Frequently Asked Questions

Students relaxing on residence's sun terrace

Answers to many of our frequently asked questions are listed below:

Can’t find the answer to your question?
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have regarding our courses.

Please, e-mail us at info@caminobarcelona.com or call
From Europe: 0034 93 467 85 85
USA/Canada: 011 34 93 467 85 85

ENROLMENT

• When can I enrol?
• You can enrol up to 1 day before the start of the course.
• How can I enrol?
• You can enrol by entering your details on the secure enrolment page of our website: www.caminobarcelona.com
  
  Or, if you prefer, you can telephone our offices on: (+ 34) 93 467 8585
• How can I pay?
• You can pay by credit card or bank transfer:
  
  If you would like to pay with another Credit card (Visa or MasterCard), you can leave these details on our secure enrolment form (you will need to fill in the enrolment form again):
  www.caminobarcelona.com
  
  Alternatively you can give us the details over the telephone on + 34 93 467 8585. If you would prefer for us to call you, simply email me to tell us a convenient time to call you (our offices close at 18:30 Spanish time).
  
  It is not advisable to send these details in an email because this is not a secure method as they may be viewed by third parties.
  
  Please find below our banks details:
  
  Account name: Camino Barcelona
  Account number: 0049.2363.20.2914503188
  IBAN: ES60 0049 2363 2029 1450 3188
  Swift Code: BSCHESMMXXX
  Bank: Banco Santander
  Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes
  535 y 537
  Barcelona 08011 Spain

LOCATION AND TRANSPORT

• How can I get to Barcelona?
• You can find detailed information on how to get to Barcelona at our website: Arriving in Barcelona
• Where is the school located?
• The school is located in a lively and vibrant street in the neighbourhood ‘Eixample’, just ten minutes walk from ‘Plaza Cataluña’ and ‘Las Ramblas’. ‘Eixample’ is famous for its many shops, restaurants and bars – where there are endless possibilities to have a good time and to meet people!
• What is the climate in Barcelona?
• Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. On average, the rainy seasons are spring and autumn, and the dry ones are winter and summer. As for temperatures, December, January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of over 10°C in the city. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of up to 38.6°C
• How big is Barcelona?
• Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain with a population of 1,615,908. in 2008
• How far is the school from the beach?
• The beach is about 20 minutes with public transport.

ARRIVAL

• Is it possible to arrive a day earlier and leave a day later the start of the course?
• Our accommodation dates are from Sunday before the course starts until the Saturday after the course finishes. However, it is often possible to arrive a day earlier, or leave a day later, though naturally there is a charge for the extra nights.
• Do you do airport pickup?
• Our students have the option of reserving an airport pickup service at an extra cost of 75 euros per way from Barcelona airport.
• What happens when students arrive in Barcelona airport?
• Students, who have booked an airport transfer, will be picked up in the airport and taken to the accommodation. Students who do not have airport transfer will go directly to their accommodation.
  
  All students receive their accommodation details 2 weeks before the start of their course.

COURSES

• When can I start the course?
• Our courses are continuous and run through the year without breaks, as the school only closes on public holidays. If you are not a complete beginner, you can start a course ANY Monday of the year! If you are a beginner, you can choose from 2 beginner start dates per month. Please ask for more details.
• How many weeks can I study?
• You can study from 1 to 36 weeks.
• How will you know my Spanish level?
• In order to know which level group you belong to, you will take a written and oral level test. As we get the result of your test, we will place you on the best group according to your level, in which you can stay for as many weeks as you prefer.
• What is my schedule and can I change my class timetable?
• Your classes can either be scheduled in the morning or in the afternoon. Your schedule will be confirmed your first day of lessons, right after our Welcome presentation. You can not change your timetable. Please find our winter and summer schedule.
• What books do you use? And how many books per language level?
• The books we use are called GENTE. Each set of book consist of a text book and an exercises book together with DVD and CD-Rom. There is normally 1 book per level (a level usually lasts about 6 weeks). Any other materials are provided by the school. Books cost 35 euros per level and have to be purchased at the school on arrival. (Or, you can rent the books for €5, per week.)
• What teaching method do you use?
• The method we use is communicative. With the communicative language approach, the teachers teach the language in the classroom in such a way that students communicate among them taking into account their real experiences.
  
  Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics.
• Are teachers native speakers and what are their teaching qualifications?
• Our teachers are chosen for their excellence and the passion with which they teach. All our teachers are indeed native Spanish speakers. Also, they all have a University degree, postgraduate qualifications in teaching Spanish as a foreign language and minimum 2 years experience in teaching Spanish as a foreign language.
  
  Furthermore, we promote our teachers to participate in training courses, to provide the best quality in teaching to our students.
• What courses do most people take?
• Our most popular course is the Intensive, which consists of 20 group classes per week.
• Will I take exams?
• Internal exams are held at the end of each level in order to monitor your progress.
• Is there a possibility to change classes according to my progress?
• Groups are arranged according to their level. Each group progresses at the same pace, so you will be moving to the higher level from one week to another with your group. If once you have started the course you feel that you should be placed in a higher level, you can speak with our academic coordinator to get some advice and be moved.
  
  Students generally move levels when they take a level assessment every 4-6 weeks.
• How much can I expect to learn after 4 weeks course?
• The level you will reach depends on different factors: the level you start at, the amount of personal work you devote to your study, how easy you assimilate linguistic concepts...
  
  In 6 weeks you would normally complete a whole level doing the Intensive course (20 lessons per week).
• What is the price per week when there is a public holiday?
• The price is the same for weeks when we have public holidays. However, if there are 2 public holidays in the same week, one day of classes will be rescheduled. If there is only one public holiday in the week, the classes are not rescheduled.
• Can I get a recognised certificate at the end of the course?
• Yes, we prepare you for the D.E.L.E.: Diploma de Espanol como Lengua Extranjera. DELE is the only official Spanish diploma and it will help you find a job, study in any Spanish speaking country or it can be used simply to demonstrate your knowledge of Spanish. There are four levels which you can choose from:
  
  Basic (level A1 from the Framework)
  Initial (level B1 from the Framwork)
  Intermediate (level B2 from the Framework)
  Superior (level C2 from the Framework)
  
  Our DELE Preparation course; being the only official Spanish Diploma; will enhance your Spanish skills and help you to pass the DELE exam. You will definitely learn a lot during this 4-week programme!
• Do I get a diploma after the course?
• At the end of the course you will get a certificate about hours studied, duration of the course and reached level.

ACCOMMODATION

• What are your accommodation options?
• Our school offers a variety of accommodation options: you can choose to live with one of our ON-SITE accommodations, our carefully selected host families, in a student residence or in a shared apartment with other students from the school.
  
  You can have a better idea of the different accommodation types from our website: www.caminobarcelona.com
• How many students share 1 flat?
• From 4 to 5 students.
• Can I choose to have a private bathroom option?
• In our on-site Superior Accommodation you can choose to have the option of private bathroom for an extra cost of 75 euros per week. In this way you will only share the kitchen and living room with your flatmates.
• Do I need to bring towels or bed linen?
• One set of bed linen is provided, but not towels.
• Will I have laundry facilities?
• There is a washing machine and a clothes horse in each Superior accommodation, Standard apartments and residence. Host families agree to do one clothes wash per week.

STUDENTS

• How old are most of your students and what are their backgrounds?
• We welcome students of all ages, from 16 to 90 years old! However, there is a majority of students in their twenties. The average age of our students is 19-26 years old. Most of our students are University students or young professionals that want to improve their language skills or are interested in languages in general.
  
  All our students are all from different nationalities and come from different countries: German, Dutch, English, American, Canadian, Polish, French, Italian... which is for you a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world.
• How many students does your school have?
• Approximately 1400 students per year
  During low season: 50 – 80 students
  During high season: 120 – 170 students
• How many students are there per class?
• The maximum class size is at our school is just 10, with an average of 7 students per group. Therefore, all students receive a very personalized attention from teachers.

FACILITIES

• What facilities and services does your school have?
• Camino Barcelona features air conditioning in all classrooms, a living room with computers and free Internet access Wi-Fi, library and video library, a smoking area, a cafeteria, three sun terraces.
• Will the school help me to apply for a VISA?
• Students from European union countries do not require a visa.
  
  If you need a student VISA, the school will assist you with the application by providing you with an official acceptance letter from the school. It is important to take into account that to do so, we require FULL payment of the programme you have reserved with us.
  
  From our previous experience, it can sometimes take more than 8 weeks to obtain a visa from the consulate, so you should find out about the application procedure as soon as possible.
  
  Normally, students who require a visa need to take the following documents to their nearest Spanish consulate before travelling to Spain:
  
  1) A letter of acceptance and receipt from us (that we will provide you with), showing that you have enrolled on a course and that it has been paid for IN FULL.
  2) Proof that you have your own insurance.
  3) Proof of accommodation during your stay.
  4) A valid passport.
  
  We would, however, always advise that you check the most recent requirements with your local Spanish consulate.
  
  Please note that visas are only issued for full time courses (Intensive course, for example) but not for part time courses (such as the Evening course).
• Will I have the possibility of exploring Barcelona and experience the Spanish culture and nightlife?
• We offer a wide variety of activities that change from week to week! Some of our activities include a welcome party for all our new students, workshops about Spanish culture, literature or cinema… We also organize trips to Museums, dinners, salsa lessons, club nights…
  
  Apart from our school activities, we also have some “recommended activities” during the days in which the school is closed (like weekends or Bank Holidays). Some of these activities include, for example, excursions to local places of interest, such as the Monastery of Montserrat, the Dali museum in Figueres, day excursions to Girona, Sitges or ‘Tossa de Mar’.