CODE

ESPAÑOL ENGLISH

QUOTES FROM OUR STUDENTS

  • My sister has a friend who also lived in Buenos Aires. She had Spanish language courses at CODE. She gave me your address because she told me it was very good and she was totally convinced that it also would be a good school for me.-Tjerk Weidema
  • A friend of mine, who has been to B.A. this year gave me your site. He was very excited about your methods.-Philippe van Leeuwen
  • Soy un amigo del Sr. Bruce Pollack. Él me ha dicho que su español mejoró mucho después de pasar tiempo con usted en sus clases.-Grover Thomas
  • Je suis Francais, j'ai 61 ans et, quand je serai à la retraite, j'aimerais partager ma vie entre la France et l'Argentine. Pour cela je dois apprendre l'espagnol. Je suis donc venu en mars à Buenos Aires avec la ferme intention de prendre des cours et de pratiquer cette langue chaque jour, le plus possible... J'ai commencé par rechercher des classes d'espagnol pour étrangers dans le centre ville, j'en ai contactée quatre par téléphone et visité deux. J'ai choisi Code parce que cet organisme m'a semble tres sérieux, avec un accueil chaleureux, et c'était le plus intéressant en matière de flexibilité, de qualité des professeurs et de prix. Le jour suivant j'ai pris un cours particulier pour qu'on puisse evaluer mon niveau et pour faire le choix entre cours particuliers et cours collectifs. J'étais un faux débutant et j'ai pensé que je pourrais tirer un meilleur profit des cours particuliers. La directrice Florencia me proposa de prendre deux heures de cours particulier par jour, quatre jours par semaine, et cela pendant quatre semaines... Toutes les profs appliquaient la même méthode et furent excellentes. A la fin des quatre semaines j'avais atteint le niveau intermediaire +. J'etais très content, sans l'ombre d'une deception. Je suis rentré à Paris en avril. Bien evidemment, pour ne pas oublier tout ce que j'ai appris chez Code, je vais prendre des cours collectifs d'espagnol ici, en attendant de retourner à Buenos Aires. J'espère faire mon prochain voyage là-bas en décembre et continuer a prendre des cours chez Code. Salutations amicales,-Jean-Francois Gelamur
  • From friends I have had your name. Their son has been at your school, his name is Tjerk, and his mother informed me about the successfull time her son spent with you.-Kitty Wijsman
  • If possible, please pass along to them my highest possible recommendation for Florencia and Code. She is an extraordinarily skilled instructor and, at least in my case, was able to tailor a personalized program which yielded marvelous results. Other students I have recommended to Code have been equally satisfied with their results. I am certain the Embassy staff would not be disappointed with the results from studying with Code.-Bruce Pollack

SPANISH COURSES FOR FOREIGNERS

This service offers Spanish courses, at varying levels, for those foreigners coming to Argentina as tourists or for cultural or professional reasons. The goal is to introduce the student to progressive levels of language and provide him with knowledge to allow him to communicate in different oral and written situations.

1. PROGRAM A: Learn Spanish Now!
(courses offered at CODE premises)

2. PROGRAM B: Spanish, an essential tool
(courses offered at companies and/or embassies)

1. PROGRAM A: Learn Spanish Now!

These courses, offered at CODE offices, are intended for:

  • tourists, either individually or in groups, interested in traveling to Argentina to learn Spanish in a “full immersion” setting, while also enjoying the cultural and human experience that visiting a foreign country provides.
  • people preparing to study or to begin work in Argentina or in any other Latin American country who wish to have intensive instruction as either an introduction to the language or an enhancement of their current knowledge.
  • relatives of professionals temporarily living in Argentina who want to learn Spanish to facilitate their adaptation to a new culture and environment.

2. PROGRAM B: Spanish, an essential tool

These courses, preferably given at the working place of the student, are intended for foreign professionals who are in Argentina for temporary work or on assignment. Therefore, in a relatively short period of time, they should be able to respond to the communication demands of their company/embassy and be able to perform the tasks which require a knowledge of Spanish. This course also takes into account the communication skills needed in daily situations.
The curricula are in all cases adapted to the levels of linguistic competences provided for by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

COURSES ORGANIZATION

CODE offers language courses throughout the year for all levels of learning. The curriculum is determined by the student’s needs, abilities and level of learning. Classes are organized with a flexible schedule that takes into account the duration of the visit, frequency of classes and individual linguistic goals.

Types of courses

  • Individual courses
  • Semiindividual courses
  • Group courses (from 3 to 8 students)

METHODOLOGY

2.1. Student Profile

After an initial interview, a student profile is created. This includes personal information and the results of a questionnaire that assesses the students' language experience and their goals, as well as how they plan to use the language.

All students with previous knowledge of the language will sit for a level test to determine placement. Teachers maintain a log of student progress and a file is later completed with an evaluation report giving details of the student’s progress and level reached.

2.2. Goals

Oral comprehension and expression: All CODE classes offer students the opportunity to practice oral comprehension and expression. These skills are developed through:

  • activities performed to develop understanding mechanisms and a correct pronunciation
  • transition activities from comprehension to the formation of short answers
  • transition activities from short answers to complex sentences

Students will be faced with everyday situations where they will be required to actively participate in conversation using the linguistic tools learned (emphasizing on familiar, colloquial, business or professional scenarios according to the priorities of each particular case).

Fluency in oral expression will be as important as a correct intonation and pronunciation.

Grammatical assimilation: Grammar structures will be introduced in corresponding levels of complexity and will be applied to oral and written language. A grammatical approach will be actively performed through mechanical exercises of comprehension and expression, specific situations, activities on dialogues, debates, etc.

Written comprehension and expression: The student will be progressively prepared -through vocabulary and structures assimilation- to comprehensively read texts of different kind and complexity level. He will also be trained to write summaries, letters, emails, reports, memoranda, using the syntactic structures already learned.

2.3. Evaluation

Teaching will be student-centered. Teachers will take into account the students' motivations, linguistic needs and learning curiosities. On this basis, they will evaluate the progress of each student individually. This approach will encourage the student to reflect on language and to become conscious of it.

From these elements the course will be evaluated:

  • semiannually
  • upon completion of any course which duration shall have been less than six months or courses where completion of a level shall have not been contemplated, by means of a review with different kinds of exercises regarding the contents transmitted. The results of this task are included in an Evaluation Report.

This evaluation will allow teachers to monitor and continuously adapt the contents and methods of learning to the progress of each student.

In addition, CODE has become the Buenos Aires examination center for the Diploma Internacional de Español –DIE- submitted to the FIDESCU, Foundation for the Research and Development of the Spanish Culture, which is recognized by the Pontifical University of Salamanca. This Diploma is obtained by means of an examination prepared following the guidelines of the European Reference Framework and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). For further information, please consult http://www.fidescu.org

MATERIAL

Students will be provided with a textbook – in language courses for professionals – or with a folder designed by CODE for Spanish courses. This folder includes a method organized by units which contains dialogues and texts, grammar charts and different kinds of exercises, as well as a communication area where all the communicational situations, both formal and informal, are addressed by level.
Depending on the level and the characteristics of the course, this material will be supplemented with the book Español por imágenes, by Laura Ramella, a teacher of our institution. This method was specially designed for students who require a specific material with a sound, dynamic and progressive visual support.
In addition, other text books, exercise books, CDs, DVDs, CDRom, authentic material and material adapted from newspapers and magazines as well as material from specific Internet sites will be used in class.

RATES

Rates vary depending on the features of the work. Please e-mail us (info@codesl.com.ar) for information regarding prices and special promotions. This information shall be provided as soon as possible.