FAQ'S

Pueblo Ingles translates literally as English village but this merely sums up what the program is about. We take beautiful Spanish locations and flood them full of the English language. The program was designed to be, and has evolved into being, the quickest and most effective way for Spaniards to improve their English listening, understanding and conversational proficiency. Volunteers at our beautiful villages have all of their food and accommodation paid for - just for spending time with Spaniards and talking. But of course “the highest reward for a person’s toll is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it”. Pueblo Ingles volunteers gain a unique and enriching personal, social and cultural experience. Yes, we have a straightforward concept, but this is definitely not a straightforward program.

You will need to have the time and resources to plan your trip to Spain. Your main costs can be broken down into 3 areas; 1 flights, 2 accommodation before/after the program and 3 ancillary expenditure. 1) Your journey to and from Madrid (Pals and Umbria departure points are different). 2) At least one or two nights’ accommodation – the Thursday before the program and the Friday it ends (although if you can get a flight out later in the evening on the Friday, there would be no need for you to stay another night). 3) During the actual program dates you will only need to finance between-meal snacks (almost always unnecessary as the meals are plentiful), drinks or refreshments, cigarettes, laundry services and any medication required from nearby village pharmacies.

We have programs running from mid-January through to the end of November with a higher concentration of programs taking place during the summer months. For more information please see our calendar page. While mainly all of the programs officially start on Friday mornings our volunteers should be in Madrid on the Thursday before their program. Most volunteers attend our welcome reception each Thursday afternoon in central Madrid.

You will need to have the time and resources to plan your trip to Spain. Your main costs can be broken down into 3 areas; 1 flights, 2 accommodation before/after the program 3 ancillary expenditure 1 Your journey to and from Madrid (Pals and Umbria departure points are different). 2 At least one or two nights’ accommodation – the Thursday before the program and the Friday it ends (although if you can get a flight out later in the evening on the Friday, there would be no need for you to stay another night). 3 During the actual program dates you will only need to finance between-meal snacks (almost always unnecessary as the meals are plentiful), drinks or refreshments, cigarettes, laundry services and any medication required from nearby village pharmacies. From the Friday morning that your program begins to the following Friday evening, you will be provided with accommodation and all of your food including 3 course lunches and dinners with red wine. We cover all our volunteers with an accident policy while participating in the program. While you will be taken to see a doctor upon any ill health, our policy does not cover the cost of over-the-counter medicine.

As with all daily meals breakfast is large. Breakfasts offer hot fried food and continental style breads, meats and cheeses. Also available is fresh fruit, juice, coffee and tea. You can take as much or as little as you like. All lunches and dinners are three courses with red wine and water. For starters and mains there is always a choice of two dishes. Many vegetarians come to Pueblo Ingles, and with the option of picking and choosing between starters and mains there is generally something for everyone. Whilst people with more specific diets are welcome on the program, we regret that we cannot drastically alter the daily menus and recommend bringing some extra products as a backup option. Please highlight any specific dietary requirements that you may have in your application.

We provide volunteers with accommodation during their time in our villages but not on the days around the program. Our venues sit in stunning locations around the Spanish countryside, and offer comfortable rural style hotel lodgings. The majority of our Anglos have their own bedroom and on suite shower room, but our volunteers must be prepared to share a room or bathroom during the most popular periods of the year *. The rooms themselves are generally 3-4* hotel standard and normal hotel services are provided e.g. cleaning service, bath towels, basic toiletries, etc. *(On the teen program all participants share a room with another teen of the same sex).

We do not run a reverse program and are not aware of the existence of any such program. At present we are fully commited to the current format.

Each program involves roughly 25 Spaniards and 25 Native English speakers led by a Master of Ceremonies and a Program Director. The Spanish professionals represent many business sectors, come from all around Spain, and range usually range between 25 and 60 years old. They all have at least an intermediate level of English and there is normally an even amount of women and men. All the Spanish participants come for different reasons but they have a shared desire to improve their English as quickly as possible.

To be a volunteer at Pueblo Inglés (an Anglo) you must be a native English speaker with enough life and career experiences to keep you talking for up to 16 hours a day. Spanish speakers cannot attend as Anglos. We promise our clients that this will be a 100% English atmosphere and the presence of bilingual Anglos is detrimental to the program. The moment a Spaniard has an inkling that they can be understood in Spanish, that jeopardises completely the psychology and mindset that the program is designed to create. English must be everywhere with absolutely no escape!

We are looking for interesting, friendly, reliable, patient and flexible people. All of our volunteers must also be organised and proactive enough to plan their trip and itinerary to and from Spain. Positive conversationalists with excellent listening skills and an outgoing nature is the order of the day at P.I!

You can come with a friend, relative or spouse, but they must also complete an application form and be prepared to be a committed and active participant just like you. So before convincing a companion to sign-up, you need to be sure that they are as equally keen on the experience as you are. Furthermore, you need to be aware that unless you are sharing a room, you will hardly see your companion throughout the day, including at meal times, as the idea is for the group to mix as much as possible. If you, a friend, relative or spouse do want to be placed on a program together, please mention each other by name in your applications so we know to process them at the same time. When it comes to attending with your children, we can only cater for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, and only during July at our teen summer camps. The adult and teen programs are run simulatenously during this time, which means families can travel together. You and your teens will be located at different venues for the week of the programs, but will depart and arrive back in Madrid at the same time. For more information on the teen program follow this link: http://www.morethanenglish.com/kidsandteensen/index.asp Even though you might think your teens fall into this category, we´re afraid there is no Pueblo Ingles for pets!

The application process is completely online and you will require an email address in order to apply. You will need to complete the application form which asks for a short biography, your reasons for wanting to participate in the program, and why you think you would make a good Anglo. If your applications are too brief, we will not get the feeling that you could chat your way through 12 hours per day! To access the application form just place your mouse over the option “apply” on the menu above and select “application form”.

We make every attempt to review applications as soon as possible, however, processing time ranges from 3 days to 4 weeks, depending on the proximity of the program(s) you select and the current demand.

When you log into your personal program page you will see a tab at the top called "Change Personal Data". On this page you will be able to upload a photo of yourself. This is a good way for us and the rest of the group to recognise you when we first meet you. The photo is displayed fairly small on the group forum so it should be a close-up head shot where possible. The recommended size of the photo is approximately 200 x 200 pixels. And no hiding those faces under sunglasses now!!!

Updates to the calendar are made as soon as there is any change. So, it’s impossible to book you into a program that doesn’t exist! If you want a later date than the reach of our calendar, check back in September when we publish the dates for the following year.

It´s very simple and you don´t have to complete another application form. All you have to do is place your mouse over the option “apply” on the menu above, and click on “request a program”. Scroll down the page and enter your username and password where required. This will take you to a drop-down menu of our scheduled programs and you will be able to request up to 5 preferences. If you have forgotten your username and password don´t worry, just email us at anglos@puebloingles.com and we will send them to you!

We recommend that you bring comfortable, casual clothes, like jeans, cargoes, shirts, t-shirts and sweaters/jumpers. During the colder months you will need a warm jacket, and even in summer some of the nights can be quite cool so you might like to bring a light jacket or shawl. Above all, bring comfortable walking shoes because there will be opportunity to do a lot of walking! There will be a "party-night" where people like to dress up a bit more, just to add in a little more fun, but there is no official dress code for that evening and you can decide what is comfortable for you. Except for Valdelavilla, getting your clothes washed can be a little difficult – La Alberca and Cazorla have their own service but it's pricey and takes a while. So be sure to bring enough clean clothes for the whole week.

We have two friendly members of staff that accompany each program: a Master of Ceremonies, to keep everyone entertained; and a Program Director, to make sure everything runs smoothly! There are usually 20 to 25 Spaniards on each program balanced out with the same number of Anglos. The Spanish participants are generally professionals, keen and eager to improve their English conversation and comprehension skills. Whether they are sent by their employer, or pay out of their own pocket, they see the program as an opportunity for both career and personal development, as well as a chance to make friends from all over the world! In terms of the Anglo participants, we look for open, intelligent, warm, adventurous and enthusiastic people, with a curiosity about the world and a patient and supportive disposition. We like to give diversity to our little villages by choosing Anglos of different nationalities, with different accents, ages, backgrounds, professions and personalities. Check out the “our volunteers” section of the website.

Talking, talking and talking!!! Your job on the program will not be so much as to “teach” English, but to expose the Spanish participants to the English language in its natural form through conversations, presentations, and fun, light-hearted activities like group work and theatre sketches. So there will be no need to brush up on your grammar and vocabulary! Your days will be made up of activities like one-to-one sessions where you get to chat to a different Spaniard each hour about… well, about anything each of you like! The idea is to chat to them as you would your friends and colleagues, so they can improve both their listening and conversation skills. Meal times are also important conversation opportunities and at every meal you will be required to sit with two Spaniards and one other Anglo (but you can choose who you sit with!). The evenings usually consist of small group activities or more one-to-one sessions followed by evening entertainment provided by – yourselves! If you choose to, this will be your chance to present on a topic of interest, to dazzle everyone with your theatrical or musical talent, or to showcase some kind of other skill you might have. Anglos have given presentations on all kinds of things, from talking about their home towns and how to drink scotch, to demonstrating tai chi and karate. This is not meant to be a nerve-wracking experience by any means, but just a light-hearted and fun way to finish the days of endless talking! For a better idea of the day-to-day schedule check out the “your day” section of the website.

The main and most important rule of the program is that no Spanish is to be spoken AT ALL!!! This includes the time during unscheduled activities such as any free time during the day, and social time after dinner. The reason for this is if the Spaniards realise their counterparts speak or understand Spanish they will relax and stop feeling the communication anxiety that we want them to feel. The Spaniards must know at all times that it's either English or nothing! The other important rule of the program is punctuality. To ensure that the program schedule runs smoothly, and out of consideration to our staff members and your fellow participants, you must be on time for all activities. We also request that mobile phones only be used during free time, and that you leave making and receiving calls to these times.

In short, yes it is, but there are limits. Smoking is not permitted in the dining room, and if agreed by group consensus during the program, can be banned from the bar area as well. However, Spanish society in general is tolerant of smoking, and if you cannot even tolerate indirect smoke, we would recommend you don't come to the program.

For the facilities available at the specific venues, please go to “venues” at the top of the page. In general, there is one free internet terminal at each location, but note that this will be shared amongst up to 50 participants, so you will only be able to use it for short periods of time. In terms of the rooms all towels and linens are provided. Some small basic toiletries like soap and bath gel are supplied, however, we would recommend bringing your own toiletries for the week. There are no hairdryers, irons or kettles available, so please consider bringing your own with appropriate adaptor. In terms of any presentations you might like to give, there are no powerpoint or video facilities at any of the venues, but arrangements can be made for dvd or cd players at La Alberca and Valdelavilla.

Having been discovering the city ourselves since settling in Madrid, we can share some insider knowledge with you. We have compiled a list of things to see and do, in and around Madrid, which you can find through your personal program page (once booked into a program), under “Program Information”. The following websites are also useful:
Entertainment Guide
In Madrid
Madrid Townhall
Munimadrid
Madrid Tourist Guide
Madrid Tourist Guide/
Tourism Spain
Spain Info
Please note, we do not get involved in bookings, we only provide suggestions and recommendations.

If a person has never been to the program before, we do not allow it. Our logic being while the program is stimulating and fun, it is also tiring. We need to ensure that we provide our Spanish clients with fresh Anglos, ready to talk the hind legs off a donkey. We therefore only allow veterans (people who have been before) to sign up for two weeks.

We do not book hotels, but we do provide a list of accommodation recommended by other Anglos, and a list of helpful websites that provide other recommendations. You will be able to access these lists through your “Personal Program Page”, once you have been booked in to a program. Additionally, there is an excellent website for booking accommodation called Travellerspoint.com

Unless your week at P.I happens to fall in with other travel plans you have made, you should start planning your trip and making bookings as soon as you have received a confirmation email from us that states you are booked into a program. Please do not book travel before this time, because we would hate to disappoint if for some reason we cannot book you into a program.

Once you are actually booked into a program, you will be able to access your Personal Program Page which will provide you with all the information you need to plan your trip. Otherwise, all you will need is some time on the internet to research flights, trains, buses etc, accommodation and tours. Alternatively, you can visit a travel agent to arrange all these things for you!

We provide you with information, recommendations and advice through your Personal Program Page, and we can provide you with any further information if required, but we do not make any bookings.

You will need to arrive in the city of departure for the program (whether it be Madrid, Barcelona or Rome) at least the night before the program begins. This is to ensure that you make it in time for the bus to the venue the next morning. If you would like to attend the Welcome Reception, you will need to arrive either by the morning or early afternoon the day before your program begins. Your return flight to your home destination should not be booked for any earlier than 9.00pm on the final day of your program. However, please check program specifics before making any bookings.

You can bring anything that you think will enhance your contribution to the program, such as pictures of your hometown and travels, or a pre-prepared presentation about a favourite topic. The presentations are generally very informal and normally last between 5 and 10 minutes. We've had presentations about drilling for oil under the Suez Canal; how to identify a good whisky; lessons in local slang; karate and belly-dancing demonstrations! The evening meeting room sessions are also a chance to show off your acting and singing skills. Some props are provided at the venues, but if you have some funny wigs or costumes lying about, we encourage you to bring them along! You do not need to bring towels, bed sheets, nor an alarm clock as you get wake up calls in the morning and after siesta. If you use one, you should bring a hair dryer with its corresponding converter. Before heading up to Pueblo Ingles remember there are no shops – so if you need phone cards, stamps medicine or any toiletries do stock up!

If you want to make or receive a phone call the best time to do so is from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm as this is your free time. Be careful with the phone calls you make as you will be charged for them at the end of your stay. You should buy LONG-DISTANCE phone cards to call abroad before you go to the program. You can find them in ESTANCOS - which are the small tobacco shops you find in just about every corner in Madrid! Careful though, they close during siesta (from 2 pm to 5 pm).

Concerning alcoholic beverages, nothing beyond light social drinking will be permitted. Wine is served with dinner but any other beverages above this must be paid by you. It is not customary in Spain to take the left over wine bottle from the tables after meals. If you would like refreshments between mealtimes, again, you have to pay for that yourself. ***Alcohol is not permitted on the TEEN program by any participant under any circumstances***

Yes, you will be covered by an accident and medical insurance from the moment you are on the bus to Pueblo Ingles until the moment you come back to Madrid. You will be taken care of if you become ill or are injured by a reputable physician. However, our policy does not cover your travel nor your stay in Madrid. For this we recommend you get travel insurance – either from the airlines (some rates are just $20!) or from a private travel insurance that go as low as $1 per day of your trip. Furthermore, our policy does not cover the cost of over-the-counter medicine so please bring whatever you may need should you be prone to catching anything in particular.

Madrid is no more dangerous than any other big city. However tourists can be an easy target. We recommend that your backpacks and handbags are kept close to your body and on the side which is closest to the buildings on the street. If someone comes up to distract your attention, for example to ask for directions or point something out to you, keep a tight hold of your belongings or they will be whisked away – sometimes without you even noticing it. If you are not going to carry a bag, we would recommend you to put your wallet and most important documents in a front pocket. In the event that you are pick-pocketed, our staff will do everything in their power to help you!