Beginner Spanish Classes

Novice Beginner Spanish

Our Novice Beginner class is ideal for adults with little to no prior Spanish experience, as well as for those who studied Spanish in the past and want to start again from the beginning in a supportive, low-pressure environment.

This class is highly community-oriented and focuses on oral proficiency, communication, and building a strong, confident foundation in the language. Instruction is rooted in comprehensible input and best practices in language acquisition. This means you will hear a lot of Spanish in class, but always in ways that feel clear, supportive, and low stress. The goal is to create an environment where students feel comfortable, connected, and able to use Spanish right away.

The Novice Beginner curriculum includes:

• Introductions and basic greetings

• Expressing likes and dislikes

• Biographical information

• Family vocabulary

• The most common high-frequency verbs

• Core verbs: ser, estar, tener, and ir

• Introductory present and past tense

• Ir a + infinitive to talk about future plans

• Tener que + infinitive to express obligations

Throughout the course, the focus remains on meaningful communication. Students listen to Spanish spoken slowly and clearly, read short and accessible texts, answer questions in Spanish, and practice guided, low-pressure conversation. Classes are interactive and include lots of repetition, visuals, and storytelling. Spanish is used frequently, but it is always made understandable, and English is used when helpful for clarity and support.

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High Novice Spanish

The High Novice course is designed for students who already have a basic foundation in Spanish—either through completing Novice Beginner or through previous experience. Students at this level can understand and respond to simple Spanish and are ready to deepen their comprehension and expand their expressive abilities.

In High Novice, students continue building oral proficiency and confidence while working with more nuanced language structures. In addition to expanding vocabulary and sentence complexity, we focus on differentiating between the preterite and imperfect to talk about the past with greater clarity and intention. Students are also introduced to the present perfect to describe experiences and actions that connect the past to the present.

In this level, students:

• Strengthen comprehension of longer spoken and written Spanish

• Expand high-frequency vocabulary and verb usage

• Build more complex and connected sentences

• Develop confidence in sustained conversation

• Learn to distinguish between preterite and imperfect

• Are introduced to the present perfect tense

As with all Casa del Sol classes, High Novice emphasizes meaningful communication through listening, reading, storytelling, and guided conversation. Spanish is used frequently and made comprehensible at all times, with English used strategically when helpful for clarity.