Barcelona 50 Plus Language Learning Holiday

Spanish Language Holiday Course

Location

Worldly Barcelona, city of artists, museums, home of Picasso, the entire city an architectural exhibition featuring brilliant mosaics, riotous ornamentation, stained glass, marble…it would take years to take in all of Barcelona’s attractions.  Visit, for example, La Pedrera, an apartment building designed by Gaudi in 1910.  Imagine a building that creeps monstrously around a corner, an amusement park haunted house of bulging eyes, laughing mouths and peephole windows, wave after wave of stone, entanglements of wrought-iron seaweed.  Imagine getting away with something so outrageous in 1910.  Or watch the passing parade of people on famous Las Ramblas; sit at sidewalk cafés and listen to ordinary citizens debate art; stroll the Gothic Quarter—the ancient heart of the city, a labyrinth of narrow cobbled streets that wind around Roman walls with imposing stone towers.  In the evening, feel the breeze from the Mediterranean Sea that laps the coast of this spectacular, unforgettable Spanish city.

Program

This two-week Spanish language learning holiday is designed for students over the age of 50 who prefer to study and socialize with people their own age. The program includes activities and excursions specifically for your age group, featuring a full-day excursion to the Costa Brava, Figueras, the Dali Museum, and a meal in a typical Barcelona restaurant.

Lessons

The main objective of this Spanish language course is to improve conversational skills.  In this course, the emphasis of classroom activities is therefore the development of the students' abilities to speak and understand spoken Spanish.  Classes are conducted entirely in Spanish and students are given plenty of opportunity to develop their practical speaking skills. Classes are three hours a day from 10am to 1pm., Monday to Friday.  Classes have a maximum of 10 students and all levels are available, including complete beginners. Attention is also paid to grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills, and a wide variety of materials are used including published materials from many sources, and materials written by the  teachers.  While the atmosphere in the classroom is relaxed and informal, you should be prepared to work hard and participate fully.

Optional Workshops

Four workshops are scheduled to take place over the two weeks of your language holiday course, with two workshops per week, each lasting between 1 and 1.5 hours.  All materials are provided and you are welcome to take home any work you produce.

• Painting Ceramics workshop: This workshop consists of decorating a porcelain dragon figure (designed by Gaudi) which has previously been fired at 1200º C.  The decorative mosaic technique often used by Gaudi is also explained in detail.
• Glass-fusing workshop: Students will study the many marvelous possibilities of working with molten glass.  Each participant will produce a plate or bowl and decorate it according to their own preferences.
• Pottery workshop: Following a demonstration of the art of 'throwing' a pot on a wheel, each participant will be given the opportunity to produce a bowl, plate or jug of their own.
• Sculpture workshop: This workshop focuses on how to make sculptures appear well balanced and less static than is often the case.  Each participant will be then be given the opportunity to make a Picasso-style Spanish bull.

Teachers

Teachers in this Spanish language learning program hold university degrees and all have successfully completed a rigorous training course that prepares them to teach Spanish to foreigners.  The teaching and the course program are carefully supervised by the Director of Studies, who is also responsible for ensuring that students are placed in the appropriate levels and that their progress is satisfactory.

Accommodation

The Barcelona 50 Plus Language Learning Holiday offers homestay family, executive homestay family, and independent apartment accommodation options.

• Homestay family: All host families live in flats, as individual houses in Barcelona are not common. Apartment buildings (both old and modern) are rarely more than eight floors high.  A typical flat will have three or four bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room and living room.  Some flats have terraces; almost all have balconies.
• Executive homestay: There is also a limited number of host families who live in larger, 'up-scale' apartments and can offer students their own private bathroom.  These families will also do your washing and ironing.
• Independent apartment: Apartments with 1 or 2 bedrooms are available on request, please contact us for details

*Listed above are the recommended accommodation options for this language learning holiday.  Alternatively, you may book the course only and arrange your own accommodation in local hotels or apartments.  Please see the prices page for Course Only Fees.

Features included in the price of our language learning holiday:

• Fifteen Spanish lessons per week (1 lesson = 55 minutes)
• Language level test on first day of class
• Social and cultural activities
• One full-day excursion
• All study materials
• Certificate of completion
• Optional art workshops
• Your choice of accommodation

For more information or to book this program please call us toll-free on 1-888-386-1411.