Book Club
Reading course · B1+
«Relato de un náufrago» by Gabriel García Márquez
- 24 classes
- 12 weeks, 2 classes a week
- live online with a native-speaker teacher
- group of up to 4 people
Read a book by a Nobel Prize winner in the original — and understand it down to the last line. Together with your teacher, you will read «Relato de un náufrago» by Gabriel García Márquez step by step. It is the true story of a Colombian sailor who survived ten days on the open sea. You will also learn to discuss what you read freely in Spanish.
Who this course is for
For people who already speak Spanish with confidence at B1 level or higher and want to move from textbook texts to real literature.
Before the course starts, we ask you to complete a short entry task. But the most important thing is that you want to read in the original and work on the text.
Why this book
Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 and wrote "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera". «Relato de un náufrago» is one of his first major works: in 1955 the newspaper El Espectador published it in parts, and the story caused a big public reaction.
The book is written in vivid, journalistic language. It describes real events and places, so it is easier to read than García Márquez's novels — and it still has a lot of rich vocabulary, informal expressions and topics to think about.
What you will learn
Reading
- understand literary and journalistic texts in the original
- notice informal expressions and expressions typical of Colombia
Speaking and discussing
- retell what you have read in detail, using the past tenses correctly
- discuss what the characters do and defend your opinion
- debate philosophical and ethical questions: fear, survival, truth and power
Writing
- short summaries of the chapters
- letters, an opinion article and an essay
Listening
- the audio version of the book, read by a native speaker
Grammar
- the past perfect (pretérito pluscuamperfecto)
- the subjunctive (subjuntivo)
- conditional sentences (oraciones condicionales)
Programme
The course follows the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and is based on the Instituto Cervantes curriculum (Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes) and the programmes of Spain's state language schools (Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas).
The programme and all the materials were created by our academic coordinator, Ivanis.
How the course is organised
The course lasts 12 weeks, with 2 classes a week. The first week is an introduction — the author's life, the historical context and why this book became such an important event — and the first chapter. Then we read the book in the four parts of the story, and the last week is for review and the final project.
Before the storm · chapters I–II — the crew of the destroyer Caldas and the last hours on board
Ten days at sea · chapters III–IX — the first night on the raft, sharks, hunger and hope
The return · chapters X–XII — land on the horizon and the rescue
Truth and power · chapters XIII–XIV — sudden fame, propaganda and the price of truth
Course calendar
| Week | Class | Chapter | What we talk about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Introduction · La historia de esta historia | The author, the historical context and why this book became such an important event |
| 1 | 2 | I · Cómo eran mis compañeros muertos en el mar | The crew of the Caldas: retelling the story in the past |
| 2 | 3 | I · Los invitados de la muerte | We discuss the characters and look at the first grammar topic |
| 2 | 4 | II · Mis últimos minutos a bordo del «barco lobo» | The storm: describing action and chaos |
| 3 | 5 | II · Un minuto de silencio | An eyewitness account: what really happened |
| 3 | 6 | III · Viendo ahogarse a cuatro de mis compañeros | The first hours on the raft: a first-person story |
| 4 | 7 | IV · Mi primera noche solo en el Caribe | Night, fear and loneliness |
| 4 | 8 | IV · Un punto negro en el horizonte | Hope of rescue: what would you do? |
| 5 | 9 | V · Yo tuve un compañero a bordo de la balsa | The line between the real and the imagined |
| 5 | 10 | V · Los tiburones llegan a las cinco | Danger and tension in the story |
| 6 | 11 | VI · Un barco de rescate y una isla de caníbales | Hope and disappointment |
| 6 | 12 | VII · Los desesperados recursos de un hambriento | Hunger: how to describe suffering |
| 7 | 13 | VIII · Mi lucha con los tiburones por un pescado | The fight to survive |
| 7 | 14 | VIII · Mi pobre cuerpo | A body at its limit: writing task — a diary on the raft |
| 8 | 15 | IX · Comienza a cambiar el color del agua | The first signs of land |
| 8 | 16 | X · Perdidas las esperanzas… hasta la muerte | Despair and strength of spirit: a debate |
| 9 | 17 | XI · Al décimo día, otra alucinación: la tierra | Land on the horizon |
| 9 | 18 | XII · Una resurrección en tierra extraña | The rescue and the first people on the shore |
| 10 | 19 | XIII · Seiscientos hombres me conducen a San Juan | Sudden fame: the language of the press |
| 10 | 20 | XIII · El cuento del fakir | Hero or victim? We create an interview |
| 11 | 21 | XIV · Mi heroísmo consistió en no dejarme morir | Propaganda and manipulation |
| 11 | 22 | XIV · El negocio del cuento | The price of truth: an opinion article |
| 12 | 23 | Review | The meaning of the whole story and its real consequences |
| 12 | 24 | Final project | Presentation: an essay, a scene or a comic based on the book |
What the classes are like
Each class starts with a "chain": together you retell what you have read — one person starts, then the teacher stops them and passes the turn to the next person. This way you practise the past tenses and new words. Then we read the most difficult passages aloud, look at informal expressions, and discuss what the characters do and the philosophical questions in the book. In the second class of the week, we also study one grammar topic.
Classes are not recorded: the course is built on everyone taking an active part.
Materials
Each week you get a workbook for the week's chapters, prepared by Ivanis and Alejandra:
- a short summary of the chapter with illustrations
- a map of the places, people and background facts that help you understand the text
- the main characters
- vocabulary — with Quizlet flashcards
- reading comprehension questions
- a link to the audio version, with the exact start and end time of the chapter
- the grammar topic of the week
- a writing task
All materials are included in the course price.
Homework
Between classes, you read part of the chapter and answer questions, and once a week you write a short summary — the teacher checks it in Notion and leaves comments. And after each part of the chapter, you record a short audio story about what happened.
Final project
The course ends with a final presentation. You can choose: an essay, acting out a scene, or a comic based on the book.
From €20 per class
Ready to read «Relato de un náufrago»?
To sign up, you only need to fill in a short form: we will check your level and send you the entry task.