El Patio Spanish Language School

There's a Verb Workshop for You!

Untangle the knot of Spanish verbs with our 3-hour workshops. We reveal hidden patterns of even the most difficult-to-handle irregular verbs. We shine a light on the unruly forms and uses of the world-famous past tenses. We demystify and help you feel at home with the present subjunctive. Sign up for one - or more if you want that cosy comfy verb feeling!

Little Lon (B2, C1)

Ana's story for advanced students explores the history of Little Lonsdale Street (or Little Lon as it was once called), where El Patio's CBD centre is located today. After leaving class one day, Andrea Rumbold unsuspectingly opens a door to the past and stumbles out onto the street - as it was in the 19th century. A time-traveller story based on early Little Lonsdale - if the SPANISH is too difficult, it's a GOOD READ IN ENGLISH!

I Teach Spanish! ... Ángeles Aznar

Originally an English teacher, Ángeles (Angie) started teaching Spanish practically by accident! When one of her colleagues in Buenos Aires didn't show up for a class Angie stepped right in to cover her. This could have been a disaster for some but Angie took to it like a duck to water. After falling in love with Melbourne on a holiday and deciding to stay put, she's now sharing her language and culture with El Patio students.

Find out all about Angie's journey as well as her teaching strategies and advice for students. Stick around till the end for a song exercise using Argentinian Folklore!

Spanish Film Festival 2018 Sneak Peak

The full programme has yet to be released but we have some sneak peaks to share (like Paco León in women's activewear)! We've also got a few El Patio surprises up our sleeves ...

Take a cheeky sneak peak here.

Get Creative: Make Paella [A1]

Craig gives the traditional paella a personal twist. He makes something that's possibly unconventional, but that is easy to prepare, very yummy and quite paella-like. Be inspired, go wild in the kitchen and have a crack at Craig's fill-in-the-gaps recipe exercise. The exercise practises the first person in the present tense, and is perfect for beginners - particularly if you're in Elementary 2 or 3.

I Teach Spanish! ... Naira Arrieta Bracamonte

With a background in modern languages and teaching English, Naira was prompted to learn more about her own language after working at a Summer Camp in the United States. Following further study, and experience as an online teacher, Naira found her way to Australian shores and into the El Patio classrooms. She loves teaching her native tongue and is inspired by the curiosity of her students to learn more about Hispanic culture and language.

Read all about Naira's experiences and her advice (including some useful tips on how to roll your R's)!

Bienvenidas / bienvenidos, welcome to all our beginner students

If you've just started studying at El Patio right at the beginning, here are some ideas about how to get the most out of your course for your future success with speaking Spanish.

Are you a beginner? Here's some extra help …

To complement the first part of our beginner courses we've created two online classes - Beginner Basics 1 and Beginner Basics 2. These classes cover the material you see in the first part of your course. Learn greetings, how to say your name, where you're from, where you live and what you do, plus the essentials of pronunciation and the alphabet.

I Learn Spanish! ... Jenny Skewes

Upon retiring Jenny wanted to make sure she kept her mind sharp. And as we all now know, learning a language is one of the best ways one can do that, In the end Spanish turned out to be an obvious choice for Jenny as her son was already married to a Venezuelan.

Jenny is very unassuming about her progress - but we think she has plenty to brag about. She currently studying level C1 grammar in one of our highest classes - Superior 2. She's completed over 30 levels with us over 8 years, and honestly - we've lost count of the exact number of courses she's done! Jenny is a shining example that commitment and consitency does pay off.

Read on to find out all about Jenny and her journey, and stay until the end to read a magnificent short piece that she wrote.

I Learn Spanish! ... Zac Powell

Meet Zac! Zac's initial steps into the Spanish speaking world felt like a bit of a stumble. But fast-forward two years later, and Zac's zooming through the El Patio levels (Upper Intermediate 2 already?)! For someone who considers himself more of a maths nerd than a language aficionado - we think Zac's caught the language bug very quickly! In this interview, find out how Zac tackles common problems, finds motivation and what he does outside of class to keep his Spanish flowing.

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Gift Voucher ($339.00, valid for 10 months)

Easy! Surprise your Spanish-learning friends, family or colleagues with a Gift Voucher. A voucher may be for a full course or to go toward a course fee or even for texts. Please note that you…

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