Monthly Courses

Courses are for people who need to master the Spanish language. Courses are taught in groups of a minimum of three students and a maximum of eight. Each level of this course consists of 100 lessons of 45 minutes spread over four weeks. Classes are held Monday through to Friday mornings (09:00-13:30), or 25 hours per week. Start dates are the first days of each month (see calendar).
When a student has prior knowledge of Spanish, he or she is invited to take an evaluation test to determine exactly which level course would suit best. The teaching of Spanish in ICHIL is organized into four levels – Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced and Confirmed.

Elementary Level:

General Objectives:

  • Overcoming natural shyness to learn a new language.
  • Understanding, confronting and resolving basic situations of daily life and work.
  • Ability to communicate orally and in writing, mastering the grammatical structure of course work.

Specific Objectives:

Asking questions, responding, identifying, describing, writing and speaking of basic ‘things’. Knowing how to express likes and dislikes. Talking about activities in the immediate future tense.

Grammar:

Grammatical sentence construction (interrogative, affirmative, negative) of the present tense. The indicative mode (regular, irregular, reflexive, etc.). Mastering the verbs ‘ser’ and ‘estar’… The verb ‘gustar’… Learning the near future tense…. Actions undertaken…. Adverbs… Prepositions…

Intermediate Level:

General Objectives:

  • Acquiring a mastery of oral and written verb tenses.
  • Developing the ability to express complex situations.
  • Mastering a conversation; being able to give views on current topics with a mixed temporal structure.
  • Being able to talk easily with native speakers.
  • Dealing with unexpected situations.

Specific Objectives:

Identifying, explaining, describing, writing about events in the past. Schedule future activities and likely future activities…

Grammar:

The past tense (simple past, imperfect and past perfect)… Prepositions… Adverbs… Pronouns… Direct object, indirect and combinations… The future (simple and compound)… The conditional (simple and compound)… The indicative mood.

Advanced Level:

General Objectives:

  • Controlling vocabulary for increased understanding and having a conversation at an advanced level…
  • Managing the oral and written grammatical structures of the course.
  • Being able to have a fluent conversation in Spanish.
  • Synthesizing, arguing and drawing conclusions…
  • Overcoming difficulties – especially on the telephone.

Specific Objectives:

Learning to ask, recommend, provide information, orders and suggestions in different situations and different places… Talking, discussing, analyzing, writing, narrating, planning activities… Being able to express goals and targets in the future, and speak eloquently on a variety of topics (culture, politics, economics)… Being able to sit and conduct interviews of all kinds.

Grammar:

The imperative mood (positive and negative)… The subjunctive mood (present, imperfect, past tense and past perfect)…. The conditional ‘If’… Expressions of wishes, doubts etc… Application methods and different times.

Confirmed Level:

General Objectives:

  • Apply oral and written grammatical structures of Spanish.
  • Mastering the Spanish language fluently.
  • Resolve any situation in daily life and work.

Specific Objectives:

Write, critique, analyze, display, recognize and create different types of texts. Possessing a large vocabulary to understand and pilot a conversation…

Grammar:

Textual structures (types of texts and contextual grammar). Linguistic coherence and cohesion… Spelling… Passive voice…



Short Courses

ICHIL offers courses for people whose stay in Chile will be of short duration. The course content is devoted to ‘refresh’ existing knowledge of Spanish or to provide basic concepts to the student with no prior knowledge of the language. The schedule is flexible, but the start of classes is usually scheduled on a Monday.

Over two weeks

The courses are taught in groups with a minimum of three students and a maximum of five. Each course consists of 40 lessons of 45 minutes. The schedule will coincide with the availability of students (mornings or evenings).

Specific Objectives:

Ask, answer, identify, describe, write and be able to speak the basics… Buy, offer information and be autonomous on the streets of Chile… Schedule activity in the future.

Grammar:

Grammatical sentence construction (question, assertion, negation, verb forms (present and past tense), the verbs ‘ser’ and ‘estar’, greetings… Periphrastic future (near)…

Over one week

This course is taught in groups with a minimum of three students and a maximum of five. Each course consists of 20 lessons of 45 minutes. The schedule will coincide with the availability of students (mornings or evenings).

Specific Objectives:

Asking questions and answering. Asking and giving information on the street… Coping in different everyday situations…

Grammar:

Grammatical sentence construction such as questions, assertions, negations, verb forms of the present tense (such as ‘ser’, ‘estar’, ‘gustar’). The periphrastic or (near) future tense will be practiced also.


Private Lessons

Private courses have flexible hours – depending on participants’ availability. The course content and grammar are based on students’ level of need and interest.The courses are taught at the Institute, or in a place convenient for the student (place of work, home, etc).

Text Study

ICHIL is the author of its own Spanish language teaching books – ¡Ahora Sí! Español para Extranjeros.
¡Ahora Sí! is a series of four books, each corresponding to the four levels of education provided by the institute. In each of these text books course content and objectives are clearly defined corresponding to the period of study of each student.

Teaching Methods

Learning is interactive and alive! Reading, analysis, and partaking in exercises such as essay-writing, group discussions on topical issues, learning to listen and synthesizing information are all part of the ICHIL method. Simulation games, improvisation, songs and watching movies also form part of courses – as do visits to places of historical and cultural interest in Santiago.