The school is located right in the heart of Barcelona, no more than 20 minutes' walk from the famous Ensanche, Plaza Catalunya and Plaza España. It is also close to the university and popular areas such as the Gran Vía and La Rambla. The building itself occupies a spacious three-storey building, surrounded by a large, attractive terrace and with lots of natural light. In total there are 56 air-conditioned classrooms and first-class study facilities such as a library, video room, computer room with over 25 computers and free internet access, cafeteria, sun terrace and small gym. As one the few schools in Spain to also offer a lift and wheelchair access, this is all in all an exceptional centre for both study and relaxation.

Academic credits - the language programmes we offer in Madrid are approved by the University of Southern Mississippi ('USM'). USM is a fully accredited comprehensive state university. USM's international and foreign language programmes are nationally recognised for their excellence. Students can earn up to 12 hours of undergraduate or 9 hours of graduate credit for their enrolment in our Spanish language programmes. You must complete a 3-week immersion programme with at least 20 hours of class time per week (not including activities) to earn three hours of academic credit. Please visit our website at www.cactuslanguage.com for further details.

Out and About
It would be impossible to list all of Barcelona's attractions, but let's start with Spain's most famous street, La Rambla, a hive of activity as people go about their daily life and artists sing, mime and act under their various guises. It may be the most visited church in all of Spain, and not quite finished at that, but La Sagrada Familia is also a must, if only to admire its awesome pinnacles and appreciate the work of Gaudí who, along with fellow modernistas, left many extravagant creations scattered across the city - and we're talking art as well as architecture. But no one comes away from Barcelona without a taste of its nightlife, whether it's a plaza café in the Barri Gòtic, an elegant cava bar in L'Eixample, or a trendy tapas bar in Gràcia. Just don't forget that things start late and end late in the city that never sleeps.

There is a range of accommodation available including carefully selected host families, student residences, shared or private flats, hostels and hotels.

Spanish and Catalan
As most people now know, there are two official languages in Catalunya: Spanish (or Castilian, known locally as castellano) and Catalan. Catalan isn't a dialect of Spanish, it is a separate language which in many respects is as close to French as it is to Spanish. The Catalan government has spent a lot of money trying to increase the number of people who speak Catalan. Not surprisingly, some students have written to us asking whether Catalan could interfere with their Spanish studies. The answer is generally "no".

Our centres in Barcelona teach Spanish, not Catalan and our host families will also speak Spanish (not Catalan) to them. Students may overhear some conversations in Catalan, but they are equally likely to overhear conversations in English, French or Italian - Barcelona is a very cosmopolitan city!

According to a recent survey, over 67% of the people in Barcelona consider Spanish to be their first language. In small towns and villages Catalan is more widely spoken but in Barcelona, because of a long history of immigration from other parts of Spain, the dominant language is very definitely Spanish. Five of the seven television channels currently available broadcast in Spanish, and all the leading newspapers - including those published in Barcelona - are also written in Spanish. What's more, everyone in Barcelona automatically uses Spanish to speak to foreign students as they don't expect them to know any Catalan, so there is very little danger of students being asked to understand anything other than Spanish while they are here. The only issue is that many signs (including street signs and many shop fronts and the occasional menu) are written in Catalan only (most menus and advertisements are in Spanish or are bilingual) and students may find this confusing. Reading signs is a valuable part of the learning process (especially for beginners and elementary students) those with an intermediate level or above will tend to be able to distinguish between Spanish and Catalan signs however those with a lower level should be aware that, in this area and only in this area, they will be slightly disadvantaged when comparing Barcelona with other destinations.

Finally, it is also worth bearing in mind that all Catalans are totally bilingual and that they speak Spanish without any noticeable accent. So what the Spanish students will hear in Barcelona is in fact much closer to normal or "correct" Castilian Spanish than the Spanish they would hear in some other regions of Spain where Spanish is often spoken with a very strong regional accent.

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