Next Session
May 5th - June 13th
Visit to Loma De Cullca: A traditional Neighborhood of Ceunca
Meeting details:
Wednesday, April 16th
15:00 @ C&E Arte Visual
Cost: $ 7
Our exhibitors are the artists Belen Quinde and Edgar León. Their works merge art and craftsmanship in painting, ceramics, mosaics, murals, and sculptures. They will share with us their interest in the arts, culture, and history that are part of this traditional neighborhood. We'll visit the recently remodeled Cullcay viewpoint. • We will learn the history of the neighborhood during Inca and colonial times • We'll learn about the main activities that take place in the neighborhood and the social life that characterizes this place • We will visit C&E Arte Visual studio-gallery where the artists will share their work • We will learn about the process of creating artworks using different materials and techniques • They'll explain one of the traditional drinks prepared in the neighborhood, and we'll have a tasting at the end of the visit
Student Trip: Comuna de Ushucay, Bosque Protector Collay - Gualaceo
Meeting details:
Saturday, April 19th
8:30 @ Plaza Otorongo
Cost: $ 35
This trip is 40km from Cuenca, 1 hour 10 min by bus. With an altitude of 7,640 ft. Uchucay is a community located in the Gualaceo canton. One of its most valuable resources is a spectacular montane forest located between 3,200 and 3,400 meters above sea level. The native forest is home to a variety of orchids and other botanical plants. The fauna includes species such as deer, spectacled bears, foxes, skunks, rabbits, and a wide variety of birds such as tanagers, blackbirds, hummingbirds, curiquingues, hawks, Andean toucans, and more. • Arrival at 10:30. Visit to the interpretation center for general information about the community project and forest protection activities. Refreshments • Visit to the community and the lagoon • Visit a community member's farm and go sport fishing • Participate in the community minga (collective work) • Lunch • Visit to the fireworks museum MIPA The price includes transportation to and from Ushucay, the guide, museum entry, and lunch. Please bring comfortable shoes for walking, a water bottle, sunscreen, camera, warm clothes, and a raincoat.
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.