Frequently Asked Questions

Where is your Spanish school situated in Santiago?

Our Institute is in Las Condes which is one of the nicest and safest suburbs of the city. We have our own two-storey building on the main road (Av. Apoquindo 4248) and we are only one block from the Metro (subway) with many buses stopping right out the front of the institute. We have our own free parking (up to 10 cars) exclusively for our students should they be living in Chile.

If you are taking the Metro, you can get off at either Escuela Militar Station (we are one block from this one) or Alcantara Station (3 Blocks away) on the main line. The latter (Alcantara) is easier since it only has two exits, The Escuela Militar one is a bit of a Labyrinth (though has loads of shops to look at and places to eat at as you go through). When you get out of Alcantara Station, head towards the mountains (you can't miss them, they are around 5,000m high!) and we are a couple of blocks on the left just past the park with the big fountain.

We have seven classrooms and out the back of the institute we have two large patios for students to rest, relax or just soak up the sun (there's a BBQ area too). We have a study area inside for students and a coffee machine that is available.

What type of students study at your Spanish School?

We have many different types of students that have different reasons for learning Spanish in Chile. Most of our students are foreigners that are living in Chile and rapidly need to learn or improve their level of Spanish in order to get by. We have a number of university students that are doing exchanges and we also have students that come from foreign embassies and businesses. There are also some backpackers that are traveling through South America that come to us once they realize just how necessary Spanish is to do the most basic things here.

Our most frequent age group is normally from 25-34 though we have had students from 18 up to 73 years of age.

We don't normally do courses for children though we have occasional had some high school students come to us on a student exchange in their own separate groups or in private classes.

We are fortunate to have a mixed variety of nationalities studying with us. Many of our students are from England, United States, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. We have or have had students from many other countries though in smaller numbers from France, Italy, Poland, Russia, Japan, Denmark, Belgium and Holland. As you can see, mostly North American and European countries.

What is the minimum age requirement?

For our general group courses students have to be at least 18 years of age. For students under the age of 18 we can organize private classes. We don't mixed our younger students with adults since they both have different ways of learning.

What type of courses do you offer?

Flexible Spanish - You can spread the classes over the days you want and choose the number of hours you want each time according to our schedule.

In any one class there can only be a maximum of 6 students and all of the same level.

The classes are the same price whether there is only one person or up to the maximum six students in the class.

We also have Private Classes should you need to concentrate on specific language areas.

What do you mean by Flexible Courses?

Most of our students are staying here for longer periods of time and they like to spread their hours over the time they are here. A number of these students are busy in their company or embassy in Chile so sometimes they have an erratic schedule. We have a flexible schedule for this situation so that it's not necessary to come every day or for a lot of hours every day. Some students come once or twice a week, some come for a couple of days, go on a trip out of Santiago, and then continue when they come back. It's up to the students to decide how they want to distribute their hours.

All classes are written on a student file which also contains the student's needs and areas to work on. When a student comes back to us after their trip, we pick up from where they were last time so they won't miss anything. Since we only permit a reduced number of students per class, we have the luxury of being able to use this flexible system.

NOTE: When students are with other people in the class, they will always be of the same level independent of the type of course they take.

What type of books and material do you use in class?

We don't use books in class (that's too much like being back at school) since most times those books are out of date or not relevant to Chile or individual needs. Over the years we have created our own material including many interactive activities and games that won't be found elsewhere. We choose which of those to use depending on each specific class. This way is more focused on the students' needs.

What are the Spanish classes like?

Since all of our Spanish courses are very personalized, we focus the classes on the individual student's needs. We don't restrict the students by making them go through a book in class little by little (you can do that at home) since we want our students to learn real Spanish that they can really use in day to day life. We want our students to advance as quickly as possible in a short period of time. We focus on the areas that students need more help with and that way students can advance a lot more quickly. You can find some more information on our Methodology Page.

How do you know what level I am in?

On the day that a student enrolls in their course, we do an evaluation that is both written and spoken to see what areas they need to start working on. It is very important for us to only have people that are of the same level in the same class.

Do you offer or organize additional activities?

We frequently organize extra activities and excursions for our students. We have our famous Chilean Wine nights and BBQs at the institute, our fun Ping Pong championships and also once a month we have a Ladies night out and in Summer we go out of Santiago in a group on weekends. We frequently have free conversation afternoons for our students. I recommend you to see our Photos page.

What other services do you provide?

We have a full-time Spanish student coordinator that can help you with any questions you may have about living or travelling in Chile.

We offer a help line for students during and after the courses should they need it while living or traveling through South America.

We have an online Spanish Forum for free help with any questions you may have about the Spanish Language. We currently have teachers from Chile, Argentina, Peru, Spain and Mexico who are available to help with any questions or doubts you may have.

We also have a Woodward Chile group on our South America social network.

How do I know if you are a good Spanish school?

Most of our students come through recommendations of current or ex-students which shows the quality of what we do.

Woodward is one of the few educational institutions in Chile that has the NCh2728 Quality Certificate recommended by the Chilean government (this is based on the ISO9001:2000 Quality Certificate only being different by that fact that it is solely focused on Education) AND the International ISO9001:2008 Quality Certificate.

Woodward is the only Spanish School in Chile that has been accepted as a member of AREI Chile.

AREI Chile is the Association of International Education and Exchange Representatives in Chile that has the support of the embassies of United States, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. We have a strong code of ethics based on international standards.

How do I get to the center of the city from the airport?

It's very easy to get to the center of Santiago from the airport even though there is no Metro (subway) that comes directly from there. The cheapest (and easiest) way is when you arrive at the airport to take the blue 'Centropuerto' bus to the center of Santiago. It only costs about US$3 and will drop you off at the end of its run at Los Heroes Metro Station. It takes about 20/30 minutes depending on the traffic and they leave the airport every 10/15 minutes. You will need to get a ticket before you get on which can be obtained at a ticket booth to your right once you have come out of the customs check and into the main part of the airport. You can't get lost in the airport since it's not that big.

If you want to come to the institute from there, when you get off the Centropuerto bus, you should get on the Metro (costs about US$0.80) and head in the direction of Escuela Militar. You won't need to get off and change lines anywhere, it is direct and it will take you about 15/20 minutes. It's best to get off at Alcantara Metro Station (the second from the end of the line) and go about 2 blocks towards the mountains.

We have the yellow two-storey building with a green shop sign.

How can I pay? Can I pay by credit card?

Most students pay once they are in Chile and have come and inspected the premises (which we recommend of any Spanish school in Chile).

There is NO enrolment fee.

Payments are made in Chilean Pesos (cash or Chilean cheques).

We also accept payment by Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club International & Magna) on all courses other than the 10-hour promotion.

Do you arrange any voluntary work for the students?

It can be arranged depending on the type of voluntary work you are interested in. There is an excellent program organized by the Chilean Government in Summer that helps poor people throughout Chile which an interesting number of local university students participate in. We don't charge to help organize your voluntary work though you do have to study Spanish with us for at least four weeks beforehand.

What else should I know?

Before you come to Chile, try to get a seat on the left side of the plane so that when it lands, you will have a magnificent view of Santiago and the Andes mountain.

If you found this page useful, share it with others:

Last Updated: 16 November 2009