Next Sesssion
January 6th - February 14
Visit to Barrio El Vecino
Wednesday, November 20th
15:00 @ Plaza Picota del Rollo
Cost: $ $7
Our guide will be an actor who represent a popular character of the city and he will tell us the history and legends of this area. On this tour we will be able to visit a traditional neighborhood of Cuenca. It is a place full of history. It was the northern entrance to the city. The square was the place where justice was administered. And also a traditional meeting place with neighbors. It is an important reference point where the fighters for the city's independence fortified themselves. We will learn more about the area where the winning troops entered. * At the end we will taste an empanada and a traditional herbal infusion in one of the old houses in the city.
Student Trip to Parroquia Sinincay
Saturday, November 23rd
08:30 @ Depart from Plaza Otorongo
Cost: $ $35
Our visit will be guided by Javier Inga, beekeeper and manager of the tourist route in Sinincay. We will start with a traditional breakfast: corn tortilla and coffee. Then a visit to Parque Central de Sinincay where we will walk to the apiary (25 min). At the Casa Matilde apiary we will visit the hives and learn about the work of this project and the prepartion of their products. We will also visit the marble workshop of one of the most important artisans in Cuenca. Lunch and return to Cuenca @ 15:00 * Please Avoid using perfumes, colognes, lotions or fragrant substances since bees are sensitive to odors.
Conversational Class One week long Improve your speaking
December 9th - 13th
Depends on Level - see below @ Raquel Lounge 2nd floor
Cost: $ $55
We will focus on vocabulary, Idioms and conversation exercises to talk in pairs and in groups. Topics are related to daily activities, cultural issues and current events of Ecuador. Class Objectives: Gain fluency and confidence in the conversation, exposure of points of view, use of connectors when speaking. We will have complementary activities, cards and word games, articles and storytelling exercises. Each of the Conversation Classes will be meeting Monday-Friday for 1.5 hours, totaling 7.5 hours of instruction. Beginner Conversation: 9:00-10:30 – for students who completed Beginner 2 and 3 Intermediate Conversation: 10:30-12:00 – for students who completed Intermediate 1 and 2 and 3 Advanced Conversation: 12:00-13:30 – for advanced level students who completed Intermediate 4 and Advanced levels
Pre-Beginner Class One week long Get ready for Spanish
December 16th - 20th
10:00 - 11:30 @ Raquel Lounge 2nd Floor
Cost: $ $55
This class is designed for students completely new to Spanish. They will start with the alphabet and numbers, and move upwards towards establishing a basic foundation in Spanish. Intended to be taken before Beginner 1, or as a refresher of the basics for students who have taken Beginner 1. Learn key vocabulary, basic structures, and explore cultural diversity Content: • Greeting Others & Introducing Yourself • Vowels and consonants: Pronunciation • Greetings and Introductions • Weather and Seasons • Days and Dates • Likes and Dislikes • Shopping • Common questions in Spanish * Limited availability
Class Information
• Session's run for 6 weeks. We meet twice a week for 1 1/2 hours each class.• In the first week of class you will receive a novel and class packet.• One Saturday each session we will have a day of activities, conversations, and games.• The cost of the session is $110 for 6 weeks of classes.• Click on the triangle for more detailed information about classes in that level.
Beginner Classes
Story learning is a process that is based on how human beings naturally learn their native language. It uses the power of story to teach you Spanish from the very beginning.
In Beginner 1 we build our foundation with the alphabet, numbers, adjectives, and regular verbs. We will also practice phonetics, pronunciation, basic grammar structure, and vocabulary for daily use.
Moving onto Beginner 2 we will develop more grammar concepts such as present tense irregular verbs, the immediate future, interrogative words, possessive adjectives and pronouns, the progressive form, impersonal sentences and finally comparatives and superlatives. It sounds like a lot, but I promise it will be very easy.
Graduating to Beginner 3 we will cover a few more grammar concepts like reflexive pronouns, indefinite adjectives and pronouns, the diminutive and the argumentative, and the regular past tense. From there we will dive into some Spanish concepts like por vs. para, imperative, and verbs like gustar.
Intermediate Classes
Intermediate ranks helps engage in authentic meaningful conversations that go beyond simple phrases. Lots of exposure to real, natural Spanish to help you reach fluency.
In Intermediate 1 we work on putting together the concepts from our beginner classes and work on further our Spanish foundations. In this level we will introduce the preterit (+ verbs with specials meanings in the preterit), tenses for regular and irregular verbs, and do and io pronouns, as well as working on our expression of certain situations (a completed action or a series of completed actions and a condition that is no longer in effect).
When you reach Intermediate 2 we begin to study the imperfect (past tense for descriptions), further study into the preterit (past tense for events), and prepositions. We will compare and see when to use each tense as well as explore the different uses of Se.
We start to finish off our tense work in Intermediate 3 with the present perfect, the past perfect, the future, and the conditional. We will also work on improving our conversational skills by learning about and using connectors in our speech.
You made it to Intermediate 4 congratulations! In this class we prepare yo to transition to the advanced level. We will focus on pronunciation and improving our vocabulary to sound more natural. This is a great class to shore up any weak points you may have before moving onto the advanced levels.
Advanced Classes
Becoming advanced in Spanish requires you to learn vocabulary and phrases. Conversational connectors and Spanish idioms will help you not only keep the conversation going, but sound more natural while you do it.
Welcome to the Advanced classes. In this first level we will review and reinforce what you have learned so far. We will work on our conversations and introduce the subjunctive.
This level of Advanced classes is to continue conversational practice. In this level we will converse about Latin American topics based on podcasts and journalistic articles. And as always we will continue to review vocabulary and advanced grammar.
Online Classes
I offer online classes so that you can learn Spanish from anywhere in the world. I offer 1:1 and group sessions. Please Contact me for more information on these types of classes.
Online classes can be tailored in many ways to find the learning experience that works best for you. We can review topics you feel need additional reinforcement, or we can dive into new areas to help you improve your Spanish.