A few weeks ago, I started work at a Spanish language school in Madrid. Not long afterwards, the two words "Instituto Cervantes" seemed to be popping up in my day-to-day life a lot more often than before. They seemed vaguely familiar, but I wasn't really sure what they meant or what their relation was to my job. So, thinking it was best to find out, I did some research and spoke to some colleagues. As it turns out, those two words are rather a big deal in the domain of Spanish language schools...
So, what is Instituto Cervantes?
The Instituto Cervantes (IC) is the official governing body which promotes the Spanish language, spreads awareness of Hispanic culture and controls the quality of Spanish language teaching.
From a student's perspective, an Instituto Cervantes accredited school guarantees quality.
Accredited Language Schools
The Instituto Cervantes accreditation is the most prestigious recognition a Spanish language school can be awarded. It demands high standards in the areas of:
- Teaching requirements
- Teaching resources
- Teaching staff qualifications and experience
- Class size
- Course structure
- Truthful publicity
- Course details
Further adding to its credibility, the schools are inspected periodically and the accreditations are renewed every two years to guarantee that high standards and approved teaching quality is maintained.
There are Instituto Cervantes centres in each of the 5 continents and approximately 80 accredited schools in Spain. If you are looking for a Spanish language school in Madrid, for example, only a handful of the 100 or so schools are IC accredited.
AIL Madrid is an IC accredited Spanish language school. Chris Haworth, the School Director, says, "After having obtained the accreditation, I can say that it is definitely a very thorough, rigorous and comprehensive process! Any student should feel confident in the quality of the teaching and service of any such accredited school."
Ignacio de Diego, the AIL Madrid Director of Studies, adds that the IC accredited accreditation "guarantees the professionalism of the faculty, the quality of the facilities and the use of the complementary materials, which are continually updated to provide versatile and modern ways to learn, customised to all the students".
In conclusion, if I can apply what I've learnt from my experiences flat hunting in Spain (booking to view the lovely flat pictured online but, in reality, seeing something completely different...) to searching for the right language school, then maybe it's worth paying some attention to the two words "Instituto Cervantes", just to be sure!
About this Author
Sara Oldfield is a Business Development Intern at the Spanish language school, AIL Madrid. She has always been interested in journalism and writing, and used to write for her student magazine.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sara_Oldfield
