Semi-intensive 10 hour Spanish Course

Its a nice school with nice teachers. But the Building is not verder nice.

At speakeasy The courses were excellent and very appropriate at my request.
The teachers were very responsive to my needs.
Speakeasy is a well-located training centre in the centre of Barcelona.
During my stay I was able to visit a majority of famous monuments in Barcelona.
I lived in Gracia's neighbourhood, which was really pleasant and family friendly.
I really loved everything during my stay.

All activities were appropriate for a child 5 years of age. The teacher was very nice and she taught with passion. The location of the school and other services were very appreciated by Ricardo and his family.

The location in the very center of Barcelona was really good! The teacher was very nice and passionate. The facilities weren't new, but still well-functional.

I had a level problem though in the beginning of my course so it was important to make sure of this in advance; otherwise, you may lose some money!

In my seven months of classes at the institute, I can say it was spectacular. Why? Let me start by saying that the school is very well located and has self-level teachers.

1) The teaching methodology is impeccable (note 10).
2) The teachers have a very good disposition (friendly).
3) Their language books are updated.
4) There is a privilege of exchanging with people from different cultures and with different habits.
5) Their knowledge of Spain (history, culture, customs, politics, etc.).

I can only describe the school, but those who would want to attend should have the curiosity and courage to try the language.

The teachers were excellent. I would say not only were they very good at teaching, the three teachers that I interacted with I would characterize as being pleasant and exuberant personalities. I would also like to add that my classmates at the school were excellent as well and that I made some really good friends at (and through) Speakeasy. The location is convenient and I also like the fact that the school is located in an "active" and "entertaining" part of the city. I also participated in activities that were introduced to me through Speakeasy. Those were awesome as well because I was able to interact with other students in Barcelona (ERASMUS for example) outside of my language school. Additionally, my accommodation in Barcelona was as good as anyone could ask for as I was able to stay with an extremely kind and helpful Spanish woman. Finally, I can honestly say that my Spanish skills tangibly improved during my time in Barcelona and that I was able to lay a strong foundation for tremendous future improvement after my stay in Barcelona. I was an A+ Spanish student in college in the United States and I would state unequivocally, that my Spanish improved more in my 3 months in Barcelona than it did in an entire year of studying Spanish in college.

I have a full time job and I needed to squeeze in Spanish classes afterwards. I found the perfect course from 18:30 to 21:30, which seemed like a long time after 9 hours of work but it went by really quickly.

What I enjoyed is that we did a lot of speaking, I hear so many people say, "I can understand Spanish but can't speak it," and that is due to just learning from a book, instead of learning the information and then applying it while speaking in class, which is what we did.

I also needed to go back home for a while during my class and I was able to leave and then come back to the same level when I was ready, without having to pay any fees.

The location is perfect, really central and I think easily reachable for everyone. The classes were pleasant and went by fast in general. I liked the fact that the teacher switches after two hours because it keeps things interesting and does not get boring. I found the teachers to be really nice, are able to explain grammar and constructs clearly. What I would have liked more is that when students speak up in class that the teacher also gives feedback on conversation and grammar mistakes, even though it is not a conversation class. I missed corrections in speaking quite often.

What I like:
* good location
* small groups
* clean facilities
* friendly teachers/personnel
* flexible course start and duration

Dislikes:
* pricey, compared to other courses
* teachers do not appear to be motivated
* not all exercises that we write are checked by the teacher
* much more copied handouts are used than the textbooks we had to buy
* new students join midway through the course
* school sends new students to levels that are actually not suitable for them

The teachers are very competent and have a great attitude
The classrooms are terrible. They are too small and when working in groups, you still have to share the same room, which means that the room is very noisy.
The walls between the classrooms are very thin, which means that there is a most disturbing noise from the next classroom. The tables are too small. It is not possible to bring a laptop in order to take notes, which means double work (notes by hand in the classroom, writing it in the computer at home).
Location is great near the university and Plaza Cataluña.
Facilities.The computer room was not functioning most of the time because of several errors. Many days there was no connection to the internet. Some of the computers were not functioning at all, and most of them restarted all the time, which made it impossible to work seriously on them. There was no possibility of printing.
Activities. I have noticed that the activities outside school do not have the same quality as in the spring 2013, where I attended the school too. This time, I missed cultural activities about the city Barcelona like art, architecture, and history. The movie evenings have been cancelled, and I would really have liked to see movies with other students in Speakeasy. And, earlier that was a possibility. Most activities were about drinking and having parties. The activity with Zombie Walk was advertised wrongly in Speakeasy, which meant that I waited in vane for a very long time.
The staff in the the reception was very helpful and nice.

There was a good atmosphere and I really wanted to go every day, despite the fact it was not challenging for me! The classes were really fun, as well as the teachers. They provided good lectures with useful information that the students can apply in real life...
The location is outstanding, it is right in the centre, so good availability! The facilities are sufficient as well and you can find enough cafés around in the area for a break.
The only thing I personally missed, is the activities. I did not participated in any and I did not know Speak Easy organized activities for the students.

I took 10 weeks of intensive spanish courses and enjoyed every minute. The teachers were very helpful with different teaching styles aiding in my development. I made great strides and improvements with my spanish language skills. The school also offered fun social events which are very memorable. My only suggestions are to improve the internet speed and wifi connectivity as well as establishing a better common area for students to spend time. Otherwise it was a great experience!

I think that overall my experience with Speakeasy was good, especially the A2 portion.
<br><br>
A few suggestions:
<br><br>
1) Absolutely critical, in my opinion: Provide a bullet-pointed style outline of what the course is going to look like. This would help dramatically with helping the student set their mind properly for preparing for each day, as well as help with catch-up. I would have done quite a bit of pre-reading in alternate texts, so that the time in class would have been far more productive. i know that some teachers that have been at it for a while might not have a rock solid structure, but give us as much as you can with this.
<br><br>
2) Slow down. In A1, the first instructor just would not slow down her rate of speaking, meaning that 1/2 of what she was saying was lost. In A2, both teachers were excellent - speaking slowly and using simple sentences.
<br><br>
3) Perhaps give the weeks handouts all at once, again allowing us the chance to mentally prepare for the week.
<br><br>
4) Change the water filter in floor 3 water fountain - it's fouled.
<br><br>
5) Start with some english to spanish conversions, gradually reducing it to next to none towards the end of A2. A number of folks were lost trying to figure out what was being hurridly said in A1. Immersion's great, but don't let that concept impair quality of teaching.