about school
At Luis Vives Escuela de Español we have more than 20 years of experience in teaching Spanish to foreigners in Madrid and we are a center accredited by the Cervantes Institute for teaching Spanish as a foreign language.
The school is located in the heart of Madrid, in the historic center next to the Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and East Palace, in the emblematic neighborhood of Madrid of the Austrias. From the school you can walk to the vast majority of monuments, museums and sites of tourist interest without having to use public transport. Our address is: Calle Arenal 18, 1º Izquierda, 28013 – Madrid.
Too easy. If you stay in the center and like to walk, you can come walking. You can also get to school by Metro, getting off at the Sun (lines 1, 2 and 3) u Opera (lines 2 and 5), the school is a 5-minute walk from both stations. If you come by Cercanías Renfe you will have to get off at sun season. Also, they pass very close to the school multiple urban bus lines (L44, L75, L133, L146, L147, L148, among others).
Before I sign up
Don't worry, the process is very simple! You can enroll in our courses in person at the school office or through our registration form. contact o email. We will need a copy of your ID or passport, and your agreement with the terms and conditions of the student contract. When pre-registering, you do not need to pay in advance for the course or pay any amount, unless you wish to do so. On the first day of class you will make the corresponding payment to formalize registration.
You can pay directly in the school office, in cash or by debit or credit card (Visa or Mastercard). It is also possible to pay by Bank transfer. Once registration is formalized, we will provide you with the bank details so you can make the transfer.
To reserve a place, simply send us a copy or photo of your passport to spanish@luis-vives.es indicating the course you want to enroll in, the start date and its duration. On the first day of class we will formalize registration by paying and signing the contract. If you wish, you can advance part of the payment to ensure your place reservation in the course in which you wish to enroll.
Very easy! You can make our level test on-line. As soon as we receive it, we will correct it and write to you with the results. Also, if you are in Madrid, you can stop by the school and do it directly here if you prefer.
There are no age limits in our school, the only requirement is to have a desire to learn, and have fun learning. Most of our students have 17 and 30 years between, although there are always students of other ages. For example, in summer courses we often have some adolescent students (14, 15, 16 years old) and in winter courses adults of very different ages (even students over 65 years old).
It depends on your level of Spanish. If you are an absolute beginner (level A1), the courses start on specific dates. If you already know some Spanish, you must complete our level test, and as soon as we have the results, we will write to you offering you the options best suited to your needs. In general, every Monday of the year it is possible to join our courses, but you can ask us about other possibilities.
No. You do not need to pay for the course in advance, you can pay on the first day of class unless you prefer to do so in advance. Now, if you need a registration certificate or acceptance letter to apply for a student visa, you will have to pay an amount in advance by bank transfer. This will remain as a deposit, in the custody of the center, and will be 100% returned once you have completed your course.
The minimum recommended age to enroll in our courses General Spanish or Spanish + selectivity is 16 years old, since they are aimed at adults or pre-university students. However, we may accept registrations from students under 16 years of age if their parents or legal guardians state that the minor has the necessary maturity and sufficient motivation to be able to join the groups. On the other hand, another good option for minors are private individual or shared classes, since they are completely personalized classes, and the teacher can adapt perfectly to the needs of these students. In the case of classes for closed groups contracted as such (for example, groups of students on a temporary visit to Madrid) there is no age limit.
It depends on some factors such as your level of Spanish, your goals, the time you have, if you need a student visa, etc. In general, we offer many types of courses that can be adapted to your needs. For example, if you plan to spend a long period of time in Madrid (more than 4 or 5 months) and you want to improve your level of Spanish at a good pace, while enjoying the city, a good course could be the course semi-intensive 10 (10 classes a week) or semi-intensive 8 (8 classes a week). If you are going to pass alone a few weeks, or two or three months, and you want to make the most of your time in Madrid by improving your level as much as possible, the intensive course 20 (20 classes a week) would be your option. Yeah you work in the morning: you study at the university, and you don't have much free time, you already speak some Spanish and would like to improve it, the best option would be our course extensive 6 (6 classes a week) or extensive 4 (4 classes a week) in the afternoon. If you want to learn Spanish in Madrid and you need a student visa, due to consulate requirements you must choose a course of at least 20 hours a week, so the options would be our intensive course 20 (20 classes a week), intensive 30 (30 classes a week) or the course cultural immersion. As you can see, there are many options we offer. If you have questions and need help choosing a course, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help you.
Included in the course price are:
- La level test.
- La registration.
- The creative writing, as long as you hire an intensive course or any other course of at least 4 weeks duration.
- All the classes of the course
- All the extracurricular, cultural and leisure activities, which we organize every week. It includes the costs of organizing the activities and the accompanying teacher or monitor. Students only have to pay for transportation (subway, bus...), drinks (food or drink), tickets, etc. For some activities, there is an extra price to participate, which will be indicated in advance (for example, Spanish cooking classes, introductory percussion and flamenco dance class, etc.). Detailed prices for each activity are posted on your class bulletin board.
- El certificates End of course.
Transfer from the airport: If you wish, we can pick you up at the airport and take you to the accommodation you have hired. We can also take you back to the airport when you depart from Madrid.
- Round trip transfer: 75 euros.
- Round trip transfer: 120 euros.
Once registered
Upon completion of the course you will receive a attendance certificate or, if you have completed the level, attended 85% of the classes and taken the final exam, you will receive a certificate of achievement, with the grade obtained. Although we are a center accredited by the Cervantes Institute for teaching ELE, our certificates are private. If you need an official certificate, you must take the DELE (Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language) exams organized by the Cervantes Institute or SIELE (International Spanish Language Evaluation Service) promoted by the Cervantes Institute, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the University of Salamanca and the University of Buenos Aires. If you want to take the SIELE exam, you can do it at our school, since we are an authorized examination center.
It depends on the type of course. For example, if you are studying in a course semi-intensive 10 (10 classes a week) to move to the next level, you will need between 10 or 12 weeks. If you are studying in a course intensive 20 (20 classes a week), you will need 4 or 5 weeks to go to the next level.
In our classes, teachers use Spanish, since we are firmly convinced that it is the best way to help you learn to speak it, and achieve your goals. However, all our teachers are polyglots and they also speak other languages (English, French, Italian, Portuguese and even modern Greek...) so don't worry if you have to ask something and you still can't speak Spanish.
If your arrival in Madrid is going to be delayed for reasons beyond your control, you can request a postponement of your joining date for the course via email. The Center's coordinators will evaluate your case, and if the circumstances allow it, they will offer you a solution adapted to your needs.
At Luis Vives Spanish School we follow the official school calendar of the Community of Madrid. There is no class on holidays and non-school days, but you don't pay for them either.
Due to attack by a zombie horde, alien invasion, or natural disasters, etc... 🙂 No, seriously, in case of illness of the teacher or exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to cancel a class. It is quite rare for this to happen, but if it did occur, this class would be made up and, of course, at no extra cost to the student.
If you think that the level we have assigned you does not correspond to yours, you do not feel good in that group, etc., you can talk to the teachers or the academic coordinator in the secretariat. We will try to offer you the solution that best suits your needs (change level, change group or other alternatives). Do not hesitate to tell us what you want, we will always be at your disposal to help you achieve your goals.
Each class lasts 50 minutes. If you enroll in a course semi-intensive 10 (10 classes a week) in the morning, you will have 2 classes a day from Monday to Friday, from 10:00 to 11:40. If you enroll in a course intensive 20 (20 classes a week) in the morning hours, you will have 4 classes a day from Monday to Friday, from 10:00 to 11:40 and from 12:00 to 13:40 p.m. You can find more information about the schedules in the description of the courses.
In accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract, if the cancellation occurs within a period equal to or greater than 15 calendar days before the start of the course, the Center will return to the student the amount paid for the contract, retaining only 200 euros as tuition, to which would be added all those expenses derived from the management (banking commissions, postal expenses, etc.). If said cancellation occurs within a period of less than 15 calendar days from the start of the course, or once the course has started, the Center will not refund any amount to the student. If the cancellation affects a course that requires a certificate from the school to apply for a visa or residence card, as well as other advantages that could be obtained through this certification, you may benefit from the cancellation and return conditions indicated above. , only in the event that you present official documentation from the Spanish Consulate or Embassy of your country (or corresponding official body), with date, signature and stamp, in which the denial of the visa (or corresponding service) is expressly indicated, or the student's renunciation of the application for said visa (or corresponding service) is accepted. The start date of the course will be considered to be the date defined in the issued study certificate. Any cancellation that has not been made in writing will not be accepted.
In the event that you cannot come to class one day, you will have to inform your teacher, so that he or she can inform you about the contents explained during your absence. Luis Vives Spanish School does not make any refunds for classes not taken. Private classes will be rescheduled, provided that the cancellation has been communicated at least 24 hours in advance of the start of the class.
The only thing you need to bring on the first day of class is a notebook or with a pen or pencil to take notes and, of course, a great smile and really want to have a good time. 🙂
If you are planning a trip during your Spanish program, you must notify the secretariat in advance when registering, or when paying your monthly fee, and we will tell you how to make up the classes you miss.
Additional Services
At Luis Vives Spanish School We do not directly manage student accommodation. We collaborate with different agencies depending on the type of accommodation (shared apartment, host family or residence). In case you need help finding accommodation for your stay in Madrid, write us your preferences and we will put you in contact with our collaborating agencies, and they will help you find the best option for you.
If you need a student visa The first thing you should do is find out about all the necessary requirements at the Spanish embassy or consulate closest to your home. Remember that processing a visa requires some time and varies depending on the country and consulate where you apply, so we recommend that you start preparing everything 2 or 3 months in advance. If you need a confirmation letter (enrollment certificate) from the school to apply for the visa, the requirements are as follows:
- Copy or photo of passport.
- Show the acceptance and compliance with the conditions of the contract.
- Indicate the exact start and end dates of the course, which will be added to the registration certificate.
- Send by bank transfer the net course deposit amount. This amount remains as a deposit, and is 100% returned to the student once the course is completed.
First of all, we recommend that you check all the necessary requirements at the Spanish embassy or consulate closest to your home. Remember that processing a visa requires some time and varies depending on the country and consulate where it is requested, so we recommend that you start preparing it well in advance. Generally, the au pair visa usually requires proof of being enrolled in a full-time study program, that is, 20 hours per week. Therefore, the courses that we offer that meet this requirement are the Cultural Immersion or the course Intensive 20 (20 classes a week) or Intensive 30 (30 classes a week). Due to the schedule that au pairs usually have in their contract with the host family, we suggest the cultural immersion program, as it is usually the one that best suits your needs.
Yes, every Friday we organize different cultural and leisure activities such as visits to museums, monuments, walks through historic neighborhoods, visits to parks and viewpoints, tasting of tapas and traditional dishes, Spanish cooking classes, sports activities and many more. If you want more details, take a look here.
The courses that we offer valid for obtaining a study visa are the Cultural Immersion or the course Intensive 20 (20 classes a week) or Intensive 30 (30 classes a week), since they are the only ones that meet the minimum weekly hour requirement.
In accordance with the terms and conditions included in the contract, if your visa is denied you will receive a refund retaining only 200 euros for registration, to which all expenses derived from the management would be added (banking fees, mailing costs, etc. .) provided that you notify us in writing of the impossibility of attending the course at least 15 calendar days in advance. If said cancellation occurs within a period of less than 15 calendar days from the start of the course, or once the course has started, the Center will not refund any amount to the student. To return the advance payment to obtain the visa, the student will have to communicate in writing the cancellation due to visa denial and attach the official denial document (with date, signature and stamp) issued by the Spanish Embassy or Consulate. The official denial document must clearly reflect the student's name, her passport number and the requested visa.