After a week of Immersion Spanish with Maria, my level of understanding and speaking the
language has improved remarkably. I have had many lessons previously but I must say that her
method of explaining the structure of Spanish grammar is unique and to me it was illuminating.
In addition to the excellent one-to-one and group sessions I have met and spoken with
several native Spanish speakers. I now feel more confident to engage freely in conversations.
The accommodation here is of a high standard and the natural organic food is an added
bonus. I would definitely recommend this immersion course to students at any level.
The main aim of an immersion course is to improve your listening and speaking skills as most people
are better at reading and writing than listening and speaking. The immersion is a great opportunity
to
balance the 4 learning abilities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. I will be your Spanish coach,
telling you everything you have to do to take advantage of your strengths and improve your weaknesses.
This Immersion Programme is thought to put into practice all the Spanish knowledge you have learnt
so far, as most traditional languages courses are focused on the theory (grammar and vocabulary).
The immersion will be your opportunity to create the connections to the right side of your brain where
the listening and speaking skills are centred. In order to do so, your reading and writing skills should
be already located on the left side of your brain that is why your progress will be so fast and amazing.
These are my general recommendations for your first immersion.
But, every case is different. If you already speak other foreign
languages or you are younger than 40 years old, then your
immersion course can be longer even if you are a total beginner.
be to improve your understanding, focused on listening.
In my opinion, the people who take the most advantage out of an immersion
course
are the ones who are already able to understand at least 30% Spanish.
This is a common comment after a week of an immersion programme for an intermediate student:
“I made more progress in a week immersion course than I did over the course of a year studying at school”.
However this positive result would not be possible without that year learning at school previously.
This guy already had the grammar and vocabulary in the left side of his brain so he only needed more
listening and speaking to create the connections to the right side of his brain. You will feel that at last
“the penny drops “, as the immersion programme is a great opportunity to start to think in Spanish.
In a week long immersion programme intermediate learners will be able to think in Spanish, avoiding what
I have called the double translation. You hear something in Spanish, and then automatically your brain translates
it into English. You think in English what you are going to reply and then you translate it again back into Spanish.
That is the reason why you are unable to reply quickly enough to maintain a fluid conversation
This immersion course takes you to the high functional level, so you can speak about past events:
you will be learning the Preterite (I worked) and the Imperfect (I use to work). It teaches
you word order and the use of the direct and indirect object pronouns
aim will be to improve your speaking ability.
The more advanced you are the more advantage you will take out of an immersion course. Memory is not an
obstacle as you already understand at least 60%.Here you have a comment of an advanced student after an
immersion course of two weeks: “I made much more progress in just two weeks than I made in 2 years in
school”.
As I said earlier, that wouldn’t be possible without those 2 years learning before joining the immersion
course.
At this level, you are already able to understand easily and you have more energy left to reply more quickly.
Your main aim is to be able to think all the time in Spanish and give up the double translation into English.
That only happens when you create more Spanish connections to the right side of your brain where listening
and speaking is done. “Practice makes perfect”. You will start to use more and more sentences automatically,
without thinking.
This Spanish immersion course takes you into the conversational level so you can begin to express your personality
and thought patterns in Spanish. After this course you will know seven tenses. It teaches the four main tenses plus
the Future, Conditional, and the Present of Subjunctive. More complex grammar will also be included such as the
indirect speech, subordinate and conditional sentences as well as the indirect and direct objects.
In this two-hour class you will spend the first hour in integration exercises, reviewing the seven tenses and going
through more complex grammar. The second hour is conversational with discussions on outside reading activities
to enrich your vocabulary and develop your conversation skills.
I live in a very modern house in a small village near La Manga. Your room is comfortable with a double size
bed, desk with a chair, and a private bathroom. You also have access to the living and studio rooms where
you can relax, watch TV, listen to music or access the internet.
Your stay has to be relaxing and entertaining in order to get the most out of your Spanish immersion. Mealtime
is actually an important educational component of your experience to have opportunities to converse outside
the classroom environment. You will be my shadow for a week; we will go together to the shops in Cartagena
and we will go for a walk around the mountains or by the sea.
If you wish to travel into Cartagena on your own, the train station is only a five minute walk away from the
house. The trains run regularly every 30 minutes, and it takes about 20 minutes to reach the city centre.
In addition, there are several small nice villages beside the coast, such as Cabo de Palos, Mar de Cristal, La Manga
Club Golf Resort and the protected National Park of Calblanque. We are located near the mountains, the Mar Menor
and the Mediterranean Sea. It is a very appealing area for people who would like to have a vacation beside the sea
and the mountains. The area surrounding the house is beautiful, with miles of trails through scenic country landscapes.
