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METHODOLOGY
Our courses
At Sol Maya, we emphasize the Communicative
Approach as a learning method which permits us to maintain constant
interaction with students to help them develop their verbal skills from
the very first class. This does not mean that we do not teach grammar,
but rather that we teach it in a contextual manner. This helps students
to structure their ideas and to speak fluidly. As a result, our
students leave with sufficient confidence to communicate effectively
due largely to the fact that they have a solid grammatical base and
good verbal skills.
Organisation of classes
Classes
are divided into two sessions. The first session generally emphasizes
grammar. Grammar is the first step in communicating effectively in the
Spanish language. We assess the students’ grammar level and
design a curriculum to help them develop their language skills where
they need it the most.
The second session emphasizes conversation. In
this portion of the class the students will apply the skills they have
learned in the first session. In a relaxed environment we will practice
speaking Spanish by discussing those things that are most important and
interesting to the students.
In the classroom we use Spanish as the medium of communication, utilizing English for clarification purposes when necessary.
Course Materials
We prepare our lessons using materials from a
variety of textbooks, with the objective of satisfying the individual
needs of each student. In addition, we have developed our own
workbook which gives the student the opportunity to deepen their
understanding of the information taught in the grammatical session
through optional homework. In order to assist the learning process, we
also make available all the learning tools and resources of the school,
for e.g. textbooks, local magazines and newspapers, as well as audio
and video material from the library.
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