Spanish Program
"Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada"
Leon Spanish Language school offer an integrated program structure which assures the same high quality of service while at the same time providing two diverse physical and social environments for a totally unique experience at each program location.
Fell free to continue reading and learning about our offer below.
The features of our program include:
Year-round program and services for Spanish students and travelers. Arrive any day of the week and start any Monday of the year.
You can to travel across Nicaragua and study consecutively in our "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" program at two locations (Leon & Granada)for the same price!.
There is only one application to fill out and you can extend your program after you start for the discounted price if you reserve and pay one week before the end of your original program.
Each week have included homestay from Sunday through Saturday morning with 3 meals per day, Spanish classes Monday through Friday, a personal cell phone during the length of your Spanish program, transportation service between the classroom locations and the international airport. With our program you can also reserve extra homestay days and extra tutoring for before or after your program weeks to accommodate any arrival schedule. Tutoring, transportation service, excursions, and homestay services are available separately from the program for registered LSLS students.
LSLS' total immersion language acquisition program
helps you rapidly make measurable gains in your Spanish speaking, conversational comprehension, writing and reading comprehension skills, as wells as comunicative expression and grammatical knowledge. LSLS classes takes place in an exclusively Spanish speaking atmosphere using a participatory conversational method which combines visual, auditory and kinesthetic activities to engage all your senses in the direct-learning process. Class curricula and content are guided by ongoing evaluation of your progress and by your expressed interests with the goal of making your classes engaging as well as instructional. Our exceptionally supportive staff, hospitable host families, and relaxed Nicaraguan culture will help you to quickly lose self-consciousness and gain natural confidence in your ability to communicate effectively en Español. See LSLS Program Curriculum Description.
Placement evaluation puts you in a class of your own level. LSLS' program has six organizational levels: beginner, advanced beginner, intermediate, advanced intermediate, advanced, and conversational which are defined by each student's ability in speaking, comprehension, reading, writing and grammatical knowledge. The placement evaluation is a varied oral and written examination administered on the first day of your classes (at each location in your "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" program) which investigates your language ability, cultural knowledge, and your personal interests so your teacher can structure your classes to be both instructive and interesting.
4 hours all-Spanish instruction per day, in the mornings, Monday - Friday (usually 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon) with short breaks. Instruction is in Espanol only. The LSLS method encourages direct learning through demonstration, experience, and practice at all levels with more in-depth explanation and demonstration of grammar and other elements at the intermediate and advanced levels.
Small class size: 1 or 2 students maximum per class (up to 3 for groups). Class size depends on the number and levels of students attending classes at the same time.
Experienced Native Nicaraguan Spanish teachers are dedicated, simpáticos, and strive to make learning Spanish a pleasant and fun experience for all our students. All LSLS teachers are trained in LSLS's second language "Functional" teaching method, participate in creating our teaching materials, and lead and participate in the complementary afternoon activities at each shool. LSLS takes advantage of our combined 3 years of experience by cross-sharing instructional techniques and materials between program locations.
Class materials are included in the "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" program price. LSLS materials are created by the staff and teachers at each location who draw upon second language learning texts from Latin America and Spain as well as a variety of locally produced printed and visual materials. Each student receives a basic Spanish grammar text (in Spanish) designed for Spanish language students.
Extra individual tutoring is available in the afternoon in addition to the "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" morning program. You can customize your program to make it extra "intensive," to begin a program in mid-week, or to design a program with less hours, with or without homestay. Reserve in advance or add on to your program once in progress and you are sure you want the extra hours (recommended).
Certificate of Completion at the end of your program at each location. You will receive documentation of each week's class and tutoring hours with comments and evaluation from your teachers and a certificate, suitable for framing, documenting your participation and completion at each LSLS program location you attend, signed by the director of each program location.
Transferable University Credit is available for students, teachers and professionals. Contact us and we will tell you how to make a proposal for university credit to your high school or university department and/or we will put you in touch with our allied university credit assistance program if appropriate.
Private Homestay with a Nicaraguan family is included in the "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" program and highly recommended as a part of the immersion process for rapid language acquisition. You have a private room and three meals a day in your own clean, secure, hospitable home of a Nicaraguan family who will help you feel welcome and at ease, as well as giving you opportunty to practice your Spanish. You may share your homestay with a traveling companion or group/family members and you can reserve extra homestay days before and/or after your program. (You may also elect to attend classes without homestay accommodations, or vice versa, space permitting.) In addition to a comfortable room and three full meals a day, your LSLS family will provide you with basic amenities such as a fan and bottled water. Many homestays have phones which can be used by students on a limited basis. Laundry service is available through your family though many students find they actually like to do their own laundry by hand in a Nica pila.(In Leon, we offer two options of home-stay: with a local family or in the school, in where you will have the same benefits like 3 meals per day, a private room, etc...)
Three afternoon activities: mini-cursos, educational cultural activities, visits with local organizations are included in the "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" program to supplement the learning process. The activities (all levels) include topical mini-cursos, visits to clinics, museums, cooperatives, artisan shops, small factories, nearby farms, dance, music, art, and handiwork classes, visits and lectures by local leaders, hikes, local tours an more! (See individual school descriptions). Our topical mini-clases (en Espanol - mainly for intermediate and advanced students) provide an insightful understanding of important topics in Nicaragua such as: the economics of progress and poverty, Nicaraguan politics, the public health and education systems, natural ecology and conservation issues, religion, art and artesan�a, social and gender relations, and much more.
Volunteer opportunities are available through each program location with local public service, education, cultural, and ecological conservation organizations. You can arrange to visit specific kinds of organizations to find a match with your interests. Available volunteer work may include teaching, office work, health care and education, building a school, putting up public service signs, clearing land, cleaning a beach, planting trees, spending time with children, etc. (See individual school descriptions for some ideas.) Volunteer jobs are arranged personally through visits with local organizations once you are at a school location. *Apply a small placement fee
Airport to school transportation service. We pick you up at the airport (even if your plane arrives off schedule or is bumped to the next day), help you get oriented, and take you to your first school. If you arrive late in the day, we take you to an pleasant LSLS hotel in Managua for the night ($15-$25) and then to your school the next morning. Pick-up can also be arranged from any specific location in Managua. You can arrange transportation to the airport for your return trip home directly with your last program location (or in advance for larger groups).
Group study packages can be customized for larger groups. All transportation, study at the two LSLS destines in the "Learn Spanish in Leon and in Granada" program, special outdoor activities or mini-courses, visits with community organizations and volunteer activites, weekend trips... we can set it up for you and make it work.
Assistance with travel and program preparation: Over the last 3 years, LSLS has facilitated hundreds of successful programs for students of all ages, of many professional backgrounds, from many different countries all over the globe. We know Nicaragua, we understand your concerns, and can offer you an unforgettable, safe, full immersion learning experience. Please browse our website as much as you can, see our Questions & Answers page, and then e-mail or call our Leon office and we'll answer whatever specific questions you may have remaining about Nicaraguan, our programs, and the LSLS application process.
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