Spanish Immersion Course in Granada, Southern Spain

Centro de Idiomas SHM, Granada:
Centro de Idiomas SHM is a small and specialised language school in the beautiful, historic city centre of Granada, southern Spain. We have specialized in teaching Spanish to foreign students and school groups since 1995. Our objective is to provide a service to our students. Spanish taught by truly qualified teachers adapting to the needs of their students and combining the language learning with practical themes and interesting activities to make our student´s experience, the best possible. We focus on a personalized service for all our students and groups.

- In simple terms, the expectations that we set are what we deliver to our students.
- City centre location.
- Personalised attention from staff and teachers.
- Relaxed and friendly, multicultural atmosphere.
- Truly qualified, experienced, native speaking teachers.
- Bright and spacious classrooms, in a modern building.
- WIFI/Free Internet, Refreshments, Patio, Library, full disabled facilities for our disabled students.
- Maximum of 6 students per class
- Value for money. 1 class is 60 minutes, not 45 minutes as in most other schools.
- 24 hour phone support line.
- Advice and help for arranging personal travel and activities
- City and Beach options
- No hidden administration charges
- We don't charge for timely reservation changes

Is there flexibility with the start dates?
In SHM we have weekly start dates and are flexible if dates need to be changed.

Are the teachers native speakers and fully qualified?
Yes, are teachers are truly qualified professionals with experience in teaching spanish as a foreign language.  There are always spanish speakers from Spain.

What are the size of the classrooms and how many students per class?
Our classrooms are large and bright with natural light.  We have heating and airconditioning.  Our class maximum is 6 students per class.

How long are the classes?
A lot of schools talk about 15 classes per week but how much class time do you really get.  Our classes are 60 minutes.

What are the social and cultural activites that are included in the course?
A variety of weekly activities, such as films and debates, group tapas tour, city tour, cathedral visits, cookery classes, and language exchange are included in your course at no extra cost.

What support is available to the students?
- The staff are available to help with travel or personal arrangements, plus any other advice or help with booking activities
- 24 hours phone line
- School open until 9pm

What is the student mix in the school?
Are students are mainly from Germany, Norway, Holland, France, UK, USA and Japan

- Spanish Language & Culture Courses, 15,20 and 25 hours per week.
- One to one classes, 10, 15 and 20 hours per week.
- Spanish Literature/Business Spanish Coursesm 20 hours + 5 private classes per week
- DELE Exam Preparation, a 4 week course of 25 hours per week
- Spanish Mini Group - maximum of 3 students per class, 25 hours per week.
- Spanish combined city and beach courses.
- Spanish and Horse Riding.
- Spanish and Guitar/Flamenco Dance

Our Spanish and Language courses can be combined with a number of sports activities such as:
- Mountain biking, climbing, hiking, hand gliding, skiing
- Watersports, PADI, sailing, kayaking

The following are but a few of the numerous awards that we have been awarded over the years, putting us in a different league to the other schools in Granada: OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts), Master in Popularity, ´99, ´00, ´02 and ´04. The Chamber of Commerce in Granada controls and accredits the quality of our courses. We are a member of the Spanish Confederation of Private Centres and Academies, which guarantees the students’ consumer rights. Member of Rotary International. Host school in Spain for students specially in beginner course funded by the Rotary Foundation.  We also associate with several international agencies.

"I absolutely loved the city of Granada, and one reason for this was because of SHM.  I was in Granada for 6 months and not one day was boring because the teachers of the school were very nice, caring and bundles of fun. Not to mention, the city of Granada is full of life, especially during the nights. Before I arrived in Granada, I had only studied Spanish for 3 months. My first day of class was a disaster because I didn’t understand anything, but with a lot of practice and the lessons that I did, now I can speak with confidence in myself. During my stay here in Granada, I fell in love with the city, the culture, and the people. So if you want to enjoy a spectacular city while learning the highest quality of Spanish, Granada and SHM are for you." - Jason Callahan (North Carolina, USA)

"Hi, my name is Jess Silvaggio. I am from South Carolina, USA. I came to Spain as a 6-month scholar to strengthen my language skills and to learn about the culture in Spain while serving as a catalyst of exchange between my country and Spain. My experience in Granada has been incredible. Initially, I experienced quite a bit of culture shock and feared living in another place for half of a year. But, after giving it some time and realizing how beautiful the city is, the best nightlife, friendly people, and helpful staff at SHM, I wish I could extend the scholarship for another 6 months.
 
I have had the opportunity to visit other places in Spain yet Granada remains my favorite. It is a special, sweet, Southern city with spectacular views of the Sierra Nevada, Alhambra castle, churches, white houses, and narrow cobbled-stoned streets inunadated with all types of people.  The language school, SHM, was helpful and supportive from the get go. Among several things, a few of my favorite qualities about the school were the friendliness of the teachers, atmosphere  of the clases, a nice student teacher ratio, and activities the school offers like tapas! As a student, I also enjoyed meeting people from different parts of the world like Holland, England, Tiwain, and Africa. I really look forward to coming back to Granada. Thank you for everything!!" - Jess Silvaggio, South Carolina, USA

"My name is Iris, i´m 22 years old and I´m from Germany. I came to Granada only for one week of vacation but soon after, I decided to come back for one year, due to the fact that I fell in love with the people and the charm of Granada. It`s unbelievable how multi-cultural, exciting and special I found the city of Granada and the area surrounding it. Furthermore, Granada is a perfect place for people who like diversity: One hour drive away from the beach, one hour drive away from the mountains and the skiing resort. So, after I fell in love with Granada, I decided to learn Spanish in order to interact with all the great people I met here. I found “SHMl” and came to stay for 7 months. I arrived without any level of Spanish and am now able to communicate, express myself and understand people on the streets. I learned about the language with its expressions and grammar, but also about Spanish culture and lifestyle.

I´m still surprised by the fact that I can now pick the phone and speak Spanish, write emails to friends or express my needs and wishes in a shop. Granada offers a lot of “fiestas” and my teachers always kept me updated. I was the first one to know where to go and what to see and therefore, I was even able to inform Spanish natives about the activities offered in Granada. The school itself has nothing in common with a normal school because it´s not too big or commercial. It feels more like a family. I can confidently say that I have a very close relationship with  my teachers and I am sure we will stay in touch.

They encouraged me to practice my Spanish every day by just talking and trying to express myself and as my level of Spanish grew, so did my confidence. The progress I made was almost visible and I was eager to improve my level steadily, so that I could communicate with the teachers, the head-masters of the school and of course, the lovely secretary. I will never forget the time I spent here at “SHMl”, neither the people. Granada is the perfect location for a great school in the middle of the city centre. If there´s anything I would recommend to every student who wants to learn Spanish: You need to come and visit Granada and “SHM”!" - Iris, Germany

We have several accommodation options for our studetnts to choose from.

Carefully selected host family accommodation. This is a highly reccommended option for those students who want to immerse themselves totally into the Spanish culture, enjoy the healthy Mediterranean diet and not have to worry about anything. Granada is a city with a high number of students so we take extra care when choosing your host family.  This option has a half or full board option.

We also offer options of residency, hotel, hostal depending on the budget and requirements. 

All our accommodations are located in the city centre within 15 minutes walk from the school.

The extracurricular activities are integral to the objectives of language learning and are considered to be an enjoyable part of the course! It´s very important for general courses and others like the DELE exam. For example, in the Spanish courses in Granada if you visit the Alhambra, you have to understand the information provided by the guide as you will be studying it in class the following day. In your free time you can take advantage of the various activities that are included in the cost of the course, depending on the duration of your stay.  These activities range from Film and Book evenings, cookery classes, tapas tour, city walk and cathedral visit and language exchanges.

We also offer a large number of optional activities for our students which can be included in the program or we are happy to help organise for the students.  Due to the privellaged location of Granada, the majority of our optional activities are available year round:

- Skiing (January to April)
- Mountain Climbing/Hiking/Biking
- Hand Gliding
- Rafting (April to October)
- Sedgeway Tours
- Watersports - Diving (PADI), sailing, kite surf.