Frequently Asked Questions about Spanish courses in Santiago

Questions

1. Is there anybody I can talk to about the school?
2. What are the other students like? Am I too old for a language school? Too young?
3. When do classes begin?
4. What is a typical day like?
5. I would like to focus on a particular subject. Do you offer such programs?
6. How many weeks should I study?
7. What should I bring to class?
8. What qualifications do the teachers have?
9. Is Santiago a safe city?

Questions & Answers

1. Is there anybody I can talk to about the school?
   
   You can chat with us from our website or you can send us a message on facebook. Of course feel free to send us an email to info@tandemsantiago.cl
   
   We love to answer any and all questions.
   
   Also, the website hosts an impressive array of former students' experiences. If you've still not found the answer to your question after looking through our website, watching the videos about the school, or communicating directly with us, you can try sending a respectful email to one of the students from our student Guestbook.
2. What are the other students like? Am I too old for a language school? Too young?
   
   The school receives a wide range of students in both age and origin. It is not uncommon to see an adventurous old gramps from Germany learning Spanish and making mistakes (and jokes about the mistakes) next to an 18-year-old from Brazil with a 30 or 40 year old Americanor British professor looking on and laughing. Again you can get a pretty good grasp of the students from our student Guestbook. The media age is 29 years. This Chart shows you the nationality mix 2012 .
3. When do classes begin?
   
   Every program at the school begins on Monday. We operate classes on a weekly rotational schedule.
4. What is a typical day like?
   
   Group Courses begin at 9:30 AM.
   Lessons: 09:30- 11:00
   Break: 11:00- 11:30
   Lessons: 11:30 - 1:00
   Lunch: 1:00- 2:30 (most students go out for lunch together)
   Lessons: 2:30- 4:00
   Break: 4:00- 4:15
   Lessons: 4:15- 5:00
   
   Special Activities: variable
   
   Please Note: the afternoon lessons from 2.30 -4.00 p.m.are only for those students in the super intensive and the last lesson from 4.15 -5.00 p.m. is a private class for crash course students.
   
   Many days include school activities in the afternoon or the evening. For further information please read our Activities page.
5. I would like to focus on a particular subject. Do you offer such programs?
   
   Specialized classes are offered for Commercial, Law, and Medical professions. There are also specialized Wine courses and beeing official DELE examination center we offer DELE Examination-preparation classes. Please take a look at our Special Spanish Modules page.
6. How many weeks should I study?
   
   Our Spanish class system is divided into seven levels (see above), where each level is one week in duration. This guarantees a steady learning pace and ensures those students with previous knowledge a good placement with minimum repetition. If you are beginner and want to pass the whole programm you should take 8 weeks. If you have already knowledge with part of the time you will be fine. For Asians we recommend at least 3 month. Brazilians will need 4 to 7 weeks.
   
   The price becomes more convenient from 4 weeks up.
7. What should I bring to class?
   
   We provide you with the text you'll be learning from. All you need to bring is something to write with and a great attitude! You'll probably want to have scrape paper to jot down all the little eureka moments you'll be having. Plus, pocket dictionaries and grammar reference books are popular amongst the students.
8. What qualifications do the teachers have?
   
   All the teachers are native speakers, are university educated, and have a lot of prior experience teaching Spanish to foreigners. In addition to their professional credentials, they are selected for their abilities to keep students entertained and interested for the duration of the class.
9. Is Santiago a safe city?
   
   Santiago is the safest capital city in South America.While violent crimes are more than extremely rare, one must remain vigilant of pickpockets; do not leave your bagged draped across the back of your chair at a restaurant—when you are not looking it could easily be snatched.
   The American government has this to say on crime in Chile: "Crime rates are low to moderate throughout Chile and are moderate in Santiago, Valparaiso, and other major cities. American citizens visiting Chile should be as careful in cities as they would be in any city in the United States. There have been few violent crimes committed against Americans. However, American tourists are at a heightened risk for pick-pocketing, purse or camera snatching, and theft from backpacks and rental cars. Such crimes have been reported in all areas of Chile frequented by tourists. In Santiago, visitors should be especially alert to the possibility of crime at the Plaza de Armas and the Mercado Central; at major hotels and restaurants in the Las Condes, Vitacura, and Providencia areas, and in the Suecia and Bellavista entertainment districts. In Valparaiso, visitors should be especially alert in the port and adjoining tourist areas. Tourists using taxis in Santiago should be alert to possible scams involving currency switching. Tourists should also be especially alert while using public transportation, such as the Santiago Metro Subway and public buses and while in the vicinity of Metro stations and bus terminals."

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