If you want to improve your Spanish, in a fun and effective way, studying in Spain will give a good result. Many students in Europe today choose to study abroad, in either universities, or in private schools, and there are many different schools to choose from, depending on what you want to get out of the course. The school Gadir, which is situated in the city Cadiz, is one of them.

Cadiz itself is situated in the southern part of Spain which is called Andalucia, and has 140 000 inhabitants. On it’s narrow stretch of land, Cadiz is like a bridge between Spain and Africa with the Atlantic Ocean surrounding it. It’s an ancient city which was founded by the Phoenicians 3100 years ago, and after that there have been a lot of different people who have conquered Cadiz and settled there. And they have all left traces, like the Roman amphitheatre, remains of mediaeval city walls and many stone towers.

La Escuela Internacional de Español

There are two different housings to choose from, according to their homepage. Either you live with a Spanish family or you can share a flat with other students. To live with a Spanish family half board in a single room costs 132 Euro per week if you live there more than four weeks. Full board costs 171 Euro also at least four weeks. Sharing a flat costs 66 Euro per week. There are different prices depending on what season it is. The prices in the high season are about 10-20 euros more expensive. Books and teaching materials are included in the course prices.

Gadir, which is a private school, was founded in 1989. Of course, Spanish is what you study there so from the first day, Spanish is the only language which is spoken in classes. That will help the students to learn as much as possible. You can choose from many different levels, depending on your Spanish skills. A general course in Spanish costs 100 Euros per week, and that course is 8 to 15 weeks.

Interview with a student

Stina Nyberg, a 20 years old student from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, took the opportunity to study in Gadir. So we decided to interview her. She went to Spain by herself, and had not studied Spanish before. She chose to study there in three months so she could use the subscription offer that you can get by CSN in Sweden. And because of that there where many Swedish students there. The first week was pretty frustrating and lonely for her, because she hadn’t studied Spanish before, and didn’t know anyone there. Fortunately there were many students who had gone by themselves to Gadir. It’s a small school with around 40 students, and with 5 students in every class, so a spirit of community came pretty soon anyway. Stina chose to share a flat with some students, instead of living in a family, although living in a family would give a perfect perspective of the ordinary family life in Spain. She paid about 16-1700 Euro, and in that amount, books, rent and course fee were included. But they had to buy their own food. She thinks there was one advantage with studying in a private school, instead of university. It became very personal. The teachers were very open and in a friendly sort of way, and they also arranged many activities for the students. On the other hand university can be cheaper, she says. So it all depends on what you want to get out of your time in Spain.

What you should think about

Stina says that one thing you should consider is where the school is situated. If it’s on the countryside and very picturesque, it may be short of things to do there besides the studying. So then there can be very long days with nothing to do, no activities. She was going to choose a little school on the countryside, but is very glad that she chose a school in the city instead. Of course you should also do "research" about the school you have chosen, and find out if it’s "serious". ‘Cause you don’t want to be deceived. Does this sound like a great opportunity to learn more Spanish? In that case you can find more information on: http://www.gadir.net, or maybe you can talk with your language teacher for advise, and guidance.