We Connect Cultures

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"I loved every aspect of the Spanish Legacy exchange student and host family experience. My family has hosted exchange students for at least 3 different summers. We enjoyed getting to share our home and showing them the highlights of our city. Spanish Legacy provided plenty of field trips for our exchange students and maintained a good balance between study and fun. We loved it so much the first time that we hosted the same student 3 times."

Hannah PerkinsHost Family

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"Spanish Legacy has been a godsend for all three of our children. Between them we have attended multiple avenues of the school - the preschool program, 1:1 tutoring, after school classes and summer camp - they have each brought a new sense of discovery and mastery of the Spanish language. My little ones, twins, started with the school when they were just 3, my older one at 7. Mara and her team of teachers are truly fantastic and genuinely care about their students. We loved the small classes that allowed teachers to quickly learn how they learn and tailor the immersion method so my children really felt a sense of accomplishment with every class. In addition to setting the groundwork for them to be bilingual (our goal), my little ones practiced writing, counting and improved their diction in English. My older son learned Spanish while doing math games and practicing grammar. Such a win-win on all counts!! The high energy environment made learning fun and a place they always looked forward to going."

Christine J.Parent

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"If you are considering taking an adult class, enrolling your child in a class, hosting an exchange student, traveling to Spain or sending your child to Spain, you have found the right place! Mara leads such a wonderful Spanish program. I started my children in Spanish when they were 2. They developed a great accent and picked up the language so quickly through play. I enrolled in adult classes so that I could speak to my kids too and enrich my brain as a stay-at-home mom. The instructors are so competent and caring! Genuine people who make it fun to learn a second language. The coursework works! Books, homework, journaling, talking in class – it is all effective. Spanish Legacy has been a really important part of my life and I am grateful for all of the ways I have grown as a person broadening my horizons beyond our American borders. Thank you, Mara, for sharing your heart, culture, and language with Sarasota."

Cheri ChristiansenStudent

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"I have been in Spanish Legacy’s adult beginners’ Spanish class for one year now. Spanish Legacy is a Spanish school that places like students together with similar skills. The school is very comfortable and our teacher Claudia is the best part of our learning experience! She is a native Spanish speaker from Mexico City with years of teaching Spanish to English speaking students. She is quite knowledgeable about the cultural and language differences of other Spanish speaking cultures and incorporates some of the differences in our classes as well. Not only are classes fun and informative, but Claudia is also very patient with adult learners and encourages us to keep studying and speaking Spanish. Our weekly in-class experience keeps us accountable which we would not get online. She creates a sense of community with our fellow students which makes us curious to learn more and improve. Muchas Gracias Claudia!"

Lisa SebastianStudent

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"I've hosted exchange students every year for 10 years! Each and every student was so polite, educated, talented, well-rounded, multi-lingual, and extremely appreciative. They come from lovely families and are such great role models for children in our American culture. They show our kids how to be independent, confident, responsible, athletic, musical, and worldly. My family learned so much about European culture, Mediterranean food, and recipes from the kids. We even went twice and stayed in Spain with the families. They are all so hospitable and love to share their culture with us. Spanish Legacy has been a really important part of my life and I am grateful for all of the ways I have grown as a person broadening my horizons beyond our American borders."

Cheri ChristiansenHost Family

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"I’ve been taking classes at Spanish Legacy for at least 15 years. I recommend Spanish Legacy to everyone in the Sarasota area. They have the most immersive language classes I’ve ever taken. I’ve learned more in my group lessons here than in high school and college Spanish classes. The teachers are all friendly and sincere. They really care about their students learning the culture and language. Señora Claudia and Señora Mara made each small group class feel like a one-on-one class."

HannahStudent