Expresiones en español: el tacto

An Amazing school to learn and live the spanish I (20 yo) was there for two weeks for an intensive course in spanish. It was amazing!! The courses are divided in two, with two different teachers. I had the opportunity to meet 4 of them which were all amazing. The school teaches through ludic activities which allows to learn how to really speak and write spanish well. Also Taronja does a lot of activities during the week and on saturdays. The activities are a great way to meet people and learn spanish culture / see amazing landscapes (Saturdays).

I had an absolutely amazing time at Taronja!! I loved my four weeks here (May-June 2019)! I felt that I managed to learn loads in the short time that I was here - the school was very professional and organised, providing lots of excellent resources to aid learning! The lessons were very interactive and always lots of fun - loads of opportunities to practise speaking! Also, the social side was superb - every day there was at least one optional social activity organised, often more! I would love to return one day in the future! A big thank you to all the amazing people here! 🙂

Great experience I went to this solo for 1 week. I wanted to try it first and then extend to 2 more weeks.
(when you extend you need to do it early in the week or risk all spots getting full)
Complete beginner intensive course, I was in a class of 7 people of various ages.
4 young teachers - enthusiastic and made the classes fun. When you have 4 hours (with 1 break of 20m) it's a good thing to make them fun, otherwise you will get bored and lose focus.
I can't say much about if the structure of the lessons was optimal or not, it worked for me, I was able to speak with people for a little bit after only one week without studying extra at home.
And again, they make it fun, if they just give you the top 100 verbs and conjugation for all of them and ask you to repeat them for 4 hours - it might be more effective but it would bore you to tears and you could easily do that on your own.
The best part for me was also to meet different people there from all over the world. The school has daily extra activities that you can optionally attend to and there you get to meet them.

A beautiful school with helpful staff I am just back from a week in Valencia studying Spanish at Taronja School. This is a beautiful boutique school. The team at reception are helpful and I loved their speed in replying to emails - they are very good at that. Prior to my visit, as I was travelling solo, I asked questions about the school, the lessons, the type of classes and ages as I was looking for something suitable to over 30 y/o, the accommodation, additional dates and Valencia in general and they were always happy to answer at the speed of light! They are very good at that and it helps when you are in front of your computer, you are tryng to book a flight and you need a quick answer.
The school
Right in the middle of the city centre, great location, near bars, coffee shops, restaurants, metro, bus, taxis, everything really. The entrance is quite understated, the school is located at the first floor of a building. Every class is decorated differently and all have air-con whichis great at this time of the year, when the tempretaure in Valencia is above 32 degree celsius everyday.
All the teachers I had this week were very nice (Isabel, Manu, Sonia), friendly, helpful and they really ensured that we learnt from this experience. The teaching is not based on any book, we were provided with a handout and additional pages during the week to cover the areas which we were going to explore during each lesson. All lessons are interactive with plenty of opportunity to ask 'preguntas' (questions). Internet is used in the school by the teachers to explain words or provide images and other digital tools are also used to write as a board (instead of the out of fashion board and marker). Classes are small, I was in a class of 9. I know that some of the people I met there were in classes of 6 so the classes are of a reasonable small size which is good and allows the teacher to provide full attention to all. Classes last 50 minutes each. You would usually have 2 teachers a day, one for the first two hours of 50 mins each and the second for the remaining 2 hours of 50 mins each.
Oh yes, once you get to your class forget your language as all the teachers will speak to you in Spanish only, which is fine and correct in the approach as you are there to learn Spanish. However, if you are totally unable to understand a meaning of a word or a sentence they will try to tell you the equivalent in English or Italian or French to heelp you.
You may have a T1 or T2 programme. T1 - Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning classes, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon class. T2 - the other way round. I had a T1.
If you want to go to museums or go shopping it may be worth booking some additional days in Valencia so that you will have entire days to visit them as it is a little difficult when you have classes in the morning or the afternoon, you would just be rushing around and the majority of the museums close at 13:00 for the day or some reopen at 16:00 but only few of them.
Weekly activities
I did not participate in all the activities as some were aimed at the younger crowd (I'm not old, just in my early 30s but what may be fun for a 17/18 y/o may be less fun for a 30 y/o - however, it is always great to mix with all ages) but the ones I participated in were the following:
Noche the tapas - Monday:
A little bar not far from the school (can't remember the name) with seats outside-only. One drink included with your 'tapa' but you could not choose which tapas to go for as you were given what came from the kitchen so it was more about luck. I was fine as I am not allergic to any food but one of the girls in my group was allergic to dairy products and she got a ham and Cheese croquette which she could not eat so I and the rest of the group helped her what are friends for!!!
Fiesta de bienvenida con paella - Tuesday
This party for all newcomers was a great idea, a great opportunity to meet other students and the teachers, in a location near the beach. We all met in front of the school and then we all went to the metro, we all bought tickets and then we got to the other end and got the tram, then we walked a bit and got to the location of this bar. The idea per se is very nice but I think more can be done in relation to the place where the 'fiesta' takes place. The bar was just a little run down, the drinks were cheap but we all complained about the quality of them. The Sangria tasted bad, the white wine we wondered why it was sold with ice (?) and tasted bad anyway, a mojito was prepared from a mixer so forget mint leaves, brown sugar etc there was none of that so it didn't taste like a mojito but like something with a little bit of rum and the chupitos (shot) were of an unknown taste. The paella was nice, there was a meat and a vegetarian option.
The music was ok, some was from the 90s (not a problem for those over 30 y/o!) but generally fine.
I think Taronja should consider other options when organising this party in terms of the bar and the quality of the service provided by the bar. The idea of the party is great but the bar 'not so great'.
Noche de Orchata and historia - Wednesday
The Horchata is a typical Valencian drink made with chufas. It looks milky but it's not as it is made of a root (I think). It tastes nice, it is very sweet and it is supposed to be had with fartons which to me are like sweet light bread, to be dipped in the Horchata.
We all met in front of the school with Vito (he is a cool man!) and walked to Mercado de Colon to taste the Horchata, oh, yes, with a little bit of history of some buildings in between. There are several bars were you can have the Horchata in the Mercado so we did not all have to be in the same location. I think we sat in 'Daniel', it was ok.
There were other activities organised by Taronja during the remaining days but I and some others opted out and did our own thing!
30Hood - group for 30+ y/o - great concept and a WhatsApp group was created for 30hood to share ideas, activities etc. However, may be Taronja could consider putting together some activities which may be suitable for those in their 30s? Just a thought
Accommodation
I booked a single room with the school. Taronja provided all the details, map etc of the school, very good service. I had to pick up the keys from a specific location, a beautiful yellow building nowhere near a metro station so you could either come out of Angel Aguillera metro and walk to the building (about 15 minutes walk) or get the taxi service provided by the school at 55 euros or also get a taxi from the aiport which should cost about 25, 26 euros.
When I got to the building I was given the keys for the house and my room and some bedsheets. I was based in Ruzafa. I waited for a taxi which took me to Ruzafa and costed just over 6 euros. My room was beautiful, large, massive window, double bed, a wordrobe, a sofa a big table for at least 4 people, 4 chairs, 2 side tables and lamps. The only issue was the lack of a fan. Valencia is extremely warm in this period and I believe that fans should be provided. Although the room was big the heat made nights and even the the day uncomfortable. A fan or air con should be provided.
My room was quite big but I had a look at that of my other flat-mate/student, I think it was half the size of mine and not very spacious, there was also another room which was an inbetween size. I think I was lucky with the room but I guess what you get may depend on availability.
The apartment had 5 rooms but only 3 were in use, there was no leaving room which was a shame as we had to stand in the corridor to have a chat. The kitchen was very small and would have been impractical if all rooms were taken and all were using the kitchen at once. Luckily it never happened!
The apartment had 2 bathrooms which was quite good and we never queued. However, one of the locks in one of the batrooms didn't work so you had to ensure that you made people aware that you were in there - not an issue though although may be it is best if this is repaired.
Ruzafa is a very nice area for bars, restaurants and there is a nice covered market, Mercado De Ruzafa where you can buy fruit, veg, meat and fish. It is smaller than the central market and there is no sit down bar/restaurant inside of the one in Ruzafa but it is equally good.
The apartment was at a 15 minutes walk to the school, the distance was ok or you could take a bus, line 7, to Xativa which is 1 minute away from the school and the center of Valencia or 2 minutes from Placa de Ayuntamento.
All in a all a great school and I had a great time!!! The teachers are great and the staff at reception are lovely and helpful.

I am student who just finished high school and decided to take a gap year and learn a language. One of my friends was in Taronja School last year for 3 months and she loved it, so she recommended me to spend some time there in Valencia. I spent 6 months in the school and had one of the best times of my life. I arrived with a very low spanish level, and weeks after weeks, I could see my progress. Later in October, I felt confortable enough with my spanish to take the DELE-B2 preparation lessons at the school as well. Coming to Valencia, I never thought I would improve that fast. Even more, the teachers are very nice and pay attention to every student in the class. Finally, what makes the school also so special are the activities, they make it very easy to meet other students and make friends as soon as you arrive. I definitely wanna come back again!

I have already studied at Taronja three times now over five years and I can safely say that I would never go ANYWHERE else to learn Spanish! The teachers are brilliant and the atmosphere is super-relaxed, which makes the lessons not only useful but really enjoyable and sociable. The classrooms and the whole building (with terrace and common room) are decorated really colourfully, which makes it a very comfortable and non-imposing environment to learn in - as well as a very central location, which couldn't be easier to get to. But the best thing about Taronja is the team of friendly staff and their regular programme of activities. I almost go more for the social side of things than anything else, because their regular day- and weekend-trips are so much fun that even relatively shy, grumpy people like me can't help but have a fantastic time and leave with a bunch of new international friends. I couldn't recommend Taronja enough! See you there 🙂

Amazing school that is well managed and organized. Teachers are well prepared and engaged. School is also organizing extracurricular activities which are either educational or fun and I enjoyed both types. I had also opportunity to stay in one of the school shared flats. They are simple but clean and perfect for the time of stay. I highly recommend! If I could, I would definitely stay at school for a few months. I hope to be back at some point and do another course.

Really impressed with the friendly and inclusive school vibe and the standard of the lessons. They were very attentive to students of all ages. The school facilities provided all the needs of the students to a high standard with areas to relax in comfort, study and resources for use in class and independent learning. During my week long taster I was able to attend 3 evening social events that were great fun and very reasonably priced. I will definitely return later this year for an extended period of time to develop my Spanish further.