Instituto Cervantes

Aula Virtual de Español (AVE)

Spanish Online Courses

The Aula Virtual de Español (AVE) is an interactive platform specifically designed by the Instituto Cervantes for the teaching and learning of Spanish. AVE combines state of the art technology with the latest language teaching methods, making it easy to learn in a fun and effective way.

·  Online Courses with Tutor Support

Learn with a weekly programme and receive your tutor’s individual feedback and explanations.

20 WEEK
COURSE
Fee: £140
Fast track option: do two courses in 20 Weeks for £259 / Includes:
Online interactive material
(text, audio and video)
Self-evaluation tests
Tasks corrected by tutor
6 month library card /
Courses:
A1.1 B1.1
A1.2 B1.2
A2.1 B1.3
A2.2 B1.4
/
Next courses:
14/10/13
ENROL NOW!

·  Individual Online Learning

Learn at your own pace, without joining a group or being assigned a tutor.

24/7 ACCESS FOR 12 WEEKS
₤50* / Includes:
Online interactive material
(text, audio and video)
Self-evaluation tests / Initial (A1)
Elementary (A2)
Intermediate (B1)
Advanced (B2)
Proficiency (C1)
Hola Amigos courses / Start any time

* ₤25 for students enrolled at the same time on another course at the Instituto Cervantes in London (Free for students enrolled on class-based Inicial 1 until the end of their course).

·  AVE Courses for companies

We offer AVE courses to groups and companies. These courses may include tuition in your own premises, thus combining the flexibility of a distance course with the advantages of class attendance.

·  AVE for schools and universities

AVE is being used by a number of schools and universities as part of their own courses or as extra learning material for their students. It can be used by teachers and students in the classroom, in the computer lab or at home. It is ideal as a visual and interactive learning tool for the class, as a source of material for further individual practice and to cater for the different needs of students in mixed-ability groups. AVE’s flexible design means we can customise a package to suit any teaching-learning context. AVE can be used in the classroom for as little as £60 for 6 months. Hola Amigos, designed for students aged 8-13, is also available to be used in schools or by individual students at home.

Should you require any further information regarding AVE or Hola Amigos please contact .

How to enrol on the AVE

These are the steps you need to follow to enrol on the Aula Virtual de Español (AVE):

STEP 1 - Technical considerations

The computer used for the AVE courses must comply with some basic requirements and broadband Internet connection is needed. It is also advisable to have basic computer skills to do this course.

AVE works with both PC and Mac using Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. AVE is not yet compatible with Safari or Google Chrome. To use AVE with Internet Explorer 9 you must activate the compatibility view. A firewall or a toolbar can interfere with AVE by blocking pop-ups. For AVE to work pop-ups must be allowed.

To start,please go to www.ave.cvc.cervantes.es and click on a language (i.e. EN for English). You will be set to start the course when you are prompted to enter your username and password.

STEP 2 – Which level?

If you are a complete beginner, wish to re-enrol or if you are currently doing a class-based course at the Instituto Cervantes in London, just let us know.

If none of the above applies, you must take the AVE online level test. To do this testplease go to:

http://ave.cervantes.es/prueba_nivel/registro/test_de_clasificacion.php?origen=webAVE.

Please bear in mind that the result of this test may behigher if you rely on passive knowledge of Spanishor knowledge of other Latin languages. If you are unsure about the course you wish to take you can contact to request free temporary access to all AVE courses.

STEP 3 - Contact us to enrol

Please contact us when you are ready to start the course, with the following details: full name, the email address you will use for the course, level and contact number.

Enrolment: Monday to Saturday, on + 44 (0)20 7235 0353, 9.30 amto 6.30 pm weekdays- 9.30 amto 4.30 pm on Saturdays, UK time. Payment can be made by credit or debit card, with the exception of American Express. Cheques or cash cannot be accepted.

AVE Frequently Asked Questions

·  Technical considerations

For AVE to work properly the computer you will be using needs to comply with some basic requirements (see below) and you will also need broadband internet connection.

AVE works with both PC and Mac using Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. AVE is not yet compatible with Safari or Google Chrome. To use AVE with Internet Explorer 9 you must activate the compatibility view.

A firewall or a toolbar can interfere with AVE by blocking pop-ups. For AVE to work pop-ups must be allowed.

·  Minimum requirements

For details please go to the course home page www.ave.cvc.cervantes.es, choose a language (i.e. EN for English), click on the question mark indicating “Help” and then on Technical requirements.

·  How many courses are there in the AVE?

AVE is made up of a total of 16 courses, organised into the following levels:

A1 (Initial) - Courses A1.1 and A1.2

A2 (Elementary) - Courses A2.1 and A2.2

B1 (Intermediate) – Courses B1.1, B1.2, B1.3 and B1.4

B2 (Advanced) - Courses B2.1, B2.2, B2.3 and B2.4

C1 (Proficiency) - Courses C1.1, C1.2, C1.3 and C1.4

Also available: Online courses to prepare for the DELE B1 and DELE B2 diplomas, courses for children (Mi mundo en palabras and Hola Amigos) to be used by schools or at home. If your interest is in Business Spanish, and your level in Spanish is advanced or higher, you can request a password for the whole AVE B2 level and focus on temas 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11 and 12.

·  How many hours do I need to work to complete a course?

When you enrol on the Individual Online Learning option of AVE you receive a password which allows you to work with the course material for 12 weeks. On average, this is the time needed to do one course, working some 2/3 hours per week.

Online Courses with Tutor Support run for a longer period of time (20 weeks). Students doing this option will need to work 2 to 3 hours per week. If you have more time available (4 to 6 hours) you can do two courses with tutor support in 20 weeks (fast tack option).

·  Can I do a course in more or less time?

The Individual Online Learning option allows you to do the course at your own pace, working more or less each week to suit your own time availability. In this option you can request a password for more than one course for the same fee. If you do not complete the course/s in the 12 week period you can re-enrol for another 12 weeks.

·  Do I need to go online at specific times?

With AVE you have unlimited 24/7 access to the online material for the duration of the course. You do not need to go online at specific times. In the Online Courses with Tutor Support, students will receive a schedule with the online material to be covered throughout the course. A reminder of this work will be sent every week. Courses are designed to give maximum flexibility, which means that every student can decide when it’s the best time for them to do their weekly work.

·  Feedback and evaluation

AVE has an automatic system to help students keep track of the work they have done. In the Individual Online Learning option of AVE students can assess their progress by checking the correct answers to the different activities and by doing the self-evaluation tests. In addition to this, students doing the Online Courses with Tutor Support receive their tutor’s feedback to regularly suggested open-ended tasks, designed to practise important content. These written tasks are corrected by the tutor and sent back with explanations. This individual feedback is highly valued by students.

·  AVE and the development of language skills

The AVE material is particularly useful to work on grammar and vocabulary and to develop listening comprehension, reading and writing skills. The courses as such do not include speaking practice in real time of the kind that you would have in a class-based course, but there is a special section within AVE (called Sonidos y letras) that focuses on pronunciation.

·  Will I receive a certificate?

For Courses with Tutor Support we will issue a certificatestating that the student hascompletedthe course, provided that the online workhas been done and that a minimum of 5 written tasks have been sent to the course tutor for correction.

Students doing the Individual Online Learning option do not have a tutor to monitor their progress and for this reason we can only issue a certificate on request stating that the student was enrolled on a certain course for a certain period.

·  Can I join a class-based course after doing an internet course?

If you do an online course you can join a class later, but it is important that your conversation skills are up to the same level as the class you wish to take. Before enrolling on a class-based course you must call the Instituto Cervantes (020 7235 0353) to book an appointment with a teacher for a level test. Please note that there is no exact correspondence between the AVE syllabus and the syllabus of the other courses at the Instituto Cervantes.

·  I would like to see some sample material of the AVE course

For a presentation of AVE in English please go http://ave.cervantes.es/guias/AVE/guia_en.htm. Make sure your speakers are turned on to hear the presentation (please bear in mind that some functions might not be available depending on the type of course you wish to take). If you are not sure about the course you wish to take you can contact to request free temporary access to all AVE, DELE and Hola Amigos courses.