Spanish Immersion Program—Costa Rica | Guatemala | Peru

I spent a quick 1 week in San Jose, CR and took one week of 3 hour private lessons. I was very impressed with how personable the staff was, and the community and comraderie at Maximo and between Maximo students and volunteers.

I thought the price, compared to other programs that I researched in the area, was great, especially considering the caliber and experience of my professor, the free activities that were offered on various days, and the comfort of my homestay.

My professor, considering my one week, exposed me to the most practical lessons that I can immediately use and build upon. My homestay family was accommodating, and was deliberate about helping me practice without hovering.

I would most definitely recommend the program.

People in CR are so friendly. I had such a good time!
In CR you can experience the best of adventures, beaches, wildness and night life in just one place.
People in reception are so nice and welcoming.
You can meet people and have a great time in the best PURA VIDA lifestyle. People that are also like you. And finding good friendships, you can enjoy the most.
The Spanish classes were fun and full of jokes, and for sure, learning. I can completely say I have a experienced a huge improvement in my Spanish.

Problably the best time and classes I have completed in years. Effective schools developed and implemented systems for ensuring consistency of judgements between teachers. In these schools, key staff members said, that although establishing effective moderation processes for assessment tasks was a time‑consuming activity, the positive benefits were evident. The professional discussions required to arrive at consensus clarified the rationale for assessment in these schools, and the increase in teachers’ knowledge of their students’ abilities led to a deeper understanding of the curriculum area, and how well their students were learning.

The schools operated ongoing review processes. Teachers were engaged in high levels of professional dialogue about assessment consistency and judgements. They introduced moderation by using exemplars and by sharing portfolio entries. Teachers were involved in professional development in literacy and numeracy assessment.

The senior management team developed a curriculum leaders’ handbook. Curriculum teams were continually reviewing their documentation and procedures to strengthen the consistency and judgements at each level across the seven curriculum areas. Teachers used computerised assessment records to collect student achievement information. Strong moderation procedures were evident as teachers moderated work among themselves and also sought opinions of teachers from other schools and advisors. Summative data were collected to show progress over time. Teachers collected formative assessment data and used the data to set planning targets.

Even though I was going to Costa Rica with 3 other people from my university, I was extremely anxious as I had not taken Spanish since I was 10. I was worried that my homestay would be awkward or I would resort to just speaking English while I was there.

When I arrived at my homestay, I already realized that I had nothing to be worried about. I lived with an absolutely amazing family who actively encouraged me to practice speaking Spanish. They spoke clearly and used vocabulary that was at my level. When I spoke, they waited patiently and only when I finished my sentence would they correct anything or figure out another way to express my thoughts. Without my host family, I absolutely would not have come out as confident as I am now with just trying to speak as much as I can, even if I am self-conscious about how I sound or how grammatically incorrect I am. I also shared the house with my fellow colleague and both of us worked together to figure out how to say things and it made the experience that much more meaningful.

My classes at Maximo Nivel were incredible. Not to say that it wasn't hard, at times it was incredibly frustrating as I only had 3 weeks and I was learning a ton of grammar in that short period of time. However, I put time into practicing whatever grammar I had just learned with short narratives about my day with my teacher, Alejandra, and she would patiently listen and work with me to correct anything that was blatantly wrong. This alone helped my confidence and my knowledge considerably. My teacher was incredibly patient with me and changed tactics to fit my learning style. While we did learn from the Medical Spanish book, she made sure that she spent time just conversing with me in Spanish because that was where I wanted to improve the most.

I cannot say enough about how much I loved this experience. If there is time in the future, I will absolutely come back to improve my Spanish more. Even now, I still continue to practice my Spanish with my teacher and my host family, and I think that speaks a lot to what kinds of people are a part of this program.

I had a great experience with Maximo Nivel, first in Peru and then in Costa Rica. My host families have made me feel like part of the family, the staff is super helpful, and instructors have altered classes to my interests. I knew some Spanish before arriving, which was very helpful for my first few days, but my comfort level has definitely grown the longer I have been here. I still have one month to go in Guatemala, and I cannot wait!

The Maximo Nivel Spanish immersion program in Costa Rica is an incredible experience. From the pre-trip planning communication to check-out, the Maximo staff is incredibly professional, efficient, detail-oriented, and most of all ridiculously friendly. Our trip coordinator Stephen Hakim took care of every possible issue in country and was available for support well above and beyond expected. Our homestay was spacious, clean, comfortable and our hosts were kind and genuinely interested in our lives allowing for some great cultural and personal conversations (in Spanish of course). Regarding the Spanish courses: the amount of vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skill I gained in 3 short weeks was remarkable and no doubt in large due to the well-organized, dedicated Spanish teachers at Maximo. Finally, the social environment at maximo is ideal with activities most days of the week (i.e. cooking and dance classes), tandem-partners practice as an opportunity to meet local students, and the countless outreach projects to get involved with that put you in place with other maximo participants and local community organizers.

If you are looking to study abroad for any length of time in a home-stay, whether individually or as part of a group I could not recommend this program more strongly.

I had the most enjoyable experience. I had not used Spanish since college and had only used Duolingo prior to coming to Costa Rica. I traveled here with a friend, at about the same Spanish level. The staff was excellent, and placed us in a class together. There was just the two of each day and the instructor was perfect. I was amazed at how much I could understand immediately. She spoke about 75% to 80% in Spanish during the class. She was willing to adabt the material when we requested. The town of San Jose was easy to manuver walking, but I wouldn´t recommend driving. The people were friendly and all obviously very proud of their country. Our accomodations were good and a short walk to school each day.

I totally recommend this experience.

From beginning to end my experience with MaximoNivel was wonderful. Jesse at registration was very helpful. We had some scheduling problems and she solved our problems without question. On arrival we were welcomed to Costa Rica and Maximo Nivel and given directions and maps so that we could explore on our own time. Our teacher was always prepared for class and welcomed questions and kind about my terrible Spanglish. Im leaving Costa Rica feeling like I learned alot and am motivated to continue studing Spanish. Pura Vida.

I had two wonderful teachers who pushed me to learn more than i could ever believe in my six weeks.
Did no site seeing only studying espanol.
All of the volunters and employee are great and really care about the individual person attending these classes. my recommendation would be to take individual classes if you are serious about learning.
This is a great country with great people.
Great time!!!!!!

I spent 6 months volunteering in San Jose Costa Rica and had Spanish classes throughout my time here. In total I had classes with 6 of the teachers here and I can honestly say my experience with each and every one of them was great. Although they all have differences in their teaching styles, each taught me a lot. The classes are very conversation based which I think is very important and something that is not always the case in Spanish classes in high school and universities in the United States. I spoke good Spanish when I arrived, but the teachers helped me find my weak points and we worked on those. I feel as though with a combination of Spanish classes and being surrounde dby the language, my spanish improved drastically. I highly recomend the Maximo Nivel Spanish Immersion Program for anyone looking to learn or improve their Spanish, regardless of their current level.

I spend 3 weeks at Maximo Nivel Costa Rica, of which in the first 2 weeks I did the volunteer program (Childcare) and Spanish lessons (2 hours a day, basic level). The lessons were fun and in small groups so the teacher can focus a lot on a student, which is beneficial for increasing the learning progress. I could always ask my teacher for translation on how to communicate with the kids at the program, and for her it was also fun to teach me other sentences other than what is given in the book. After I finished the volunteer program I decided to follow one more week of Spanish lessons, so I asked the Maximo team if it was possible and they were happy to arrange a new class and teacher for me. Due to some circumstances I wanted to change my class and they immediately arrange something else, so I could learn more. The teachers also asked if you want to learn something specifically, which is also good as they will teach you things based on your preferences! I also stayed with a host family, which made the experience even better, because my host mom loved to teach me Spanish and I helped her with English. So every day during breakfast and dinner we talked half Spanish and English to communicate (also because we were both not fluent in the other language), which was actually favorable because we had to try to speak to each other in the other language. The overall team at Maximo Nivel were very helpful and a great support, they are always friendly and have small conversations with you on how its going, just to make you feel really comfortable and excited to be at their location. (Special thanks to the team!). I am already considering coming back to Maximo Nivel, so I highly recommend it to others too!!! :D

I spent 6 weeks at Maximo Nivel (Costa Rica), and I truly loved my program here. I was able to work with two different instructors who both gave me tons of support and pushed me out of my comfort zone at the same time. I was able to spend about half of each class engaged in real time conversation, which forced me to develop the basic skills and vocabulary I needed to think on my feet while talking with others. I spent the other half of my classes learning grammar constructs, which gave me the tools I needed to understand signs and instructions around the city, to order and pay for things around town, and to read and comprehend articles/other short passages. Both of my instructors were very dedicated to the art of learning a new language, and their passion was clearly evident during our time together. I would certainly have stayed 6 more weeks if I had the time!

I was very eager to learn Spanish when I began lessons and I had a great experience. I feel as though I learnt a lot very quickly and was able to start understanding and replying in Spanish during my time volunteering. Elizabeth was a brilliant teacher and I would definitely recommend her to everyone. I have learnt enough in my two weeks of lessons to converse in Spanish and I hope to continue learning when I return home.

I came into this program with no Spanish knowledge and in 2 weeks I find myself having a basic conversation with Maximo staff and locals of my project. The structure of the lessons means that you learn quickly but through conversation rather than a traditional classroom experience. They provide you supplies and the teachers are brilliant! They teach all classes in Spanish which makes the experience that much more authentic! I´m very thankful for having done these lessons and will continue when I go back home!

Today is my last day at Maximo and I am truly sad to go home. I have spent the last 18 days in San Jose Costa Rica having the experience of my life! My teacher Azalea was the best! She made learning fun, was very descriptive and entertaining with her style of teaching which really made the 4 hours a day that we spent together most memorable. The staff here at Maximo are all smiles and truly great people. I have met many people from different countries and walks of life. My host mom was also very accomodating and kind. She did her very best to ensure that I was comfortable and never hungry! lol Overall I would rate my experience a 10/10 and I can´t wait to do it again!