Hernán

En el trimestre 4 (Term 4, 2020) El Patio ofrece un curso de conversación de nivel intermedio alto/ avanzado/superior (B1/B2/C1), en torno a la nueva serie "Hernán" que actualmente se emite en el canal de televisión SBS. La coproducción hispano-mexicana corresponde al periodo histórico que va desde la llegada de Hernán Cortés a la costa mexicana hasta la caída de la ciudad de Tenochtitlan, la actual Ciudad de México. Lee más ...

El caballo en América

How did horses get to the Americas? When did they arrive, and from where? With this blog, we open an exciting, new category entitled 'Things you didn't learn in history books'. This opens up a range of possibilities, so El Patio would like to invite both teachers and students to contribute. Read the blog and then find out how to participate - there will be cash rewards!

El Patio ONLINE Escape Rooms!

There has been a theft - one of El Patio's prized possessions has been stolen and your assistance is required! It's a race against the clock to solve the clues, uncover the culprit and restore the missing item to its rightful place.

Test your Spanish and teamwork by joining one of our exciting online Escape Rooms (salas de escape) in Term 4!

Patagonia, 1994

Need some distraction? Here Nick Tapp (a long-term El Patio student) tells the story of his amazing mountain climbing adventure in Patagonia in 1994. It makes us want to start planning the next trip!
(PS: if you need a very good editor, check Nick's site: www.detail-ed.com.au)

El Patio Photography Competition 2020

Calling out to all Instagram fanatics, travel photography whizz-kids and landscape framing afficionados - here's your chance to get more than just 'likes' on Instagram for your efforts! Enter into our photography competition and we will display your beautiful piece for an entire month in both of our centres AND you could win a whole 15 hour course!

To make it both more fun and fair - the winner will be selected by popular vote: a people's choice award!

Read how to enter here! (It's super easy)

Winners of our Photo Competition revealed!

In Term 1 this year El Patio launched it's first annual photography competition - the results surpassed all expectations! Read on to see all of the participants' photos as well as the People's Choice Top 5.

I Learn Spanish! ... Ann Ray

Travelling for Ann is not just a passion but a lifestyle!

Racking up her frequent-flyer points, she loves an adventure: jumping on a plane to Chile for her favourite ice-cream at Emporio de la Rosa, exploring the Nazca lines, and sleeping within sight of Machu Picchu. Perhaps trekking down to Mendoza, Argentina for some wine tasting and soaking up a bit of culture in Buenos Aires. Yes, she loves to travel, and she likes to do it right!

The most essential ingredient of this intrepid life? Learn Spanish!

See how Ann stays motivated and powers through the El Patio levels (in between her frequent trips, of course!)

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.

400 millones de hablantes de español

Students of El Patio made a video answering some questions about their connection with the Spanish-speaking world and their experience of learning Spanish.

Have a look, be inspired and join 400 million speakers of Spanish!

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