Spanish Language School

Orientation

Orientations are held every Sunday at 2:00PM. The orientation is required for new students who begin on Monday. Class schedules are distributed and the program is reviewed in detail. The Spanish proficiency level and subsequent placement of each student is determined at the orientation. This is the best opportunity for students to become acclimated to their new environment, meet their new peers and receive answers to any last minute questions.

For students taking advantage of the homestay program, the orientation is also the time to meet their host families. All of the host families will be at the College on Sunday to welcome the new students and escort them home. Homestays begin on Sunday.

All tuition balances are paid at the orientation. Payments can be made by check, travelers check, money order or US currency. No credit cards are accepted.

Students enrolled in Weekend Programs who want to stay with a host family on Friday evening should plan to arrive at the College on Friday at 3:00PM. If a Friday night homestay is not required, or if students have secured their own accommodations, they may arrive at 8:10 AM on Saturday for a brief orientation.

To arrive at the orientation by 2:00 PM, students taking the bus should plan to leave Tijuana no later than 12:00 (noon). Students driving to the campus should be crossing the border at San Ysidro at 12:30PM.

Placement

Spanish proficiency levels of students enrolled in the Small Group Immersion Program must be evaluated to assure placement in the proper class. Placement is determined at the Sunday orientation.

The evaluation is conducted at two different levels.

The first level is with written exercises. Upon receipt of completed applications and deposits, students are sent a series of exercises as part of a confirmation packet. The exercises are to be worked on without the use of reference material and brought to the orientation in Ensenada. The results help to determine the student’s level of formal Spanish training and where development is needed.

The second level of evaluation is done through an informal interview with the college director. The interview identifies the student’s ability to comprehend spoken Spanish and to respond accurately.

More weight is given to the second level of evaluation.

Students are placed in small groups with others at the same proficiency level and who need development in the same areas.

Those enrolled in the Private Immersion Program and the Executive Immersion Program also are evaluated by the above mentioned methods. However because of the one-on-one nature of these programs, initial evaluations are not as critical.