Spanish and culture

"Last year, due to demand for [cultural options], we decided to create a package," says Barro. "These combined courses are intended for those interested in doing a Spanish course plus a leisure activity that they are already enthusiastic about or which they intend to learn from scratch." Options include various forms of dance, Spanish guitar and surfing. Barro relates that, in general, female students in their early 20s are most likely to enrol on these courses, "although I remem- ber an old couple who learned to dance sevillanas!"

At Liceo Internacional Agarimo in Betanzos, La Coruña, Carmen Villasol says that "students who have an intermediate level of Spanish and are looking for a different concept of cultural courses" are most likely to enrol on their programmes, which suggests a slightly older average age of student. Their cultural courses, which can be tailored to suit specific student requests, are broader and encompass a travel element too, with students staying in rural Galician houses while undertaking

anything from a music workshop to authentic Galician cooking lessons.

Another institution that offers a range of options is Escuela CF Idiomas in Aranda de Duero Burgos. "We offer many types of cultural instruction such as typical pottery, wine tasting and [trips to] the special wine route through Ribera del Duero," says Crystal Marie Farnsworth at the school. "Escuela CF Idiomas has been offering cultural programmes since 1979 and has always changed with the needs of the market."

Other institutions have added cultural options to their repertoire more recently. At Babel Idiomas in Malaga, Boelo van der Pool explains, "We started [these courses] last summer because we realised that more and more students were asking for special programmes. We now offer Spanish literature classes and a Spanish and Pablo Picasso programme. The students get something more out of it than just the language knowledge."

At Hispano Continental in Salamanca, the cultural course includes a diverse range of activities aimed to give students an overall taste of Spanish culture, as Auxiliadora Vicente at the school explains. "Students are very interested in our language and culture and lifestyle," she says. Their programme encompasses a tapas night, cooking class, art, theatre and cinema lectures and excursions to relevant cultural sites of interest.

In contrast, the options at the Don Quijote schools are more targeted. Erin Corcoran at Don Quijote says, "Most of our Spanish and culture courses have been offered since 2002, and with each new year, there's been a significant increase in popularity. This is most notable in our flamenco dancing course in Seville where demand for lessons has tripled since its introduction in 2002." The school chain also offers options in wine tasting, cookery and Arabic culture.