I can thoroughly recommend La Casa del Español in Valladolid to students of all ages and abilities who are seeking to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Spanish language; I am delighted to have been associated with this school for over 15 years and my students continue to attend courses – either in groups or as individuals – to bolster their confidence in advance of public examinations, to experience traditional Spanish family life at first hand, or to spend a few weeks over the summer holidays practising their oral skills and revising their grammatical weaknesses within a Spanish speaking environment.
La Casa del Español is, above all, extremely flexible in its approach, organising language classes, cultural visits and home stays to suit the needs of the individual applicant, whether dealing with advanced group bookings or helping to set up a one-off course at short notice; whatever the configuration, there is always a sense of personal involvement on the part of the Coordinator who strives to provide the best possible service throughout, and at extremely competitive rates.
All the teachers employed by La Casa del Español are suitably qualified and experienced and – aside from expertise in the Spanish language – are also well-versed in the requirements of international Spanish examination syllabuses, including IGCSE, AS/A2 and the Cambridge Pre-U.
The school itself offers an impressive set of resources: a suite of fully equipped classrooms, computer stations with internet access, wi-fi and a kitchen for cookery classes – all within 5 minutes of the historic city centre.
Host families are carefully vetted and selected, the majority enjoying a long association with the school in any case and are, as such, extremely adept at accommodating foreign students, sensitive to language difficulties but always keen to encourage and promote the use of Spanish on a daily basis; it is perhaps this aspect that has been most appreciated by my students over the years and many remain in touch, several paying return visits to their host families.
Valladolid is situated in a region of NW Spain where, arguably, the best Spanish in the country is spoken and the city itself boasts a rich cultural heritage – all this awaits those who choose to study at La Casa del Español, an experience I’m more than happy to endorse without reservation!
John W. London, UK
The King’s School in Macclesfield has enjoyed several visits to Valladolid to study and enjoy Spanish hospitality at -Casa de Español-. We were impressed from the first contact we had with the language school. Administrative details were dealt with quickly and efficiently and the secretarial service, led by Evangelina, was first rate and friendly. We were impressed with the fact that we were met at the airport by the Director of Studies and Alicia was at hand, day and night to help us with any problem that arose. No detail was too great nor too small for -Casa de Español-.
The host families were friendly and welcoming and our students and staff were treated as welcome visitors and were included in family visits and outings. Some of our students still remain in contact with their host families! Classes were small and the school took the trouble to find out about our examination needs before the visit so no time was wasted with preliminary testing on arrival. Our students loved the bright, modern classrooms and break time offered them the opportunity to have snacks and drinks in a local café and practise their speaking skills. We chose 2 excursions each visit which included a day trip to Madrid and two half day trips to Segovia and Salamanca and… the highlight for our students was the group meal in a -taberna- where the staff and students, accompanied by their Spanish teachers and Evangelina enjoyed a dizzying array of -tapas- in a safe yet authentic environment.
Valladolid is the perfect size for home-stay language visits as it is big enough to offer leisure opportunities for young people and to allow students a healthy yet measured degree of independence and we always felt safe. The host families were welcoming and added considerably to the success of the visits. The personal touch was always present. We recommend Valladolid in general and –Casa de Espanol- in particular as a first rate package for language study and leisure.
Christine M. Macclesfield, UK
All of the students were very pleased with their host families. They were made to feel very welcome and at home. In particular one student is planning to come back to Valladolid as she got on so well with her host family. The last day there were lots of tears saying our farewells to the families!
In terms of the classes, students were in very small classes and the lessons were extremely well prepared. Homework was given regularly and marked straight away so feedback could be given to students about in which areas they needed to improve.
Students really enjoyed «el taller de cocina» where they made a traditional three course meal with the guidance of a real professional chef. The meal comprised of sopa castellana, tortilla de patata and torrijas!
¡Qué rico!
The students found the course extremely stimulating and often still talk about their fond memories of Valladolid in lessons! Highly recommendable! ¡Viva La Casa del Español!
Anna A. Broadclyst, Exeter, UK
«La Casa del Español is an ideal school. Worth mentioning are the professionalism of its academic staff and the relaxed and familiar air about it. Host families are always trustworthy and they treat students in an exquisite way… Each time I have taken students to La Casa del Español the experience has been very positive.
This is why I have no doubt in recommending this Centre to anyone interested in improving their Spanish and in falling in love with the old Castilian land.»
José Luis G. London, UK