Group classes vs. individual classes
Do you want to learn Spanish but you don’t know which type of course you should choose? How can you find out which one best suits your current needs? Is it better to learn Spanish in a group or with individual classes? More than twenty years of experience in teaching allow us to understand the main advantages of learning Spanish in a group. We will point them out for you in this post, read on!
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1. Learn from mistakes and solve doubts together
Learning Spanish with a private teacher may seem interesting at first: the teacher corrects you on the spot and the content of the classes is adapted to your level, interests and goals (for example, to take an official Spanish exam). However, when you attend group classes, you will notice your progress and that of your classmates. Moreover, you will learn from each other and correct each other. For example, you will see that some mistakes you make, other people know them and correct them naturally when they speak and the other way round, when they speak in class and you correct them. This situation is very interesting because it happens spontaneously among peers.
2. Increase your vocabulary with Spanish group classes
In addition, if you are the only student in class, you may make the mistake of always using the same words. This usually happens because, out of habit, we limit ourselves to the vocabulary we are taught in class or from our textbook. However, if there are more people in class, they will use other words as they have studied in another place (school and/or country) and you may not know. This will help you to broaden your vocabulary, and you will be able to use it in another context.
3. Set goals and cooperate
When you join a language course, the school will often test your current level. Depending on the result you get, you will be assigned to a group of people whose level is very similar to yours. Though in general you all have the same level of Spanish, there will always be some classmates with more knowledge and others with less. Wanting to improve in order to reach the level of others in class is a behaviour we have commonly seen in Spanish classes in many students. From our point of view, it is a very beneficial practice for them because it significantly improves their current level by setting goals.
On the other hand, you will help and motivate each other when you feel stuck in the learning process. As in any facet of life, when you learn a language, there will be some moments when you find it really difficult to make progress (for example, when you are learning the past tenses in Spanish, or the correct use of the feminine and masculine). Cooperation, mutual help and companionship in class will be of great help to you at these times.
4. Have fun and share different ideas
Studying a language in a self-paced way can often be a bit boring. Learning Spanish alone cannot be compared to working in teams, listening to other people's ideas and playing games. Sharing experiences with other people is always much more enjoyable: there will be surprises, laughter, alliances and arguments, but above all mutual learning. And who knows? Maybe you'll make friends that you'll keep over the years and you'll visit countries you've never been to before with the best local guides. 😉 You'll certainly meet a lot of new people your own age to travel with during your stay in Spain, to go to the activities organised by the school or to the excursions on Saturdays.
5. Learn from other cultures
At Spanish group classes, students often come from very different countries. In our academy there are students from all five continents, sometimes even coinciding in the same classroom at the same time!🙌 As expected, if each classmate is from a different culture, religion, ethnicity and race, the conversations will be infinitely more interesting than those that a student might have with his/her private teacher. Group work becomes a fascinating opportunity to understand the way of thinking of people who may live far away from you. You would be surprised at the variety of topics that arise in class with team work on any aspect of everyday life.
Additionally, you will discover (and try) the food of other countries! At Inhispania we are a bit of a "foodie", we love delicious food and it seems that the students are caught up in this interest in tasting traditional dishes from other countries. Almost every week in one of our classes there is an international meal, in which the students bring a dessert or typical dish from their region, and everyone tries it.
We hope that these 5 advantages we have explained have helped you to consider the possibilities that learning Spanish in group could offer. You should always bear in mind that we are referring to small groups. The most advisable number of students is a maximum of 9 people per class, so that the teacher's treatment can be personalised and your progress in learning does not slow down. At Inhispania the average number of students per class is 6, varying between 3 and 9. Do you want to know what our students think? Just read our reviews on Google!
At Inhispania we offer group and individual private Spanish courses for all levels starting every Monday. Do you want to take your Spanish to the next level? Do you want to meet new diverse people and learn in a fun way? Inhispania is your place! Call us or send us an email to info@inhispania.com and we will inform you. 😉
