School Blog

Drawn by the allure of the Alhambra, many visitors head to Granada unsure what to expect. What they find is a city where Islamic architecture and Arab-flavoured street life go hand in hand with monumental churches, tapas bars and graffiti art.

The city, sprawled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, was the last stronghold of the Spanish Moors and their legacy lies all around: it's in the horseshoe arches, the spicy aromas emanating from street stalls, the teahouses of the Albaicín, the historic Arab quarter. Most spectacularly, of course, it's in the Alhambra, an astonishing palace complex whose Islamic decor and landscaped gardens are without peer in Europe.

There's also an energy to Granada's streets, packed as they are with bars, student dives, bohemian cafes and intimate flamenco clubs, and it's this as much as the more traditional sights that leaves a lasting impression.

So, many secondary schools from all around Europe and overseas choose Granada as a destination for their annual school trip.

The Spanish language programme takes usually place place during one week and consists of 4 Spanish classes lasting 45 minutes each, every day from Monday to Friday.

The whole group will be divided in classes with a maximum of 8 to 10 students per Spanish level.

Depending on the group's interests, we offer a tailor-made programme of cultural activities which includes visits to the old arabic quarter Albaicín, to the world-famous Alhambra, to the Sacromonte area, Flamenco shows, tapa tours, the Arabic bath or day-filling guided tours to Cordoba or Seville.

We will take care of everything during the group stay, including accommodation. We can offer full board accommodation with Spanish host families in double rooms, an option often suited for younger students.

A student group of Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Pontecorvo in Frosinone Province, Italy have participated in an Intensive Spanish language course at Escuela Montalbán from 19.02 to 23.02.2018.

Spanish lessons on an advanced level started at 09.00 h in the morning and run until 13.15 h (5 lessons of 45 minutes per day).

All students were accommodated with local host families in walking distance to the school.

The Spanish course was complemented by a daily cultural programme, which included trips to Malaga and Cordoba, a Flamenco show and guided visits to Granada city center and the Alhambra.

Discover more about our new and exciting mountain biking and spanish course, check the updated prices for all the courses and accommodation, 2018 D.E.L.E exam dates and other useful information in our brochure, course programme and price list documents on the download page

These documents are also available in German or Spanish on the download pages which are presented by the download icon next to the social network buttons, when accessing the site in the respective languages.

Since October, there has been a change in the way that you get tickets for the Alhambra. A new, simpler system has been implemented to facilitate the sales and eliminate the hogging of tickets by agencies/individuals and the following re-sale for a higher price.

All you need to do is visit the official Alhambra website and choose the ticket option of your choice, for our part, we recommend the Alhambra General which includes a visit of the whole monument including the Nasrid Palaces, La Alcazaba, and Generalife which are the huge gardens/park stretching far back behind the Alhambra complex.

Are you on your Erasmus and struggling with your Spanish, or would just in general like get better? Well look no further! We are offering a discount on our Standard Course for Erasmus and long term foreign students which makes it a special price of 100 € per week.

Our classes deal with grammar, the language itself and obviously, conversation. A range of cultural topics relating to the history of Spain or its present situation are discussed are used in class in order to impart not just the language, but also the history and culture of the language. These topics include: The reality of Spain in transition, the contradictions in the socio-political and cultural developments of modern Spain, the Moorish history, the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship, Federico García Lorca and Flamenco culture, or the situation of ethnic minorities are just a few examples of possible topics to cover.

The history and reality of Andalusia, the local region, is also an important topic, which, apart from in-class, can also be discovered via our cultural programme.

Group classes: 4 lessons of 45 minutes per day from Monday to Friday
Group size: max. 8 students
Levels: all
Starting dates: every Monday
Course duration: from 1 to 4 weeks
Enrollment fee: included
Timetable: from 09.00 to 12.15 h or from 12.30 to 15.45 h

Granada is surrounded by magnificent mountains and several natural parks. On our mountain bike tours you will discover landscapes and the rich culture of Granada Province.

On a half-day ride we get above the city and into the favourite biking spot of the local granadinos. We descend into the cave district of Sacramonte where Flamenco clubs and tapas bars inhabit the hillside and great views of the Alhambra are promised.

Another option for a half-day ride is a route in the Sierra de Huetor natural park - the smaller sibling of Sierra Nevada. From here, we are treated to the best views of the high Sierra and its north face, which is covered in snow much of the year. This ride is rolling through pine and oak forests.

Our guide Antonio is an expert in guiding mountain bikers and will ensure that you will have the best possible experience.

After the tours you can have the best post-ride experience ever: visit the Arabic baths for a soak in the warm pools, a massage and stretch out on the hot stone slabs. And when you're feeling refreshed continue with a tapa tour of good food and wine.

For further information, dates and prices visit the course section on our website

Cante flamenco is an oral tradition for which there is no written music. The lyrics are widely available and distributed amongst flamenco artists. The style is performed as a solo with guitar accompaniment (and even sometimes without guitar - a palo seco), and as accompaniment for dancers.

We are proud to collaborate with the cantaora Nieves Molina in order to offer our new cante flamenco (singing) workshop.

This private course is a fun and interactive workshop where you will get a taste of how to sing in the flamenco style and learn a letra or two (verse) of each flamenco style. Some time will be spent in examining the structure of certain flamenco dances and how the flamenco singer and dancer interact to create a flamenco performance. This workshop will be useful and fun for both students of dance and song! No singing or dance experience is necessary though some experience of flamenco is helpful.

For further information about the workshop visit our course section.

Granada exudes a mystical sense of beauty that not many Spanish cities can compare to.

As the last city to be returned to the Christian conquistadors after several hundred centuries of Muslim ruling, Granada still bears evidence to its Arabic influence to this day. The Alhambra Palace was built during the Moorish reign in the 15th century, and still stands proud and majestic on the hills of Granada.

Other signs of Arabic influence can be seen in the Albaicín, one of the oldest areas in Granada. Perched on a hilltop it consists of steep cobblestoned paths and white-washed houses.

During the programme you will visit the Alhambra, the old Arabic quarter Albaicín and the Arabic bath. We will complement the guided visits with workshops about Arabic art, music and cooking.

For further information visit our course section

Martin Vosseler
(Basilea y Elm, Suiza, Médico jubilado)

• Trabajo para la protección del medio ambiente. Varias actividades artisticas (violín, actor, dibujar).
• El año 2011 visité la escuela Montalbán por primera vez. Al instante sentí en buen ambiente con humor. El año 2013 estudié en la escuela durante 4 semanas.
• Practíco español cada día, un poco cada día. Repito unas palabras o leo un texto español. Quiero viajar a Sudamérica.
• Espero que posea el uso correcto de "estar" y "ser" o "para" y "por" antes de morir ...
• Estoy muy entusiasmado. Todos los profesores, todas las profesoras enseñan de una manera creativa y humana, con humor, determinación y paciencia. Las clases una mezcla ideal: Conversación, gramática aplicada, juegos, películas, canciones. Las clases no están nunca aburridas.
• Voy a volver el año próximo para refrescar mi español y disfrutar esta ciudad maravillosa.

Madeleine Beylot (Francia)

• ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿De dónde eres? ¿ A qué te dedicas? Me llamo Madeleine. Soy de Francia. Era profesora y ahora estoy jubilada. Me gusta viajar y aprender español.
• ¿Por qué elegiste estudiar en Grananda? ¿Te gusta esta ciudad? Elegí estudiar en Granada porque conocía esta ciudad antes y me encanta vivir en ella. Es tan hermosa y la genté muy amable.
• ¿Llevas mucho tiempo estudiando español? ¿Por qué decidiste aprenderlo? Desde mi jubilación, estudio casi cada día la lengua de Cervantes. Decidí aprender esté idioma porque es como si fuera una canción. Lo más difícil es memorizar, pero la gramática me encanta.
• ¿Cómo está siendo tu experiencia en España y en nuestra escuela? Al inicio en la escuela, sabía poco. Ahora es más fácil para mi porque los profesores enseñan bien, y sobre todo tienen paciencia repitiendo hasta que comprenda. En la escuela estoy como si fuera en casa con mi familia. El ambiente es muy ameno. Cada vez (es la octava vez que estoy estudiendo en la escuela) tengo la posibilidad aprender más conocer un poco el español me permite disfrutar de mis vacaciones en las islas canarias, ir al teatro, ver una película española, hacer casí como si fuera una nativa. Pasear en Graná es un placer. Visitar los museos y sobre todo la Alhambra es una maravilla.

¡Espero volver!

SIELE is an online evaluation and certification service to test your Spanish language ability. It is suitable for students and professionals who need to demonstrate their linguistic ability to academic institutions, businesses and public administration. It is an official certification promoted by the Instituto Cervantes, the National University of Mexico, the University of Salamanca and the University of Buenos Aires. With the SIELE test our students can finish their Spanish course with an official exam. You will receive an internationally recognised certificate which is valid for 2 years.

REGISTRATION
This is a small step by step guide for the registration in the SIELE exam. To begin the process, please visit the following website: https://siele.org/elige-certificado

• Choose the exam SIELE GLOBAL.
• Select SPAIN as the country where you want to take the exam. Click on comprar.
• Choose the city, the date and the exam centre where you want to take the exam. In localidad, select Granada.
• Search for Escuela Montalbán and choose the day and the time when you want to do the exam. We offer exam sessions every Thursday.
• Complete the payment and add your personal details.
• Now you are registered to take the SIELE GLOBAL exam at our school!