Lingua Clinic has been teaching Spanish to Londoners since 2009. Private lessons are one-to-one — one student, one tutor, and a course built around what you want to be able to say.
One-to-one Spanish lessons built around your goals
Some students are travelling through Mexico, Colombia or Argentina and want to arrive able to talk. Some have bought a place on the Spanish coast and want to handle the neighbours, the builders and the planning department themselves. Some are marrying into a Spanish-speaking family, or honeymooning in Latin America. Others are moving for work, have a job that now needs Spanish, an exam to pass, or have finally found the time.
Your tutor asks what you want to do in Spanish, then builds the course around it. One student in the room means the pace is yours.
Spanish conversation practice, one to one
Most students want the same thing: to talk. You speak for most of the ninety minutes, with your tutor correcting as you go. Lessons are one to one. Every minute of practice is yours.
Your Spanish tutor comes to you, anywhere in London
Lessons take place wherever suits you across London — at home, at your workplace, or at our base in the City. Most of our teaching happens in the City and Canary Wharf, across the West End, Westminster, Mayfair and Kensington, and out through Islington, Hampstead and the surrounding boroughs. Your tutor’s journey is included in the price, wherever in London you are. You are equally welcome at 35 New Broad Street, two minutes from Liverpool Street station.
Online Spanish lessons are available with the same tutor, which suits weeks when you are travelling.
Lesson times that fit your working day
Lessons run from 7am to 8pm on weekdays, from 9am on Saturdays and from 10am on Sundays. They sit comfortably before work, over lunch, or in the evening, and the time can move from week to week when your diary needs it to.
Ninety minutes is the standard length. It gives you time to settle, work properly on something, and finish it rather than stopping halfway. Most students take two or three lessons a week, which is the pace at which the difference becomes obvious inside the first month. Once a week works well for anyone building steadily over a longer stretch. Where the deadline is tighter, our intensive Spanish courses concentrate the same teaching into a shorter run.
Romany Pajdak, Ballet Dancer, Royal Opera House
I have just returned from a trip to Havana and thanks to Antonio I was not only able to get by in the day to day business of ordering food, making reservations and sorting transport but I could also follow and participate in conversations with ease. All this after just twenty hours. His lessons supply you with a wealth of material – developing your vocabulary and also teaching you about the cultures and customs of Spanish speaking countries. Finding the confidence to speak was very difficult for me but with Antonio’s patience and encouragement I found myself initiating conversations in Spanish whilst in Cuba. Thank you Antonio for your patience, flexibility and positivity. I look forward to furthering my linguistic skills with you.
Private Spanish lesson prices
Private lessons start at £49 an hour. Where your own rate falls depends on the course you take, whether anyone is learning alongside you, and where the lessons happen. Weekends and anything after 6pm carry a higher rate. Our ten and twenty-hour packages bring the hourly figure down and keep the lessons regular, which is where the progress comes from.
The price covers everything the course needs: your assessment, the lessons themselves, all teaching materials, your tutor’s preparation between sessions, and the journey to you. There is nothing to enrol in and no textbook to buy. Private students pay in advance, by bank transfer, card, PayPal, cheque or cash.
Tell us what you want Spanish for and when you can fit lessons in, and we will send you a quote for the course that fits.
Your first Spanish lesson
The first lesson opens with an assessment. Your tutor establishes where your Spanish is now, what you want to use it for, and how quickly you want to get there, then builds the course from those three answers. You leave it knowing what the plan is rather than guessing.
If you would like a sense of your level beforehand, our Spanish test takes a few minutes.
Every level, from complete beginner to C2
We teach the full range, A1 through to C2. Complete beginners start speaking in the first lesson, and confident speakers use the time to sharpen accuracy, range and fluency. Your tutor will tell you plainly where you are and what the next level asks of you.
Around 95 per cent of each lesson is in Spanish from the first day. English is kept for the moments where one quick explanation saves ten minutes of guesswork. Your lessons are with a native Spanish speaker who teaches adults for a living, and you keep the same tutor throughout, which is what lets each lesson build on the last.
Castilian Spanish is our standard. Where your Spanish is for Mexico, Colombia or Argentina, your tutor knows those varieties well and will teach you the vocabulary and pronunciation you will meet there. We also prepare students for the DELE diplomas awarded by the Instituto Cervantes and for the SIELE certificate.
Rescheduling a lesson
Diaries move. Tell us at least 24 hours before a lesson and we will shift it to a time that suits you at no charge. Inside 24 hours the lesson is charged, since your tutor’s time and journey have already been set aside.
Where a company is paying
Where an employer is arranging the training, that runs through our Business Spanish service, which covers one-to-one tuition for senior executives and small groups at your offices, invoiced to the company monthly.
Arrange a Spanish lesson in London
Tell us what you want to use Spanish for and when you can fit lessons in, and we will suggest a plan. Call 020 7148 0320 or get in touch through our contact page.
Further reading: Apps, classes or a private tutor: what works best? · Common struggles when learning Spanish, and how to fix them · Where to practise Spanish in London