Spanish for Groups and/or Individuals

Me quedé en Liberia por 7 semanas y estudié español intensivamente por 5 semanas. La profesora Merlyn tiene historias que son muy divertidas, ella usa los para enseñarnos mucho. Ella tiene mucha energía, ella es la mejor. Aprecio su pasión por la vida. Dance and cooking class with Karen were great! In the Spanglish Social I met a Tica who spent a lot of time with me here in Guanacaste enjoying the beaches and swimming. She is invaluable to me. Club A era un experiencia bonita con los chicos. Siempre voy a recordarlos. Quiero dar gracias a todas las personas - Karen, Diana, Marta, Daniela y Carol. Ellas tienen corazones de oro puro. Muchísimas gracias a Bethany por este oportunidad de asistir aquí en Instituto Estelar. Yo quedado con una Tico familia. Todos mis necesidades fueron satisfechas, pero no me hablaron lo suficiente. Esto fue una gran decepción para mi. Hablar todos los días en casa hubiera sido un gran ventaja. Ellos mejoraron después de que Bethany les habló, entonces eso fue bueno.

My wife and I participated in Estelar's immersion and homestay programs for two weeks. I have had various teachers and instructors in Spanish, but Walter at Instituto Estelar was the best I've ever had. He had, of course, a thorough knowledge of the subject, but beyond that, he was energetic and made maximum effort to keep the class engaging and useful. His approach was at once flexible but also adhered to the requirements of the curriculum. I'm very glad to have been his student. My wife enjoyed her instructors, Caroly and Merlyn, who made the lessons fun by using lots of games and were always patient correcting her mistakes. The extracurricular activities were useful and entertaining. It would have been nice to have more participation from students. The fact that only a few of us participated limited their utility to some degree. The individual language exchange would have been improved by having shorter sessions with more people, perhaps in a rotating session, rather than a full hour with one person. It was interesting to talk to local people in the Spanglish Social while playing games. The trips we took were very enjoyable. The trip to the river was amazing - highly recommended! I was very pleased with the friendliness, helpfulness, and degree of commitment demonstrated by staff at Estelar Bilingue. There are always unexpected complications when one travels to a foreign country, and the staff and director were tremendously helpful in managing these minor crises. The campus itself is clean and well-maintained. The materials we recieved by email prior to our journey were fantastic. Everyone is always very helpful and friendly. Our host mom, Iris, is super friendly and a great cook. She does everything she can to make you feel at home. She and Johnny are wonderful hosts and made us instantly feel at home. Their house is super clean and the food was amazing and plentiful. They spoke only Spanish with us all the time and this was very helpful to us with improving fluency. They treated us like family and helped to make our experience here in Liberia wonderful.

The Spanish program at Instituto Estellar Bilingue is fantastic. Not only is the program itself comprehensive and geared to promote your learning quickly and intensively, but the extracurricular activities and the involvement in the community are indicative of a school that prides itself in inclusivity. If you would like to learn Spanish, then I highly recommend Instituto Estelar. I came for two weeks. La profesora Caroly es muy sympatica y paciente. She spoke always slowly and clearly, repeating herself many times in many different ways until everyone understands. In addition, her manner in correcting our errors was always kind and comprehensive. I was very pleased with Caroly as my Spanish teacher. The second week, Merlyn was my teacher. She taught with enthusiasm and inclusivity. She also spent considerable time in conversation with her students. Her engaging personality was infectious and she stimulated conversation in even the most shy of students. The school was clean and organized. I was pleased with all of the activities in which I participated. Carmen, my hostmom, is an absolute angel. I could not be happier. Carmen (and Jorge) were very gratious and welcoming. I miss my conversations with Carmen a great deal. She is a beautiful person.

I really loved my experience here! I learned a lot and feel like I got a truly authentic experience in Liberia with many opportunities to practice my Spanish. I felt so welcome at Estelar and was provided with a great environment for learning! The school felt so welcoming and I appreciated that they took the time to make sure I was placed in the appropriate level in order to learn as much as possible. It was a challenge but one that I was up to! They were also great about giving advice for whatever I had questions about- be it currency exchange, buying a sim card or excursions to nearby beaches. I would definitely recommend Estelar! I loved my teacher - Walter was beyond fantastic! I learned so much with him. I appreciated the way that he always corrected my mistakes but did so in a way that I could learn from and didn´t make me nervous to make more. He kept the classes very interesting and I genuinely looked forward to coming to class every day. I felt that he provided an appropriate amount of homework that complemented my in class learning. I enjoyed going to the Feria and the Reserva Biologica! I really enjoyed the cooking class! Club A was a really interesting experience that I am glad I was able to be a part of. I also enjoyed the individual intercambios. Thank you also for helping me plan extra activities. All of the staff here were very approachable and I felt very welcomed and at home in the community that this school creates. My family was fantastic! They made me feel so welcome and I was a bit sad to leave them. The house was very clean and I had more than enough delicious food. They were patient with me and my speaking and I felt comfortable practicing my Spanish with them. They truly made me feel like a member of the family. They were patient with me practicing my speaking with them and it definitely enhanced my experience having stayed with them!

I loved this school! Deidy is an excellent teacher. I have never had a person speak so much Spanish to me, and I could actually understand her. Her lessons were very engaging, and I learned more than I could ever have imagined. As a former teacher, I found her exceptional. Great activities to reinforce what we are learning in class. I would have like a little more TPRS in my Spanish course, especially for practice hearing and saying the verbs multiple time. But I understand it is not everyone's cup of tea. I loved the intercambio. The movies were not too good for me because I really need subtitles. Love the staff. Everyone I have come into contact with at this school is fantastic! So kind and helpful, they go out of their way to make you feel at home. Annia and Luis, my host parents, treated me like family. The food was fantastic and I learned even more by practing Spanish with them. I literally cried when I said goodbye.

Spanish class with Merlyn is like falling in love with your first grade teacher, again! This teacher is the best I've ever had! I felt like she was able to cover a lot of useful information in just one week. I enjoyed all of the activities that Merlyn incorporated in our classroom. We had a good balance of movement, writing and speaking. My hostmom Leticia is amazing! Her home was very clean! Her family and even cat welcomed me with loving arms. They speak little Spanish, which made me work at it, and that is exactly what I wanted. Leticia´s cooking is wonderful! Everyone and everything at Estelar was fabulous! The school is very clean, organized and established. This school is a little gem in Liberia. Club A was a truly unforgettable, rewarding experience!

The class was small and personable. The teacher taught only in Spanish but gave several examples to be sure we understood. Everone was extremly nice and helpful in the learning and supporting rolls each one played. My teacher was the best! Merlyn was very joyful and proficent. She made the learning experience interactive. I have been in many professional classes and this one was excellent. I am just learning Spanish so it was difficult for me but she made me feel good. When our brain was "fried" she could tell and pulled out games such as jenga and cards to learn in a playing way. I did attend the Spanglish social and that was extremely helpful. The language exchange was wonderful. The staff is always friendly and helpful, and the institute is always in a very clean condition. Our Host family was the BEST!! Iris and Johnny went above and beyond to meet our expectations. The house was exremely clean and well kept and the food, delicious! They helped with my understanding and practice. Completely loved the immersion program! The activities were above average. The staff and building were great: everyone and everything was fabulous!

I had a great time here in Costa Rica studying at Estelar. The staff made everything very convenient including transportation to and from the airport, arrangements with my host family and day to day activities. Classes are great. Merlyn is a fantastic teacher! She made everything fun. She is very flexible, loves to listen and also explains many detailed concepts that I can use everyday. My other teacher Diedi is very helpful and totally awesome! She speaks clearly and slowly which helps me understand. I give her an A plus. Working with the native children in Club A was an awesome experience and so much fun to participate with them in an after school activity. I also got to meet a few native Costa Ricans who are learning English and was able to help them as well as learning from them. The extracurricular activities are great and a good way to connect with people and learn Spanish. This program not only offers Spanish, but also great extra trips to explore CR. The staff is excellent! Actually, everyone has been more friendly and helpful than I could have hoped for. They took care of everything. My host family was excellent and served the best food in town! The family was very receptive, very patient, and the food was great! My hostmom Digna is a great cook and hostess. She took care of everything from daily meals to washing clothes. She also tried to help my wife and me with our Spanish, although I wonder if we made her impatient with our lack of knowledge of Spanish, lol.