Hi!

Anyonre that knows anything about the language school Enforex in Madrid? is it a great place for language studies, and where exactly is it, I've been trying to find that school but I've failed each time, I know it's somewhere between arguelles and san bernando

help?

Hey Lida, aside from being just about the bigest language school in Spain, Enforex is also a good place to study. It has a great reputation internationally.

I have been there a few times and it is VERY hard to see as you walk past it many times. Even to this day when I go by I miss it.

The main offices in Madrid are at Alberto Aguilera # 26 (Metro: Arg�elles) and if you keep looking left as you walk up the left side of the street (the oposite sidewalk than El Corte Ingl�s), you will see a silver engraved plaque with their logo on it at #26. Walk slowly because you can pass it up VERY easily (even if you knwo where it is).

Saludos & please let us know how your studies go.
jer...

Thank you Jer!

I found it,after walking up and down that street four times, but it looked really nice, I just wanted to take a good look at the school before paying them, thank you again, and you site rocks!

Does anyone know about Enforex's summer camps in Madrid, Salamanca or Marbella for children? I happened upon their website and the camps sound quite wonderful. I would like my daughters to possibly go to a summer camp in Spain next summer ( I would be taking classes hopefully too!) So, I would appreciate it if ANYONE knows ANYTHING about their summer program or any other camps in Spain for kids. Gracias.

ENFOREX IS NOT WHAT IS CRACKED UP TO BE.

I am speaking from a personal point of view.

In the Residencia of Enforex, you cannot lock your door, which means that thieves are abound. Right when I left the dorm, two days later, a friend of mine who stayed with the same program told me that someone had $200.00 stolen from him. BE VERY CAREFUL with your valuables. I am not sure if they placed locks on the door. You cannot even lock your door from the inside.

There is a person who cooks and cleans and provides towels and sheets, but don't expect Spanish food there at all. She's Russian and she cooks Russian food. She tries to make Spanish food, but it doesn't always come out right. She does the best with what she has to work with. When I paid, breakfast and dinner were included in the price. Breakfast consisted of toast, jelly, juice and cereal. Don't look for anything to fill you up either. That's just the way it was.

I studied with USM and we had different classes. The other students who stayed in the dorm studied with professors of Enforex. I looked at the Spanish books and I seriously questioned the methodology used there. I am a Spanish professor in the US. The major complaint of all of the students was that there weren't enough examples or grammatical explanations in the book.

I had to agree with them. It's nice to have to look for the conditional in an article, but when the conditional forms and uses aren't really expressed in the grammar explanation, it's a little hard to complete the exercise.

I know that the textbook should not be the driving force of the class, but students have to go home and rad the book and complete the activities. Many students just gave up and threw any type of answer in the blanks just to say that they completed the homework assignment.

Enforex is just like any other type of language school. I won't say that it is the best, for I have been to better. Don't just settle for Enforex without looking at Don Quijote also.

http://www.donquijote.com/

Compare prices and programs before settling on a definite program. That's my input, but if you are settled on Enforex, go ahead. I wish you the best of luck.

Shawn

PS - If anyone has had a different experience with Enforex, please write it here so that we have different points of views. Remember, that this is my personal experience with Enforex and that others may have had better or worse experiences.

Thanks so much for the first hand feedback on ENFOREX Shawn.

I do not know much about the quality of teaching there and have had mixed feedback on the school in general from people who have attended courses there.

I do know that their residences however are VERY expensive and that one can find a place much nicer and cheaper.

Saludos,
jer...

Jer,

I agree with you. The 2 weeks in the dorm for me was $360.00 and it was not worth it. I consider it a loss of my money and won't do it again. I

think that students should speak freely about their experiences so that people can become aware of what they are possibly getting into.

Thanks for allowing freedom of expression. Look forward to seeing you again in December, if you aren't on vacation.

Shawn

Hi Linda,
Did you decide to go for Enforex??? Please give some comments, I would really appreciate it

I�m planning to take a year off, and study Spanish in Madrid. I have been looking into both Enforex and Don Quijote but I�m not quite sure whom to choose. They have both quite similar courses, and I�m very interested in finishing off my studies with an internship, which both schools offers.

www.elemadrid.com
I have spent 2 weeks at elemadrid this summer and 4 weeks at elemadrid last summer. I can highly recommend them, the school, the teachers and the location is great. Finally my spanish has improved a lot
If anybody have some questions about elemadrid, please feel free to ask!

The only thing is that the school is quite expensive , and for that reason it�s not an option for me when I�m going to study for a whole year and they don�t have an internship either.

Hilde

Hej Hilde, gomorron!

I also had don quijote and enforex to choose from when I decided to study spanish, and the reason that I finally decided on enforex was because it did'nt have so many people from scandinavia there. You know what I mean! My friend have studied at don quijote and 50 % of the people are swedes, norwegian and danish, and I just felt that I wouldn't improve my spanish if I'm just hanging out with scandinavians. What I like about enforex aswell is the small groups and the location, near my apartment I start school at september 16th. I will let you know what I feel about the school!

Linda,

I am glad that you have decided on a language school. I will never recommend anyone to Enforex since I had a bad experience with them. Come back and let us know how your experiences were so we can have a balanced view of the school.

Buena suerte,

Shawn

shawn, thank you for your feedback, it's always good to hear to different views, I mean I know people that has been satisfied with enforex, and people like like you that hasn't. I just hope I will like it, or the most important thing is that I learn spanish. I will probably fresh up my english quite a bit to, since I've heard many americans attend enforex and the official language there after spanish is english, and the books are in spanies/english,two language in one time for me! I will probably be a bit confused at first, having so many languages in my head, but so exiting at the same time!

Yes, another question to Hilde, do you think I'll have to bring a swedish/english dictionary or is it easy to follow the books and teachers anyway?

Hei Linda, god kveld!

I totally understand what you mean, 50% scandinavians is at least 45% too much. It is important to practice the new languish as much as you can � that�s one of the reasons for why you are studying abroad.

How many weeks are you taking at the school?
Have you rented your apartment through the school, or have you found the place on your own?

Regarding the swedish/english dictionary, I don�t think you need it.
Are you sure the teachers will speak any english at all, and will there be english explanations in the books?

When I studied at elemadrid, the students where not allowed to say a word in English. The books, the exercises, the classes � everything was in Spanish. The first day, they gave us information in English and after that is was just spanish. At first I was terrified, because I didn�t speak any spanish � I just knew a few words. But the teachers was great, and they made it very easy for us to understand, they spoke very slowly and used a lot of body languish. But out on the street, that was a totally different thing � los espa�oles hablan muy rapido!

I bought a Franklin electronic translator (spanish/english and english/spanish) at el corte ingles, and I have found that one very helpful. It has a lot of words and also a lot of phrases. (it�s good for your spanish but also for your english)

Good luck with your studies and have an absolutely great time in time in Madrid Looking forward to hear about your experience with enforex.

Hilde

Hi Shawn,

It�s good to get different opinions about the school, so please keep on posting.
Do you have any personal experience with don quijote and their teaching strategies? Why do you think they are better than enforex, is it just the books or�?
I�m grateful for all the help and information I can get. To study a year abroad costs a lot of money, and I don�t want to make a mistake and chose the wrong school.

Hilde

Hi Hilde,

I just had a bad experience with them and I am just reporting on what happened to me. Their staff wasn't very professional and if you live in their dorm (residencia) you CANNOT lock your door. So get ready to either hide your stuff in a good place or lock it in your suitcase.

All of the information and service that I have received from Don Quijote was very professional. They answered my Emails in a timely manner and there was a very high level of professionalism there. I couldn't study with them because the program that I went through this summer went used Enforex. I recently wrote them a letter and told them about Don Quijote and sent them several brochures so that they can, hopefully, use Don Quijote in the future.

Ultimately, the choice is yours, but be very selective when you make your final decision. I understand that money is a factor also. Be very wise in this decision.

Shawn

Hilde

I will study 14 weeks, I wanted to study less time but then I don't get my CSN money, if you know what that is? In Sweden, I guess it's similar in Norway, you get an amount of money from the state when you're studying ,they pay enforex and can you also borrow some. The rule in Sweden to be able to have all this is that you have to study for atleast 13 weeks, and since I'm ending my work next week I thought that I could just start off a bit earlier to improve my spanish more. I'm a bit worried of all the sparetime that I will have, I'm used to have alot of things to do, guess I will just go to IKEA and search for job

anyway Hilde, I had to ask my friend that have studied at enforex about the english talking things,and you were right, the books are in spanish completely, I just misunderstood her the first time, glad I'm ask again. Anyway, it's nice to hear different opinions about schools, I mean she loved enforex, the teachers were nice and she started off as a beginner and after 10 weeks she could talk and write fluently.

I will not rent a room through enforex,man, how expensive! I will go to Madrid with a friend that will work, we have managed to get our own apartment, efter blod svett � t�rar. It has 3 rooms, so we will share with another swedish girl until december, so actually, if you're coming to Madrid after christmas, and we still have that apartment you might want to have her room?

I'm going to Lofoten next weekend, cool va?

Du kan juh maila sen om du vill h�ra mer om l�genheten ox� : lin_san@hotmail.com