us who are intimidated with learning new skills.
Classes are pitched at each student's level based on a written assessment. However, during the morning of the first class each person can assess how comfortable they are with the material. They can then move to a higher or lower level class that will more closely meet their personal learning needs.
The school also offers a wide range of activities which further engages learners with more ways to practice language skills as well as to learn about the culture of Spain. I will do another post about my decision to study in Valencia

Замечательная школа Брала две недели уроков испанского языка, они просто пролетели за одно мгновение) Школа потрясающая-современные аудитории, индивидуальный подход, на протяжении всего обучения ощущается мощная поддержка, как будто оказываешься в кругу семьи. После занятий (а они идут зиг-загом, то есть в один день можно отоспаться подольше, а в другой день наборот-встать пораньше и посмотреть закат на пляже, к примеру. Сам город тоже очень интересный, есть множество мест, которые стоит посетить-например, по воскресеньям все муниципальные музеи бесплатны.
Жила в квартире, предложенной от школы, она располагалась в самом центре и в 10 минутах ходьбы от самой школы-очень удобно.Также в школе есть огромная вариация культурных мероприятий-после учебы не заскучаешь 🙂 Можно сходить послушать песни на испанскомкаждый вторник это вечера паэльи, когда собирается вместе вся школаеженедельные экскурсии по городу. В общем, замечательная школа и собираюсь сюда вернуться еще ни раз!!

much more than a school Die Schule ist sehr zentral gelegen. Ich fühlte mich von Anfang an rundum wohl. Die Gestaltung der Räume hat mich sehr angesprochen. Alle Mitarbeiter machten einen sehr zufriedenen Eindruck und der Ablauf war sehr gut organisiert. Mein Lernerfolg war nach zwei Wochen höher als in einer vergleichbaren Schule. Die Leher und Lehrerinnen waren engagiert und jeder konnte seine Talente mit einbringen. Sie arbeiten nicht mit einem Arbeitsbuch sondern haben ein eigenes Konzept und eigene Skripte. Neben dem Unterricht wurden tolle Aktivitäten angeboten. Ich komme wieder.