Becarios Taronja

OVERALL As a school teacher (of Maths and some other things), I had supported the Spanish trip here with my pupils in April 2023. I could see what a transformative experience it was for them so much so that I wanted it for myself. My time at Taronja can only be described as excellent. Everyone at the school tries to ensure you have the best time possible which is impressive based on the carousel of students who come-and-go each week. All the staff treated me with kindness and respect. Thank you to Maxi and Fernando for running such a unique place. The last 4 weeks at Taronja have been exciting, interesting, eventful, busy, enjoyable and compact with information. The last time I studied a language was 14 years ago. I was not very keen on languages in school but my time spent at Taronja has made me believe that I can learn a language to a much higher level than I ever thought possible. That alone has been worth it. LEARNING EXPERIENCE The teachers were fun and engaging. As an absolute beginner, I did the Intensive course + conversation class + private lessons. That helped with my exposure to the language and the private classes were helpful in ironing out some issues. I did this for the first three weeks, then extended by a week and "dropped down" to "only" the intensive course, which is plenty. If I were building up for an exam I would definitely pick up the private classes again. And the conversation classes were energetically delivered to give you important insights of Spanish conversational etiquette. Overall, I was able to enjoy lessons taught by patient, *knowledgeable* and kind teachers, who have reminded me about the importance of these characteristics in my own teaching practice. Teaching beginners must be tough and it was done with grace, style, poise and importantly, a smile. Thank you Laura, Carmen, Antonio, Miguel Angel, Nestor, Carol, Jenny, Nerea, and especially Mica and Paula for your infectious energy and humour. ACADEMIC ADMIN The organisation of the timetable and classes was clearly communicated in advance via WhatsApp. I know some people didn't feel as though they were in the right class for their level and changes were made almost instantly to help. This was managed by the academic team. SUPPORT Organising, arriving, and extending my stay was made very easy by the ladies at the front desk, in particular Elena and Roza! Emails were responded to promptly and they were always so helpful. Waving to them in the morning and getting a wave back made things feel a bit more like home! SOCIAL Plenty of opportunities to socialise with others at the school. Most people I attended school with were between 19-25. But there was also a considerable contingent of older pupils too (e.g. 31, 40 and 70!). This is all taken into consideration when forming classes and social activities. There are activities organised by the school for every day of the week. I went during high season (i.e. the summer) so there were a lot of people. Some activities are linked to other language schools which broadens your pool of potential connections. A lot are free. Many are heavily subsidised. Because there is a fluid change of people from week to week the extent to which you find things socialable will depend on who you share your time at the school with. But similarly minded people would pay money to attend a summer school, so it's likely to be fine for you, as it was for me! As an over-27, I was added to a WhatsApp group for additionally organised activities. BOCARIOS (Interns) An excellently led intern team support the activities and were a good group to talk to in general. Very helpful! GENERAL THOUGHTS When in Spain and doing things, there is a naturally occurring opportunity to practice the language. Whether you decide to is your own choice! And indeed your experience in general heavily depends on you 😇 . Approach it with an open heart and fresh eyes.

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.

Taronja es la mejor escuela de español en Valencia Fue un placer y buena experiencia pasar en Taronja dos semanas inolvidables aprendiendo español con mejores profesores entre los estudiantes de todo el mundo. He elegido esta escuela porque es el Centro acreditado por el Instituto Cervantes. Tuve suerte de estar a la presentación de Taronja en Moscú y conocer a los profes y su manera de enseñar. Desde entonces tenía muchas ganas de conocer Valencia y estudiar en Taronja. No me quedé desilusionada, todo fue genial! Buena ubicación, ambiente amistoso, actividades interesantes para todos los gustos. Taronja es como una familia grande para sus alumnos, sigo en contacto con mis compañeros del grupo y algunos profes. Es una exelente posibilidad combinar los estudios con el descanso a la playa y el ocio cultural. A pesar de algunos inconvenientes del alojamiento (vivía en apartamento compartido) he estado muy contenta por mi viaje. Este año vuelvo a Valencia y Taronja.

Nice and cool to be here, am a filmmaker learning Spanish at the moment, am finding it interesting already.....

I really enjoyed my time at Taronja. For me everything came together for a fantastic experience. The teachers and teaching methods are great, the school has a great atmosphere where one rapidly feels comfortable and part of what is happening. The mix of different ages is also fantastic, it is great to get so much intergenerational contact. Finally, Valencia is a fantastic city; a nice size, loads of things going on, and I would almost say that it has a spirit.

Amazing school! Learned a lot here, even more than at my own school in The Netherlands. Love the way they teach and how they interact with you. Always small groups of different levels so it’s easier to learn. Many nationalities and a lot of motivated and happy people study here 🙂

klasse Sprachschule im schönen Valencia Ich habe einen 2-wöchigen Intensivkurs hier gemacht, eine tolle Erfahrung. Die Klassen sind recht klein, die Lehrer motiviert und sehr freundlich, so dass ich hier große Fortschritte gemacht habe. Auch nach dem Unterricht gab es interessante Aktivitäten. Die Lage der Schule mitten im Zentrum ist ideal, es gibt viele Caffee's und Restaurantes in der Nähe. Die zwei Wochen gingen leider viel zu schnell rum!

Taronja Ich habe im September einen vierwöchigen Sprachaufenthalt in Valencia an der Taronja Sprachschule verbracht. Es war nicht mein erster Besuch an einer Sprachschule und ich muss wirklich zugeben, dass es vom Lernniveau bisher die beste war. Die Lehrer sind alle studierte Sprachwissenschaftlicher, aber trotzdem nicht älter als 35, sprechen meistens mehr als 3-4 Sprachen fliesend, setzen sich aktiv mit den Schülern auseinander und das innerhalb sowie außerhalb der Stunden. Die nicht nach einem Buch oder Lehrplan ausgerichtete Lernmethode ist wirklich unfassbar effektiv und man macht innerhalb kürzester Zeit erhebliche Fortschritte.
Auch außerhalb der Schulstunden probiert die Schule das Rundumsorglospaket zu ermöglichen, jeden Tag andere Aktivitäten, kulturell sowie interaktiv und damit meine ich nicht dieses typische get-together in einer Bar und fertig, sondern wirklich coole Aktivitäten zu unschlagbar günstigen Preisen.
Insgesamt kann ich nur jedem empfehlen sich für diese Schule zu entscheiden.