Spanish language courses & holidays

Language courses, holidays and vacations learning Spanish in Spain, Latin/South America or Spanish instruction in other parts of world. Spanish courses listed will be short residential courses, summer schools or dedicated Spanish language holidays, rather than day courses or courses of extended study.

Courses will be multi-day and usually residential, with accommodation provided on-site or arranged nearby, many will use homestay accommodation with Spanish-speaking hosts to increase students' exposure to the language. Many courses will also include holiday and recreational activities such as sports, cultural tours, excursions, and complementary instructional courses.

• Globally Spanish is spoken by over 500 million people.

• After English and Mandarin Chinese, it's the third most commonly used Internet language.

• Spanish is the most popular second language in the States.

• Spanish is probably one of the easiest of the Romance language to learn, its sounds are simple and its spellings are phonetic.

• A lot of Spanish words have made their way into the English language including: vanilla, guitar, barbecue, banana, sherry, cigarette, canyon, patio, guerrilla and marijuana!

• Apart from Spanish there are several other major languages spoken spoken in Spain including Basque and Catalan.

Tips on choosing a Spanish language holiday course

As with any language the best way to learn Spanish is to immerse yourself in it in a country that speaks the language, and with over 20 countries having Spanish as their national or official language the choice of destination is wide. Apart from the obvious – Spain; Central and South America are good choices, even if the Spanish spoken there is a little different from its European counterpart.

Taking a holiday course to learn the language in Spain, or any other Spanish speaking country, is fairly easy as there are a huge number of language schools or holiday companies organising courses; many of these are listed here. A large number of these are residential, organising accommodation as well as classes, these range from short courses of just a few days to extended ones lasting several weeks.

The style of course and accommodation you choose will probably depend on your goals. Serious students might opt for an intensive course and for living-in with a Spanish speaking family; while others will want a more relaxed approach where they can also spend time having conventional holiday fun (in Spanish?) combining language lessons with cultural trips or active sports.

If you can't get away to Spain or Latin America then a course in the UK should not be ruled out. Our top tip here is to look for one that uses native Spanish speaking tutors if possible.