The Academia has a colonial design, with interior patio, 17 classrooms, video room with amplification equipment, library, teachers room, wireless internet service; participants are half from Europe, half from the United States. The majority are professionals and university students.
One of the important features of the Academia experience is that unlike other study abroad programs which require some measure of fluency on the part of the student, students with little or no Spanish may enroll and study for as long as time permits. Our excellent testing program allows placement of students in classes at their exact level, and weekly evaluations make it possible to continue to move students through their weekly classes in such a way that they are continually challenged, but not frustrated by being slightly ahead or slightly behind their classmates. The number of participants in any class is never over five and is frequently smaller. Students move in and out of classes on a weekly basis depending on their ability and their motivation for outside study. Our teachers are all native speakers of Spanish, who have received extensive training in the teaching of their language to adult learners.
The focus of the Academia Latinoamericana de Español is on communication and our methodology involve a natural approach, total physical response, language experience approach, directed reading thinking activities, and the writing process. An integrated, topical curriculum approach reinforces vocabulary.
Our teaching program has been designed under the guidelines of the Instituto Cervantes, the placement testing of the OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview), in combination with the ACTFL model of 9 levels of proficiency: absolute beginner to superior. Highly structured grammar lessons, interactive activities,
conversation, and written exercises. Specific homework assignments are given daily.
This will provide 20 classes of 55 minutes each. Teachers will also change each week so that students will have a significant variety of expertise within each week.
FIRST SESSION
This first session will be specifically dedicated to studying Grammar and to practicing Reading, Comprehension and Writing style.
GRAMMAR: Each student will study linguistic structures, grammatical functions, and rules of Spanish. It has a very pragmatic approach in combination with a wide range of consolidation activities that are selected to reinforce the lesson of the day.
READING COMPREHENSION: The development of this skill will be carried out with real texts or didactically created ones that are coordinated to the lecture. With the help and guidance of the teacher, each student interprets the texts orally and in writing to further aid their comprehension. Orthographic rules, vocabulary, and punctuation will also be reviewed.
SECOND SESSION
This second session will be dedicated to studying oral comprehension and expression.
ORAL COMPREHENSION: The development of this skill will be carried out with real and didactically created documents that are designed to coordinate with the lecture. The student, with the help of the teacher and different comprehension activities, will then interpret the audiovisual documents orally and/or in writing.
ORAL EXPRESSION: The student will participate interactively in a variety of different activities conducted by the teacher, such as presentations, debates, mini-plays, etc. These activities will be carried out with different materials proposed by the teacher or the students, depending on everyone's necessities or interests. Spanish Phonetics (pronunciation, the rhythm of the sentences and so on) will also be studied.
This new program is based upon cultural elements as well as the language itself, thus adding a valuable dimension of the Latin American Culture.
Short field trips will be hosted to different sites within Quito or close by the city (markets, museums, cathedrals, historical monuments), along with dancing classes, cooking lessons, lectures, etc.
Nationality and age mix
The nationality and age mix at LatinoSchools varies over different time periods, courses and levels. Throughout the year, the average age is 35. In the summer, the average age is 25.
School location
Once the capital of the great Inca civilization, Cusco is also home to magnificent examples of colonial architecture.
The stone foundations of Inca temples are still visible in the colonial buildings in and around the city. Many of our students are drawn to Cusco for its close proximity to the famous Machu Picchu ruins and the Inca trail.
The LatinoSchools occupies a beautiful and historical colonial home from the 19th century on one of the many small plazas, called Limacpampa Grande 565, right behind of the most important site from pre-Colombian Cusco, the Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun).
The building houses two full floors with about 17 classrooms, an indoor patio, a video room, auditorium, an entertainment room, wireless access to the internet for our students and interior plaza.
The school is conveniently located near to the main post-office, Internet cafes, banks, casas de cambio, etc. It is about four blocks from the main square, the Plaza de Armas, the central meeting area of Cusco (a great place to people watch!). There are many restaurants, cafes, cathedrals, and museums nearby.
