Victoria y Roza

Taronja is an excellent place to learn Spanish, the lessons are well prepared, interesting and full of surprise. There are also diversified social and cultural activities at a very moderate price. The school offers rooms in shared flats, what suited me best. Everybody is very helpful and sociable . Taronja is the perfect place for getting introduced into Spanish culture. It was my second time at Taronja and I shall come back!

The staff, students and classes are the best in all kind of terms, quality, customer service and efficiency. Highly recommended!

Лучшая школа для изучения испанского языка В июле 2019 года с подругой по рекомендации преподавателя из университета поехали в Taronja School, чтобы повысить уровень испанского языка. Я брала двухнедельный интенсивный курс + conversation workshop. Результат превзошёл все ожидания! Особенно важным для меня стало исчезновение так называемого "языкового барьера". Отдельно стоит отметить приятную атмосферу и дополнительные занятия, которые позволяют углубиться в культуру Испании, а также познакомиться с другими студентами Таронхи. Все возникающие проблемы решались очень быстро, не причиняя никаких неудобств. Без сомнений, вернусь сюда снова!

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).

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.

Highly recommended language school to learn Spanish in Valencia! A great range of cultural & social activities as well as parties & events appropriate to the time, season & location. This is my second time here studying Spanish & I have not only improved my confidence to articulate myself both written & verbally, but been open to new ideas & new cultures & perspectives from around the Spanish speaking world- muchos gracias!

Spending eight weeks learning Spanish in Valencia has been a rewarding experience. When I first arrived here, I had a patchy understanding of how basic Spanish grammar works, which gave me a false sense of confidence coming into the country. I was placed into a class that was far too advanced for my level, and I quickly discovered that my listening and speaking skills were practically non-existent. It is fair to say that I was completely baffed in my first week of lessons. I eventually moved down two groups, so I could work on my listening and speaking skills. This level was much more enjoyable, as I wasn’t in a permanent state of confusion. I have noticed my progress continue to grow steadily over the weeks. Now, I feel like I have enough Spanish to get by on my own and develop my skill independently. Understanding street chit-chat is becoming easier, watching Spanish T.V. is becoming more enjoyable, and I can usually interpret written texts. The teachers at Taronja are young, fun and competent people. Rather than forcing us to fill out boring and repetitive exercise sheets, they make learning more enjoyable by providing innovative activities and games to keep the classroom engaged. The timetable is constantly rotating, so we can benefit from various styles and techniques of each teacher. Valencia is a truly beautiful city in a variety of different ways. The centre of the city is built around two lively squares, made up of old monuments, statues, restaurants, and constant buzz of passing tourists. The surrounding streets are full of character and are brought to life by the detail of their design, the classical Valencian balconies, and the numerous restaurants. The Turia park is another incredible feature of the city. It used to be a large river flowing through the centre of the city, but people decided to drain it after serious floods in the 1950s. Now, it is a riverbed, which has been converted into a lush garden, where people go to escape the city, exercise and relax.

It's been 50 years since I went to 'school' and it was with much trepidation that I booked to go to the Taronja school. I had imagined that I would be the old man amongst youngsters in the class, but although I was the oldest there, I found we represented a good cross section of ages. The first couple of hours in class was rather difficult, but that was because I felt a long way behind the other students regarding ability. There were 2 reasons for this, firstly the first subject of the day was about regular and irregular verbs, which is, at least for me and some of the others, difficult, but I soon began to make headway thanks to the excellent teacher. Secondly, I really should have attended the previous week as well; purely my mistake when I booked online. When I look back at the week at the Taronja school and the amount I have learnt I am very impressed and I would go back for more but unfortunately it's a very long way from home and being a family man I just can't justify it but if it was within daily travelling distance I would be happy to spend many weeks there. I am considering using their online courses, but we'll see. For anybody thinking about going to the Taronja school, just do it!