The Venezuelan Institute of Culture and Cooperation will be offering a new Spanish language course next year.

The post-superior course will be open to candidates who have completed classes at the superior level.

The institute has been offering free Spanish classes in Jamaica for more than 40 years at the basic, intermediate, advanced, and superior levels.

Coordinator of the institute, Betza Beth, said that the new course will focus on developing the oral skills of participants.

“It’s just oral, so they are going to have the opportunity to continually speak the language. It will focus on conversations and oral expressions and not grammar,” she said.

Beth was speaking to JIS News following a graduation ceremony on Wednesday for students who have completed the superior-level training, held on Wednesday (December 7), at the PCJ Auditorium, New Kingston.

She informed that the course will begin on January 16, and will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm at the institute, located at 24 Windsor Avenue, Kingston 5.

“They (graduates) want to participate, they want to come back, and we are happy to receive them,” she noted.

During the ceremony, which was conducted in Spanish, 105 Jamaican students received diplomas for successfully completing the superior programme.

Beth told JIS News that the ceremony was done in Spanish to pay tribute to the students for their efforts and for them to demonstrate what they have learnt during the three years.

“So far, it has been the biggest graduation that we have had at the institute. Preparations started from August. It was a big graduation, but it was worth it,” she said.

French teacher Dr Jean Small, who was among the graduates, told JIS News that she did the course to develop her oral skills in the Spanish language.

She commended the Venezuelan Government for “sharing their language, culture and history with the people of Jamaica”.

“I am glad to see 105 persons are graduating. I am glad to see so many people are making use of the opportunity to learn the language. The job now is for us to use it,” she said.

In attendance at the ceremony were Dean of the Diplomatic Corps José Tomas Ares; chargé d’affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy in Jamaica, Luisa Gutierrez; and teachers and other staff of the institute.