Spanish Language Courses in Panama

ILERI SPANISH SCHOOL:
ILERI Spanish School is a small school located in Panama City , Panama and San Jose, Costa Rica. We began teaching in 1992 in San Jose, and in Panama City in September 1994. The school is run by two professional women: Marianela Valverde and Ana Leonor Ramirez. Both have a Master Degree in International Relations and have been teachers of Spanish as a Second Language for 14 years - Ana Leonor Ramirez running ILERI- Costa Rica and Marianela Valverde running ILERI- Panama.

At ILERI we use the 'Natural Approach Method' of teaching Spanish. This is the same as the way we learn our native language as children; by seeing, hearing and repeating. As the students learn through repetition there is little need for translation by the teachers. The students learn to think and express themselves in Spanish.

Our goal at ILERI is immediate communication and therefore the emphasis is on conversation, with grammar as a tool in learning. We teach the students to use the language, to live it, to feel it and to use it. Our students live a cultural and linguistic experience through our teaching methodology and their interaction with the host families and local people. Students placed through the methodology ACTFL in which the students give a placement oral and sit a written test.  We only have small teaching groups at specific teaching levels. The maximum number of students per class is four, changes can then be made depending on each student's progress and learning needs.


Spanish Culture & Homestay
This program is for one, two, three, four or more weeks. The student will live with a Panamanian family and will take classes every day, Monday to Friday at the school. In our program the student will have a direct Spanish contact with the language and the culture. In this program we will mix the academic program with the cultural program. In this way the students will practice their knowledge with their host family and the local people.