experience a different kind of learning
at intercultural!
friends of the spanish
language this website presents “intercultural”
in mendoza, together with its staff, courses, programs and activities.
we are proud of our website, because every single word on it is true, every
sentence is both part of our development towards higher quality and part
of our experience in having attended hundreds of students since 1994.
we all have the right to compare and ask for references, and we are sure,
if you asked for references they would read: the people at “intercultural”
in mendoza practice what they preach and and live up to their promises...
and, moreover: day after day they give their best to offer students better
services than the day before.
we are looking forward to seeing you. cristina isenrath - director
welcome at intercultural,
foreign languages!
our formula for success:
our way:
we come from more than twelve years
of experience in teaching spanish as a foreign language to travelers
from all over the world. we are supported and accredited by renowned
organisations, thus ensuring that you receive the best possible
education.
immersion:
Inside the classroom and out, we give
you the opportunity to practice Spanish. The design of our activities
will help you use Spanish in your everyday life and provide you
with a solid knowledge of formal Spanish.
being intercultural:
We
have a wide network of host families to accommodate our students
so they can truly live our concept of intercultural experiences.
Moreover, within our well-established forum, “intercultural
exchange”, students can meet people from Mendoza and other
parts of Argentina, as well as individuals from all over the world
while practicing languages and getting to know different cultures.
Individuals and small groups of students alike come to Intercultural
from around the globe, year-round.
the school:
We provide you with a clean and well-organized
place to work and study. Our staff is here for you all day to help
you wherever we can. We want our school to be THE point of reference
for you in Mendoza, offering our library, wireless Internet access
and a place to meet friends.
new location !:
on october 1, 2006 we moved to a larger building to offer you more
spacious classrooms and a garden, where you can chat with other
students, do your homework, or meet new people.
service:
our mission regarding services is reflected
in the way we treat our students as well as in our comprehensive
assortment of options and activities. we offer great services because
we like what we do!
the classes...
class
schedule:
group
lessons are given from monday through friday, from 8:30am to 10am
and from 11am to 1pm. there is a break between 10:30am and 11am,
during which our students can have a coffee or other refreshments.
the timetables for one-to-one lessons are flexible: they can be
identical to the schedule of our group lessons or they can be tailored
to the student's preferences (e.g., just two hours of lessons a
day).
levels:
before the course starts, our students
are asked to take a placement test, so they can either be assigned
to an existing group at a specific language level or to one-to-one
lessons with a teacher that suits the student's language level best.
on their arrival, the students have a brief conversation with us
which helps us assess two things as accurately as possible: their
language skills and expectation as regards their learning process
of spanish as a foreign language.
the definition of language levels and programs at intercultural
is based on the common european framework of reference for languages
(a document about harmonizing methodologies, contents and levels
regarding the teaching of all languages spoken).
the general levels of reference, briefly described, are the following:
for better organization and in order to help every student be placed
at the corresponding language level, intercultural has subdivided
each and every of those levels, bearing in mind the students advancement
as regards contents and skills (oral and written expression, reading
and listening comprehension). this subdivision allows the students
to learn spanish at the appropriate language level and permits the
teachers to work as individually as possible.
methodology:
intercultural applies the basic principles
of the communicative focus of teaching the spanish language:
- the way of conceiving the process of teaching and learning as
communicative as possible, bearing in mind the contextual factors
conditioning the participants in the process of communication. the
student's profile and necessities are to be respected in order to
maximize the learning effect, and, at the same time, to humanize
the process to the greatest-possible extent.
- the way of designing the activities of learning as projecting
the perception of the language understood as a means of communication.
therefore, the communicative focus understands spanish as a foreign
language as following the basic principles of:
- using the language for a communicative purpose
- considering the student the pivot of the curriculum
- developing communicative competence, i.e. the capacity of using
the appropriate language in every concrete communicative situation.
this competence includes grammatical, conversational, socio-linguistic
and strategic skills.
- understanding the student's necessities and expectations as regards
learning
- emphasizing on significant negotiating: providing the student
with the opportunity of participating in significant communicative
interactions and responding to necessities and benefits of authentic
communication.
- pointing out the importance of the socio-cultural dimension of
the language: constantly communicating culture, not only grammatical
contents. to reinforce this aspect, cultural lessons could be offered,
where the student deal with specific contents of their interest,
such as history, tourism, geography, etc.
group lessons should be given by two teachers working as a pedagogic
team, one of them teaching the first part of the lesson, the other
the second. both of them organize the contents of the course on
a weekly basis, in mutual agreement on the students' language level
and necessities. the teachers stay in permanent contact with the
students so they can solve any kind of problem or improve the students'
activities of learning.
materials:
intercultural does not confine itself
to using one single textbook of spanish as a foreign language, but,
according to the students' necessities, language levels, origin,
age, disposition and all sorts of individual factors, designs studying
kits consisting of copies offer different types of texts and exercises.
at the initial level, for example, the teachers and their students
work with the book “voces del sur”, teaching material
designed and published in argentina, which is very convenient as
regards working with contents that are typical for the argentine
variant of spanish.
intercultural provides audiovisual systems, clear-cut additional
material and a library that help the teachers make their lessons
more agreeable, more fun and more productive.
teachers
and coordination:
the teachers at intercultural fit into
the paradigm of the teacher of spanish as a foreign language who
is prepared for and adapted to the student's necessities. all of
intercultural's teachers have ample teaching experience as regards
spanish as a foreign language, as well as other languages. some
of them had the opportunity of teaching abroad: in brazil, china,
the united states, greta britain, spain, etc. all of them hold an
academic degree in education, and , in addition, intercultural provides
a program of continuous in-house training.
intercultural's spanish department functions autonomously within
the institute, with a general coordinator who is in charge of dealing
with all pedagogical and administrative matters, and an academic
coordinator who is in charge of organizing the courses, preparing
the teaching materials, administering the language levels, supporting
the students and teachers, etc. .
additional
activities and services:
activities:
intercultural offers, free of charge, coaching lessons for students
in need of adapting to their corresponding language level. those
lessons are taught twice a week, in the afternoon.
every friday, intercultural publishes a newsletter called “bien,
¿y vos?”, where the students write about their experiences,
points of view, and in-course tasks. the newsletter represents a
way of both integrating all students and giving them a means to
practice spanish in a concrete communicative situation, a combination
that has turned out to be effective, fun, exciting and touching.
the newsletter is distributed in its printed version to all current
students and in an electronic version to all former students.
Defensoría del Estudiante (Student’s Advocacy Group) The "Asociación de Centros de Idiomas" (Language Schools Association) of the Argentine
Republic has a protection program for students of Spanish as a foreign language called DEFENSORIA DEL ESTUDIANTE where
users of credited centers may make suggestions, claims and any comments related to their experience as a student of
Spanish in Argentina. In order to improve the services provided by our associates or to make a claim you may write to
defensoria@spanishinargentina.org.ar
República
de Siria 241
M5500CBA - Ciudad - Mendoza - ARGENTINA
Phone: (+54 261) 4290269
