Spanish & Culture of Al-Andalus

I very much enjoyed my one week with Escuela Montalban. They were very friendly and encouraging from the beginning. I felt they placed me well in a class of students that had already been there a couple of months I had 90 minutes of grammar, 90 minutes of conversation, and one hour of cultural Spanish information it was a great way to break up each day, and not be too overwhelming. The professors were fun and engaging, helping each students feel more confident with their Spanish. I would recommend this school for any students. We ended up not having any extracurricular activities because other students were not as interested as I was mainly because they were college age and had other classes to study for. It would’ve been nice to have some extra activities for those of us in town and not taking out college courses . thank you for helping me find this placement.

Ce mois à été une très belle expérience,
En effet j'ai été dans une classes de plus ou moins 6 élèves, ce qui nous permet d'apprendre la langue de manière conviviale, j'en garde un très bon souvenir.
Les professeurs nous aide vraiment afin de nous soyons intégrer au maximum.
Les activités proposées nous permettent de nous immerger dans la culture espagnole, que soit dans la ville de grenade et aux alentours.
Le logement proposé par l'école est très bien desservie, à deux minutes du métro, d'un supermarché et à environ 15 minutes de l'école.
Merci

The School is a very good school, the teachers are so sweet, kind and understanding. You are going to learn spanish very fast. The classes are fun and interactive. The school is in a perfect neighbourhood, close to center but still quiet

Escuela Montalbán Granada creates a superbly friendly environment for its students. It is very flexible and
always adapts to the individual needs of each student. Thanks to its erudite teachers, it not only provides
a very good language education, but also tries to integrate the lessons with Hispanic culture in cultural
exhibitions, museums, cinema, theatre, nature trips in the surrounding area, etc.

My course at Escuela Montalbán in Granada went very well .
Classes of no more than 5 students at any given time, good teachers- grammar and conversation. Clear explanations, interesting topics for discussion such as poetry of Vicente Alexaindre and the approach if Marie Kondo. Classes at right level for me. Stayed very close to the school with 3 sisters of around my age- delightful company and great food. I had breakfast and dinner there. Classes finished at 12.15 so I had loads of time in the afternoons for sightseeing- cathedra la, la Alhambra, lots of squares, museums, art gallery, park of Federico García Lorca etc. Saw a flamenco show one evening. All in all it was a brilliant experience y
creo que mi español mejoró mucho.

Great teachers, active approach, always responsive, ready to help, very well prepared lessons.

Classes: Small groups of 2-5 students of different ages and cultures.

Teachers: Dedicated classes according to one’s level. Lots of homework but a really good experience. My Spanish massively improved.

Location: In the city center. Proximity to all. Class rooms offer sufficient space.

Activities: Good ones. Unfortunately not a lot was a offered in November/ December which was not an issue in the end as it is easy to get connected.

Housing: I had a shared flat. The rent was too expensive, also in comparison with other students rents in Granada. The house was cold which is kind of normal. In Granada and Spain proper heating in winter time is hardly possible.

Overall I really liked my stay in Granada and wish I could turn back the time and be back again ☺️

My experience was very positive. Small class sizes allowed the teacher to adjust the learning goals to individual levels. The learning atmosphere was motivating, kind, and joyful. The school itself is located in central Granada, in a silent neighboring street and with a cozy backyard which can be used during the breaks.

I really enjoyed my 5 weeks at Esuela Montalban. I had only planned to stay for 3 but decided to extend until the end of my trip. The classes are divided into grammar and conversation. Grammar in the mornings was well explained and the teachers are usually very good at explaining a new word or concept using only Spanish, although sometimes, and especially at the very beginning, I was not completely sure that I had understood correctly. Having the teacher that could confirm in English would have been helpful at the beginning. Since every teacher has a different teaching style, some weeks were better than other depending on if I had the teacher I liked for conversation. The location of the school was absolutely fine. Close to the centre and within walking distance of the house I was staying at. The school was cozy and inviting as were all the staff. As for activities, I feel like there could have been more organised opportunities to meet with the teachers and other students outside of class to speak Spanish in a more casual setting. I know that some of the other schools in the city did this and it seemed like a great opportunity to practice with your teachers. I felt like, as a younger student, I would have been better suited in some of the more activity oriented schools. My housing was very comfortable. It was located in the Albaicín, a 25 minute walk from school, and I loved the area an was happy to be there instead of in the school provided facts, which I saw and were not nearly as comfortable as my room. However, I did not see or speak to the woman who was renting me a room in her house very often. She was renting out all the other rooms in her house to airbnb guests and another Spanish student. I did not have meals so I understand how this was the case, and while I would've liked more opportunities to speak Spanish outside of class, I was not bother by this and enjoyed the privacy I had.

I think that the school should give a Spanish assessment on arrival before they place people in classes, because sometimes I was in class which a wide range of skill level and it made it difficult to participate and understand when things were above my level, and frustrating when I was learning something I already understood. I also think if I could do it over again, I'd take the class with the extra private hours during the week because I felt that sometimes after learning new things, I really needed someone to sit with me and practice, and in a bigger group that wasn't always possible.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------