“Receiving classes from Ben Spencer and the teachers from his company has been a pleasure. Most of the students of foreign languages, attend classes to improve their conversation capabilities and to do this you have to practice with the teacher, so getting along with him or her is very important. At Spanish Language Services the teachers are very open minded and show interest in a wide variety of subjects to be able to maintain conversations, whatever their students want to talk about. At the same time, the lessons are well structured and the teaching method is based on the practice of real life situations which makes the classes very useful”.
Jorge Lozano - Participant on Santander Training Executives Program (STEPS).
“Ben is an excellent language teacher and motivator, who stretches his class whilst tailoring the lessons to the level of the pupils”
Brian, Credit Manager
“My lessons with Ben Spencer were effective because we followed a consistent approach to a set curriculum using a variety of experiential activities, like role play, Q and A, listening and translating from recordings and following passages of text in course book or sections of the learning materials.
This was backed up by a flexible approach to homework with pod casts or worksheets or self tests to complete on websites.
I was building in confidence at actually attempting phrases and sentences in the classroom environment, which then allowed me to listen and understand more in the workplace and to have a go at speaking Spanish when the circumstances allowed. I was starting to experiment with conversation around logistical arrangements and corporate small talk with my group colleagues after about 4 months. My pronunciation according to colleagues in Madrid has improved!
Relaxed, informal approach but within a very well prepared lesson ...clearly Ben was working to a curriculum of language competence in stages but this was delivered in a flexible way using such a variety of methods so it was very engaging... I see now how the structure is important, as the lessons linked from 1 week to the next and learnings were consolidated and built upon rather than appearing like new random subjects each week...it also meant if you missed 1 week you could follow the materials and catch up with extra homework rather than be totally lost at next lesson...like an evolving soap opera really!”
Catherine Lynch HR Director, Central HR, Santander UK
“For me the lessons were very effective, at first when I arrived in the Uk and being the first time that I had to use the language, I could understand 70% of any conversation, now I understand 95%.
In my professional life, the English classes made my life easier. My boss was Scottish, now I can understand him perfectly. And his comment was ‘Your English has improved 100% since you have been having classes’
I was able to focus not only on learning the language but also on other business skills such as motivation and leadership. I learnt how to be diplomatic in English as well as how to present to a board of English people.
On a 1-2-1 session the teacher could focus only on me and my weaknesses in the language, culture and understanding. Using this way of learning the improvement is massive in comparison to a group class!!!
Excellent content, even when I asked for something new, it came the next class and the structure of the lessons was always in the correct order covering all the items that were expected to be covered during each lesson.
If I come back to England I will have no doubt in calling to continue my learning!”
Patricio BoccardoRegional Manager Bank Assurance - Santander
“Before starting my Spanish lessons with Ben I have attempted many others at various institutions however the teaching method did not suit me for various reasons: too many students, lack of conversation, lack of consistency in the teaching method, lack of fun. I have been studying Spanish with Ben for more than a year and I have enjoyed every single class. After a couple of months of studying I started to feel confident talking with Spanish speaking people and to understand almost completely what they are saying. My progress was visible and my Spanish knowledge was expanding with every class. Courses were very balanced with vocabulary, grammar and fun learning games. Muchas gracias, Ben!”
Izabela, Financial Analyst
“Over the time I have had with Ben I have moved from no knowledge of Spanish to a position of a basic intermediate level of the language. Ben has a friendly and supportive style that makes the lessons enjoyable and useful. The lessons have been useful and have enabled me to communicate in basic terms when travelling to and from Spain and to {...} meet and greet Spanish speaking colleagues. [The lessons have been] really useful in building confidence and networking. They include a good variety such as speaking, audio and games that make it enjoyable. Ben has a great friendly style.”
Clive Kornitzer, Santander UK
“I have been having tuition with Ben Spencer for approximately three and a half years. The first three years were in groups with the last six months being one to one. As a result of these classes, particularly the recent one to ones, I am now able to take part in meetings in Spanish and use the language extensively on business trips to Madrid. I have been delighted with the progress made and it has significantly exceeded my expectations.
I knew absolutely no Spanish before starting lessons, despite numerous holidays to Andalusia. With the group lessons I grasped many of the basics very quickly and, within a year, knew enough to try using the language at work. I was able to write short emails in Spanish and was able to negotiate Madrid with more confidence. As lessons progressed my writing improved considerably and I got used to writing all mails to Spanish colleagues in Spanish. After three years of the group sessions I was confident with the written word, but still found speaking and listening quite challenging.
The major progress I have made this year has been through one to one lessons. These have enabled me to significantly improve my spoken Spanish. This is something that only comes from practice and spending an hour or so per week speaking only in Spanish has allowed me to experiment with the language, make mistakes and learn from them. As a result I have built up a wide range of phrases that work for me so that I can now hold meetings in Madrid almost exclusively in Spanish. This is quite a significant step for someone with no formal qualifications in the language.
The classes are held in such a way to focus on the issues that are important to me whilst developing a specific learning point with regard to the language. Now, when I am in Madrid, I am comfortable with the subject matter as I will have discussed similar issues already, and so I am very happy to talk in Spanish. Without a doubt, this has helped build bridges with colleagues in Madrid and other countries.
As the content of the classes revolves around my needs of the language they are always interesting. The style is very informal, relaxed and unthreatening, so one is never scared to try to express oneself. My confidence with the language has changed dramatically. The homework supplements the classes well and helps me keep progressing in my use of the language. I always look forward to the lessons and would recommend them to anyone serious about developing their abilities.”
Jerry Goddard, Trading Market Risk, SGBM London
“I started to learn Spanish in the UK with 1-1 lessons in my office at a time to suit me and when I knew only 2 or 3 Spanish words. Being able to progress at a pace that suited me helped me progress very quickly. It was particularly useful to be able to spend more time on issues that I found harder to master.
From the start my lessons were almost entirely in Spanish. I was soon able to understand Spanish conversations and within 3 years I was able to follow meetings in spanish.
I like having lessons relevant to my interests, opportunities to learn more about the Spanish culture from reading local papers and magazines and discovering how little I knew about Spain.
As my Spanish colleagues say I now have a very eclectic Spanish vocabulary but I am able to send texts and emails to colleagues in Spanish as part of my normal daily communication, which is very useful in a Spanish bank. And personally of course it is always an advantage to be able to speak another language. I wish I’d started to learn Spanish when I was younger!”
Jane Whittles, Director Governance and Control, Santander Private Banking UK