Program Reviews

Some things that stood out to me about this program vs. other (non-immersion) Spanish learning experiences that I've had:
--Estefanía and Elisabeth are VERY good at teaching Spanish. They identify problems that you're having and explain them to you, they correct you without interrupting your speaking flow, and they come up with good exercises for whatever topic you're working on.
--They and their mom, Carmen, are also really lovely, lively people, and it was fun to get to know them.
--The immersion was real! The students and teachers spoke Spanish to each other the whole time.
--The non-classroom activities they scheduled were really interesting, even ones that sounded kind of boring on paper.
--I loved having meals with native Spaniards, as goofy as that sounds. Both at the house and in a restaurant, it made it really easy to ask questions about norms and expectations.

After studying Spanish from a book for many years, I was so nervous to do a language immersion. I was not very fluent in Spanish, and I was not a seasoned traveler. Well, those fears wore off immediately when I arrived at Agualivar Spanish School and was greeted by the most beautiful family - a teaching team of two sisters and their lovely mother.

First of all, the home is GRAND and surrounded by working orchards with spectacular views of the Mediterranean - charming. I had a private room and full bath with air conditioning - comfortable. Meals were fresh, locally sourced, and authentic to the region - delicious.

Second, the course content and cultural immersion are SUPERIOR. Stephanie and Elizabeth are talented, fun, interesting, and engaging instructors. They utilize a wide variety of teaching strategies that chase away boredom and help students make dramatic progress in a short amount of time. In addition to morning lessons, daily afternoon excursions are well-planned, informative, and enhancing to the overall learning experience.

By the end of my stay, I was finally fluent enough to travel 2 more weeks in Spain speaking only Spanish in taxis, hotels, stores, museums, and restaurants. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Agualivar Spanish School to anyone who wants to gain confidence and fluency in an amazing, private setting.

Intensive, personalized, structured and guided real life learning within the warm welcome and comfort of a family and their beautiful home and community, Agualivar (the home/farm/villa), Elisabeth, Fani, Ana - (2 sisters and their friend - our teachers), and Carmen - (Fani and Elisabeth’s mom and professional chef) provided everything needed for an exceptional, unique language/culture learning experience. From the moment Elisabeth picked us up at the Lagos, Malaga bus stop the Spanish instruction began. Easy and available to talk with about anything all day long, someone is around to interact with between classes. The day starts together with breakfast before 3 hours of morning classes. Carmen prepares a gourmet lunch worth a Michelin star. A break before afternoon class allowed time to walk into town or catch up on homework. Afternoon classes integrate interesting artifacts from history with points from yesterday’s excursions into town or language games and puzzles helped us strengthen grammar or sentence structure skills. Ana swings by mid-afternoon to take us into surrounding provinces for a glimpse of Malaga’s culture, exquisite antiquities and entertainment events. Fun and fascinating, we visited ancient caves, tucked away quaint villages in the hills, ancient fallen castles, beaches as well as local typical grocery stores, shops and cafes. The evenings were often met with both exhaustion and exhilaration after returning home to the enticing aromas of Carmen’s next mouth-watering culinary masterpiece. Conversation about the afternoon adventures usually led to a relaxing share of highlights and observations. Nearly 9pm (1700) by this time, we’d head to our private rooms, maybe review the morning class work, do homework for tomorrow or start on one of the end of the week’s assignments. Then sweet dreams. From day one all my dreams were in Spanish and continued to be for about a week after returning to he states!

I learned more in 2 weeks at Agualivar than a year of intermediate Spanish at the college level! Not only do you learn more functional vocab, grammar truths from myths, and sentence construction that is really used, but it’s put into practice so it sticks! Living it at Agualivar made the book, academic, video and podcast info practical, not just theoretical. So the language takes residency in your brain and has a chance to really become a second language if you keep using it when you get home!

This school is located in a beautiful and comfortable family home looking over the Mediterranean. The family is warm and welcoming. Estefania and Elisabeth are excellent professors. Their approach is practical and they keep class time lively, fast-paced and interesting. They encourage students to explore topics of their own interest, current events and life in Spain. Homework assignments were interesting and helped us apply what we were learning. I found the teaching methods very creative. Carmen is a gracious host and she prepares healthy, fresh meals. The fruits and produce are from her land. Ana is a local tour guide who takes students on daily field trips. She really added to our experience and immersion in Spanish. I highly recommend this immersion program and hope to return. I attended one week and would enjoy more time there for sure!

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to attend Agualivar for the first two weeks of October. I’ve only been learning the language for the past year so I’m still at the A1-A2 level, so naturally I had some anxiety about being able to keep up with the conversation and fitting in appropriately with the level of the other students. Everything worked out really well. Fani and Eli did a great job creating a group of three students with similar levels of grammar and vocabulary, and they conducted their classes with skill, patience, and a wonderful sense of humour.
It’s not easy completely avoiding the use of English, but we managed to do so even on our unsupervised weekend day trip to Málaga.
The setting of their family home (the school) is spectacular. Frani and Eli are wonderful teachers and their mother Carmen is a gracious host and wonderful cook. I also really enjoyed the afternoon outings with Ana, who is so kind and patient, and an excellent teacher also.
Thank you again Estefanía, Elisabeth, Carmen, and Ana, for an unforgettable experience. I hope to see you all again next year!

I had an amazing time at Agualivar. Fani, Eli and Carmen made me feel so welcome and the instructions in Spanish were so organized and fun. The caring that I received from the family was so heartwarming. Everyday we had home cooked traditional Spanish food by Carmen. The fidedua, lentejas and paella were just some the most delicious Spanish cuisine I have tasted. I learned a lot from Fani and Eli especially incorporating the process of learning Spanish to the culture of Spainish people. The accommodations were way better than any hotel. The house was amazin, lots of room, pool and view of the Mediterranean indescribable. A plus are the trips that were incorporated with lessons to the surroundings town in Malaga with Ana. The best part we shopping in the super. We visited Nerja, Frigiliana, and Torre Del Mar. Thank you for an incredible experience!

My teenage son and I spent a wonderful week at Agualivar in summer 2023. We liked it so much that we returned in spring 2024 – and we hope to make it back again one day.

The family is warm, and it is a special experience to be welcomed into their lovely home, to learn from them not just the language but the culture and to speak with Spaniards about a variety of subjects. And the home-cooked Spanish meals are delicious.

I can hardly think of a better place for a Spanish lesson than their porch, with its stunning view of the Mediterranean. In our spare time, we enjoyed long walks along the sea, and during our summer visit, the pool was refreshing.

Most importantly, we left with a much greater understanding of Spanish, especially from the conversation outside of the class sessions. My son says he learned as much from Agualivar as he did from a whole term in school.

This May I enjoyed a wonderful Spanish Immersion course at Agualivar. The family was so warm and welcoming, the classes excellent, the accommodations beautiful, and the Spanish homestyle meals were beyond delicious. 

While  at the school, you will speak Spanish 100% of the time. This can be intense at times, but is a great way to rapidly improve your language skills within a friendly family environment. 

The Spanish classes taught by sisters, Stefi and Eli, were challenging and fun. With only 4 students per class I really enjoyed meeting and spending time with the group.

Carmen (Stefi and Eli’s mother), was so much fun to visit with and is an incredible cook, who prepared us delicious homestyle meals, which we all shared around a lively table. 

In the afternoons, Anna, our wonderful “culture and field” guide would take us on excursions to various archaeological and cultural sites. We often finished with great conversation and a cool drink at an outdoor café.

I highly recommend (and hope to return to) Agualivar. It offers a true Spanish Immersion experience within a lovely family environment.

What a great week! We were certainly immersed in the Spanish language, culture and way of life. Our lessons each morning, outside on the patio, overlooking the sea, were run by Fani and Eli; fantastic hosts and excellent teachers. Everything was super organised, but in a very warm and supportive way. We all spoke Spanish absolutely 100% of the time, even though the other 3 people I was lucky enough to study with were all native English speakers. I don’t think any of us even thought to drift into chatting in anything except Spanish.
Carmen, the mother of Fani and Eli, produced delicious (and healthy) meals made from local produce, and meal times were further opportunities to chat with our teachers/hosts.
The afternoon activities each day were fun and we also had one really good evening in a local restaurant where we ate and watched a great flamenco show.
I found it a fantastic week, and would love to go back and study there again.

La maison est spacieuse, chaque étudiant a sa chambre qui fait face à la Méditerranée. Les repas sont délicieux avec un souci de présentation. Carmen et ses filles Éli et Fani préparent les repas qui sont variés et qui représentent bien la culture espagnole. Tout est bon. L’ambiance est agréable. Pour moi ce fut l’occasion de PARLER la langue 24/7 …..une immersion totale qui m’a permis d’améliorer la capacité à converser.
La facilité de se rendre à l’école en taxi organisé par les professeurs. De plus tous les moments passés avec Ana la jeune femme tellement gentille qui s’occupait de nous sortir, les étudiants, tous les jours de 16h à 19h pour découvrir différents lieux aux alentours. Un vrai bonheur.

English:
The house is spacious, each student has their own room facing the Mediterranean. The meals are delicious with attention to presentation. Carmen and her daughters Éli and Fani prepare meals which are varied and which represent Spanish culture well. All is well. The atmosphere is pleasant. For me it was the opportunity to SPEAK the language 24/7…..a total immersion which allowed me to improve my ability to converse.
The ease of getting to school by taxi organized by the teachers. Plus all the moments spent with Ana, the very kind young woman who took care of taking us, the students, out every day from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to discover different places around. A real joy.