The University of Salamanca and Cursos Internacionales The

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The University of Salamanca and Cursos Internacionales The University of Salamanca was founded back in 1218 under King Alfonso IX of Leon, becoming so the oldest institution of higher education of the Hispanic world. Thus, The University of Salamanca became, along with Paris, Oxford and Bologna, one of the first European University. Nowadays it is the only Spanish university that has maintained its activity throughout the centuries and it is also the oldest Spanish‐speaking University. Thirty‐seven years later it was conferred by Pope Alexander IV the right to have a seal of its own and its degrees gained universal validity. This ancient vocation of universality became reality in 1492 with the publication of the first Grammar of Spanish language by Antonio de Nebrija in Salamanca. The University of Salamanca underwent an unprecedented moment of expansion with the creation of the first American universities, which began to be founded from 1551 following the trail of Salamanca by using its Founding Charter as a model. During long centuries, the University devoted itself more and more to this ancient endeavor, promoting and refining it whilst conferring an outstanding role to humanistic studies and especially to those related to the Spanish Language, which little by little was spreading across the world. Many an illustrious professor’s lectures have made important contributions with names like Francisco de Vitoria , El Brocense, Fray Luis de León, Gonzalo Correas, Francisco de Vitoria, Diego de Torres Villarroel, Meléndez Valdés, Miguel de Unamuno going down into our history…, many outstanding students have attended classes here such as Fernando de Rojas, San Juan de la Cruz, Calderón de la Barca… and, finally, the University has also been a unique breeding ground for many important literary works like La Celestina, El Lazarillo de Tormes, La cueva de Salamanca, El licenciado Vidriera, El Estudiante de Salamanca... The University of Salamanca has an important material heritage in the form of historical buildings and emblematic places that are still operating. Hundreds of people visit them every day. Particularly noteworthy is the Escuelas Mayores building with its Plateresque façade, inside which is the Historical General Library, which stores numerous manuscripts, incunabula and around 62,000 volumes printed between the 16th and 18th centuries. At present, the University of Salamanca still maintains its great capacity of attraction and has a regular body of around 30,000 students. To support them, the University has nine campuses distributed between Salamanca, Ávila, Zamora, Béjar and Villamayor, among which there are 26 faculties and colleges and 12 research centers that cover

CURSOS INTERNACIONALES DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA, S.A.U. Patio de Escuelas Menores, s/n ‐ 37008 Salamanca, España. Tel . (34) 923 29 44 18 www.cursosinternacionales.es ‐ E‐mail: [email protected]

aspects as varied as Bioscience or Lasers, including Agricultural Development, Neuroscience, studies on History or Basic research, among others. Another distinctive feature of the University is the teaching of Spanish, with thousands of foreign studies attracted by the different educational programs developed in one of the largest training centers for foreigners in the world: Cursos Internacionales de la Universidad de Salamanca. In the summer of 1929 a group of teachers of Spanish, in many a context enthusiastic pioneers, created the chair of Spanish Language for Foreigners so that both national and international students might attend classes in a continuous way to improve their knowledge of the Spanish language. Nowadays Cursos Internacionales holds on to this tradition and welcomes every year around 7,500 students and teachers from over 100 countries. It is currently one of the most prestigious institutions, not only in the field of teaching Spanish but also in the training of teachers, production of teaching materials and language assessment. Spanish Language and Culture Courses can be attended the whole year through, choosing among different learning contents and levels, beginner, intermediate, advanced and proficiency. Students may so organize their programs according to their own needs. In addition to our general language and cultures courses we offer other courses which might be of interest both for foreign students and teachers:

 Spanish language and culture, either face to face courses and online classes

 Courses with Spanish students attending regular syllabus classes at the University.

 Teacher training courses which include master’s degree in Spanish Language and Culture, in cooperation with the Office of Education of the Spanish Embassy in United States.

 Tailor‐made courses for groups.

 One‐to‐one classes aimed at e.g. businessmen, diplomats and executives who wish to do fast progress on their Spanish. Cursos Internacionales has also been very prolific in the production of materials for the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. At the same time, we have also taken on the exciting task of creating, correcting and assessing the Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE), issued by the Instituto Cervantes. We have also taken part in the creation of SIELE: the first digital certificate with international recognition that accredits

the Spanish proficiency from a pan‐Hispanic perspective. This is an international project shared with relevant institutions involved in the study and promotion of the Spanish language. Furthermore, the University of Salamanca is member of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE).

The University of Salamanca has become a center of worldwide prestige, open to new challenges, willing to explore new paths of growth and to collaborate with universities and institutions that wish to develop part of their international activities at our university through Cursos Internacionales.