Learn Spanish in NYC :: Williamsburg

More about Level 1

Taught in English. Level 1 is for those who want to start at the very beginning with Spanish or for those who took a little bit of Spanish in high school…but let’s be honest, you were passing notes. If you can struggle through saying things like: I am American, I study Spanish, I like football, and I have a dog, then you should check the Level 2 descriptions to be sure a Level 2 class isn't more appropriate for you.

Part of the time in most of our Level 1 classes is spent on how to learn a language in general. If you are "good at languages" or took a college-level Spanish class before (even if it was a while ago) you might want to consider going straight into a Level 2 class. If you choose to skip Level 1 and have not previously studied the language, we highly recommend 2 to 4 hours of private lessons and a Bridge to Level 2 Workshop to get caught up and be ready to dive in (even if you have another romance language under your belt). 

If you are more advanced than some of the absolute beginners in your Level 1 class, but not ready for Level 2 yet, please be aware that our Level 1 classes start at the very beginning. While you can take advantage of brushing up on some of the fundamental concepts and still benefit from the class overall, please be patient while the others are learning the language from the absolute beginning for the first time.

More about Level 2

Level 2 is for those who have studied Spanish before, even if they aren't confident with what they learned because it's been a while. Either way, you should sign up for a Level 2 class even if you need to review the extreme basics as the first session or two do just that.

Level 2 is right for you if you feel even a little bit comfortable saying a few things about yourself in Spanish, even if only at a very basic level in the present tense with a very limited vocabulary. If you can struggle through saying some of these phrases, then Level 2 is right for you:

I study Spanish.
My friend (or brother/sister) does not speak Spanish.
I am American.
I live in Brooklyn.

and could struggle through asking someone else:
Do you have a dog? (or, if you don't know the word for dog, how about "car" or "apartment"?)

Some questions to help determine if Level 2 (vs Level 1) is right for you are:

Are you somewhat familiar with the idea of conjugation? As in how to turn hablar, which means "to talk", into Yo hablo, tú hablas, él habla (I speak, you speak, he speaks...) by simply removing the "-ar" from the infinitive and adding back an "o" for yo, an "as" for tú, and an "e" for él?

Are you somewhat familiar with the idea of nouns having a gender and having to choose between un, una, unos and unas for "a" vs el, la, los, and las for "the"?

Are you familiar with the idea of regular vs. irregular verbs? Do you get that hablar is conjugated above in exactly the same way that lots of other verbs are, such as cantar, bailar, and buscar, but that verbs like ser (to be) are conjugated completely irregularly (soy, eres, es...)?

"Familiarity" here refers to having been introduced to the main idea before, even if you need a quick review/reminder of how it all works.

If you answered yes to at least two of those three questions (what is this, an informercial?) and you can struggle through more than half of the phrases/questions above, then Level 2 is right for you. If you are feeling pretty confident about all of this, be sure to check the Level 3 description to be sure that Level 2 isn't, in fact, not advanced ENOUGH for you.

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone (or once you start class), we'll work with you to make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students place themselves accurately.

More about Level 3

Level 3 is for those who can confidently say a few sentences in the present tense and are a little bit familiar with how the main past tense works (Yo comí, él bailó, etc.) and are ready to be introduced for the first time to more verb tenses such as the conditional (Yo comería, Tú querrías, etc.), the subjunctive (Quiero que tú hablEs vs hablAs, etc.) and how these verb tenses are used in everyday conversation.

You should sign up for a Level 3 class even if you need to review the basics of the present tense and the main past tense as the first class or two does just that.

Here are some questions to help figure out if Level 3 is right for you:

Can you use many of the most basic verbs (to eat, to talk, to walk, to be, to have, etc.) in present tense sentences fairly confidently? Can you say things like:

I speak Spanish
My friend does not speak Spanish
I walk to my friend's house every day

or ask someone else: Do you have an apartment in Brooklyn?

without too much hesitation?

Do you understand the fundamental structure of the main past tense? Do you get how yo como is the present tense for "I eat" and yo comí is the past tense for "I ate"?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, you belong in Level 3.

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.

More about Level 4

Level 4 students are starting to understand how the major verb tenses work, are adding to their growing vocabulary, and are ready to gain confidence when speaking and using several different verb tenses...

In Level 4, you will start to understand some of the more complex relationships between verb tenses (If I was/were rich, I would buy a yacht, etc.) and to dig deeper into the usage of more difficult verb tenses like the subjunctive and the conditional past.

Here are some questions to help figure out if Level 4 is right for you:

Can you use some of the most basic verbs (to eat, to talk, to walk, to be, to have, etc.) in both the present tense, the two main past tenses (the pretérito simple and the imperfecto), the conditional, and the future tenses? Can you say things like:

I ate at McDonalds yesterday
You took the train to work today
He was 18 when he went to college

and be able to struggle through asking someone: Would you like to go to Paris with me this summer?

without too much hesitation?

If the answer is yes, you belong in Level 4.

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.

More about Advanced Conversation Practice

Advanced Conversation Practice is for students who have completed Level 5 at Fluent City or the equivalent elsewhere. Each 20-hour session is designed to be taken multiple times by any one student.*

Advanced students might need a quick grammar refresher here and there, but are comfortable speaking Spanish, even if they are still making a lot of mistakes and still need to refine the details. Mini grammar reviews based on the group's specific weaknesses are part of each 2-hour session and increasing listening skills is also a major component of Advanced Conversation Practice class with the goal in mind of moving towards being able to comfortably have conversations with native Spanish speakers. In class discussions may center around: recent movie releases, foreign films and classic cinema; trends in fashion; food and wine; Spanish and Argentine musicians/bands as well as the local music scene; current events and news stories both in Spanish-speaking countries and also around the globe; human rights issues; travel and cultural exploration; contemporary and classical literature; online dating and more.

*Most students do about 60 hours of Advanced Conversation Practice (three 20-hour sessions) before moving to Expert Spanish.

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.

More about Expert Spanish

Expert Spanish is for students who need a weekly refresher to keep actively speaking fluent or near-fluent Spanish and maintain the level they have already achieved at some point in their life. This class allows you to practice Spanish in a guided conversation with a professor offering corrections, insight into cultural slang, and creative conversational topics that allow you to learn new vocabulary. In class discussions may center around: recent movie releases, foreign films and classic cinema; trends in fashion; food and wine; Spanish and Argentine musicians/bands as well as the local music scene; current events and news stories both in Spanish-speaking countries and also around the globe; human rights issues; travel and cultural exploration; contemporary and classical literature; online dating and more. The conversation topics will largely depend on the interests of the students in the class. Students signing up for Expert Spanish should feel comfortable having fairly robust conversations with native speakers. 

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.