How much does it cost and how are the classes scheduled?
- You basically set the days and hours at your convenience. Please see Pricing for the cost of the lessons.
What’s different between the Spanish lessons with Andrea and the lessons I can get at another institute or school?
- It would be difficult to find another school or teacher with a method as efficient and as much fun as Andrea’s.
- There are some very good teachers around and a few good schools. However, people often spend exorbitant amounts of time, energy and money on “one size fits all” courses. This often leads to boredom and frustration because these courses lack the vision or flexibility to adapt to your personal learning style. It is also important to point out that many teachers are not fully bilingual and that slows down the process of learning, especially when the student is a beginner.
- Andrea is completely bilingual in English and Spanish and this saves a lot of precious tutoring time when you have a specific question.
- Andrea has been developing her teaching method through:
- Years of practice with many different types of people.
- Extensive research.
- Strong academic education and training.
- An interdisciplinary approach so that the classes are also a lot of fun!
What textbooks will I need?
- Español en Español by Nicolas Shumway is the main textbook for grammar and exercises. In addition we include a wide variety of materials to enhance your skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Resources for these classes may also come from professional magazines, newspapers, works of literature, Latin American music and video clips.
I already tried to learn Spanish in the past but it did not quite work out. How do I know that I’ll be successful this time?
- Many people say that they are not good at learning languages. Most of the time this is not the case. The problem is usually a combination of poor teaching methods, tedious lessons and inadequate organization of the information and learning materials.
- This time you’ll have an excellent teacher with a clear method and the experience and vision to realize what you need in order to learn faster and better.
I’ve heard that each Spanish speaking country and region uses a different kind of Spanish. If I take classes with Andrea will I be able to communicate with people from different countries?
- Just as you can communicate in English with a British person or somebody from India, Jamaica or Australia, you will also be able to do so with people from different Spanish speaking regions. There is only one Spanish Language. Of course, there are some differences, and they are addressed and taken care of in this program.
How long will it take me to become fluent?
- Any honest and serious instructor will give you the same answer: It is up to you depending on how much time and energy you invest, how long you study the language, the frequency of the classes, and how much you practice at home.
- This program is based on your needs and customized to your objectives. Therefore, the amount of time will vary. However, most students starting this program from ground zero (attending classes twice a week) achieve a good level of fluency in less than two years . An advanced knowledge of the language may take from three to five years. If you are already fluent in another Romance language such as Portuguese, Italian or French you have a considerable advantage. You’ll be able to speak the language in a relatively short time but it could take up to two years to be fully fluent.