Gap Year Abroad

I was there only for a week. The class I was in was a little above my level, but the teacher and other students were kind and helpful. The school had been thoughtful in placing me in a class with more mature students. The school is close to the beach, and a half hour walk to the centre of Malaga. I very much liked the way the (half) day of teaching was structured with an interesting and lively mix of exercises, videos and interactive activities.

I have just moved to Malaga and do not speak any Spanish. I signed up for an intensive course to get started. I chose the school because it is close to me and had good reviews. The school is clean, modern and close to the beach and cafes, which was nice for breaks. The teacher Sylvia, was amazing. We were a group of beginners, but she dove right in speaking Spanish. She explained vocabulary in Spanish with the help of drawings, mime and laughter! We were encouraged to respond and interact in Spanish. The book we used is well organised and there is online support with it. The curriculum incorporates learning about Spanish language and culture around the world while learning grammar structures and vocabulary. It was a great week long class that made me want to continue.

I spent four weeks at AIL Málaga and greatly improved in my ability to speak Spanish! Gabriel, who managed the school, was totally focused on meeting the needs of students. He greeted students by name as they entered and was always friendly. He provided information about how to get bus and metro passes, as well as directions to various places. He was available to meet whatever needs we had as students.

The rooms were painted in bright colors, which added zest to the experience. In addition, the instructors truly enjoyed teaching students. They were personable and highly skilled in teaching Spanish. They created an enjoyable learning atmosphere, and the students got to know each other. They used a variety of methods for teaching, including games, Kahoot, role plays, conversations, etc. We had to write on a topic each week, and we had to do an oral presentation on a topic each week. We gained valuable feedback on how to improve our written and spoken Spanish.

In addition, students had the option to either take 3 or 5 days of tennis lessons each week, 3 days of Spanish cooking lessons, or 3 days of flamenco lessons. That was definitely an added bonus! I took tennis lessons with an amazing pro!

I highly recommend AIL Málaga!

The evening classes were organized twice a week for 1.5 hours each. The course of the lesson was very practically oriented. In addition to discussing homework, new topics were first covered in theory and then practiced in two-person groups. The teacher was always proactive, interested, motivated and highly committed. Gabriel is a great teacher and I would recommend him at any time. And he always had a joke or anecdote to tell.

The first day it was a little difficult to find the place, but I found it at the opposite side of the building. The welcome from Gabriel was friendly. We were 7-9 students in this classroom, and even though I enrolled for a 50+ we were only 2 and the rest were between 20 and 25 but nice girls. Most of them had been there for several weeks already although I asked for a beginner course. Well I was busy to increase level and it went okay. I enrolled for 1 week and would have taken one more, but at that time only 4 girls remained and I was afraid that the class would join the other class and I didn’t want that. The rooms are very small and loud so not pleasant with many people. We had Carmen as the teacher and she was sweet and good teaching although we were jumping very much in the book and didn’t repeat at all.

I loved the two weeks I spent at AIL Malaga in the over 55 program. Both teachers, Mary Carmen and Desiree, were excellent—just the right balance of encouraging and challenging. I loved being with students from different countries. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. Javier, our guide each night, was so friendly and knowledgeable. I felt like we got a great overview of Malaga and the area. Gabriel the student liaison was also incredibly kind and helpful. The only challenge I faced was that my home placement was a little uncomfortable—very small apartment with two women and I in a shared bathroom. I ended up moving to an Air BnB and that worked better for me.

Hello,

First of all, I was given a wrng address. The actual school had be under construction work for sme time, but was now back at their original address. I was given the address of the temporary school, and thus, I missed my first class. I was hoever able to start again the next week. Thank to the very kind persn at the language school.



My first class I found out that the actual teacher of tha class was unable to attend, so we had a substitute, a very nice young lady, whom was professional and good at teaching. To my surprise, the second week we had yet anther substitute, a young man, who was clearly just thrown in with no knowledge what so ever of where we were at the study book, so he ended up explaining the Spanish school system for the entire 1,5 hours. It was a bit too much, since he also asked us to explain. People did not have the vocabulary and turned int English a lot, and he was not too good at giving us the necessary words or help. He was very nice but did not seem to keen on teaching.

I had to cut my study period short because I had unexpected translation orders, but I was kindly given an extention and will return in the summer of 2024. I hope they will have more professional and more coherent plan for the course.

The location is great, the staff is very nice and helpful. The teaching needs to be a bit more professional. I would be happy to recommend with a caution though.

The whole school staff is very nice; we were only three students in my course, and it was really very good, each of us could express ourselves orally, because the teacher really encouraged us to talk. The school was a 20-minute walk from my host family. In the family it was really great, I had a nice comfortable room, every evening Maria prepared delicious meals, mainly specialties from Andalusia, During meals I also learned a lot about Spanish culture and gastronomy, because that Maria and her son like to talk a lot about their city and region, and that has also allowed me to improve my Spanish; Maria also gave me a lot of information about the city, how to get to the different tourist spots. I loved everything during this stay, and I can't wait to repeat the experience.

I had a fantastic teacher, Marina, and the personnel was friendly and helpful. A very nice atmosphere.

When I arrived at the school I was nervous because I hadn't used my Spanish in a long time, but as soon as I arrived, I was made to feel very welcome by everybody. The teachers are friendly and very helpful if there's something that you don't understand. I got to practice all four skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as learn new grammar and vocabulary. Apart from Fridays, I was in class sizes from 1-4 people which was excellent to learn. I really enjoyed the Friday classes because everybody got to practice their speaking skills by playing games together which was really fun and not nerve wracking at all. The school also arranged my taxi rises and my accommodation which was so useful. The accommodation was less than a 10 minute walk away so it was ideal and the family were very accommodating. I would have loved to have played more games like we did in the Friday classes.

I loved the lessons. My teacher was a great professional, always prepared for the lessons. We practiced all the skills and I feel I learned a lot. The building was small with only a few classrooms but very cozy.
I stayed in a shared flat. My room was clean as well as the the kitchen and the bathrooms.

Everyone at the school is very attentive and the teacher Maria, in addition to showing a lot of knowledge, has an excellent didactic!