Student Services

Internet Access

The Internet Room at IH Barcelona has 15 PCs with a high-speed Internet connection. Access is free but you can only actually reserve a computer for 30 minutes day, though if there are computers available you can use them for as long as you want.

In practice, the only really busy times are the mid-morning break and lunchtime.

Wireless access is also available if you bring a suitably equipped PC laptop.

The Internet Room is open from 10.30 to 21.00 Monday to Thursday; from 10.30 to 18.00 on Fridays; and from 09.30 to 13.00 on Saturdays. There are also several Internet cafés near the school which offer Internet access for as little as €1 an hour.

International House Barcelona was probably the first language school in Spain to set up an Internet classroom, and most of our teachers now use this facility regularly for practice activities in class.

Library and Study Centre

The Ben Warren Library, named after the school's founder, is open for your use from 08.30 to 21.30 every day from Monday to Friday and from 09.30 to 13.30 on Saturdays.

The library contains a huge number of books, worksheets, magazines, tapes, videos and DVDs which you can work with and borrow. The library also provides a quiet study environment for you to work in before or after class.

If you want to take materials out of the library, we ask you to leave a €20 deposit, which is refunded when you return all the materials at the end of the course.

Students' Manual

At the beginning of each course, we provide you with tourist maps and information to help you find your way around the city.

You also have a Students' Manual which, apart from introducing you to the school and explaining how the courses are organised, provides you with information on restaurants and bars, local transport, nightlife, museums and other cultural attractions.

Students' Card

All our students receive an IH students' club card on the first day of their course. Together with this card we also give you a list of local establishments that have agreed to offer our students discounts on their services.

These local establishments include restaurants and bars, shops, discos, a flamenco school and more.

To obtain the discount, all you have to do is show your IH students' club card when you pay. The card is the size and shape of a credit card so it is easy to carry around. It also has the address and phone number of the school on it, in case of emergency.

Cafeteria

IH Barcelona has a typical Spanish bar in the school, which is open from 08.30 to 20.30 Monday to Friday and from 09.30 to 13.30 on Saturdays.

The bar provides hot and cold food and drink all day long, so you can come and have breakfast in the school before class, or stay and have lunch in the school after class.

The bar area is the perfect place to meet and talk to students from Barcelona or elsewhere. It includes a terrace where you can sit outside and enjoy your meal or drink in the sunshine. You can bring your own food and drink into the bar area if you prefer (but we do ask you to clear up afterwards!).

Conversation Exchange

IH Barcelona has around 2,000 students from Barcelona taking English, French or German courses in the school.

This makes it very easy for us to organise conversation-exchange evenings where you can practice your Spanish with a native speaker in exchange for conversation in English, French or German. Of course, you can also organise conversation exchanges yourself, using our student noticeboards.

Counselling Service

We know that students taking a course in a different country sometimes need someone to talk to, possibly in their own language, about problems they may be having with their friends, with their course, with their accommodation - or with anything else.

We offer a counselling service of this description and, if you need it, our staff can talk to you in a wide range of languages -- currently including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese.