Online Courses

It has been said: Online learning is the way of the future!
Initially, we were dead against the concept of online learning, as – over the years – we have had hundreds of students coming to us – after making use of such a service previously – unsuccessfully and very despondent.

Over a period of time, we have however identified the growing need for online lessons – as many students are just not able to attend classes (in person) – due to various logistical reasons and other constraints – i.e. transport problems, shift work, children at home, etc.

We have investigated why these online lessons (offered by other schools and individuals) have not worked for these students and the answers were quite simple.

Some of the main reasons were: It was presented by a native speaker, but not a qualified teacher. In some instances, not even a native speaker. The “teacher” sold his/her service as a “school”, where it was just, in fact, a person sitting at home, with no other support structures needed for such a service to really work. In addition to this, there was no clear and set curriculum followed – and in many instances, students were handed over from one “teacher” to another – resulting in there being no consistency.

The list goes on and on – and is quite shocking – as even well-known apps and other reputable institutions were found to be bogus. And – as a complete novice – the student is none the wiser.

The bottom line, however, is that online teachings have never been truly successful with students trying to learn either Spanish or Portuguese (or another Latin language) via an online platform.

But the fact remains – online learning is the way of the future – as we clearly discovered with the Covid 19 outbreak.

Luckily, we did our homework to identify why this wasn’t successful and what we can do to ensure that it is – by using our methods.

Over the years we had thousands of students through our doors – successfully learning these languages. And our “recipe for success” is simple.

• Consistency
• A clear, proven and recognised curriculum
• A proven tried and tested teaching method
• The exact same methods we use for students in a classroom format is used online.
• A fully functional infrastructure with various support systems and individuals in charge of various departments (the teacher is not the administrator, the director of studies, the accountant, etc. Our teacher’s only focus is on teaching – and they have no other responsibilities, but to teach.
• Preparation. Our teachers carefully plan and prepare each lesson and work from structured lesson plans.
• Keeping groups small and each student receiving individual attention
• We are flexible. We work around the schedules and availability of our students.
• Identifying challenges as and when they arise and addressing them
• Keeping it slow and not jumping from one area/topic to the next (Learning Spanish or Portuguese is a gradual process)
• No quick fixes! There is no such thing as to learn the language in record time. When you see something like – Learn Spanish in 10 minutes-a-day or Learn Travel Portuguese in a flash – these are all Red flags that you should be looking out for!
• We care and are passionate about these languages.
• To us, it is a privilege and honour when students want to learn our historic and beautiful languages. And we teach it with absolute heartfelt joy, commitment, and dedication. Our students are not just a number or a means to a financial end.
• Keeping it simple. Most of our students are working adults or full-time students with very busy schedules. For this reason, we keep the amount of work to be done, to the minimum.
• Our courses are affordable as it is subsidised by various European and South American Tourism and Cultural associations.
• We offer various levels (from Beginners to full Communication levels). Students (at various levels) are not crammed into one group to make up numbers.

Be vigilant

To us, it isn’t important where you learn these languages, as we are not financially driven. Our only mission; as native Spanish and Portuguese expats in Cape Town, is to have the opportunity and privilege to expose as many people to these languages; which we are so proud and passionate about.

There are many individuals and more and more online providers springing up weekly – offering these online services. We recommend that you do your homework when choosing one. Ask for a teaching qualification and accreditation.

If a teacher makes use of his / her own course material (compiled by themselves), it is another red flag to watch out for. Only course material written by Linguistics professionals (not a teacher) is the only material that should be used. At school, your teacher didn’t write and compile the handbooks used – and this should be the same when learning a language.

For more information regarding our Online Spanish or Portuguese Language classes, please contact us at any time.