Los  mejores sitios para hacer un picnic en Valencia

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.

Awesome school and amazing teachers! A great place to meet new friends and learn Spanish. So happy i chose this school!

Heel leuke ervaring, een super team leerkrachten en medewerkers, heel veel bijgeleerd....een aanrader !

Wunderbare Schule und tolle Erfahrung! Ich war zwei Wochen in Taronja und kann die Schule nur wärmstens weiterempfehlen. Die Leser sind alle sehr gut und sympathisch, der Unterricht ist sehr interaktiv und digital und man lernt sehr viel in kurzer Zeit. Die Schule organisiert unter der Woche und am Wochenende zahlreiche Freizeitaktivitäten, bei denen man Spanisch übt, die Umgebung entdecken kann und viele unvergessliche Momente erlebt.

Spending eight weeks learning Spanish in Valencia has been a rewarding experience. When I first arrived here, I had a patchy understanding of how basic Spanish grammar works, which gave me a false sense of confidence coming into the country. I was placed into a class that was far too advanced for my level, and I quickly discovered that my listening and speaking skills were practically non-existent. It is fair to say that I was completely baffed in my first week of lessons. I eventually moved down two groups, so I could work on my listening and speaking skills. This level was much more enjoyable, as I wasn’t in a permanent state of confusion. I have noticed my progress continue to grow steadily over the weeks. Now, I feel like I have enough Spanish to get by on my own and develop my skill independently. Understanding street chit-chat is becoming easier, watching Spanish T.V. is becoming more enjoyable, and I can usually interpret written texts. The teachers at Taronja are young, fun and competent people. Rather than forcing us to fill out boring and repetitive exercise sheets, they make learning more enjoyable by providing innovative activities and games to keep the classroom engaged. The timetable is constantly rotating, so we can benefit from various styles and techniques of each teacher. Valencia is a truly beautiful city in a variety of different ways. The centre of the city is built around two lively squares, made up of old monuments, statues, restaurants, and constant buzz of passing tourists. The surrounding streets are full of character and are brought to life by the detail of their design, the classical Valencian balconies, and the numerous restaurants. The Turia park is another incredible feature of the city. It used to be a large river flowing through the centre of the city, but people decided to drain it after serious floods in the 1950s. Now, it is a riverbed, which has been converted into a lush garden, where people go to escape the city, exercise and relax.

This is a really good school for learning spanish and its great for all agegroups. They also organize a lot of fun and intresting events/excursions outside school so you can meet people and practise your spanish. I recommend it! 🌞

Great Week at Taronja Both my children have been to Taronja to work on their their Spanish (my daughter four times so far) and have both made excellent progress. Then, at long last, Dad made it too! I was looking for an advanced course, which can be difficult to find in smaller schools so it was great to find somewhere that can offer courses at a more demanding level, and even better, that are well taught. All this was backed up with daily printouts of the topics and new vocabulary that arose as we went along. Plenty of great extracurricular laid on outside the formal teaching. Inevitably this was better suited for those a wee bit younger than myself but my two (18 and 21) had an absolute ball! I opted to stay with a Spanish family and was very lucky to be assigned someone who was not only great company but who upon discovering it was my birthday, even laid on a birthday party for me!

I have been to Taronja School for four weeks during June/July and I really enjoyed it. The professors are all young and well prepared. The teaching methodology is very good. The proposed activities were good and permits you to meet people from foreign countries and improve your language skills. I recommend it 🙂