The information that follows is intended to outline the general conditions governing the online Spanish courses that students can contract using the application form found on the web page of the Instituto de La Lengua Magallanes. By sending the application form to register for the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes online courses, the USER is agreeing to accept the terms which are set out in the general conditions of the present document below. 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICE The service consists of online Spanish courses (through Internet) which are made up of two main components as follows: the Virtual Spanish Classroom, as developed by the Instituto Cervantes, which is the online course strictly speaking, in which the USER has access to the teaching materials, the course contents, being able to contact other students, etc; and the tutorials which are carried out by tutors from the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes specialised in the teaching of Spanish. These tutorials complete the course and help the USER to reach their objectives. The main features of our online Spanish courses are: Courses aimed at communication: Our courses are designed to develop the ability of communicating in Spanish. Apart from working autonomously through the use of interactive exercises, in every lesson you will follow a certain number of activities in which you must express yourself in Spanish with your class mates and/or with your tutor. With Qualified personal tutors: You will also have a personal tutor who will guide you though the whole course so that you reach your desired level. With real practices: You will have 10 conversation practices (per course) with your tutor, either by phone or chat as you wish. Each one lasts 20 minutes. A proven methodology used by over 50.000 students a year. With class mates: Our courses allow for the best of live classes and the best of distance learning. This among other things, it you gives the opportunity to interact with other students who have your same level. Every student is assigned to a group, in order to participate together in some activities. Working with the course, in this way, is more motivating and enriching for you and promotes learning. Varied and Interactive Materials: The courses consist of varied materials, not only by nature and the way they are introduced, but also by the way you can interact with them. These materials have an easy navigation structure, combining dynamic and appealing games, texts, listening, cartoons and video clips. Along with materials specifically designed for the course, you can access real materials in Spanish from movies, books, media and the Internet. Our courses also have a section where you will be guided through interesting routes by Internet. Learning is fun and flexible: Our courses allow for autonomous and flexible learning, so you can fix your own working pace and dedication. You can access the course anywhere; you just need an Internet connection. By means of multimedia resources like video, recorder, listenings or games, learning is carried out in a dynamic and fun way. You also have communication tools available at your finger tips, such as e-mail, live chat or forums which make it easier for the development of communicative learning with the active participation of all students. Multilingual didactic materials: The educational materials starting at the basic level courses have been designed for students without a previous knowledge of Spanish. In this level, students can read the instructions and explanations of the activities in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. This allows you to concentrate only on your learning and makes the course more user friendly. Furthermore, your desktop is also translated into these languages if you wish. On the other hand, you will be able to communicate with your tutor, at least, in English and Spanish. The richness of the Spanish language: The main varieties of Spanish are from Latin America and Spain. Both are represented, along with information about their origin, although we have chosen the educated variety from Spain. This way, the student is in contact with the plural reality and diversity of the Spanish language. 2. USER. The person whose name appears on the course application form is considered to be the USER – that is to say the person who has the right to follow the online course of study. The USER agrees to use the web page and services that have been contracted and the content therein in accordance with the law and in good faith according to the General Conditions, being the only person so authorised. 3. ENROLLMENT AND DURATION. In order to enroll for the on-line course, the USER should follow the application procedure which can be found on the web page of Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes, giving all the relevant information that is required and by following the established procedure – a procedure which ends with payment of the course costs. The start dates and end dates for the courses, as well as information about their duration, can be found at all times and for each course on the web page of the Instituto de La Lengua Magallanes, both in the section “Enroll now” and the section “Upcoming courses”. The price of each the online courses is clearly stated on the web page previously referred to. The price and conditions of the course on offer may vary, but the price and conditions will be valid for the USER on the web page at the time that he or she makes the application and pays the enrollment fee. In the case of group or company applications, the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes will make a quote available to the interested party according to the information and specifications that this party provides in order to do this. 4. CONVERSATION PRACTICES. Each student who enrols in the Spanish online courses offered by Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes, has 10 conversation with his/her tutor throughout the course. Each conversation practice lasts 20 minutes. The USER can hold this practives by phone or by chat, depending if the USER want to practice the verbal language or the writing language. To hold the conversation practices, the tutor will offer to the USERS a series of hours throughout the week. The USER can book their conversation practices at his/her convenience by accessing his/her “Student Zone” (it can be found in website Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes) with his/her user and password and then book the one most suitable for him/her. The USER will be able to modify or cancel a booked practice before 48 hours to the practice. After this time, the USER won’t be able to. Any practice booked and finally not held for any reason due to the USER, will be discounted from the 10 conversation practices. If the USER wants to modify or cancel any practice, he/she can do so by accessing his/her Student Zone. To hold the conversation practices by phone, the USER must call the tutor to the phone number which will be sent to him/her by email once a practice is booked. All telephone costs will be paid for the USER. To hold a conversation practice by chat, the USER will have to log into his/her online course the day and time booked, accessing the virtual room that the tutor will have previously reserved. 5. CHANGE OF TUTOR. The USER will not be able to request that his/her tutor be changed at any time, except if the person in question is guilty of a serious breach of his/her duty in which case the Instituto de La Lengua Magallanes will evaluate whether such a change should be implemented or not. 6. FORM OF PAYMENT AND RESOLUTION. The USER who wishes to register for one of the online courses offered by the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes via its web page should make an electronic payment using a credit card – Visa, MasterCard or Virtual Cash - or through the PayPal system. Credit card payments will be made through the banking institution BANESTO (banco Español de Crédito) which is a guarantee of the confidentiality of all details provided. This information will only be accessible to the banking institution itself. If the USER wishes to receive an online confirmation of payment, it is necessary to provide an email address to which the said confirmation will be sent. These details are only needed in order to receive the confirmation of the transaction and are not necessary for making payment online. Payments made using PayPal will be administered by the selfsame entity which is a guarantee of the confidentiality of all banking details provided. Once enrolment and payment have been confirmed, the USER will receive a user-name and password before the beginning of the course, as well as the instructions which will allow him or her to access the online course registered for. These codes will become operational the day before the course is due to begin. The USER can cancel the course up to two days ahead of the scheduled start date. In the case of such a cancellation, the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes will return the enrollment fee minus 15 Euros or 18 US dollars to cover administrative costs. The name of the USER and the password are personal and non-transferable. In the case of loss or of the information being stolen, the USER must contact the Instituto de La Lengua Magallanes immediately, as it is the USER who will be responsible for the consequences of his/her user-name and password being used by a third party. 7. ONLINE COURSE CONTENTS. The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes assumes the responsibility of providing the USER with the content and materials for the online courses, according to the objectives and training programmes outlined on the web page application form. It is important to take into account that the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes cannot guarantee to cover the specific training needs of each individual USER. 8. INTELLECTUAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY. The USER agrees not to reproduce, either totally or in part, in a temporary or permanent form - including for personal use - any of the content or courses presented in the AVE (Aula Virtual de España) framework. All USERS are forbidden to distribute the contents of AVE via sales, rent, loan or any other means of propagation or publication, or to make it available to any other person in any form whatsoever. The mere fact of contracting an online course and having access to Aula Virtual de Español does not mean in any case the cession of intellectual property rights and or industrial rights belonging to Instituto Cervantres nor can it be interpreted as such. 9. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS. In order to follow the Spanish online courses offered by Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes properly, it is necessary to have the following minimum hardware and software on the USER’s PC outlined:
The USER is responsible for taking into account the specific technical specifications needed to make optimum use of the online courses. Furthermore these specifications are indicated on the section “Technical Requirements” on the web page of the Instituto de La Lengua Magallanes. The Technical Support Department of the Instituto de La Lengua Magallanes will be available to answer any queries that may arise on the part of the USER however. 10. EXCLUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY. The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes does not guarantee the permanent availability of the services, being exonerated from any responsibility for possible damage or harm caused by the unavailability of the service due to force majeur failure on the part of a provider or errors in the telematics system, in conveying information or for any other reasons beyond its control. However, the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes will do everything in its power in order to restore these services in the event of any breakdown in the system. The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes assumes no responsibility for damage or harm of any kind that may be caused by the presence of a computer virus or other element in the system that could produce changes in the computer systems, electronic documents or files belonging to the users. The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes assumes no responsibility for damage or harm of any kind that may be caused by information that unauthorized third parties may have of the type, conditions, characteristics and circumstances concerning the use that the USERS make of the web site and services provided, taking into account that the Institute’s policy is in line with the present laws on data protection. 11. NON-FULFILMENT OF THE GENERAL CONDITIONS. In the case of non-fulfilment of the current General Conditions on the part of the USER, the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes reserves the right to deny or restrict access to the web page and/or to the services at any time and without prior warning being given. Furthermore, in a case of this type it may exercise its right to bring corresponding legal action against the USER in defence of its rights, as it is the USER who is responsible for any harm and damage that the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes could suffer as a consequence of non-fulfilment of the General Conditions. 12. MODIFICATION OF THE GENERAL CONDITIONS. These General Conditions may be modified at any time as long as users are notified beforehand if the aim is to improve the services and the products that are offered. In any case, before contracting these services the General Conditions may be consulted. 13. PRIVACY POLICY. Any data the USER gives to Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes will be included in a database which belongs to Kontact Rentabilidad y Servicio al Cliente S.L, owner of the www.institutomagallanes.com domine, which can use this data to send the USER advertising offers about services’ Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes using any of the following means (mail, telephone, fax, mailings, emails, internet or any other system) and for the management, follow up of request for information and/or giving of services. The USER’s data will not in any case be sold or forwarded to any third party or company and will be kept in all moment as is described in the law to avoid access to any unauthorized person. No type of financial information such as your card number, its expiration date or banking account is either registered or kept in the database and/or server’s Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes. Payment of courses is done using a secure server from the bank, Banesto, which is a financial institution of international prestige. Banesto, uses the most advanced security protocols; SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and SET (Secure Electronic Transaction), which encrypt the information making a 128 bit encryption, therefore guaranteeing confidentiality and full integrity of all sell transactions through Internet and also authentifying the data and identity of both buyer and seller. At any time, the USER will be able to access, modify or cancel his/her information by sending a request to do so to the following address: Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes, C/ Luchana, 6, 4º izqda, 28010 Madrid (Spain) or by email to: info@institutomagallanes.com. If the USER should observe any transgression of your rights, he/she should be in contact Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes as soon as possible so as to take corrective measures. 14. JURISDICTION AND APPLICABLE LAW. The present contract will be interpreted and applied in accordance with current Spanish law. These Terms and Conditions are governed and will be interpreted in accordance with the Spanish courts. The courts in Madrid (Spain) shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any claim or dispute which might arise out of or in connection with these terms and conditions. |