Regular and Intensive Courses

Back to spanish version

The courses

There is a maximum of 14 foreign students with different mother tongues per course.

Regular courses: four hours a week, during17 weeks. Classes start in March and August each year. They are designed for students and long-term residents.

Intensive courses: eight hours a week, during 8 weeks. They start in March, May, August and October, every two months.

Intensive Summer courses: fifteen hours a week during 4 weeks. They start in January and February each year.

Intensive Winter courses: fifteen hours a week during 4 weeks. They start in July each year.

Private lessons are also offered.

Our students are foreign people from all around the world, over 16 years old, who come to Buenos Aires for different reasons and with different objectives and need to speak and write in Spanish to be able to cope with everyday situations, in tourism, business or academic contexts. Foreign students who are taking seminars or subjects at the university and want to improve their knowledge and use of the language; executives and businessmen who establish links in Latin America, professionals, teachers or technicians who need to certify their knowledge of the language by means of examinations developed at the University of Buenos Aires. Also, young tourists, travellers, and even relatives of Argentine citizens, who decide to learn about the culture and the language to be able to understand Spanish speakers.

Aimed at developing the four language skills (reading, listening, writing and reading), the courses are offered in seven levels: Elementary 1 and 2, Pre-intermediate 1 and 2, Intermediate 1 and 2 and Upper-intermediate 1.

A communicative and task-based approach is followed in all the courses, privileging the development of fluency and comprehension, stimulating the active participation of the students. At the same time, aspects of grammar are revised always establishing relationships with different communicative objectives. The pragmatic and cultural content is one of the axes that articulate the programs, with special emphasis in current affair issues and Latin American socio-cultural life.

Elementary 1 and 2 Upon completion of this stage, students are able to communicate using simple sentences in Spanish; explain personal needs within the field of travel, communication and courtesy. They have a reduced but sufficient vocabulary and cultural comprehension to cope with the above-mentioned situations.
Pre-intermediate 1 and 2 Students who complete this course may communicate with a certain degree of independence in simple, foreseeable, daily and travel situations. They may also have access to jobs and courses, provided a specific use of the language is not required. Written expression is plain but efficient.
Intermediate 1 and 2 Students speak quite fluently although they hesitate in unknown contexts or when they need to qualify or make their statements more specific. They have a wide vocabulary and may perform in work and academic environments. They may also communicate in writing quite successfully, although with some errors. This is the level required to take university courses in Spanish.
Upper Intermediate 1 (and 2) Students speak fluently and easily in the Spanish language in a wide range of known and daily situations. They may perform correctly and appropriately in work and academic environments, both in writing and orally. They may have some problems with dialectal varieties different from the one they learned.

Upon their arrival at the Laboratory of Languages, all the students (except true beginners) sit for a placement test to be later assigned to the appropriate level.

Enrolment to the regular and intensive courses (four and two months’ long) is finished when the first payment is made (the course material is not included in the fees). There is no reimbursement once the course starts. The amount of money may be credited or the beginning of the course may be postponed for one year with due justification.

Enrolment to the modular courses of the International program of Spanish as a foreign language to be offered in June, July and August, 2003 will take place a month in advance upon the remittance of the enrolment form, the photocopy of the identity card or passport and the prior payment of the course fee. The applicant will receive written confirmation of acceptance to the course.

Regular and intensive courses award a certificate of attendance and level achieved, where the duration, number of hours of the course and the mark obtained are included.

At the end of modular courses, students are given a certificate to credit their attendance, providing they attended 90% of the total hours. The level, duration and number of hours will be included.

If the students sit for a final examination after a modular course, a certificate including the mark obtained will be issued.

(Level Test, exams and certification included)

Category I: Students of previous courses and UBA students
Category II: New students

COURSES OF 4 HOURS PER WEEK DURING 4 MONTHS

COURSES OF 8 HOURS PER WEEK DURING 2 MONTHS

COURSES OF 15 HOURS PER WEEK DURING 1 MONTH

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE COURSES

COURSES OF 3 HOURS PER WEEK DURING 2 MONTHS

COURSES OF 3 HOURS PER WEEK DURING 4 MONTHS

Payment.
In Argentain money (Pesos)
Cash or credit/debit card payment schedule:

Cash: from 10 to 15 hs.
Credito or debit card: from 9 to 13:45 and from 15 to 19:45hs.

Accepted cards: Visa,American Express, Mastercard
For payments with credit or debit card it is obligatory to present personal identification: DNI, Cédula de Identidad or Pasaport.

Teachers

The Laboratory has a team of teachers with a wide experience in teaching Spanish and doing research in the area. Teachers also participate in the Training Program for the Teaching of Spanish as a Second and Foreign Language and in the development of projects linked to this specialty.

Elaborated by the team of teachers, on sale for registered students.

List of courses click here (Spanish version)