2016, A GREAT YEAR TO START LEARNING

Hola a todos, Espero que todo bien :) We are more than a month into the winter term and although the weather is not bright, we don't despair, we learn Spanish instead. With daily daytime and evening groups we have options for everyone to choose from. Added to all our classes with excellent teachers, we are now working towards the our EASTER INTENSIVE PROGRAMME which has proven to be very popular in the past. Please find below our schedules: DATES: Monday 10th April to Thursday 13th April inclusive TIMES: Morning session (9.00am to 12.00noon) or afternoon session (12.30pm to 3.30pm). Groups have a maximum of 5 students (for 2 students in a session, it will be for 2 hours). Please note that all those currently on an individual class during this period, we may kindly ask to reschedule. LOCATION: Finchley Road (NW6) adults or children programmes Bank (EC3V) – adults programme only PRICES: For the 4 days (stay for both sessions each day and you will be entitled to a 10% discount). ONE session £172.80 including VAT       TWO sessions £311.04 including VAT (10% discount) TO ENROL: To enrol, please email or phone to confirm availability and to book a slot Payment must be made upon confirmation CANCELLATION POLICY: 4 weeks in advance, full refund / 3 weeks in advance, 50% refund / 2 weeks in advance, 25% refund / less than 1 week in advance, no refund. SPRING TERM DATES AND PRICES: ADULT PROGRAMME: DATES: 1. Adults From Tuesday 18th April to end of week commencing 17th July = 14 weeks 2. Monday classes will start on 24th April (no classes on May 1st and May 29th for Bank holiday) PRICES: 1. £252 (vat included) = 14 weeks 2. £198 (vat included) = 12 weeks CHILDREN PROGRAMME: From Tuesday 18th April to end of week commencing 17th July(no classes during week commencing 29th May for half term) £202.80 You are very welcome to contact us on 0203 659 0949 or info@spanishconnection.org.uk to book your group for next term. We look forward to hearing from you soon but please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions regarding the above. Don't wait too long to book to avoid disappointment! Saludos, Marta

Hello to all interested in reading these insights that you may find informative. Today I would like to mention the termly teachers' meetings as being one of the top priorities in the well running of this language school. These meetings are useful to all not just to sit down, socialise and find out more about each other over a coffee -which is very nice- but also as a way of learning and sharing many things such as new techniques and approaches to teaching Spanish as a second language. I would like to share with you three of the most relevant topics that I brought up and were discussed during our last meeting this term: ¬¬ I asked the teachers how to encourage students to participate during lessons and they agreed that one of the best ways is give all students equitable time to speak and participate. To encourage students who may be less prone to speak is crucial and by giving them equitable time, the teacher will make them feel at ease knowing they have time verbalise the exercises that connect the subject with what has been learnt in the previous lessons. ¬¬ We enumerated our preferred basic necessary (not necessarily by order) material and why: 0 The Audios = Helping students understand the language by listening to music, extracts of news, radio programs, dialogues etc. 0 The Videos = help students understand by visualising parts of films or documents that may have been previously discussed. 0 The Flash Cards = tactile, interactive and visual, flash cards are a very useful and traditional way of communicating in the classroom – an one of my favourites- Students are encouraged to hold them and practice exercises that require repetition and practice such as numbers, the alphabet and conjugation of verbs among other. 0 The Text Book = the most practical material used to teach the grammatical fields, review exercises and also for homework. Although the book is very useful, we tend to only use it no more than 40% of the lesson’s time. In my opinion, a balance of all the above elements makes the lesson much more dynamic. We are fond of a book called Aula Internacional by Editorial Difusion because is interactive, informative and includes links with information about current articles and other useful information. ¬¬ To conclude I posed the question of how much homework to give. Teachers all agreed that homework is very important as continuation from one week to the other. Students are encouraged to work at home for at least 15 minutes weekly and in order to recap and reinforce the concepts taught the previous week. As ever, teachers are very motivated by the students as well. At Spanish Connection we are proud to be working with not just highly trained teachers but also with a variety of students who enjoy every minute of every lesson. Please find some of our students testimonials here: https://www.spanishconnection.org.uk/testimonials The Spanish Connection’s team is looking forward to meeting and teaching you very soon. Hasta pronto  Marta

Have you ever been in a situation where you helped because you spoke another language? If you had, you probably felt happy knowing you were able to help someone resolve a situation. In the professional field and with a lot of companies with branches in different countries, we are used to having a variety of food products and other services at offer in the UK. This globalisation of companies is giving job seekers with other languages have more opportunities to get a job and some of them offering a higher salary -see below chart from the FINANCIAL TIMES- over candidates with just English. Below is a chart from the FINANCIAL TIMES about Jobs with language requirements in the UK. The article shows Spanish as the third language that jobs require for potential job candidates . Isn't this just another great incentive to start or continue your Spanish learning journey? I hope to be able to welcome you at Spanish Connection very soon :) Saludos, Marta

Firstly, as ever, please accept my apologies for not having written since the summer. We are now full steam into the Autumn term and even though that is not an excuse not to write, well, my excuse is always the admin that new term requires: there is lots of it, but no complains :) We had our first teachers' meeting of the Term yesterday and I was extremely pleased with the amount of great ideas they had with regard to continuing to develop the best quality tuition, which has been my priority in the time (over fifteen years) that I have been running Spanish Connection. In order to offer quality lessons, I am always very careful about the selection process of the teachers. The main profile - on top of all the legal requisites needed- is that the teachers are able to adapt to the needs the place - in this case London- they are teaching. When teachers come from Spanish speaking countries and have been teaching there Spanish as a second language, sometimes the approach is to try to speak 100% of Spanish to Absolute beginners students. However, in London, the majority of our students have long days at work or doing other chores and daily routines where English is normally the language used and in my opinion, we have to take into consideration that mentally they would be tired. Whilst I believe immersion is the best way to learn a language, I also know that when students are tired we have to help to make the lessons easier to grasp, digest and understand, specially at a very basic level. the consensus during teachers' meetings is that when students enjoy the lessons because they understand from the beginning, the results are more positive because they are able to perform in a more relaxed way. The fact that the teachers' English is proficient, enables them not only to easily prepare and teach lessons with plenty of activities which are dynamic and fun but also to be able to explain grammar and other more complex aspects of the Spanish language to the students when it is required. We hope to see you very soon at Spanish Connection where we are certain you will experience what a lot of our students' feedback (See testimonials) say: great lessons with very good teachers :) Hasta pronto! Marta

Hello to all, I hope you are having a nice summer :) Having been in this profession - teaching and running a language school- for fifteen years I cannot emphasize enough the great experience that learning a language will bring you. I work with teachers who are proficient in the English language and who teach English people to become proficient in Spanish. A whole new world for students and teachers; certainly new horizons to explore. We all know we now can go by traveling to lots of countries with just our knowledge of the English language and now most European countries have English as a second language in schools starting when children are in primary schools. All of us who have learnt English are all happy to being able to communicate in English and it makes us feel more confident when we travel. But what about the other way around? How does the UK feels about learning new languages or how does it feel not having another language to speak? Below is a brilliant article about 'English a natural default language, the "normal" one' (quoted from We are guilty of island arrogance on language written by Libby Purves for The Times August 22nd 2016) Read on and enjoy it :) http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/were-guilty-of-island-arrogance-on-languages-zrwhjpx65

Hello everyone! Hola a tod@s! Even though the weather does not agree, the calendar tells us that, summer is here! We are excited to be organising our new term and opening enrolments to all those who are around during part or all the majority of the summer months. The Summer Term will start immediately after the current one, on Monday, the 11th July, and it will run for 8 weeks, ending on Friday 2nd September. Please note that there will be no group lessons on Monday 29th August as it is the Summer Bank Holiday. The price for the term will therefore be £144 including VAT (£126 if you attend on a Monday). In order to secure your slot we kindly ask for confirmation via payment by Friday, 24th June. You can't beat our prices, considering we work with highly qualified teachers who make the lessons an enjoyable learning experience with just a maximum of 5 students in each of the groups! To find out for yourself, call us on 0203 6510949 between Friday the 17th and by Thursday the 23rd of June and get your first lesson free! quote Blog on your online enquiry form or on the phone and we will deduct the first lesson from the enrolment fee. ¡Os esperamos! We look forward to meeting you! Marta Director

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and our tutors are gearing up for the busy and bright months ahead in our Spring Term. Starting this week, the term now has 8 weeks left - the price for the remaining period is only £126 (VAT included). Spaces are filling up fast, but there is still time to secure your place in one of our groups. Simply follow the link below, view the full Spring timetable for our three locations, find the times that work best for you and let us know! CHECK OUT OUR SPRING TIMETABLE

Hello after a little while ( we have been very busy with enrolments and making sure students and teachers are comfortable in the lessons and everyone is in the right level). We are always delighted to hearing from the students and the nice feedback they send to us. From the beginning of me creating this school, feedback has been paramount in the continuous success of the school. I am also delighted to announce the new addition to our admin team, Judith. Judith is very happy to be liaising between the teachers, students and the admin team. She has an extensive background in administrative roles and also Human Resources department. Along with Andrea and myself, Judith coordinates schedules and organises courses, amongst other tasks. I hope you all have a great term and look forward to welcoming you to our school very soon! With best wishes, Marta

Hello all, its always a pleasure to post again and this time I would like to focus on the first step taken when we decide to learn something. It's the staring point in anything we start in life that tends to generate enthusiasm but also nerves. This is what I can perceive when people call me to enquire about lessons, that excitement mixed with a bit of anxiety. However, once the person has made the decision then there is certainly a sense of accomplishment because that first step is not always easy to take. Since this is what my job is an I love it, there will never be lack of encouragement to starting lessons with us from my side. Now I will encourage you to read on and you will also find encouragement from a new student below and also in our testimonials. How is that for an incentive! From Richard -Group Tuition at the Bank Office: So what's it like to start Spanish lessons after such a long time away from studying I hear you ask. Well for me it has been an amazing experience. I have to say I was apprehensive but nervously excited at the prospect with the usual worries of not being able to grasp things or looking silly I front of others but all of these worries skin disappeared. The class sizes are perfect and the teachers absolutely excellent. It's great fun , with energetic committed teachers and surprisingly easy to pick up and engage with I will certainly keep going and highly recommend the experience