Granada Spanish Lingua offers an integrated program structure which assures high quality of service at school while at the same time providing the physical and social environments for a totally unique experience at school location.
The features of our program include:

Year-round program and services for Spanish students and travelers. Arrive any day of the week and start any Monday of the year. The basic program week with family homestay is Sunday through Saturday, with classes Monday through Friday, and you can also reserve extra homestay days and extra tutoring for before or after your basic program weeks to accommodate any arrival schedule. Tutoring, transportation service, excursions, and homestay services are available separately from the basic combined program for registered students.

GSL' total immersion language acquisition program helps you rapidly make measurable gains in your Spanish speaking, conversational comprehension, writing and reading comprehension skills, as wells as comunicative expression and grammatical knowledge. Classes takes place in an exclusively Spanish speaking atmosphere using a participatory conversational method which combines visual, auditory and kinesthetic activities to engage all your senses in the direct-learning process. Class curricula and content are guided by ongoing evaluation of your progress and by your expressed interests with the goal of making your classes engaging as well as instructional. An exceptionally supportive staff, hospitable host families, and relaxed Nicaraguan culture will help you to quickly lose self-consciousness and gain natural confidence in your ability to communicate effectively en Español.

Placement evaluation puts you in a class of your own level. GSL' program have six organizational levels: beginner, advanced beginner, intermediate, advanced intermediate, advanced, and conversational which are defined by each student's ability in speaking, comprehension, reading, writing and grammatical knowledge. The placement evaluation is a varied oral and written examination administered on the first day of your classes which investigates your language ability, cultural knowledge, and your personal interests so your teacher can structure your classes to be both instructive and interesting.

4 hours all-Spanish instruction per day, in the mornings, Monday - Friday (usually 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon) with short breaks. Instruction is in Español only.
The GSL' method encourages direct learning through demonstration, experience, and practice at all levels with more in-depth explanation and demonstration of grammar and other elements at the intermediate and advanced levels.

Small class size: 1 or 2 students maximum per class (up to 3 - 4 for groups). Class size depends on the number and levels of students attending classes at the same time.

Experienced Native Nicaraguan Spanish teachers are dedicated, simpáticos, and strive to make learning Spanish a pleasant and fun experience for all our students.
All GSL teachers are trained in GSL's second language "Functional" teaching method, participate in creating the teaching materials, and lead and participate in the complementary afternoon activities at school.

Class materials are included in the basic program price. GSL materials are created by the staff and teachers at GSL school who draw upon second language learning texts from Latin America and Spain as well as a variety of locally produced printed and visual materials. Each student receives a basic Spanish grammar text (in Spanish) designed for Spanish language students.

Extra individual tutoring is available
in the afternoon in addition to the basic morning program. You can customize your program to make it extra "intensive," to begin a program in mid-week, or to design a program with less hours, with or without homestay. Reserve in advance or add on to your program once in progress and you are sure you want the extra hours (recommended).

Certificate of Completion at the end of your program. You will receive documentation of each week's class and tutoring hours with comments and evaluation from your teachers and a certificate, suitable for framing, documenting your participation and completion, signed by the director of the school.

Private room and full board in a Nicaraguan family homestay is included in the basic program and highly recommended as a part of the immersion process for rapid language acquisition. Although at times your homestay may be shared with another student (or you may choose to share with a traveling companion or group/family members) many times students have their homestay to themselves. Homestay service includes a comfortable private room and three meals a day in a clean, secure, hospitable home of a Nicaraguan family who will help you feel welcome and at ease, as well as giving you opportunty to practice your Spanish. In addition, your homestay family will provide you with basic amenities such as a fan and bottled water, and many homestays have phones which can be used by students on a limited basis. Laundry service is available through your family though many students find they actually like to do their own laundry by hand in a "lavandero". You can reserve extra homestay days before and/or after your program. You may also choose to attend classes without homestay accommodations, or vice versa (space permitting). Click here to see photos

Afternoon cultural activities, educational mini-cursos, and visits with local service organizations are included in the basic program and are facilitated by the school' teaching staff in an exclusively Spanish speaking environment so that students have the opportunity to practice their Spanish skills. Activities include visits to clinics, museums, cooperatives, artisan shops, small factories, farms, NGO and Government projects; dance, music, art, and handiwork classes; visits and lectures by community leaders, hikes, local tours y más. Topical mini-cursos (en Español - mainly for intermediate and advanced students) provide an insightful understanding of important topics in Nicaragua such as: the economics of progress and poverty, Nicaraguan history and politics, the public health and education systems, natural ecology and conservation issues, social and gender relations, religion, Nicaraguan art forms, y más! (See individual school descriptions)

*Volunteer opportunities are available through school with local public service, health, education, cultural, and ecological conservation organizations. You can arrange to visit specific kinds of organizations to find a match with your interests. Available volunteer work may include teaching, medical, office work, health care and education, building a school, putting up public service signs, clearing land, cleaning a beach, planting trees, spending time with children, etc. (See individual school descriptions for some ideas.) Volunteer jobs are arranged personally through visits with local organizations once you arrive at the school location. *Please note: For volunteer programs guided,
we recommend you visit our partner Viva Nicaragua!

Airport pick-up and transportation service. Our school can arrange for you to be picked up at the airport (even if your plane arrives off schedule or is bumped to the next day), help you get oriented, and take you to our school in comfort and safety. Pick-up can also be arranged from any specific location in Managua. You can arrange transportation to the airport for your return trip home directly with us at school (or in advance for larger groups).

Group study packages can be customized for larger groups. All transportation, special outdoor activities or mini-courses, visits with community organizations and volunteer activites, weekend trips... we can set it up for you and make it work.

Assistance with travel and program preparation: Over the last two years, GSL has facilitated a lot of successful programs for students of all ages, of many professional backgrounds, from many different countries all over the globe. We know Nicaragua, we understand your concerns, and can offer you an unforgettable, safe, full immersion learning experience. Please browse our website as much as you can, see our Questions & Answers page, and then e-mail or call our Granada office and we'll answer whatever specific questions you may have remaining about Nicaraguan, our program, and the GSL application process.

Registration and payment process: GSL has an easy step-by-step registration and payment process. Copy the full unedited text from the GSL Individual or Group/Family application into a body of a new e-mail message, read it completely and fill it in as completely as you can and e-mail it to GSL -- shortly thereafter, you will receive a detailed e-mail confirming the acceptance of your application, the details of your desired program, the correct total to pay, payment instructions, and detailed information to help you better prepared for your travel and program experience -- you can then make the reservation payment (see detailed instructions and payment terms on the GSL Application). Shortly after your reservation payment posts to us, you will receive an e-mail receipt with confirmation of your program reservation.

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