Study programme: Level 1

This course is designed to enable you to practise your speaking and listening skills in a Spanish environment while at the same time revising the essential vocabulary and grammatical structures of En Rumbo.

Classroom at the residencia (image).

The timetable includes a minimum of 25 hours of tuition with experienced native teachers of Spanish, plus optional language workshops and activities.

You will be working with your personal tutor in some classes, and you will also be taught by other tutors in the course, to allow you to experience a variety of teaching styles and native accents.

Group sizes are small, with a maximum of 12 students per class. This allows for plenty of interaction with different people in the classroom.

We provide you with all the necessary course materials, but we do recommend you bring a small dictionary. The materials we provide for this course include a course book.

Course description:

This course is designed for students who are taking the Open University course L140 En rumbo. The course covers vocabulary and listening/speaking/reading/writing activities on a variety of topics including people and places, daily life, leisure and hobbies, past events...

Classroom activities include presentations, discussions and role-plays, gathering and exchanging information, and collaborative activities. Some activities are designed to develop confidence and fluency in speaking, whilst others concentrate on developing writing skills. There is also a group oral task during the course which will help you prepare for the speaking End of Course Assessment (ECA).

The course includes coverage of the following grammatical areas:

The materials we provide for this course include a course book.

Here is a sample timetable for the week:

Time Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8.00 - 8.45

10.00 - 4:00

Registration

Breakfast
9.00 - 10.30 Session 3 Session 5 Session 8 Session 10 Session 12 Session 15
10.30 - 11.00 Break
11.00 - 12.30 Session 4 Session 6 Session 9 Session 11 Session 13 Session 16
12.30 - 1.00 Preparation Alicante visit Free time Course closure
1.00 - 2.00 Free time Free time Free time 12:45 - 1:45
Oral task 		Free time
2.00 - 3.00 Lunch
(registration continues) 		Lunch
3.15 - 4.45 3:00 - 4.00
Registration 		Alicante Visit Session 7 Afternoon Excursion to Guadalest and Villajoyosa Free afternoon Session 14
4.45 - 5.00 4.30 - 5.00 Welcome Break Break
5:00 - 6:30 Session 1 Preparation oral task 5.00 - 6.00 Options
Break Break
6.30 - 7.30 6.30 - 6.45 Break

6:15 - 8:30

San Vicente town quiz

6:15 - 7:15 Options
7.30 - 8.30 6.45 - 8.15 Session 2 Break
8.30 - 9.30 Dinner
9.30 Welcome drink Film San Vicente Feedback Film Film

Please note that the timetable is provisional, and might be subject to minor changes. The swimming pool will be available in the period before lunch, and in the afternoons.

As you can see, we have packed the week with plenty of learning opportunities: you will have approximately 4 hours' tuition each day, and there will be optional activities too. Options may range from grammar activities, speaking activities, pronunciation practice, or aspects of Spanish culture. The visits are an integral part of the programme, and give you the opportunity to practise your language skills with the locals. But it's not all work! We have included in the programme plenty of opportunities to get out, enjoy the location and all it has to offer.

The excursion on Tuesday afternoon:

For the afternoon excursion we will be visiting two famous places in the Alicante area. First we will go to Guadalest, a small village about 60 km from Alicante that dates back to the eighth century, when the moors settled in this steep crag in the middle of the mountains. Within the walls of the fortress lies the original village, and you can sit at one of the cafes in the square and admire the spectacular views of the mountains and the damn beneath. Outside the fortress gates, you can stroll in the little streets and visit its many craft and souvenir shops. We will visit the ethnographic museum, housed in one of the small, traditional dwellings, and which recreates a typical traditional house of the area. Afterwards we will travel down to the coast, and spend some time in Villajoyosa, where you might choose to relax on the beach, stroll along the seafront, or visit the historical town centre. You can find out more by visiting these sites about Guadalest and Villajoyosa.