Spanish Language Courses

Bienvenidos Al Idioma Espanol!

Spanish is the main language of Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay. it’s also spoken in USA (some southern states are effectively bi-lingual), parts of Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Andorra, the Philippines with the number of mother-tongue speakers worldwide at about 330,000,000!

The language we call “Spanish” is also known as "Castilian" ("castellano") to distinguish it from the other languages used in Hispanic countries today.

Course features:

• Taught by expert Spanish native-speaker teachers.
• Curriculum specially designed for New Zealanders.
• Delivered in small classes with no more than 10 people.
• All Spanish course materials included.

• Spanish is unquestionably one of the world’s most important languages, spoken not only in Spain but also in most of the Americas, from California to Cape Horn!
• The Spanish-speaking countries are exciting places: the cities offer a round-the-clock buzz, while the great outdoors has huge potential for adventurous outdoor activities.
• Within the Spanish-speaking world, there is an enormous range of exciting places to visit: in Mexico and Central America, the cities of the Maya and the Aztecs, and resorts such as Acapulco and Cancún; in South America, the cities of the Aztecs (including Machu Picchu), the colourful Andean cultures of Peru and Bolivia, the strikingly varied landscapes of Chile and Argentina, and the cosmopolitan excitement of Buenos Aires. Although some English is spoken, getting around is much easier with a little Spanish.
• Spain itself is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, famous not only for its Mediterranean beaches, but also for its stylish cities, its well-preserved small towns, and, in the south, its unique Moorish heritage. Not to mention Ibiza, with the hottest nightclub scene in Europe, if not the world!
• The Spanish language has been the vehicle of great writers, from both Spain and Latin America. Both areas have also been the home of world-renowned artists and, more recently, film-makers.
• New Zealand is increasingly looking to South America for trade links, especially Chile, the most prosperous of the South American states, and the one closest to New Zealand. Spanish speakers will be in demand in the future.
• French cuisine is world-renowned, and French is still the international language of cooking, so at least a smattering of the French language is useful for chefs and food enthusiasts.
• Young Kiwis can go and work in Argentina, Chile or Uruguay for one year under a working holiday scheme. A knowledge of the Spanish language would obviously make a huge difference to anyone’s job prospects.

• Spanish is descended from Latin and is quite closely related to Portuguese and Italian, fairly closely related to French (a Spanish speaker can usually make out quite a lot of the other Latin-based languages).
• A lot of the vocabulary is quite familiar to speakers of English, as we also have many words of Latin origin. (What do you think these words mean: “difícil”, “interesante”, “universidad”, “decisión”?)
• Spanish pronunciation is quite straightforward: most of the sounds of Spanish also occur in English.
• The language is largely written the way it is pronounced – there are just a few clear rules, so it’s easy to read and write.
• The basics of Spanish grammar are not that hard – you can easily pick up enough for everyday conversations!
• Spanish becomes a bit harder when you start looking at some of the verbal constructions (tenses etc.), but once you have mastered these in one Latin-based language, you will find that the other languages are very similar.
• Latin American Spanish and European Spanish have become a little different over the years, but if you speak one, you will easily be understood by speakers of the other. You quickly learn to recognise the main differences in pronunciation.