Your First Spanish Class in Valencia: What to Expect

What is actually known about your first lesson on an intensive Spanish course in Valencia: level test before arrival, the zigzag timetable due on Friday, mini-groups of up to 12 and 50-minute lessons. Plus a preparation checklist and the questions worth asking.

Before your first Spanish class in Valencia, clarify the practical arrangements and prepare a few phrases for asking someone to repeat, rather than trying to study the whole A1 syllabus in advance. Taronja publishes a pre-arrival level test, 50-minute lessons and groups of up to 12. Confirm the first-day meeting time and place, your beginner start date and the language of administrative support when booking. Here is a short preparation plan and a list of questions for the school.

What you know before the first lesson

The intensive course format is published on the programme page: 20 lessons per week, 4 a day, 50 minutes each, in mini-groups of 4 to 12 students. The course is built around practice in a Spanish-speaking setting: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

The level test happens before you arrive. No guessing your level on the spot: the test is taken before the trip, so you join your group already placed.
Beginners have their own start dates: A1 groups do not begin every Monday, planned dates are in the calendar on the course page. Non-beginners (A2–C1) start any Monday except public holidays.
A1–B1 textbooks are included in the price. For these levels you do not need to buy materials separately.
Your timetable arrives on Friday. Lessons alternate between morning and afternoon in a zigzag pattern; your group's pattern is fixed only a few days before the start.

Still comparing schools? Start with the 2026 guide to Spanish courses in Valencia. To refresh the beginner level, use the A1 checklist — self-study material, not a description of the school's first day.

How the study day is structured

In the published daily schedule, the morning block runs from roughly 9:00 to 12:40 with a break, the afternoon block from roughly 14:30 to 18:10. In the zigzag system, some groups study on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons; others do the reverse. So "the first lesson starts at 9 am" is not a universal rule: on your dates it may well fall in the afternoon.

A lesson lasts 50 minutes — a teaching unit, not a clock hour, so 20 lessons are not "20 hours". Another published detail worth knowing: the minimum group size is 4. If fewer students enrol, the school halves the number of lessons while the price stays the same — a published rule, not a day-one surprise.

What nobody knows in advance — and what to ask the school

Before travelling, confirm the first-day meeting time and place, how you join your group and how materials are provided. Also ask which language you can use for administrative questions: Russian, English or Ukrainian website copy does not guarantee on-site support in those languages.

What time should I arrive, and where, on the first day?
Which language can I use for administrative questions at reception?
What should I bring apart from my documents?
Which zigzag pattern will my group follow on my dates?
How and when are the textbooks handed out?

How to prepare: universal steps

Preparing for the first lesson is less about grammar tables and more about the small toolkit you will use within the first hour. The list below is generic advice for any beginner course, not the school's first-lesson programme:

Introducing yourself: Hola, me llamo Anna. Soy de Inglaterra. — name and country come up in the first minutes.
Survival phrases: ¿Puedes repetir, por favor? ¿Cómo se dice… en español? No entiendo. — with these, not understanding becomes part of the lesson, not a dead end.
Numbers and the alphabet: they are usually asked for first, and they stick faster said out loud.

A checklist for the day before

Known from the published programme	Worth confirming at booking
Level test before arrival	First-day arrival time and meeting point
20 lessons × 50 minutes per week	Language of on-site administrative support
Mini-groups of 4 to 12 students	What to bring apart from documents
A1–B1 textbooks included	Your group's exact zigzag timetable

First-lesson FAQ

Are lessons taught in Spanish?

Yes. The programme is built around practice in a Spanish-speaking setting and covers levels A1 to C1, including complete beginners on the published beginner dates. Which language you can use for organisational questions is separate — the website language and on-site support are not the same thing, so ask in advance.

When will I know my timetable?

On the Friday before the course starts. The exact zigzag pattern — mornings or afternoons on specific weekdays — depends on the group, confirm the timetable for your dates with the school.

What if I do not understand the teacher?

You do not need to understand every word in your first lesson. If you lose track, ask for a repetition: ¿Puedes repetir, por favor? Note what remains unclear and discuss it with your teacher.

Do I need my own textbook?

For levels A1–B1 the textbooks are included in the price. If you are starting at another level, ask about the materials when you book.

What to do next

Check the upcoming beginner start dates and the programme format on the intensive courses page, and rough out your budget on the prices page. The first lesson feels very different once the organisational questions are asked and the level test is behind you.