Courses

Spanish courses in San Jose, Costa Rica

Our Goal

Our goal at Universal de Idiomas is to enable our students in the least possible time to communicate in Spanish. We offer you theory and praxis in a warm atmosphere and we help our students develop their abilities to speak fluent Spanish. Our school is known for its interactive, communicative, personalized teaching methods plus its excellent teachers and friendly staff.

Our Methodology

• Concentrated methodology that fosters conversational practice through formal and informal day to day experiences acquired in the classroom and outside.
• Specially designed spanish courses to meet the student's immediate needs
• It is a program designed in such a way that it will provide a constant interaction of the student with his/her classmates and the surrounding environment.
• Specially designed learning activities to give the students the opportunity to actively participate and thus associate what they are learning with their general experiences.
• Activities emphasize oral use of Spanish acquired but does not discard the use of grammar as a back- up.
• Provides a systematic development of all four skills in language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing. All four areas are part of understanding the culture and the people of the country.
• Small groups to ensure personalized attention to your individual needs and give you many of opportunity to participate
• Groups are made according to the student's abilities and spanish level; the first day of the course begins with an oral and written placement test
• The method induces the oral participation between the members of the class through discussions, exercises, dialogues and readings.
• Enthusiastic, qualified and experienced teachers
• Positive classroom environment.
• We created our own books

Different levels of Spanish

We arrange our classes according to the language levels of our students to ensure your language success. There are four levels (with consequent sublevels). Each level takes between five and eight weeks to complete in full depending on each student pace.

1. Beginner I & II: For those without any knowledge of the Spanish Language. Upon completion, the student will be able to formulate and understand short sentences relating to basic necessities and forms of politeness.
2. Intermediate I & II: This course will bring the student to a higher level of comprehension and expression. The student will be able to express themselves, perhaps sometimes with a little difficulty, but usually spontaneously and independently, in everyday situations. This level includes a revision of basic structures and an extension of grammatical structures (past tenses). Students will be able to read and write essays.
3. Advanced I & II: The student will have advanced communication ability, even in complicated situations. The student will work extensively on past tenses and will be able to dominate the subjunctive.
4. Superior: Clearing up minor imperfections. Refining pronunciation and intonation. The student will communicate, without difficulty, with people who are native Spanish speakers. Errors and deficiencies in grammar structures that still exist will be corrected.

What kind of qualifications do the teachers have?

All our teachers are native speakers of Spanish and have a university degree. (read more on our teachers)

Placement test

To find the right Spanish course for you, we will conduct a placement test on your first day. With this test we evaluate your existing Spanish skills to be able to place you in the class that best fits your needs. Beginners do not have to take this test.

Schedule

Your schedule remains the same for whatever length of your language course. You can chose between 3 hours, 4 hours or additionally 2 hours of classes a day. Alternatively to group classes you can also book private lessons to further enhance your language skills. Universal de Idiomas also gives you the opportunity to take afternoon group classes.

Receive University credits

A student applying for credit will receive, at the end of the course, a transcript indicating the number of hours of class attended and the teacher's evaluation.

We also offer the option of granting academic credit through Weber State University.

What do you need to bring with you for class?

A good dictionary and writing utensils are advisable. Other things can be purchased at our school. At the beginning of your course you will receive the work book which your class will be using.

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