Founded in 1992, the centre is a Spanish school devoted exclusively to the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. Located on the beautiful and unique Tropical Coast of Granada, with average temperatures ranging between 20ºC in winter and 30ºC in summer, the town is easily accessible from the Granada, Malaga and Almeria international airports.
Tropical Coast Languages is situated in the heart of Almuñécar's old town and pedestrian precinct. We are only a minute's walk from the beach, shops, restaurants and bars, and close to the accommodation we offer.
Quality of Teaching
The school has a professional and dynamic team of teaching staff, all holding superior university degrees and having undergone our in-house training programme.
All our language teachers are native Spanish speakers.
TCL is a Teacher-Training Centre for the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language for native Spanish speaking teachers.
Facilities
Placement exam
"Welcome" folder
Attendance Certificate
Tutorials every week
Library with loan service
Video library
VHS and DVD player
Internet access
WiFi access
TCL student's card
Student Information
Methodology
We give prominence to the communicative approach because it is activity-based, interactive and learner-centred and it encourages learners to use the language as much as possible for real and purposeful communication, in real-life or realistic situations.
We also follow an eclectic methodology in which the individual needs, interests, and learning styles of our students are taken into consideration. For that reason, we incorporate complementary techniques and strategies that have also proved successful in language learning.
Only Spanish is used in the classroom.
Before starting the lessons participants will undergo the TC Languages "placement or language test". On taking the test each participant will join a group depending on his or her command of Grammar on the one hand and Conversation and Vocabulary on the other. In our experience participants’ mastery of the two areas may differ and we therefore programme our courses to allow for this.
Participants may change their groups if both their teacher and the Director of Studies feel that this would be best for them. Such changes can be made on the Monday of each week.
Placement Test
Before starting the lessons participants will undergo the TC Languages "placement or language test". On taking the test each participant will join a group depending on his or her command of Grammar on the one hand and Conversation and Vocabulary on the other. In our experience participants’ mastery of the two areas may differ and we therefore programme our courses to allow for this. Participants may change their groups if both their teacher and the Director of Studies feel that this would be best for them. Such changes can be made on the Monday or Tuesday of each week.
Activities and Cultural Program
We offer a wide range of activities to enhance your learning experience. We have a daily programme of teacher-lead immersion activities which combine language instruction and practice within a variety of contexts. Some of them are:
· Cultural guided tour of the town or surrounding areas in which we will discover curious details about the history and the legends surrounding the origin of the town historical centre, the Botanical Gardens: Parque del Majuelo and archeological site (Fábrica de Salazón), the Tropical Valley, etc.
· Visits to some museums, monuments and shows for which there are entrance fees: Castle of San Miguel, Aquarium, Ornithological Park, etc.;
· “Classroom” Activities: Language Tutorials; Workshops on music, cinema, phonetics, writing (“Crea tu propia Noticia”), Spanish and Latin-American History, Culture and Literature, etc.; didactic games on the beach; films and current TV series; etc.
· Social and Sport Activities: tapas’ tour; international dinners; sport on the beach (beach-volley, badminton, etc.); open-air cinema (in summer time); etc. This programme is complemented with different excursions at the weekend to places of touristic and cultural interest, such as: Granada; Sevilla; Córdoba; Tropical Coast / Pueblos Blancos; La Alpujarra; Morocco; Etc.
There is a minimum of participants required for carrying out both activities and excursions.
Fist day of the course
1. Upon arrival, participants will have to undergo the placement test to evaluate their level. After that, they will receive the welcome folder with general information about the school and will be informed about their class timetable and other aspects, such us, programme of activities, etc.
2. Each student must leave in the secretary office of the school the first day:
a) A deposit of 60 € to be held for the duration of the stay. This deposit will be refunded in full at the end of the course after the safe return of everything lent by the school for the course or accommodation: books, films, novels, DVD’s, blankets, sheets, keys, etc . If the student, because of misuse or negligence, caused without justifiable reason any type of damage to this material or in the accommodation, the price of replacement or repair will be deducted from this deposit.
b) Three pass-photos (we can copy the participants' photo of their ID, passport, etc.)
Terms
Cancellation
Our Cancellation Conditions are:
Cancellations will be accepted only when the participant provides a justifiable reason for doing so.
The school must receive notification of a cancellation at least 15 days before the start of the course and in writing via e-mail, fax or letter. Then we will send confirmation of receipt. The school will take into account the date of delivery, not the date of posting.
Refunds: If the notification of cancellation is received:
15 days or more before the start of the course, the school will refund all money paid except the prepayment.(100 €)
Between 15 and 5 days before the start of the course, the school will refund 50% of the money paid if this amount is higher than the prepayment (100 €).
Less than 5 days before the start of the course or after the start of the course, the school will not refund any money paid.
Change of course and/or accommodation
BEFORE ARRIVAL: If after sending the inscription, participants wish to change the type of course, accommodation or dates, they will have to inform the school in writing via e-mail, fax or letter at least two weeks before the start of the course (in high season, one month before) in order to assure the change.
DURING THE STAY: If for justifiable reasons participants cannot carry out their stay in full as booked, they must provide proof with the corresponding document if possible. In this case, participants will have the possibility of postponing their course (for a minimum of 1 week and up to a maximum of 12 months) without losing any of the course fees (participants will only have to pay the difference in price if the course takes place in a different year and our prices have changed). However the accommodation fees cannot be refunded.
All changes made to the former inscription will always be subject to availability at the moment of informing the school.
