Recensies over Españolé International House, Valencia, Spanje

"Hoe goed en leuk de lessen waren verschilde erg per docent. Sommige lessen misten wat structuur of de docenten spraken heel snel Spaans, waardoor ik ze niet begreep."

"Het enige wat ik iets minder vond was de kookles, die was voor mijn gevoel iets te eenvoudig en te gehaast. Verder super."

"Grote school met veel maar wel krappe lokalen voor de grootte van de lesgroepen (12 personen). Het grootste deel van de studenten bestond uit jeugd die een tussenjaar hadden na hun middelbare school. Deze hebben toch een ander doel dan ik heb. Dit vond ik soms storend in de groep. Het was fijn geweest als dit vooraf bekend zou zijn."

"Sommige lokalen waren niet geschikt om les in te hebben."

"Niets"

"Alleen de audioapparatuur in de klaslokalen was enigszins ontoereikend, omdat de docenten er zelf voor moesten zorgen dat de audioteksten luid genoeg waren en ze niet allemaal goede luidsprekers bij zich hadden."

"De competentie van de docenten varieerde. Er waren leraren die geen "goede controle" over de klas hadden. Het gevolg was dat er afleiding en verstoringen ontstonden."

"Op de school viel niets aan te merken!"

"Geen activiteiten in de avonduren. Geen buitenruimte. Geen dagelijkse sportactiviteiten. Helemaal niet zoals geadverteerd op de website. We hebben spijt van de boeking. Onze dochter is een week eerder vertrokken. We kozen bijna voor Enforex en we zouden nu willen dat we bij hen hadden geboekt. International House had vroeger een goede reputatie. Niet meer."

"De eet activiteiten waren een beetje laag in kwaliteit en variatie. Ik geef liever meer geld uit voor uitstekende kwaliteit."

"Het gebrek aan ruimte in de klaslokalen voor grotere klassen."

"Het was erg, erg koud in de hele school."

"Te grote groepen (tot 12) in te kleine lokalen. Veel jongeren die slechts een beperkte leergierigheid hadden, hun masker niet goed droegen en soms de les verstoorden. Excursies werden slechts gedeeltelijk georganiseerd."

"I didn't really enjoy the self-study part of the grammar class, but I get that it’s hard to organize this additional hour any other way."

"There are some young students who disrupt lessons due to a lack of interest. And in November, it's not particularly warm in the classrooms. But that's Spain though."

"While the regular classroom’s instruction was outstanding, DO NOT PAY the additional expense to take their Intensive Language-Building program. It was a complete waste of time and money. Unlike the school’s highly interactive language instruction, their one-hour per day intensive program was more like a study hall or perhaps a more fitting description would be a detention-centre. Students were given pages to silently complete at their sitting place, and once completed to (again) silently hand the work back to the teacher for her written comments; her written reviews of these assignments were very brief. After 2-3 days of this “instruction”, I asked the administration to switch me the other intensive program that they offered—their conversation intensive program. The school immediately offered me that opportunity. But after talking to students who attended the conversation intensive program, they advised me that it was also a complete waste of time and money. As the school had only two-types of intensive programs, I opted not to spend my time needlessly sitting in a make-believe class. Instead, I joined independent city-tours offered by Valencia (which I would highly recommend!). The after-school activities were a disappointment, because they were not fulfilling. It was a surprise that the school didn’t offer more imaginative tours of museum’s and other landmarks. While taking a long bus-ride to walk for a few hours along a beach path, cooking burgers after class, doing yoga and/or a sports activity might be of interest to students in middle school/high school and college students of the freshmen or sophomore age, it didn’t appeal to the 30 plus crowd. My stay with the school was for two-weeks. There were three tours that the school offered which were worth a visit: - The tour of the town’s local graffiti. There, the school’s guide provided lots of information about the rich cultural history behind that art-form. - The archaeological tour was very good. Its guide was a well-informed historian who really offered insight to both the ruins and the history behind the ruins. - A tour, which I couldn’t attend because it was offered on the day after of my departure, may well also have been worthwhile. It was of an oceanographic centre."

"The Seniors were taught together with school children in the same groups. The afternoon activities were rather poor. In Sevilla and Madrid, the afternoon activities were much better and interesting."