Gran Canaria Spanish Courses

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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a mid-sized city in Gran Canaria, the second largest of the Canary Islands. It offers a truly unique blend of Spanish and South American cultures due to historical migration trends, as well as an ideal year-round temperature.

Spanish Courses Offered in 11

What Previous Students Think About 11

About 11

Gran Canaria is a sunny, sub-tropical island—the third largest of the Canary Isles. It is highly recommended for students who want to learn Spanish in a warm climate and an easy-going culture. The beautiful, varied nature of the island also makes Gran Canaria a great choice for students.

Although the Canaries are known for their tourism, Las Palmas, the island’s biggest city, is a perfect Spanish language immersion destination because it has preserved its authentic Spanish identity. Some tourists can be found in the centre of Las Palmas, but generally foreign visitors stick to resort areas like Playa del Inglés. Therefore those studying Spanish in Las Palmas will find themselves mainly amongst locals, rather than foreigners.

Gran Canaria offers several museums, like the Museo Canario, which holds many valuable archaeological objects, and the Atlantic Centre of Modern Art. A visit to Vegueta, the beautiful old colonial quarter of the city is highly recommended—it is currently listed as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site. Excursions to the north coast or the inner villages are also popular with students, as are outdoor pursuits like surfing and organised hikes in the island’s stunning nature.

The Spanish spoken in Gran Canaria is soft and lilting in accent. As a result of many Canarians emigrating to South America during colonial times, the island’s language is similar to the Spanish spoken in the Caribbean region. The culture also reflects the Latin influences, with students describing life on the island as easy and laid back.

Gran Canaria’s climate has been described as the “eternal spring” because there is little seasonal variation in weather throughout the year. The island has become a popular travel destination thanks to its mild winters and hot summers. The northern part of the island can be a little rainier during the winter. The southern half gets winds from the Sahara in July and August, making these mid-summer months a little too hot for some travellers. But during most of the year, the island offers great weather, sunbathing and an outdoor lifestyle, both to locals and visitors.

Because Gran Canaria is an island, some students may find longer stays restrictive—or even get slight “island fever” after a while. This is why Gran Canaria can be recommended for short immersion courses, from 2 weeks to 3-4 months. The island gets very hot in the summer, so the ideal visiting time is from autumn to spring—although cheaper accommodation can be found in the summer months. Great cities to combine with an immersion course in Gran Canaria could include the northern Spanish cities of Pamplona or Santiago de Compostela, as these provide a very contrasting cultural experience. Madrid, Spain’s capital, is a big, cosmopolitan city with plenty to do during many months—although it is fairly expensive.

The winter peak in Gran Canaria’s tourist season tends to bring accommodation prices up. Otherwise, the island is one of the cheaper destinations in Spain for eating out, groceries and entertainment. Public buses are also cheap, although outside of Las Palmas services are not frequent. Overall, students who eat and drink in establishments frequented by Canarian locals can live very well on a modest budget.

Recommendations

Gran Canaria is the perfect option for those who would like to learn Spanish in an environment that has mild temperatures and a mixture of Spanish and Latin American cultures. The beautiful natural surroundings and the subtropical location also make Gran Canaria a good choice. Although there are some tourists in the main city of Las Palmas, most of them are located in other parts of the island (like Playa del Ingles), so students will interact only with locals (and their classmates, of course).

Doubts or Questions?

If you have any doubts about what language course to choose in 11 we will be very happy to help you: You can contact us by email, phone or via Skype.

We can also highly recommend trying our School Comparison tool where you can get a complete overview of the differences in the schools available in 11 or you can download brochures of all the school we offer in 11.

To book a Spanish language course in 11, please fill out the Registration form, you will then receive a response from UniSpain confirming that we are processing your request for a Spanish language course.