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What is the Instituto Cervantes?
The Instituto Cervantes is a public institution and part of the Spanish Ministry of foreign affaires created in 1991 for the promotion and the teaching of Spanish and for the expansion of Spanish and Latin-American culture. It has over 40 centres throughout the world in Europe, Africa, Asia and America. It is the reference institution in the teaching of Spanish worldwide and the only one that can issue official diplomas of Spanish (DELE), certifying the level in this language. These diplomas are recognized by companies, institutions, chambers of commerce, etc, around the world.
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Why a collaboration agreement with the Instituto Cervantes?
Our main commitment is offer quality courses, for our students so that they can accomplish their communication objective in Spanish. And what a better collaborator to reach this objective than the Instituto Cervantes, the reference institution in the teaching of Spanish worldwide. Thanks to our agreement with the Instituto Cervantes, our students use the online courses (Aula Virtual de Español) developed by this institution. The educational, pedagogical, and technological capacity of the Instituto Cervantes can't be matched by any other language center.
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What if I don't know any Spanish?
Beginner levels have been designed for students who have no prior knowledge of Spanish. At this level, you can opt to read instructions and explanations in several languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. You can use, at least, Spanish or English when contacting your personal tutor.
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What if I do know some Spanish?
The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes offers courses for Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Proficiency level of Spanish. The placement test will place you in the right course for your abilities.
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What kind of Spanish is taught?
Although we have opted primarily to teach the Spanish of educated speakers from Spain, the main varieties of the language from Spain and Latin America, as well as information on their origins, are all used in our on line Spanish courses (Aula Virtual de Español). This approach will allow you to become familiar with the broad diversity of the Spanish language. If, however, you wish to specialize in a particular linguistic variant, your tutor will advise you.
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Will I really learn to communicate in Spanish?
The courses objective is to help you develop the ability to communicate in Spanish. Apart from working independently with interactive materials, in each lesson you will do a series of exercises in which you have to express yourself in Spanish with your class mates and/or your tutor. This is done in two ways: in a time-delayed manner, by e-mailing texts, images and sound files, and in real time, via chat or phone.
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Will I be able to be fluent in Spanish?
Good question! Studying online does have a lot of advantages, but you will have to take time out to do some serious studying. The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes, the on line courses and your personal tutor combined, provide you with a unique and complete method to learn Spanish. Of course, to become successful it depends on you as well. Follow the instruction to do all the exercises trying to understand what you're doing; don't feel silly when you repeat words and sentences aloud, its all part of learning. When in doubt ask, contact your personal tutor as often as you need, they are always willing to guide you and give you extra support when you need it. In time, yes, you will become fluent in Spanish.
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Can I try the language course for free?
Yes! Without any obligation you can take a quick tour of the course and learn about the learning method and all the features. Now, you can also try them for free during 7 days with the support of a tutor via email.
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How do I know in which course to enrol?
Inside our web, there's a section called “Placement Test”. On this page, you will see two tests, one will tell you your general level of Spanish (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Proficiency) and the other will tell you which specific course you should enrol in. If you know you general Spanish level, you must only do the one will tell you which specific course you should enrol in. If you don’t know your general Spanish level, we recommend doing the two tests. Both tests are independent from each other, which means you can do them in different moments. Just remember what the result was when enrolling.
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How can I access my course?
You will receive by email your user and password and the web address from where to access your course.
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When will I receive my password and user?
You will receive by email your user and password, al least, a day before the starting of your online course.
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I have already started my course and I don't think I'm well placed, what can I do?
If you feel that you aren't in the right course, please contact your personal tutor and he'll do everything necessary to place you in the proper course.
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How long will it take me to do each course?
The time you take to do the course will depend on the study pace you set for yourself. The course materials is organized into thirty work sessions of approximately an hour each, though the time spent on each session will vary from student to student. To this, you have to add other 10-20 hours to do the complementary activities. In total, you’ll have to invest approximately 45-50 hours per course. Remember you have 3 months maximum to complete it.
Nevertheless, as regards to the time you can devote to the course, is more of a personal commitment. It is important to abide to a certain timetable especially when doing the group communicative exercises with other students and/or with your personal tutor. Tutors will liaise with their students to maintain the group work pace.
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What schedule do the courses follow?
There are no pre-set schedules. The Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes and their tutors adapt to your needs. The only set schedules are for the dates established to enrol in our courses.
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And what timetable should I follow?
For the self study work, you decide on your own timetables. Distance communication with your tutor and/or other students is primarily time-delayed, except in the conversation practices with your tutor and in the chat which are live. On the other hand, the tutors adapt the activities in real time to the availability of their students.
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What is the teaching material like?
The course materials are varied in kind, in the manner in which they are presented and in the way in which students interact with them. They have an easy-to-follow navigational structure and combine games, texts, recorded material, animations and video sequences in an attractive and dynamic way.
As well as specifically created course material, students have access to authentic Spanish language resources from the cinema, literature, the media and the Internet itself. The courses even have a section in which students are guided through links of interest useful for their studies.
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Is all the study material included?
Yes, all the study material you need is available on your computer screen just a click away, starting when you login!
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How will I work?
Our on line courses employ an independent, flexible style of learning in which will allow you to set your own work pace and the amount of time you can spend on the course. Thanks to the multimedia resources, learning is dynamic and fun. Internet makes an active learning environment.
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Do I have to be online all the time, while having access to the lessons?
Yes, this course is totally interactive and you need to be connected in order to work on it.
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Will I get a certificate?
Students who successfully complete the course will receive a course completion certificate from the Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes. If you wish to obtain an official certificate, you should do the DELE exam (which means Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera), http://diplomas.cervantes.es, which are organized by the Instituto Cervantes every year in different countries and in more than a hundred cities. Remember that our courses have been designed by the Instituto Cervantes, so they help you to prepare you for these exams.
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Can I obtain academic credits?
Unfortunately, no. However our courses prepare you for any Spanish exam you may take to obtain credits. Ask your university if they have Spanish exams that will allow you to take credits for your knowledge.
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How can I enroll?
It's easy. Just go to our “Home Page” and click on “Enroll now” section. Another way is clicking on “Our courses” page, then click on “Enroll now”. Both ways will guide you step by step to complete the enrollment form.
Before starting the course, you will receive by e-mail your unique user and password with which you will have full access to the course and all the services. These user and password will be activated a day before starting it.
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Are results guaranteed?
There is no magic way to learn a foreign language and signing up for a language course is not enough to become multilingual! We provide you with the best learning tools available and give you the possibility to make this experience a real asset. If you devote enough time and study regularly, you will get results.
Make an effort to work a bit every day; follow the instructions given on the on line course and by your personal tutor, practice every part, gain confidence by drilling and testing your progress. Most of all, be persistent, and do not be reluctant to speak aloud while taking the lessons.
If you are serious about learning a foreign language and commit yourself to this goal, then results are guaranteed.
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Can I cancel my course?
Yes, up to 2 days before the beginning of the course. After this period, we can not admit any cancellation. If you cancel before, you will be refunded the complete payment except for 15 euros/$18 for administration charges.
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I want to cancel my course, how do I do it?
If you want to cancel your course anytime before the 2 days prior to the beginning of your course, all you have to do is go to our Contact page, complete the Webform which will be handled by the Student Service Manager.
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I have finished my course before the end date, can I use the rest of my time to start another course without payment?
We are sorry to say no, what you pay for is the course, not time. You are given a period of time to complete the course (3 months). If you finish before, you may enroll in the next course.
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I have finished my course before the end date. Can I enroll in the next course or do I have to wait till my time is up?
You don't have to wait. There are new enrolments every month. Remember that what you buy is the course and not time.
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How can I access the Student zone?
With the same user and password you access your course, you will be able to enter into the Student Zone. There, you will be able to book, modify or cancel your conversation practices, modify your data, contact to the Student Service Manager and benefit from useful resources.
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How many conversation practices do I have?
You have 10 conversation practices with your tutor throughout your course.
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When I'm booking my conversation practices, which time zone am I doing it in?
When booking your conversation practices, you'll be doing them local Spanish time (GMT + 01:00 Paris , Brussels , Madrid ). But don't worry, the first thing you must do is decide which is the most convenient time for you and go to our “time converter”, which will tell you the equivalent time in your zone, then choose your practice and book it.
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How can I choose between holding the conversation practices via phone or via chat?
When you book a conversation practice, two options will appear: phone practice or practice via chat. You choose the most convenient for you in each moment.
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To hold the phone conversation practices, when and where should I call?
You can book your conversation practice whenever you like, as you know you have 10 practices throughout the course. To book, enter in your Student Zone with your user and password, then go to “My conversation practices”, when you click on it, a calendar will appear with all the dates and times your personal tutor has made available for you. Choose the most convenient time and when you book, you'll also see your tutor's telephone number (fix line and Skype user) so as to call and hold your conversation practice.
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For the conversation practices, do I have a toll free number or are they long distance calls?
The calls are made to your personal tutor in Spain. Consider them a worthwhile investment. That's why we recommend low cost telephone companies as Skype www.skype.com or similar. The average cost is about 2 cents of a dollar per minute or 1,7 cents of euro per minute. All our tutors are Skype user, so if you enrol as a user too (it’s free), the calls will be free.
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What I have to do to hold practices via chat?
To hold a conversation practice by chat, you will have to log into your online course the day and time booked, accessing the virtual room that your tutor will have previously reserved.
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Can I change or modify a conversation practice once I booked it?
Yes up to 48 hours in advance over Spanish local time. After that, you won't be allowed to. If you have booked your conversation practice and then you haven't done it for any reason, we'll have to consider it as given or done discounting it from your 10 conversations practice bonus. To change or modify a booking, enter into your Student zone with your password and click on “My conversation Practices” to change, modify or cancel.
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Which software programmes do I need?
In order to do the on line course, you will need some auxiliary programs. When you access to the course for first time, the system will automatically check if your computer has the other auxiliary programs required. If the result is negative, the system will show you the necessary steps to successfully complete the downloading of the necessary software.
If you have any problem or any questions in downloading any of the auxiliary software, please contact us in the email techsupport@institutomagallanes.com.
Remember to provide each of the following:
The code of the error message you received, if an alert box popped up on your screen (e.g. #REG001, etc.) The browser version you are using (e.g. Explorer 6.0, Navigator 4.5, etc The platform you work on (e.g. Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, NT, Mac, etc.) The amount of RAM your system has (e.g. 64 Mb, 128 Mb, etc.) Whether you are using CompuServe, America Online, or @Home as direct browser or just as service provider
These auxiliary programs take up 25 Mb in the computer's disk. If you download the programs directly from the Web, using a high speed connection (DSL, cable or similar), it will take between 10 and 15 minutes. If you do it by means of a modem, the process lasts about two hours and a half.
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Is there any technical assistance provided?
Yes. If you need assistance, you can contact us by email techsupport@institutomagallanes.com.
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What should I do if I have any kind of problem with the on line course?
Our courses have been have been tested on different systems having proved their reliability. They are backed up by three different servers, so as to avoid leaving our students without access to their courses. Our on line courses are incompatible with Macintosh.
Should you experience any problems while doing your course, please be patient: most of the time it is something simple that can be fixed very easily. If you do not feel confident enough to try to solve the problem yourself or if you cannot find its cause, please get in touch with our technical department in the email techsupport@institutomagallanes.com.
Remember to provide each of the following:
The code of the error message you received, if an alert box popped up on your screen (e.g. #REG001, etc.) The browser version you are using (e.g. Explorer 6.0, Navigator 4.5, etc.) The platform you work on (e.g. Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, NT , Mac, etc.) The amount of RAM your system has (e.g. 64 Mb, 128 Mb, etc.) -
Whether you are using CompuServe, America Online, or @Home as direct browser or just as service provider
If you do not know how to find out the above information, please tell us and we will try to find out together.
In any case, report in your message anything that may be relevant (e.g. whether you had been online the whole time when you experienced problems with the program, what you could see on the page, etc.), any detail can be useful. A message stating "I cannot use the course" doesn't help us help you, so please try to give us all the pertinent information you can.
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I'm not able to do some listening exercises properly. Why?
This is probably due to your internet connection. Anyway, please verify that your PC has the minimum requirements. Go to Technical requirements in our Web and check. If you still have problems, please get in touch with our technical department in the email techsupport@institutomagallanes.com.
In order to do the course in total comfort, we suggest that your PC has the recommended technical requirements.
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I have some problems to watch some of the video exercises. Why?
This is due to that you are downloading the videos directly form Internet. To avoid this, it's better to have previously downloaded all the necessary videos onto your PC using the CD ROM which we’ll send you.
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What period of time does the fee cover?
The fee payment covers a period of three months (90 days). The time starts on the start date of your course. We believe that you'll have plenty of time to complete a course within the given time. Remember that being constant and studying a bit everyday will lead you to learn Spanish.
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Which payment methods are accepted? Are they secure?
You will be able to pay both by credit card (VISA, MasterCard or Virtual Cash are accepted), using a secure server form a financial institution of international prestige, Banesto, or by PayPal, the payment system developed by eBay.
No type of financial information such as your card number, its expiration date or the banking accounting is either registered or kept in our database and/or server.
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
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What happens if the fees change after my enrolment?
Nothing. The possible changes will not affect you during the period covered by the payment. If you enrol in a new course later, you’ll pay the current price.
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Currency Exchange
For the payment by credit card, our bank handles the currency conversion to Euros at the time of payment. As with all banks, the currencies are updated on a daily basis. Whether or not you are charged a fee for the conversion is dependent on your credit card company.
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I've changed some of my data (e.g. e-mail address, mailing address, number phone). Who should I notify?
It is very important that you notify us of any changes in the data you gave at the time of your enrolment. Please, enter in the student zone, go to “My data” and make the changes stating the change (e.g. your new e-mail address). Up
Where are you located?
Our offices are situated in one of the historical districts in down town Madrid, Spain.
Instituto de la Lengua Magallanes
C/ Bravo Murillo, 184; 5ª Pl
28020 Madrid (Spain)
If you need to contact us, the fastest way is by completing the webform you can find in our Contact page.
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