Since 1940 the British Council in Spain has promoted a vibrant programme of activities to promote educational and cultural relations. More than 30,000 people study English with us each year, and 45,000 people take the nationally and internationally recognised exams we offer.
The increasing demand for bilingual education demonstrates the importance of the work the British Council has been doing in Spain for 75 years, promoting British language, education, culture and arts.
What kind of English learning experience do we offer?
We offer an integrated English learning experience: our methodology is based on a continuous educational programme. Our students not only have classes and are given homework, but they take part in activities and games – storytelling, arts exhibitions or quizzes, for example – through which they listen and practice this language from the first day. In addition, they receive personalised feedback from their teacher and have access to a great variety of effective learning resources: apps, websites with games, exercises, podcasts, blogs, wikis, etc.
According to the Ministry of Education, 86.3% of Spanish students study English as either a first or second foreign language. Our 15 centres offer English language learning developed specifically to cater for these students.
Our Exams
Many people associate us with language qualifications such as Cambridge First and Advanced. Although they are an integral part of our work, they are not the only qualifications we offer. IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is one of our most successful examinations for children and adults in our centres and external branches in Spain. Furthermore, we now offer Aptis: an innovative and flexible test designed by The British Council to allow businesses to validate a candidate’s level of English for recruitment processes. It also allows universities to determine whether their students have the level of English required before they graduate.
The British Council’s work in this area is complemented by delivering university and professional exams (Marketing, Accounting, Law, Translation, etc.) and other academic disciplines we offer on behalf of almost all British universities.
Our contribution to education, the arts and culture
English teaching is our goal par excellence, so we work with teachers from all areas of the educational system to provide them with new methodologies and help improve their linguistic skills. In order to do so, we have websites such as www.teachingenglish.org.uk, and our centres offer an extensive range of digital didactic resources and learning programmes.
The British Council also supports student exchanges between Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as the development of joint research projects, training programmes and the promotion of British universities and business schools in our country, through initiatives such as British Education Fairs.
In Arts programmes, we support events which contribute to the access and recognition of British artists in our country through festivals, museums or direct collaboration with the artists themselves.
In recent years we have started promoting creative industries through dialogue between institutions and British and Spanish artists, initiatives such as the radio programme The Selector or Hay Festival Segovia, which play a valuable role in Spain’s musical and literary scene.