Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, the University of Salamanca is the oldest Spanish university in continuous operations. Is one of the most popular universities in Spain and attracts thousands of students from other regions of Spain, as well as foreign students, who travel to Salamanca in order to learn Spanish.
In 1492 Antonio de Nebrija published in Salamanca the first Grammar of the Castilian language, which included an appendix to teach Spanish to inhabitants of new lands. Since then, the University has worked diligently to maintain this ancient effort to extend Spanish all over the world.
In the summer of 1929, the University established the Chair of Spanish Language for foreigners. For those first courses, eleven students were present; six British, two French, one Japanese, one American and one German.
After these humble beginnings, Spanish courses continued through the civil war, but slowly faded in the early 1940s, only to be revitalized in the summer of 1963. Since then, they have continued to prosper and have proceeded to the present-day uninterrupted with the name of Courses of Spanish Language and Spanish Culture.
Since 1988, in the Bylaws of the University of Salamanca state as one of its main purposes “the promotion, exaltation and diffusion of the Spanish language”. During the 1980s, the University began to produce and propagate its own materials and courses begin to be offered year-round.At present, the University of Salamanca plays a key role in the teaching and assessment of Spanish as a foreign language nationally and internationally. The number of pupils continues to grow - nowadays there are more than 7,000 foreign students.
