CULTURAL IMMERSION

As our learner’s objective is to enable the student to communicate effectively, our cultural activities program is an essential part of this process, since it is not only a transmitter of cultural contents but is also a path to make our learners more familiar with other surroundings, another culture and different points of view .

Flamenco Lesson

Spanish lessons outside the classroom

Every week, one or two cultural-educational activities are led by TANDEM MADRID teachers of Spanish. These activities take place in different iconic locations in Madrid, such as a tertulia in the Café Gijón or the Café Gaudeamus.

A Visit to the market of San Miguel, a typical Spanish market where, by means of a questionnaire previously drawn up by the learners themselves, they will interview shop assistants and customers to subsequently write a report in pairs about the situation of the market.

A cultural meeting we call Cuisine of the World in which all learners and teachers prepare a typical dish from their country, region, etc. They have to write the recipe and ask their classmates ask about each other’s dish and how it is made, before choosing the best dish by vote.

There will also be cinema and theatre evenings and clown sessions to help students overcome their shyness at communicating in a foreign language.

Madrid and its history through its Museums

El Prado Museum

Just a few meters away from one each other, masterpieces by Goya, Velázquez and Picasso are visited by people from all over the world. Grand museums and great artists who are an essential part of the History of Art. THE ARTISTIC TRIANGLE: three of the world’s most important art museums can be found within a ten-minute walk of one another and less than 10 minutes from TANDEM Escuela on foot. The Paseo del Arte (The Art Walk) is the name given to this area delimited by the Museo del Prado, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), the MuseoThyssen-Bornemisza and the Caixa Forum.

All these museums are included as essential visits in the cultural program of Madrid. They will be visited with a Spanish teacher with a degree in Art, who will not only explain the must-see exhibits in these museums, but will also teach vocabulary and concepts in Spanish related to painting in general and each painter in particular.

Routes around Madrid

This consists of a historical tour of the streets and buildings of Madrid, enabling students to study Spanish through the city’s history and cultural heritage. Students will be able to practice their Spanish by reading inscriptions and texts in the streets and buildings they visit, as well as the texts included in their learning material, always accompanied by a TANDEM teacher of Spanish.

Among the most interesting routes offered by TANDEM are: “Legends of Old Madrid”; “The Madrid of the Austrias or the Bourbons”; “Medieval Madrid”; “El Retiro: a park for kings” and many more.

Madrid by night

This city is world-famous for its unique nightlife. Places to see and be seeing in, dancing, having fun, meeting people… indeed, going out in the evening in Madrid is a cultural activity. Our Night life has all sorts of tones and colors: from minimalist chill out venues to the most attractive clubs, Gothic discos, the craziest bars, and the maddest after-hours and the most nostalgic dance halls…

Cuisine and culture

Cooking Paella

Madrid offers a vast variety of cuisines: you can enjoy home-cooked food as well as the most daring and innovative dishes. We have international cuisine from all over the world and the best ingredients. The kitchens of Madrid prepare the most surprising modern dishes. For this reason, within the cultural program, we organize a WINE AND OLIVE OIL TASTING, COOKING CLASSES AND COOKING PARTIES.

Madrid and the World Heritage Sites

Just two hours away from Madrid there are nine locations that have been listed as World Heritage sites by the UNESCO: Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, el Monasterio y Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Paisaje Cultural de Aranjuez, Toledo, Segovia and Cuenca, which are ideal complements to a visit of the city. Every weekend we organize an outing with a teacher from TANDEM who will show you the wealth of culture these World Heritage sites have to offer.