Jump to content

User:Luxorlv23/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Start Spanish
Company typePrivate
IndustryInternet
E-learning
Founded2011
HeadquartersCórdoba, Argentina
Websitewww.startspanish.com


Start Spanish is an online Spanish school developed for native English speakers to learn Spanish through a program combining live classes and interactive self-study material, based out of Córdoba, Argentina.


All Start Spanish teachers are certified native Spanish speakers from various parts of Argentina.

They provide around the clock availability of live classes without having to subscribe/enroll for the classes in advance. Students can take unlimited live conversational classes in their subscriptions.

The Start Spanish program is based on interaction. It achieves this through their huge amount of multi-media exercises, Live classes with up to five students to provide the genuine school experience, as well as flashcard memory training, and an at all times available grammar guide.


Live Classes

[edit]

All live classes are led by certified native Spanish speaking teachers, intensively trained to be able to assist the students in both Spanish and English. The classes include speaking, reading and grammatical exercises. And a digital note pad allows teachers to help students work on their vocabulary along the way. After every forty minute class the students will receive personalized feedback from their teacher. This allows students to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses and will help them improve where necessary.

StartSpanish is looking to provide around the clock Live classes, to meet the schedules of all potential students around. They already offer Live classes 14 hours per day.

Current subscriptions available

[edit]

StartSpanish offers three different subscriptions to meet the different demand of students. A 12 month plan for the ‘serious learners’, a 6 month plan for the ‘fast learners’, and a month-to-month plan to accommodate even the most ‘flexible learners’.

Spanish Course

[edit]

The StartSpanish course is made up of 10 levels, each level contains 6 units and starts off with an educational animation video on the Latin American family "Los Reyes". Each of the 6 units contains 3 lessons and a final task after each one. At the end of each unit students will be tested in a small exam, testing their reading, listening and grammatical language skills.

An example of a Start Spanish student's course platform


Learning aids/study tools:

Each student will not only be challenged on communicational skills and interaction, but also have access to learning aids which will enhance the self-paced learning.

Interactive Flashcards - Each flashcard has an audio pronouncing the word, a photo of the word, the gender, and the word in English. The are many topics ranging from clothing,numbers to weather.

Grammar guides - Very detailed guides covering the following topics: adjectives, articles, comparatives and superlatives, confusing word pairs, conjunctions, nouns, prepositions,pronouns,questions and verbs.

Dictionary - An interactive dictionary tool that students can use while completing the Spanish exercises.

Verb conjugator - A tool used to conjugate verbs in the following forms: present,future, future perfect, imperfect, perfect tense,preterite,past perfect,pluperfect,present conditional,future continuous, present subjunctive,future subjunctive,subjunctive future perfect,imperfect subjunctive 1&2,perfect subjunctive,pluperfect subjunctive 1&2,imperative. Providing a clear overview for students to use while studying.

Los Reyes

[edit]

As mentioned before each unit starts off with an animated introduction video featuring Los Reyes.

Los Reyes is a fictional Colombian family from which Start Spanish bases their lessons. The family consists of a couple and their 3 children and a grandmother. They are new to the neighborhood called "Las Aromas" and have encounters with their neighbors. Students are triggered as Los Reyes go through recognizable day to day situations.

Each unit has an interactive video of the family with subtitles to help the students prepare for the following exercises. As the students continue their lessons, the story of the Reyes family continues.

La familia de Los Reyes

Study Points system

[edit]

StartSpanish offers their students the opportunity to monitor their progress rewarding their efforts with study points.

The study points are in the first place a measurement tool for students to get a clear insight in their progress. Secondly, it is a motivational tool, as students can also see the progress their peers are making, raking the students based on the amount of study points they have earned.

Students earn points by making the interactive exercises, attending Live classes, viewing grammar guides and flashcards. For each exercise the students complete, based on their performance, they’re grated ‘Excellent’ (100% correct), ‘Good Job’ (75-99% correct), ‘Keep trying’ (<75% correct).

The scores in the exercises are summed and at the end of the lesson converted to the study points, by a 1/50 conversion factor.

e.g.: You earned 1700 credits in lesson one, you earn: 34 points (1700/50).

Other than the exercises students get 10 points per flashcard viewed, 10 points for each time they use the Grammar guide, and 50 points for each Live Class they participate in.

Students can use the advice of certified native teachers to help set their study goals and objectives. On the website a clear overview of time studied and progress made is displayed to help students stay motivated and give them accurate insight in their development.

[edit]

Category:Education companies Category:Spanish-language education Category:Online education Category:Online schools Category:Training companies