Being able to communicate in another language while travelling is one of the best feelings and always makes me feel extra accomplished. I learned a little Spanish in the 4 months I spent traipsing around South America and in a bid to try and become more fluent, I decided to continue my Spanish lessons in Singapore and have spent the last year or so taking Spanish lessons with Spanish World Group. For those looking for a Spanish school in Singapore, here’s a review of my experience with Spanish World Group, and here’s another bonus: I have a 5% discount code for new students – scroll down for more!
Sounds familiar?
Spanish World Group is the new name of Las Lilas Spanish School, a dedicated Spanish school in Singapore that has been around since 2005. When I asked my friends for recommendations on good Spanish schools in Singapore to continue my lessons, Las Lilas was the overwhelming Spanish school of choice recommended by my friends.
A disclaimer here that while my Spanish lessons are sponsored by the school, this review gives my honest feedback that I have also shared with the school separately. There wasn’t much info online about what classes were like, which is why I wanted to write about it.
My experience with Spanish World Group
Spanish World Group started out in Singapore but has since expanded to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Hong Kong as well. Spanish World Group is the only accredited Cervantes Institute in Singapore, which means it has the official blessing from the Spanish Government in promoting and teaching Spanish in foreign countries. For more serious students, that means that Spanish World Group is qualified to offer exam-level and DELE (Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language).
I am interested in learning Spanish on a casual level, mainly for communication on my travels in Latin America and other Spanish speaking countries, and most of the classes offered at Spanish World Group are small group classes targeted at casual adult learners like myself. There are classes for kids and students as well as private lessons.
Location
Spanish World Group is located on Level 8 of The Bencoolen, which is between Bugis+ and Sim Lim Square. See location on Google Maps. It’s very conveniently located in the downtown area with lots of MRT and bus access.
Levels offered
For the casual learner, there are 6 levels of proficiency offered at Spanish World Group, which are further broken up into courses that you progress through to get to the next level.
You take a placement test to determine which level you start at. Absolute beginners start from A1.1.
- A1 (A1.1-1.4) is the starter level absolute beginners start out from. With 3 weeks of Spanish classes in Panama under my belt, I started out at A1.3.
- A2 (A2.1-2.6) is the level I’m at in 2019. As of April 2019, I’m at A2.4
- B1 (B1.1-1.6) intermediate level
- B2 (B2.1-2.7)
- C1 (1.1-1.7) advanced level
- C2
Each course for adult group classes runs for 10 lessons, each lesson is 2 hours long. Lessons usually happen once a week, but sometimes they run intensive courses that take place every day for two weeks instead.
Classes range from 4-12 pax, but tend to get smaller as the levels get higher, but the people who do continue lessons also tend to be more interested, so there’s a good likelihood that you might stay classmates with the same people for a long time. You do need a minimum of 4pax to form a class, but there is some flexibility with timings and days depending on the overall schedule.
Spanish Textbook used: AULA
Most of the lessons follow the AULA textbook syllabus – I’ve used the AULA 1 for the A1 level and AULA 2 for the A2 level so far. They are also supplemented by additional material produced by the school and sometimes individual teachers give extra notes on top of all this.
You can get your AULA Spanish textbook from the school, but if you want to save money, head online to get it – it’s cheaper but it does take more time to arrive. Some links for you:
For beginners: AULA Internacional 1 (Spanish – this is the one we use in class) but there is also one with some English. [Amazon affiliate links]
You can also buy directly from the publisher’s website Difusion, or from Books Depository.
Spanish World Group also has its own Virtual Campus, which you can access online to do additional practice which is a pretty unique offering. They are working on an app version so you can use it on the go as well.
What lessons are like
Lessons are a combination of reading, comprehension, conversation and listening. We’ve even done roleplaying and games so you do get to practice Spanish in fun ways as well. I’ve had lessons with several different teachers and they each have their own style. If you find a teacher’s style that you like, you should try and stick with that teacher as far as you can.
The teachers are employed from Spanish speaking countries – I’ve had teachers from various parts of Spain and Chile, and while the official Spanish taught is Spain-Spanish, the teachers often share stories about their local slang and habits from their home countries as well. So far my classes have been conducted in a mix of Spanish and English, though the English proficiency of your teacher really depends on the individual.
They do have some additional activities outside of classes, like a Spanish Karaoke session and some Spanish culture days when there major Spanish celebrations. They showed and demonstrated the traditional way of counting down to the New Year where you have to eat 12 grapes as the bell tolls at midnight, and we sand Spanish Christmas carols one time as well.
5% Spanish World Group Discount Code
If you are contemplating studying Spanish in Singapore, quote my blog “The Occasional Traveller” in the comments when enrolling online to enjoy 5% off your course fee (new students only, not applicable if you are using Skillsfuture credits).
My Spanish lessons are sponsored by Spanish World Group.