Six weeks at Escuela Montalbán, Granada – a halftime review.

My Spanish level has significantly increased in only three weeks thanks to the to teachers at Escuela Montalbán.

The language school Escuela Montalbán (Granada, Spain) in the city center is a cosy and matey place. It is situated in a small building on two levels with three small class rooms each. You get to know all the staff very quickly as there are about 15 people working here and some of them are – good for them – on holiday as it is high summer time at the moment.

The first and third week I took part in courses with only three students plus, of course, the teacher. We had two classes per day starting with a grammar class followed by a conversation class. The school's administation goes to great length in organizing the courses concerning the students' levels. They really try to form courses consisting of people with a similar level of Spanish in order to make the classes effective and useful. I also took private lessons during one week which I can recommend because it is super-intensive and very effective when the teacher concentrates fully on you.

As far as I am concerned, I do not only study at this school but I also do an internship under supervision of Margret Fortman who is the school's marketing and public relations manager. I review or write texts for the school's website. I have to admit that these texts are in English or German (I am from Berlin) as my Spanish is by far not yet good enough for professional purposes.

When I arrived I was classified level A2 in Spanish, certainly an accurate classification in theory but in daily life I felt like level zero basically. That has significantly changed in only three weeks thanks tot he lessons I took and thanks to teachers that gave them. All teachers are professional, highly motivated, kind and funny at times, too.

As I enjoy biking a lot, I bought a bike second hand and explore the city and the countryside in my spare time. The landscape has flat terrain when you go along the river Genil that flows through the city into the plains and there are of course hills and the Sierra Nevada. A mountain range that goes up to about 3000 m (9000 ft). And for all of you who like biking too or are into a little challenge: To the second highest peak leads a path suitable for bikes with an average gradiant of only 5 percent. One thing is for sure: the learning gradiant is much higher at Escuela Montalbán.

Ronny Dojahn (36 years / Germany)