Extra-curricular activities 4th-8th February

Monday 4th, 17:00: Film. A brilliant opportunity to immerse yourself in Spanish cinema. Meeting place: Tía Tula.

Tuesday 5th, 19:00: Afternoon snacks. We will go to the café El Mandala and enjoy the shakes, cakes and juices. Price: Your consumption Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Wednesday 6th^, 18:00: Exhibition. We will go to the Patio Escuelas to see the exhibition: ‘’Unamuno y la fotografía".. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Thursday 7th. 19.00. Bowling. An evening in the Sala de Juegos Start Bowl. Price: 4€ + 1€ shoe hire. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30.

Friday 8th, 17:00: Film. A brilliant opportunity to immerse yourself in Spanish cinema. Meeting place: Tía Tula.

Remember to sign up for the activity at reception beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

The world speaks English and Spanish

During the Instituto Cervantes’s recent annual presentation, they gave information about their annual report in which they talked about the state of Spanish in the world. The Instituto Cervantes is responsible for the international diffusion of the language. The annual’s conclusions couldn’t be more positive. We can conclude that Spanish is and will stay the second language of the world.  

In the annual report they talked about the following topics:

• ·   Spanish is the second most spoken mother tongue (almost 500 million people have this language as their mother tongue, after Chinese.)

• ·    It’s the second most studied language, after English, and it’s really ahead in comparison to the following languages such as French and German. At the moment, there are more than 20 million students who are studying Spanish.

• ·   Spanish is the second most used language in international communication (in the commercial, economic and political area), after English.

• ·   It is already the second language in several internet fields: on Twitter it just became the second most used language and on Facebook it already was, with more than 80 million users. In general we can say that Spanish is the third language on the Internet, after English and Chinese, but it’s clearly the Spanish language that can count on a better growth: it increased with a percentage of 800 in the last 10 years, in respect of for example the rise of 300% of the English; in certain large language regions such as Latin America, there was already a growth of 1200% in the last 10 years. In fact, because Latin America presents 90% of the Hispanic speakers and because the introduction of the Internet (the part of the population that has access to the Internet) is much lower over there than the European average according to what people expect of Latin America (40% in Latin America in relation to 75% in Europe), they hope that this international growth keeps being as strong during the following years.

• ·   The Spanish language can count on a huge advantage in respect of it’s two competitors, namely English and Chinese: it has a great stability and equality, which is the result of, on the one hand well organised work and on the other hand the good language academies in the Hispanic countries. This allows each Spanish speaking person to understand and to be understood perfectly.

• ·     They have calculated that by 2030, an estimated 7,5% of the population will speak Spanish. This percentage is more remarkable than the ones of the other languages: 2,2% for Russian, 1,4% for French, 1,2% for German… In 3 or 4 generations 10% of the world population will communicate in Spanish.

• ·    In 2050, the United States will be the country with the largest number of Spanish speaking people in the world. Today Mexico is the largest Spanish speaking country.

After reading this text we can clearly conclude that Spanish is, after English, the most important language in the world. In addition to this fact we can also determine that Spanish is the second language for the English speaking population.

Guided tours of Salamanca

If you live in Salamanca as a student, you have probably already discovered the main monuments and the famous places of the city. However, you probably would like to know more about its history, culture and traditions.

Today, you have the possibility to discover the secrets of Salamanca, the real history of its centre. A guided tour is always a good possibility to learn more about a city and if you study in Salamanca, you should know more about your host town! If you’re interested, these guided tours are aimed for you:

1.     The traditional tours with a Special Guide who speaks in your language (or in Spanish if you want to improve your audition!). The prices vary between 6€ and 7€, with all the entries free for the monuments. You can also book a private tour, which will be more expensive but more personal.

2.     A different way to discover Salamanca is using the Tourist Train which starts from the Plaza De Anaya until de cathedral. The price is 4€/person.

3.     If you want to discover the city by yourself, go the tourism office and rent Audioguides. They are available 24/24h and cost 12€ (20€ deposit that you get back after).

4.     Look out for the guided tours offered by Tía Tula as part of its extra-curricular activities.

If you want to know more about these tours of Salamanca, you can visit the tourist office or visit it the following website. 

When Tía Tula offers guided tours, they are always published on the extra-curricular activities list which can be found on our blog or on the notice board in the school.

By Justine Pons (student intern)

Extra-curricular activities 28th January - 1st February

Monday 28th, 19:00: Chocolate with churros. We will try the famous chocolate with churros in the café, el valor. Price: +- 4€. Meeting place: Tía Tula.Approximate duration: 1h

Tuesday 29th, 19:00: Billiards. We will go and have a game of Billiards in one of the bars in Salamanca. Price: Your consumption + participation in the game. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Wednesday 30th^, 20:00: Short films. CICLO DE CORTOS AUSTRIACOS. 5 short films will be shown in the Casa de las Conchas with subsitles in English. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Thursday 31st. 19.00. TAPAS GALLEGAS. You will learn how to make Tapas Gallegas and then you can eat it. Price: 7€. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h.

Friday 1st, 20:00: Tapas. We will go to various places in the CENTRE to try tapas. Price:+- 6€ Meeting point: Tía Tula– Approximate duration: 1h30

Remember to sign up for the activity at reception beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

La Alberca, a little typical town

If you want to discover something different to Salamanca, don’t hesitate for one second about going to La Alberca, a very cute town in the middle of the countryside, only one hour away from Salamanca by car.

Even if La Alberca has become a little more touristic over the past few years, it’s still a town where you have to stop and look around! There are so many things to discover: food, architecture, traditions…

The houses still have the original facades, which gives you the impression that you’ve gone back in time. The thin streets are pedestrianised which makes it pleasant to walk through the little centre.

Moreover, you can buy typical food and souvenirs of the town, for example, Ham, pastries, handmade crafts…

If you have the opportunity to visit La Alberca, you can’t miss the famous pig! The tradition of this animal is well-known by the residents because they feed the pig for a year and at the end of December, the village have a raffle to see who will win the pig. What surprises you is when you’re walking through the street and you realize there is a pig walking behind or next to you.

If you want to know more about La Alberca and organize a trip there, here is a useful website

By Justine Pons (student intern)