Spanish Language Program Objective

The Boston Language Institute, New England’s leading language school, offers Spanish language courses to individuals and companies. The quality of instruction provided in our Spanish language classes are on a par with the best native Spanish language school.

We consider it to be the major goal of our program to have you use Spanish in as large a variety of real-life situations as possible. To that end, our Spanish courses have been designed to build fluency in both the spoken and the written language. Communication in a warm and relaxed environment is an important feature of our programs, as is homework, which includes exercises for review and practice of the material taught in class. Moreover, by keeping the class size limited to twelve students, we ensure that each student will be able to actively participate.

Spanish Level 1
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to ask and answer questions in the present tense, greet people and use expressions of courtesy. Everyday topics include school life, family, pastimes, sports and places in the city. Grammar includes nouns and articles, numbers, time, and the present tense of the three verb conjugations. Information about Hispanic culture is integrated to enhance student appreciation and use of the language.
(Vistas, Lessons 1-4)

Spanish Level 2
After completing this level, students should have a greatly expanded vocabulary and should be able to converse about everyday topics such as travel, clothing, negotiating a purchase, colors, daily routines, time expressions and food. Building upon the basic foundation provided in Level 1, grammar topics include ser and estar, the present progressive tense, the preterit, reflexive verbs, use of direct and indirect object pronouns, saber and conocer, comparisons and superlatives, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, and likes and dislikes. The integration of Hispanic culture continues in the Lectura sections.
(Vistas, Lessons 5-8)

Spanish Level 3
Building upon the skills studied in Level 2, students continue to build their vocabulary and gain proficiency to be able to speak on topics including personal relationships, health and medical terms, computers and internet, and parts of the house. Grammar topics in Level 3 include the imperfect and the preterit, use of pronouns, commands, adverbs, use of se, por and para, and the subjunctive with verbs of will and influence. Hispanic culture deals with Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina and Panama.
(Vistas, Lessons 9-12)

Spanish Level 4
Upon completion of this course, students can expect to converse with greater confidence and precision on a broad range of topics including nature and the environment, city life and daily chores, exercise and physical activity, professions and occupations. Building upon the skills already acquired, grammar topics include the subjunctive with expressions of emotion, disbelief and denial, the future tense, the present tenses, and nosotros commands. The cultural component comprises the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
(Vistas, Lessons 13-16)

Spanish Level 5
Having completed Level 5, students can expect to be able to discuss comfortably a broad range of topics as well as to read and write multi-paragraph texts. This course helps students to tie together all the elements of grammar and usage covered up to this point. Students practice and refine their skills through oral and written exercises designed to reinforce the vocabulary and grammar already learned. More advanced grammatical topics are introduced in response to students’ specific learning needs.
(Teacher selected resources)

Conversational Spanish I
This program is designed for students who are already proficient in the skills taught in Levels 1-5 and who want to increase their conversational abilities. Conducted entirely in Spanish, this course provides students with an opportunity to markedly improve their speaking and listening skills. Magazines, video and audio tapes, and other resources designed to provide practical opportunities for vocabulary and skill development are selected to match student interests. Grammatical topics are addressed as needed.

Conversational Spanish II
Based on conversations from daily situations, this course emphasizes practical speaking skills with discussion topics selected from a wide range of fields including culture, economics, literature, science, religions etc. After finishing Conversational Spanish II, the students will not only be able to speak fluently in a variety of daily contexts, but also able to use the language proficiently for in-depth topical discussions and debate.

Private Programs

Immersion Program

Text and Supplementary Materials

Since communication in a foreign language requires an understanding of the cultural context, our aim is to teach you the living language through carefully selected textbooks, newspaper and magazine articles and other relevant materials, rather than have you repeat and memorize tourist phrases.

Since 1981, we have reviewed many university-level Spanish textbooks and have selected Vistas as the one that best fulfills the objectives of our students in beginning and intermediate levels, respectively. Corresponding to the lessons in this book is a complete set of tapes with challenging exercises, which you may borrow for home listening from our Cassette Lending Library. Teachers provide suggestions for texts and supplementary materials at the higher levels. Books may be purchased at the Boston University Bookstore, 660 Beacon St., Boston or from our on-line bookstore specializing in foreign language textbooks, study guides and audiocassettes.

Tuition and Course Organization

Tuition for the Spanish program at all levels is $449. There is a non-refundable $35 registration fee for first-time students only.

In addition to our core program, we offer a Daytime Intensive program which covers three to four semesters in eight weeks - offering the greater likelihood of actually speaking, as well as reading and writing, the language than a traditional university course. Tuition for the Daytime Intensive Program is $1,796. And the cost for the Group Immersion Program is $2,245.

The Boston Language Institute Guarantee

Because of the individualized nature of our programs and the high quality of our instruction, we guarantee your satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with the quality of instruction within the first two weeks of a main session, or the first week of an accelerated session, we will refund your tuition in full.
Refund requests must be made no later than the business day after the second meeting of a once-a-week or the fourth meeting of a twice-a-week class of a Main Session; and no later than the business day after the first meeting of a once-a-week or the second meeting of a twice-a-week class of an Accelerated Session.

Class Schedules

We encourage students to register at least a week before the session starts, especially since classes are limited to 12 students. A Program Coordinator will be happy to take registration information by phone (617-262-3500 x241), fax or e-mail.