FAQ – Málaga ¡Sí!. Escuela de Español Homestays & Other Lodging:
1. What lodging options do you offer to
arrange for students? Apartments and students’ house: self-catering
2. Are most homestays and your other lodging
options (if any) within walking distance of school? If no, how long of
a bus or subway ride and what is the cost? This depends on how many rooms the family rents. Some rent just one single room, so there is only one student living with the family. However, the majority of the families rents more rooms, and also works together with other schools, not just with our school. That’s why normally more students are living together in one family.
4. If student chooses shared room, does
he/she share room with another student or member of the family? Is the
shared room option only available for students traveling together?
5. How many meals provided in homestay?
Any meals with other accommodations?
In general this is possible, but it depends, of course, on the availability
of rooms/season.
8. Is there an accommodation discount for
young children? If so, at what age does a child have to start paying full
price?
9. When should the student arrive to and
depart from the accommodations, before he/she has to start paying for
extra days? What is the price per night for additional nights? Is there
any problem arriving a few days early or staying a few days longer? Yes, travel companions can also use our accommodation facilities. However, they have to pay additionally 75 EUR/week.
11. Is laundry service included? If not,
what do students typically do?
8 students, but the school reserves the possibility of increases up to
12 students in cases of organizational
2. Average number of students per class?
3. Number of different language levels? A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 (6 different levels) with sub-levels like B1+, B1-,… 4. Text and method used?
Our teaching material is recognised by the CERVANTES INSTITUTE, all our
teachers are university 5. What do you do about academic credit? Do you have any special relationships with colleges and universities? Do you have a list of colleges that frequently grant credit for your program?
We are recognised by the CERVANTES INSTITUTE, CSN (official Swedish institution
which provides 6. Do you offer 1-on-1 instruction? Is there anything that we should know regarding 1-on-1? (Some schools that mainly offer group instruction can only provide private tutoring AROUND their regular program. For ex. 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour at noon and 1 or 2 hours in the late afternoon. If there are any similar restrictions at your school).
Yes, we offer also private tuition. Our students can book the following
options: Private tuition with 4 7.
Do you feel comfortable with highly advanced/superior levels? What has
your experience been so far? Do you feel more comfortable steering advanced
and superior levels to private instruction? 10. What time should the students come to school the first day? At 08:30 am (exception: “Juniors” at 10:00 pm). 11. Do you have a placement test. When? What type of test? Yes, we have two. The first one we send to our students per e-mail before they arrive (we have also one onour web page), the second one they have to do their first day of classes. The test is a written one (grammar and text production). 12. Do you have an orientation. When?
First of all, we send to all our students a pre-departure package with
information about the school, 13. How are classes scheduled? If not always the same, please include a sample itinerary. Class
Schedule (Monday – Friday): BREAK:
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. Exception:
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY 14. How are teachers scheduled. How often does the student change teachers? Every student has one teacher in grammar, and another one in conversation. Changes are due to organizational needs of the school. 15. Does someone take the student to school the first day? Who?
No, in general, our students have to find their way on their own. However,
this is no problem because they receive a map indicating the exact way
from their accommodation to the school. Some families are used to take
the student to school the first day.
Our
students are mostly from Europe, but we are expanding steadily and trying
to catch more and more clients also in other parts of the world, as, e.
g., in China, Japan, and the Alemania:
19,2 %
1.
Suecia: 22,7 % 2. Do teachers and students frequently socialize outside of classes?
Yes, they do. We organize every week at least one activity for students
and staff together, e. g. cooking 3. Ages? (university students, independent travelers, professionals, older/retired, etc.?)
15 -: 2,7 % At our school we welcome all different types of students: We have a lot of students who want to learn the Spanish language just for themselves, others, who study Spanish in their home-country and want to increase their knowledge, students who need to speak Spanish because of their job, … 4. Study environment (casual, classrooms, indoor, outdoor). Are there any special facilities that you want to mention? (swimming pool, large garden, cafeteria, nice terrace, etc.?)
Málaga ¡Sí! is located in one of the city's most attractive
and fashionable areas in the eastern part of the School
Facilities: 5. Your maximum capacity per day or per study session?
Per study session: 90 students 6. Please describe the area where your school is located.
Málaga ¡Sí! is located in one of the city's most attractive
and fashionable areas in the eastern part of the city. Pedregalejo is
a very popular neighbourhood where the local wealthy families have been
building their homes for over 100 years. The district grew up in the 50's
and became a favourite refuge for people who were looking for a quiet
atmosphere far away from hectic urban life and city centre noise. Children: 1. What is the youngest student accepted into the regular program?
Adult courses: 16 years; 2. Do you have special programs for children? Short description? Cost? JUNIOR PROGRAMME The
course includes: All activities are accompanied by a monitor. Objectives: Minimum age: 8; maximum age: 17 Start dates 2007: 08/07/07; 15/07/07; 22/07/07; 29/07/07 Prices
2007:
No, we don’t offer child care facilities for children that are not
studying.
1. Weather? How much rain during rainy season (afternoon, evening)? When is the weather the best? What are the temperature fluctuations throughout the year?
Temperatures (on ºC)- general media Sunny Days Rainy Days Sunny Hours
Semana Santa (Easter): Málaga ¡Sí! strongly recommends that you take out an extensive travel insurance with a full risk cover. If you are an EU-student you have to bring the E111-form to receive first aid assistance in a public hospital. If they wish so, we can contract an insurance for the students. Apart from this, the school has contracted civil responsibility insurance for all the students inside the school building, its surroundings and during excursions and activities organized by the school. In addition, our school and its staff have past recently the legal standards regarding job hazards. Special
safety considerations for our “JUNIORS”:
The
school organizes a varied program of social activities for students such
as excursions to Granada, Cordoba, Seville, and Morocco. In addition,
there are welcome parties and guided tours through the city of Málaga.
Students may take other courses in addition to their Spanish studies,
such as flamenco, dance, guitar, aerobics, golf, or tennis (not included
in the price). The Costa del Sol offers something for everyone: There
are a lot of amusement parks and zoos, you are able to take balloon trips,
do wind and kite surfing, scuba diving, horse riding… Welcome Parties (included in the course price) These parties are designed to welcome the new students and to make it easier for them to get into contact with the existing group of students. During this party the students can talk, dance, eat and drink (non-alcoholic beverages) – in short, they enjoy their time and have fun. The party takes place every Wednesday at our school (either inside or outside in the garden). Flamenco and BBQ/Paella Parties These
parties are celebrated in the evenings. In the first case, a group of
dancers will come to the school, and the students will be able to participate
in a real flamenco-spectacle. The students can take part in the dancing,
they can eat, drink and enjoy the evening with their classmates. Cooking Lessons (included in the course price) In the cooking lessons the students learn how to make a Spanish omelette, pepper’s salad, or other Spanish specialities. Everyone participates in this interactive situation. When the food is done, all of the participants are eating together – which is the perfect atmosphere to introducing new vocabulary to the students and letting them talk with the teachers in a relaxed environment. “Tapas”-Evening (everyone has to pay for him-/herself) One of the activities oriented to get to know the Spanish food tradition is the “Tapas” evening. The students visit with our staff typical tapas- bars, and are able to taste various Spanish specialities in a nice environment. Going out for dinner with our school staff (everyone has to pay for him-/herself) Apart from the “tapas”-evening, there is another informal dinner with the teachers and the school’s staff, where everyone talks Spanish. This activity is very important for the students´ approach to the Spanish culture and language. Cultural Visits The school offers, included in the course price, one cultural visit a week with a guide. The students will visit the Cathedral, Victoria’s Sanctuary, the Santiago church; the museum of fine arts, the Picasso museum, the Archaeology museum, the Town Hall museum, Gibralfaro and the Alcazaba Arabic castles, as well as “La Concepción” – a botanical garden. Spanish Movie at the School (included in the course price) Once a week we show a Spanish movie in school. Some movies are oriented to show the past and present situation in Spain, others are good commercial movies in the Spanish version. The Sports Club “El Candado” (not included in the course price) Tennis: Golf: Swimming: Horse
Riding: Excursions There are excursions every weekend to different Andalusian cities. The meeting point for the excursions is very close to the school, the apartments and families. The excursion price includes bus transport, tickets for visiting museums, castles or monuments, as well as the cost for a monitor and an official guide during the visits. CORDOBA:
GRANADA:
SEVILLA:
GIBRALTAR/MARBELLA:
NERJA/FRIGILIANA:
TARIFA:
RONDA/PUERTO
BANÚS: Weekend-excursion to Morocco: For the price of 175 EUR our students can book at our school an excursion to Morocco. In this price everything is included (bus, ferry, meals, hotel, guides, and travelling insurance). Programme:
Monday Spanish Movie 8:00 p.m. Tapas-Tour Flamenco
en el centro de Málaga Guided
tour through the Picasso-Museum Guided
cultural visit of Málaga 8:00 Excursion to Granada We recommend, e.g., Fuengirola´s Zoo, or the Aqua Park in Torremolinos. Along the coast, there are several amusement parks. During the summer, the school recommends a visit to one of them on the weekends. All information regarding transport, tickets, timetables, and discounts are available at the school´s administration. 5. Does the school organize weekend trips? How often? Where are most common destinations? Can you include a short description of these trips? Does anyone from the staff go along? Are they conducted in the language being taught or English? Cost? Can a student's travel companion participate? Yes,
we organize weekend trips (for details see 4.). No, in general, staff-members
don’t accompany the trips, but an official guide. Excursions are conducted in Spanish/English. Of course, travel companions can also participate. 6. Do you arrange for volunteer work (or internship placements)? How does it work? What kind of volunteer work? Do you require that the person studies at your school for a number of hours first? Is it possible to participate in volunteer work arranged by you, but not having to study at your school. If this is the case, do you charge a placement fee?
Yes, we arrange internship placements for Spanish students as well as
for foreign students. Internships of Spanish students are paid, those
of foreign students are not paid, but we offer them a discount on accommodation.
As we collaborate with a lot of universities, we constantly receive applications
of students from many different countries. 7. Can you please include a list of hotels (from basic to luxurious). Cost, address, fax, phone, email. Do you make reservations for students that choose to stay in a hotel? Hotels near the school: Hotel
Cohiba***
High season Low season Special season
Hotel
Pedregalejo** Hostal
El Nogal**
We make reservations for the students who choose to stay in a hotel. Please
take into consideration that 9. Are there any Sports/Gym facilities nearby?
Yes, there are fitness-centers, soccer and volleyball fields, …
10. Do the students have access to e-mail at the school? What is the cost to send and receive? If not available, is there a service or internet café nearby? Cost?
We provide our students with free access to the world wide web. In addition,
there is a wireless internet 11. If offering airport pick up - Who does the pick-up? Please include telephone number for this person/company in case of last minute flight changes.
Yes, we, on our own, offer also airport pick-up service, meaning that
there is no other company involved. 12. School start dates? The school is opened the whole year, except bank holidays. All courses start every Monday. 13. What are the dates when the school is closed including breaks such as end of the year?
Bank holidays 2007: 14. Why is your program better than others? - At Málaga ¡Sí! all courses start every Monday all year long. - We offer our students excellent facilities, an international environment, and various leisure activities. - We offer quality products at excellent prices. - Our organisation is oriented to the students´ satisfaction and pays attention to their individual needs. - We are one of the few centres in our location associated to the Cervantes Institute. - Málaga ¡Sí! is member of city, region and country associations in order to promote the Spanish language worldwide. - We pay great attention to product variety, which means that we offer a wide range of special courses, designed to different markets or segments like adult-, teenager-, and price-sensitive courses, as well as courses for students from countries with different summer holidays. - We offer courses of 6 different levels from beginner to mastery, in accordance with the European Union system of the Common European Framework of languages. - All our teachers are experienced and university trained. - The maximal class size is normally 8, the average size is 4 students. Only during summer, the maximum number of students can be 12, the average one 6. - Málaga is a city full of life, culture and attractions. - At Málaga ¡Sí! you study in an international atmosphere. - We have over 13 years of experience in the language-travel market. - Last minute bookings are accepted. - We guarantee all our clients a reply to inquiries and a confirmation of their booking within 24 hours. |