School Blog

Monday, 17.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

18.00-21.00 h
Flamenco dance workshops at the school with Adela

21.00 h
Tapa Tour with Marisa
Meeting point: school

Tuesday, 18.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

18.00-21.00 h
Flamenco guitar workshops at the school with Rafa
Flamenco dance workshops at the school with Adela

20.00-21.30 h
Visit to the Arabic bath Hammam de Al-Andalus (includes massage)
Price: 25 €

Wednesday, 19.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

14.30-20.30 h
Afternoon trip to Almuñecar beach
We meet at 14.30 h at Plaza Marian Pineda / guide: Juan
Price: 20 €

18.00-21.00 h
Flamenco dance workshops at the school with Adela

Thursday, 20.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

18.00-21.00 h
Flamenco guitar workshops at the school with Rafa
Flamenco dance workshops at the school with Adela

21.15-24.00 h
Flamenco at the Alhambra: LORCA IN GRANADA
Rafael Amargo presents "Poeta en Nueva York"
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Adela
Price: 16 €

Friday, 21.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

18.00-21.00 h
Flamenco dance workshops at the school with Adela

Saturday, 22.08.2015
08.45-19.00 h
Guided trip to the Costa Tropical
Price: 46 €
Meeting point: Congress Palace / guide: Juan

Friday/Saturday/Sunday, 21, 22, 23.08.2015
3 day trip to Northern Morocco
Price: 195 €
Meeting point: Centro Comercial Neptuno /  Guide: Abdel

Je voulais aller en Espagne car c’est plus naturel et rapide pour moi d’apprendre une langue en étant plongée dans un pays où elle se parle …

J’ai été à l’école Montalbán à Grenade pendant trois semaines, où j’ai suivi les cours standard (3h tous les matins du lundi au vendredi). La pédagogie interactive des cours, la dynamique de l’ensemble des étudiants et des professeurs, l’humour et la bonne humeur m’ont permis de progresser en trois semaines, et d’intégrer grammaire et vocabulaire dans la pratique – ce qui est pour moi indispensable pour ne pas oublier une fois l’expérience finie. Evidemment, la dynamique des étudiants n’est pas prévisible à l’avance, mais ça se passe généralement bien.

Des activités culturelles sont aussi proposées par l’école, qui complètent bien l’apprentissage de la langue. La communication avec et entre les personnes du staff de l’école facilitent beaucoup l’organisation: ils sont là pour répondre aux questions, aussi bien avant qu’on arrive que sur place.

Pour le logement, j’avais choisis de loger dans un appartement partagé avec d’autres étudiants. Il y a d’autres possibilités (logement dans une famille de Grenade…), et tout cela est très bien expliqué sur le site de l’école: www.escuela-montalban.com.

Pour moi, ces trois semaines furent de vraies vacances, où j’ai rencontré beaucoup de gens sympathiques. J’ai encore beaucoup à apprendre en espagnol, mais je peux maintenant me débrouiller et aborder les sujets qui me tiennent à cœur.

The classes are small, usually no more than six students. Also, the students come from a wide variety of different countries, so that in many cases the common language is Spanish. There are also a wide variety of ages at the school; I've been in Spanish classes with students from ages 18 to 70.

Even the beginning level is taught with complete immersion, which is the fastest and most effective way to learn a new language. Paco, who often teaches the beginning level, does a creative job of teaching with no English whatsoever. He is a wonderful professor, though, even if he is teaching a more advanced level. One week he was teaching the B2 intermediate/advanced level, and he had us read Lorca's famous poem "Verde te quiero verde," and drove the four of us in his class to the place where it is believed that Lorca was shot at the start of the Spanish Civil War, a location that also has a mass grave of other victims. What an unforgettable experience!

Maria is another professor for the beginning level, and she is the one in charge of instruction/curriculum; she has many years of experience. So even at the beginning level you have teachers who are highly-qualified and have years of experience!

Marisa, the professor for advanced grammar, knows how to explain complicated grammar to foreigners. If you want to prepare for a level of the DELE exam, she is very experienced. However, she also takes time to enjoy being with the diverse student population at the Escuela Montalban outside of regular class hours. Usually once or twice a month, usually on Monday evenings, she takes students on a Tapas crawl (in the evening/at night) to the local pubs, and she knows all the best places! These evenings usually turn out to be quite the international mix of conversations. I've learned so much about France, England, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Iran, the Czech Republic, Greece, and California! She and her husband also own a churros cafe, so if you want to learn how churros are made, you might get to go to the churros cafe during class and get a demonstration in Spanish!

If you are a teacher (like me) and planning to take one- or two-week classes to refresh/renew your Spanish, the school offers excellent classes. You will learn new grammar even if you are a C2 level student, and will also get a chance to share with other teachers about how to best go about teaching grammar. My favorite cultural classes (these were taught by professor Jose Luis) were about politics (such as 15M and Podemos), current music for use in the classroom (such as Calle 13), and current films and film clips (directors such as Fernando Leon de Aranoa, David Trueba, etc.).

The school does an excellent job of organizing technical details like lodging. They are organized, 100% reliable and there is a 24-hour emergency number. The Jose that works in the office (and speaks EXCELLENT English) even helped my husband and I print our boarding passes, and I know he has helped others book train or bus tickets when they had difficulties. The office will speak English (or German, or French, etc.) with you to ensure that the details are done right.
One of the wonderful things about Granada is that there are always cultural events taking place in addition to the tourist attractions like the Alhambra that are a must! I am a classical music fan, and the International Festival of Music and Dance happens every summer for over a month! There is also a summer foreign film festival downtown in June, and another in the Sacromonte in July, and there is lovely old-fashioned movie theater downtown (Cine Madrigal) that has a different high-quality film each week.

This is an amazing school! The best in Granada!!

Karen from USA :)

Monday, 10.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

21.00-23.00 h
Tapa Tour with a teacher
Meeting point school: guide Marisa
... students pay their beer ...

Tuesday, 11.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels
20.00-21.30 h
Visit to the Arabic bath Hammam de Al-Andalus (includes massage)
Price: 25 €

21.45-23.20 h
Flamenco at the Corral de Carbón
"Pa el Carbón" (Olga Pericet)
We meet at the school / guide: Paco
Price: 17 €

Wednesday, 12.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

14.30-20.30         
Afternoon trip to Almuñecar beach
Meeting point Plaza Mariana Pineda: guide Juan
Price: 20 €

Thursday, 13.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

21.00-24.00 h
Open air Cinema at Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
"Ida" (Pawel Pawlikowski / Polonia 2013)
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Marga
Price: 3,50 €

Friday, 14.08.2015
09.00-14.00 h
Spanish courses for all levels

Saturday, 15.08.2015
08.45-19.00 h
Guided trip to the Alpujarras Mountains
Price: 44 €

Monday, 03.08.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
14.00-15.00 h
Welcome session for all new students with information about Granada and Andalusia

21.00-23.00 h
Tapa Tour with a teacher
Meeting point school: guide Marisa
... students pay their beer ...

Tuesday, 04.08.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
18.00-18.30 h
Visit to the Arabic bath Hammam de Al-Andalus (includes massage)
Price: 25 €

21.00-24.00 h
Open air Cinema at Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
"Her" (Spike Jonze / USA 2013)
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Paco
Price: 3,50 €

Wednesday, 05.08.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

21.00-24.00 h
Flamenco at the Alhambra: LORCA IN GRANADA
Rafael Amargo presents "Poeta en Nueva York"
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Marga
Price: 16 €

Thursday, 06.08.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

14.30-20.30 h
Afternoon trip to Almuñecar beach
We meet at 14.30 h at Plaza Marian Pineda / guide: Juan
Price: 20 €

Friday, 07.08.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

Saturday, 08.08.2015
08.45-19.00 h
Guided trip to the Costa Tropical
Price: 46 €

Friday/Saturday/Sunday, 07, 08, 09.08.2015
3 day trip to Northern Morocco
Price: 195 €

Monday, 27.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
14.00-15.00 h
Welcome session for all new students with information about Granada and Andalusia

21.00-23.00 h
Tapa Tour with a teacher
Meeting point school: guide Marisa
... students pay their beer ...

Tuesday, 28.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

20.00-21.30 h
Visit to the Arabic bath Hammam de Al-Andalus (includes massage)
Price: 25 €

21.45-23.30 h  
Flamenco at the Corral del Carbón
Lucia "La Piñona": La Vida, La Carne y La Tierra
Meeting point school: guide Marga
Price: 17 €

Wednesday, 29.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

14.30-20.30 h
Afternoon trip to Almuñecar beach
We meet at 14.30 h at Plaza Marian Pineda / guide: Juan
Price: 20 €

Thursday, 30.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

21.30-24.00 h      
Laviebel Cabaret: BODArt
at the Congress Palace
Meeting point school: guide Marga
Price: 19 €



Friday, 31.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

Saturday, 01.08.2015
08.45-19.00 h
Guided trip to the Alpujarra Mountains
Price: 44 €
Meeting point: Congress Palace

Monday, 20.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
13.30-14.30 h
Welcome session for all new students with information about Granada and Andalusia

Tuesday, 21.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
20.00-21.30 h
Visit to the Arabic bath Hammam de Al-Andalus (includes massage)
Price: 25 €

Wednesday, 22.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
21.00-24.00 h
Flamenco at the Alhambra: LORCA IN GRANADA
Rafael Amargo presents "Poeta en Nueva York"
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Paco
Price: 16 €

Thursday, 23.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
14.30-20.30 h
Afternoon trip to Almuñecar beach
We meet at 14.30 h at Plaza Marian Pineda / guide: Juan
Price: 20 €
21.00-24.00 h
Open air Cinema at Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
"Gloria" (Sebastian Lelilo / Spain, Chile 2012)
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Marga
Price: 3,50 €

Friday, 24.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels

Saturday, 25.07.2015
08.45-19.00 h
Guided trip to the Alpujarra Mountains
Price: 44 €

Friday/Saturday/Sunday, 24, 25, 26.07.2015
3 day trip to Northern Morocco
Price: 195 €

Monday, 13.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
14.00-15.00 h
Welcome session for all new students with information about Granada and Andalusia

Tuesday, 14.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
20.00-21.30 h
Visit to the Arabic bath hammam de Al-Andalus (includes massage)
Price: 25 €

Wednesday, 15.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels (Adult and Group Programmes)
21.00-24.00 h
Festival Flamenco de las Cuevas at Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte
Judit Cabrera presents "Marea"
We meet at 21.00 h at Plaza Nueva / guide: Marga
Price: 12 €

Friday, 17.07.2015
09.00-12.15 h
Spanish courses for all levels
18.00-21.00 h
Horseback riding at Sierra Nevada National Park
Price: 30 €
21.00-22.00 h h
Flamenco performance at the Casa del Arte Flamenco
Price: 16 €

Saturday, 18.07.2015
08.45-19.00 h
Guided trip to the Costa Tropical
Price: 46 €

The dancer and choreographer Rafael Amargo transformed one of the most essential poems of Federico García Lorca into a work of dance. He created the choreography for one of the most innovative flamenco shows of nowadays. Its main characteristic is unquestionably the fusion of both music and dance, of pure flamenco with contemporary trends such as Jazz and Latin music. This hybrid character –fusion– went on to become a constant feature of subsequent flamenco shows. Amargo went even further when he gave his work an audiovisual montage created by the filmmaker Juan Esterlich to complement the dance performance.
The show won several prizes, including particularly the Max Prize for Scenic Arts for the best performance by Rafael Amargo.

Our school will offer the show “Poeta en Nueva York” during July and August as a part of the weekly schools cultural programme. Students have the unique opportunity to enjoy this Flamenco performance whose technical and artistic level is enormous at a perfect setting , the Generalife Gardens of the Alhambra.

Their Spanish course programme took place during the course week 27 and consisted in 4 Spanish lessons of 45 minutes per day, from Monday to Friday and from 09.00 to 12.15 h.

Thank you very much for your visit and see you hopefully in 2016!