Teen Summer Study Abroad Programs in Spain
 Founded
in 1998 by two experienced teachers with
advanced degrees in education, Edu-Culture International (ECI) is a non-profit educational organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California with offices in the USA and Europe.
ECI’s unique language-immersion, study-abroad,
and travel programs take place in Spain, France,
and Costa Rica.
Our summer study abroad and exchange programs in Spain for high school students include intensive Spanish classes, daily activities and up to a week of travel within Spain. The teen study trips are based in Salamanca, San Sebastian, Granada or Nerja (on the Mediterranean coast). ECI's pre-college Spanish language programs provide unique opportunities for teenagers to study Spanish in Spain during the summer and offer the choice of staying with host families or in university-style dormitories.
Travel destinations during these trips include
Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Cordoba,
Seville, Bilbao, and more.
 Staff: ECI’s chaperones are selected on
the basis of language ability, maturity,
patience, personal integrity, judgment,
enthusiasm, and their ability to earn the
respect and trust of teenage participants. Most
of them are teachers who have traveled abroad
extensively and who possess near-native fluency
in the target language as well as an in-depth
knowledge of local history and culture. All
receive extensive training prior to departure,
and many of ECI’s best leaders return year after
year to travel with the program. Teachers in
ECI’s language schools are always native
speakers of Spanish or French.
Programs: Spanish Immersion Summer Camps - We offer you the opportunity to change your life in a few short weeks! Experience local culture and make friends you’ll never forget. Earn university credit. Build your future college application while having more fun than you can imagine.
 Special emphasis is placed upon communication
skills and the use of language in real-life
situations. Participants will have conversation
classes, oral and written exercises, structured
grammar, audio and video practice drills, and,
depending on their levels, conversation on
topics such as Spanish and Latin American
culture and civilization. In addition, there
will be practical exercises in reading,
composition, and vocabulary. Classes are taught
by highly skilled, experienced professionals,
always native Spanish speakers.
ECI’s University Credit Option is an invaluable asset in today’s competitive realm of higher education. It gives high school students the opportunity to earn 3 semester units of Spanish through an accredited US university. These credits are transferable to any university, and are accepted by most accredited universities in the United States.
Students are grouped into levels based on a
placement test taken before leaving the US.
Classes take place Monday - Friday for 2-3
weeks, with about 10 students per class. The
course is comprised of four 50-minute classes
per day. The schools' teaching methods are the
result of experience gained over many years of
teaching intensive Spanish.
Extra Opportunities and Activities: ECI
specializes in customizing its programs for
students who would like specific activities not
offered in the group itinerary. Extra salsa
dance or cooking classes, additional guided
museum visits, extended host-family stays,
surfing lessons, kayaking,
swimming, bike riding, hiking, music, culture, or history
classes. These are just some of the ways ECI can
personalize a participant’s experience to make
it as meaningful and enriching as possible.
 To increase the amount of interaction between
teens on the trips and local young people, each
ECI trip includes the Language Partners Program.
Energetic university students meet with small
groups of students for a few hours each week.
These young people work to enrich the total
experience by providing participants with
numerous opportunities for integration into the
community and practice in the Spanish language.
Facilities: During the study portion of
ECI’s programs, participants live with host
families (homestay) or in small student
residences chosen for safety, location, and
exposure to other international students. ECI consistently finds wonderful host families, most of whom have teenagers of their own. High school travelers interact with the family, the family’s children, and friends of the children. This is a great opportunity for students to live the life of a Spanish teenager.
During
the organized travel portion, students stay in
centrally located three-star hotels with their
chaperones.
Medical Care: Fees include supplemental
medical insurance. Students who need medical
care are always escorted by ECI’s staff members
and/or host families to designated health-care
facilities. Medical expenses are reimbursed when
the students return home. |
