Improve your Spanish language skills with formal training as you explore Madrid and Andalucía’s vibrant cultural landmarks and hidden treasures.
Program Description
Rapidly improve your Spanish through a month of language immersion and historical and contemporary exploration through Spain. Begin your month of language immersion in Spain’s capital — Madrid — as you spend time at the city’s famous sites and museums, explore its neighborhoods, and sample Spanish cuisine. Then, travel to southern Spain, to the province of Andalucía, where you will engage in intensive Spanish language training.
The program has two separate language groups. One group has Spanish training in the historic city of Granada, where, for four hours each day, the group attends small-group, interactive language classes divided by language level at the Centro de Lenguas y Educación Intercultural. Learn inside and outside the classroom through music, film, city scavenger hunts, and field trips. After class, take advantage of opportunities to meet up with Spanish students learning English and join them for sporting or cultural events. The program’s other group has language classes and immersive arts training in Guadix. This group participates in workshops focused on flamenco, ceramics, theatrical performance, and other arts, in addition to the language training. In Guadix, there are opportunities to learn about Romani culture and Gitano identity and to perform flamenco and traditional village dances with local community members.
Both groups explore Granada’s sites—including the Alhambra, city gardens, and local museums—to better understand the city’s historical layers and contemporary culture. All students also have a homestay in an Andalusian town. Enjoy family meals and visit local markets, beaches, and cafés as you continue to enhance your Spanish through constant conversation with host family members. The program incorporates some outdoor activities such as camping, trekking, and excursions to the beach. Students return to Madrid for final reflection and language practice before departing for home.
Language Certificate: At the conclusion of this program, each participant will earn a language certificate noting how many hours of language classes s/he completed.
About The Experiment
The Experiment in International Living is a nonprofit organization that has been offering immersive experiential learning programs abroad since 1932. Today, The Experiment offers three-, four-, and five-week summer programs for high school students in more than 20 countries around the world.
Programs are designed to equip participants not only with essential cultural skills and, in many cases, language skills, but also with a deeper awareness of and sensitivity to critical global issues shaping the diverse communities and regions we visit. Each year, hundreds of Experimenters come away from their summer abroad with invaluable new skills, connections, awareness, and knowledge that help them to thrive—and lead—in diverse, intercultural environments.
The Experiment is committed to providing participants from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds with access to The Experiment’s immersive cross-cultural programs through its partnerships, scholarships, and other initiatives.
The Experiment places the highest priority on health, safety, and security. Each program follows a comprehensive structure designed to maximize the well-being of all participants while they engage in dynamic cross-cultural experiences. We have implemented specific risk management strategies that include a 24-hour emergency on-call service and regular safety reviews. We hire and train experienced adult group leaders and maintain longstanding partnerships with in-country offices to support each of our programs.
