How to choose a Spanish School in South America

Below are some pointers and tips that we hope will help you in making your decision. Please let us know if you have any particular questions.

 

Things that are important to take into account:

1. Is the school legal? Is it registered with the relevant Ministry of Education?
2. Does the school have its own location (not using part of a hostel or other non-dedicated school space)?
3. Is the school a professional school with a well-defined methodology and professional, qualified teachers?
4. Do they pay their teachers an appropriate wage?
5. Does the website give you a good idea of what the school is like – does it look like an inviting place to spend time studying? Does it have internet access? Is it central enough to activities and the life of the city?
6. Is the social aspect important to you as a a first-time visitor; does the school offer programs and activities that will allow you to mix with other students and explore as part of a group? Will there be enough students there during your visit to make a social atmosphere?
7. Is the touristic aspect important to you as a first-time visitor; does the school have programs and activities that will make it easy for you to explore the city/country?
8. Are the payment processes well enough defined and refund policies easily accessed?
9. Are all materials and registration included in the price?
10. Is there flexibility in the scheduling – can you change your planned itinerary once you are studying?

 

Things that may be important to you personally:

1. Are you interested in the social and touristic aspects of the school as well as the purely educational?
2. Would you like to travel and sightsee while you study Spanish?
3. Do you have special learning or other requirements that the school will need to take into account?
4. Is the school a for-profit or non-profit? What are their connections to the development and social needs of the country?
5. Does the school adequately prepare you for your experience in their country – safety briefing, cell phone rental, etc.?

 

Things to look out for:

1. Schools that are not legally registered - All Spanish schools should be registered with the Ministry of Education to ensure that they meet certain minimum standards in terms of professional certification, school space and facilities, etc. The principal reason for not being registered would be failure to meet minimum standards.
2. Schools that do not have a dedicated school space -(some hostels for example hire a couple of Spanish teachers to take advantage of the fact that they receive foreigners and then say that they have a “Spanish School” although there is no curriculum,  methodology, or proper school space)
3. Schools that are very cheap- some pay their teachers very low wages (as low as $1.50 per hour!). There are always people who will work for this as they are desperate for a job. 
4. Hidden extra costs and complicated fee structures