I´m sure I´m not the only student learning Spanish that gets paralysed mid sentence whilst trying to work out the tense, person and ending of the verb I need to use. Add to this all the irregular and reflexive verbs and my brain is working overtime calculating the correct option.

The frustrating thing is we know the theory but when speaking under pressure without the luxury of time to reflect, we blurt out whatever comes into our head then kick ourselves afterwards as we remember what we SHOULD have said.

Well, help is at hand. There is no substitute for practice unfortunately but now we can provide a fun way for students to test each other. Each student receives a “Verb Wheel” in their Welcome Pack which spins round as a reminder of how to form the present, conditional, past and future forms of the most commonly used Spanish verbs.

We know the Spanish verbs are a challenge but we´ll ensure you have fun learning them and have a souvenir to take home to help you in the future.

If you want to find out more about learning Spanish with International House Valladolid & Santander contact us at www.espaname.es.

Fed up with all the talk of global recession, mortgage crises and rising prices …….? Here is something to cheer you up in a time of doom and gloom.

International House Valladolid & Santander has decided to freeze its Spanish language course fees. Enrol now for a course in 2010 and you will be paying at 2009 prices. This offer is valid until December 2010. That´s good news for all our returning students and those thinking of joining us this year.

Take advantage of our price freeze and make 2010 the year you saved money and improved your Spanish!

For more information on our general intensive Spanish courses and fees visit our website www.espaname.es

A recent analysis of student questionnaires over the past 4 years has revealed that a whopping 98% of students rate the teaching on our Spanish courses as either good or very good and the same number, 98%, would recommend our Spanish courses to someone else.
95% of students surveyed thought our facilities were good or very good and 99% of students thought the administration of our courses was either good or very good.
Here are some student comments:
“No estaba acostumbrada a eso (el método de enseñanza). Fue mucho más divertido y eficaz. Dibujos, colores y todo el resto me han ayudado a memorizar mejor la gramatica. Gracias para todos! Más que una escuela me he sentido en casa, en familia. Nunca podría olvidaros a todos vosotros¡ Y HASTA PRONTO!” Chiara (Italy)
“Este es una programa muy efectiva y organizado. Estoy feliz con mis experiencias aquí en Valladolid” Carl.
“Las aulas son con aire acondicionado cuando hace calor que es muy bien porque siempre hace calor en Valladolid” Nicholas (France)
“La administración era muy amable, siempre respondió a mis emails rápidamente….” Jennifer (USA)
“La calidad de la enseñanza es fenomenal : jamás es aburrida y siempre es de un nivel alto por gramática y vocabulario” Luca (Italy)
“IH es una escuela muy buena, me encanta. Todas las materiales utilizados en clase son interesante y aprendí muchísimo” Rachel (Scotland)

Want to learn Spanish with us? Contact International House Valladolid and Santander at www.espaname.es

Oh, the things we do for love!
Once Cupid’s arrow hits there is no telling what can happen. Thankfully, in my case, what happened was a swift move to Spain! I met my love, a Spaniard of course, 9 months ago in my home country Canada. Our meeting was reminiscent of a fairy tale and like all tales of love there was a serious glitch. He was moving back to Spain in 3 months. It was apparent we were destined for one another and that soon led to me being destined for Spain! Not wanting to be apart for long, I wrapped up my life in Canada quickly and arrived in Spain with 2 suitcases, my cat and not a word of Spanish under my belt. Needless to say, one of my first priorities was to enrol in school and start learning Spanish!
From the moment I walked through the door of IH Valladolid I knew this was the place for me. The wonderful woman at reception was warm and welcoming, answering all my questions and quelling my concerns. This comfort extended to my first day (I literally had to start with the alphabet) as my teacher was/is amazing. Educated and patient with a great sense of humor, Raquel helped me from the basics to the every day conversation ‘know how’ that has been invaluable in my relationship with my wonderful Spanish man, and in my new life here in Spain.
It’s been 3 months and I’m still going strong! The courses are intensive and I work hard, but given my improvement in Spanish, the friends I have made and the love of the new country I call home, this is and has been, an amazing experience. A lot of which was possible through IH Valladolid. It is more than just a school for me; it has been a guide and a helping hand to me during my transition to Spain and starting my new life with my True Love.

Need to learn to speak Spanish for work, for your studies or….for love??? Then contact us at www.espaname.es and we´ll send you all the information you need to get started.

I thought my days of learning languages were over until I met my husband. Although he speaks fluent English and we met in England, it soon became apparent that if I was to share my life with him I would need to learn to speak Spanish to be able to communicate with his friends and family. For a couple of years I made half-hearted attempts to learn Spanish at night school thinking I had plenty of time to improve but then one year we made the decision to move to Spain.
My Spanish may have been adequate for the occasional holiday but it was nowhere near good enough to live and work in Spain. A couple of weeks after arriving I enrolled on an intensive general Spanish course at IH Valladolid. It was exactly what I needed, lots of opportunities to practice my spoken Spanish, consolidate what I had already picked up and start learning some new material. In just a month I made huge progress, particularly in my spoken Spanish which gave me the confidence to start living a more independent life in the country I now called home. Through the school I also made new contacts and some really good friends which is so important when you know absolutely no-one!
I´ve been here almost a year now and I know I have a lot more to learn. I still take private Spanish classes at IH which I fit around my job as although I have the benefit of living in Spain, I feel you need the help of a trained teacher to make rapid progress. IH Valladolid is like a second home to me now, the staff make you feel so welcome and have helped guide me through a year full of challenges and new discoveries!

Want to learn to speak Spanish too? Then contact us at www.espaname.es and we´ll give you all the help you need.

Next week to celebrate el día de San Valentín two students at International House Valladolid tell us their very own love stories.

Falling in love is a wonderful thing but how do you manage when you both speak different languages and come from different countries?

They say communication is 70% non-verbal but for the other 30% you really do need some basic grammar and vocabulary. Our tongue-tied students tell us how International House Valladolid helped them to speak the language of love in Spanish and whisper sweet nothings in a new language.

Not to be missed!!!!!

Learn Spanish at IH Valladolid and Santander. Contact us for more information at www.espaname.es

Many of our students need to prove they have attended a language course as part of their studies. We issue all students on our Spanish courses with an official International House certificate which they can keep in their portfolios. The certificate details the student´s name and passport number as well as the type, length and dates of the course attended. IH Valladolid is accredited with the Instituto Cervantes and the European Association of Quality Language Services (EQUALS) and this information is also included on your certificate.

Alessio from Italy finished an intensive Spanish course with us last week and he can be seen here with his end of course certificate. Fellow students and teachers all wish him well with his studies in the future.

Want to learn Spanish with IH Valladolid & Santander? Contact us at www.espaname.es

This week I took the train from Valladolid to the beautiful coastal city of Santander to pay a visit to our sister school in Cantabria. Despite the wintery weather, the beaches and coastline were quite breathtaking and the grand buildings that lined the sea front very impressive. Apparently this is the time to go surfing as the waves are at their most challenging but I decided to hurry back to the warmth of the school and leave it for another time!

IH Santander is located in Calle Burgos, the main pedestrian street next to the Town Hall and right in the heart of Santander. There are 8 spacious classrooms with natural light, social areas to relax in with refreshment facilities, a multi-media suite with facilities for video conferencing at each terminal, notice boards full of information on local events and activities (including the School´s own Conversation Club) and resource areas full of books, magazines and dvds to borrow.

IH Santander is famed for being the best language school in the region since it was founded in 1977.

If you would like to find out more about learning Spanish in IH Santander, or its sister school IH Valladolid, contact us at www.espaname.es

When students come out with these phrases we know they´ve been completely immersed in the learning process, concentrating hard and absorbing Spanish.

Learning a language can be a very different experience back in the student´s home country. Turning up once a week for a class at night school, learning Spanish through the medium of the student´s first language, stopping for a few weeks for college holidays and then starting up again having forgotten much of what had been taught the term before. Sound familiar?

The advantage of learning Spanish in Spain is that you will be completely immersed in the language from the day you arrive until the day you fly home. All classes at International House Valladolid and Santander are conducted entirely in Spanish. Once you´ve left the classroom, you´ll be hearing, speaking and reading Spanish all day long in the real world in the streets, restaurants, shops, bars and buses. If you opt to stay with a local family you´ll be conversing in Spanish until the minute your head hits the pillow and starting again with your first morning cup of coffee. This is a more natural way of learning a language and ensures progress is rapid. Immersion in the language is known to bring about better results – even if your head hurts as a result!

What to know more? Contact us at www.espaname.es for a copy of our latest course brochure, dates and fees.

Students and teachers at International House Valladolid braved the cold to pose for a group photo in the Plaza Mayor on the last day of classes. Fortunately the Arctic freeze gripping Europe has left Valladolid relatively unscathed. We had our first snowfall this weekend but all traces had disappeared by Tuesday.

Some of these students were used to the cold (coming from Canada), whilst for others (from India and Korea) it was a bit more of a novelty. Shortly after the photo was taken everyone said their goodbyes, swapped email addresses and started heading off for the airport and home.

If you too would like to take an intensive Spanish course with us, contact us at www.espaname.es.