SCHEDULE NOTES

ONE TO ONES

One to ones offer an extremely effective way to promote authentic, flowing conversations and they form the backbone of all Pueblo Ingles Programs. Each Spaniard is allocated a native English speaking partner where conversation lasts fifty minutes. There is some wonderful scenery and lots of delightful places to sit down and relax or wander around exploring. To give Spanish participants an extra challenge some one to ones will occur over the telephone and here you will call each other from your respective hotel rooms.

The one core thing that must run through every one to one is unrelenting English interaction, and conversation topics are completely down to the partners involved. Conversations should be varied to prevent repetition and ensure that the Spanish participants are forced to leave their comfort zone. One to ones are a great way to converse with individuals on a more personal level and are often found to be highly rewarding and culturally insightful.

GROUP ACTIVITY

Each evening groups are formed and various activities, games and challenges are set. Our Master of Ceremonies is always heavily armed with fun, engaging and thought-provoking activities. What you'll be getting up to is a surprise. While there is a chance it might involve presentation skills, teamwork, creativity, debate or diplomacy, it is one hundred percent guaranteed to involve chat, chat and more chat!

THEATRE

For most of the week theatre time will be an opportunity for you to get together with the rest of the group, sit back and enjoy some very quirky, very funny entertainment. However one evening it will be the turn of your group and on this evening you will probably have more of a hoot than you imagined!

Throughout the week groups of Spaniards and Anglos will each be asked to perform a 20 minute theatre production or skit. When it's your turn you will get together with your group during the day to work on all aspects of your production. Your options are almost endless but popular takes include interpretations of fairy tales, TV programs, or the Pueblo Ingles experience. Comedy is the usual approach but a dramatic masterpiece would be just as welcome. The main goal is light-hearted entertainment, communication, confidence building and group bonding.

PRESENTATIONS

The brave and fearless like to get up and share a 10 minute presentation with the group, and we highly encourage you all to do so! Here are some suggestions for presentations:

 

• Share an interesting story about your adventures, travels or culture
• Explain some old folklore from your country
• Play an audience-participative game (20 questions, pass the message, Simon Says)
• Teach a song or read your favourite poem
• Play an instrument (we have a guitar at Pueblo Ingles)

These are some of the more "normal" things that go on at Pueblo Ingles. We've had the occasional surprise presentation: painted belly dancers, ancient tribal chants, fire eating and hip hop dance classes! So get your thinking cap on and start planning your surprise act!!!

The Spaniards are also given the nail-biting task of giving a five minute presentation, on a subject chosen by them, in front of a group of Anglos! You, as an audience member, will be there to give tips and feedback on their performance and the opportunity for their habitual mistakes they commonly.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

You can expect a half-day excursion at a nearby town and a party night where people get a chance to dress up and strut their stuff on the dance floor! On top of this you can decide how you spend your free time whether it be playing sports, going on nature walks, checking out the quaint plaza in La Alberca, vulture watching in Valdelavilla or picking olives in Cazorla! There's plenty to keep you entertained especially in the evenings where there'll be a few surprises!

TELEPHONE SESSIONS/CONFERENCE CALLS

During telephone sessions an Anglo and a Spaniard effectively do a one to one session over the phone, speaking from the comfort of the living areas of their respective hotel rooms. You will be given a broad list of potential subjects and will have some time to consider your choice of topic and the types of things you will spend your session discussing. Conference call sessions, on the other hand will normally involve at least four Spanish participants and one Anglo who will address the group of Spaniards through a four way telephone connection. Through the course of the week you may be asked by your Program Director or Master of Ceremonies to host a conference call. Again, guidance will be provided with regards to topics and scenarios.

Both telephones and conference call sessions last for fifty minutes with roughly thirty five minutes of this being actual talk time. These sessions are included in the program because it helps Spaniards to improve their understanding and confidence in English conversation without the aid of facial expressions, mouth movements and body language. Many of the participants talk English over the phone in their day to day business lives and theses sessions clearly provide an opportunity to train the ear and practice listening skills without the extra stress of real and immediate business pressures.

The schedule for Pueblo Ingles could easily just read Friday to a Friday sunrise to sunset, "talk, talk, talk"! You are sure to spend the majority of every day locked in conversation with Spanish participants. The days' activities are based around three meals a day, the meals being a vital part of the program, and numerous one to one sessions where each Anglo spends time with each Spaniard through the course of the week. It is a long day but an enjoyable one. When dinner finishes at 10pm the official day ends but the social time is often very rewarding and with Anglos present it can be particularly beneficial for the Spaniards.