06/06/08

Spanish Language Center Uses a Technique That Works!

by mleemann

What can I say to convince everyone who is interested in taking Spanish lessons to go to the Spanish Language Center? It's by far the best school I have gone to, and I've tried a number of different schools. The teachers are excellent and know how to teach Spanish where it makes sense. They even have instructors from different dialects that you can request such as teachers from Mexico, Spain, or Peru. They use a logical sequence in their teaching style and put it all together for the student. The material they use goes in order like learning the basics and then covering each tense; in addition, they add in special explanations on what to watch out for when learning Spanish. I have so many light bulbs going off in my head after every class I take there. I have been studying with them for five months now, and I can actually speak in Spanish. They use a truly amazing technique that works! As an adult learner, you need to know how Spanish relates to English. You also need a teacher that is both a native speaker and who knows how to speak English. At one school I tried (Instituto Cervantes), the Spanish instructor did not know one single word of English so if we had a question on how Spanish relates to English, the teacher couldn't tell us. The whole class was very disappointed in that school's teaching style. You won't find this at the Spanish Language Center. They go above and beyond to give you top-notch instruction in an orderly fashion. It's a great school and money well spent if you want to learn Spanish. I'm so happy I found them. You will not have to continue wasting money on programs that don't work like I have done. One last thing, at the Lakeview location, they have a parking lot that is only .25 every half hour...another plus.

• Pros: Parking, small classes, flexible class schedules

05/30/08

A class that produces results!

by Tatar

My sophomore daughter has had a great year taking weekly classes at SLC. Her instructor has done such a phenomenal job helping my daughter feel more confident speaking the language. I signed her up at SLC in hopes to improve her C in Spanish ? this year we think she might get an A! I read one of the reviews saying among other things that the scheduling was disorganized at SLC. I have a completely different experience; the staff is responsive and friendly. I even get a reminder via email before the session is over letting me know how many classes are left. Thank you SLC - keep up the good work!

12/06/07

Not as great as it sounded...

by webmuchacha

I had been taking Spanish classes at another language school in Chicago for some time, but was interested in taking classes twice a week before a trip to South America, so I decided to take a second class at Spanish Language Center. The main reason I choose Spanish Language Center was because of scheduling and location. My one reservation was their claim to be the number one!!! rated school on citysearch for several years, which I knew was not true because other schools had equal or higher ratings. Chalking that up to marketing, I put that reservation aside and signed up for an 8-week class. Overall, I was not overly impressed with my experience at Spanish Language Center. I actually had two different instructors, one was pretty good, but the other was mediocre at best. There really was no set program or curiculm; we just worked rather haphazardly through a few books I had to buy on my own at a bookstore. Also, I was always confused as to how many classes I had paid for, because the number of classes changed based on the number of students, so it was never clear how many were left. Needless to say, I did not sign up for another session at Spanish Language Center, and have continued my once-a-week lessons at another school (where I have had the same instructor on the same day and with the same classmates for over a year and a half!). My experience was just OK, and a few aspects were less-than-OK. In retrospect, I would consider myself mildly miffed at their blatant and prominent false claim about being number 1. Buyer beware?