¿Qué se dice en español cuando…?

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.

Great location in the cultural centre of Valencia with great amentities and transport. Modern well equiped school. Affordable and close by accomodation with great host. And most importantly a well structured and enjoyable learning experience.

The best school for you to learn Spanish! ☺️ Great teachers, perfect atmosphere, great Activities! Every day is a new adventure, everyone is so opened, help you when you have question and helping you with your Spanish with good material and lessons. Love it, would recommend it to everyone! ️

I spent a fantastic week at Taronja in May 2019. The booking process was really straightforward (and I appreciated being able to sort out my accommodation through the school too) albeit a little embarrassing when recording a video of myself to have my level assessed 🙈. The booking information I received indicated that someone would be there to greet me at the accommodation upon arrival, but this wasn't the case – I didn't mind though because I'm a grown up and don't really need looking out for like that. The teachers and supporting staff were really friendly and helpful. The classes were challenging and taught entirely in Spanish, which I think is really beneficial and, for the level I was at (~B1), falling back to English shouldn't really be necessary. In the week I was there we alternated between days studying grammar (the present subjunctive) and more 'relaxing' days where we dived deeper into other topics such as ser/estar and por/para (though I would have been happier doing even more grammar studies, but maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment). I think what really stood out about my week at Taronja was the effort put into the social activities. There were things to do every evening and a weekend excursion had been organized too (but unfortunately I had to fly home that day and couldn't attend), so even if you arrive as a solo learner/traveller, you'll be able to find people to hang out with fairly quickly. In case it isn't clear, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend studying at Taronja, however I feel that attending for 1 week simply wasn't enough. Many of the people I met were staying for any amount of time from 3 weeks to 3 months. It's for this reason that I intend to return to Taronja next month for 2 weeks to try and really press on with improving my Spanish (and escape the miserable Dutch summer).

I am a retired language teacher (at high school and university level ) and as such I feel I can offer a qualified opinion on the teaching method of the Taronja staff. I am pleased to give it 5 stars. All lessons were well prepared, engaging and fun. All staff members were supportive yet challenging. I was pleasantly surprised not to feel my age as a handicap among students largely much younger than me. I had fun with them and met many other older students as well. As to the activities offered by the school, there were so many of them that you could pick and choose. My husband (studying at a different level than mine) and I, did exactly that. We didn't go to all but enjoyed what we had chosen. We enjoyed the cooking class, the songs, the movies, the Saturday excursion. I saw a critic among the reviews concerning a bull fight and I thought that was totally out of line. If you disagree with an offered activity that is part of the culture you are supposedly trying to learn about, just don't go. But don't blame the school for offering other people with different values than yours a chance to experience that activity! Anyway, we had such a good experience that we are seriously thinking about going back to study in Taronja next spring for a couple of weeks at least. Well done Taronja staff, the whole team, teachers, office staff, organizers. We loved the school, we adored Valencia. We will be back. Thank you all so much!

Liebevoll und leidenschaftlich geführte Sprachschule mit qualitativ sehr hohem, abwechslungsreichem Unterricht und sehr engagierten Lehrern. Man kann schnell und intensiv mit viel Spaß unheimlich viel lernen. Vielen Dank!

Molto buono tutto è perfetto; gli studenti e scuola: le scuole sono molto importanti e molto interessate di risolvere qualsiasi problema

I took classes at Taronja for three weeks in October and can highly recommend the school. I cannot imagine there being a better school. I scouted for months before making the decision and was so glad I had chosen Taronja. There are several points which make it such a good school. - the highly motivated and friendly teachers - there effort at getting everyone to speak Spanish only, which of course speeds up your acqusition of the language - the extracurricular activities are not only interesting, but help increase your language skills and keep you busy (if you are alone, it's nice to have something to keep you active especially the first week when you don't know your way around yet) I will definitely take more classes here. I recommend saving yourself all the time needed for researching the internet. You have made the right decision with Taronja! My greetings to everyone there. Linda