Spanish Immersion Program—Costa Rica | Guatemala | Peru

I have attended Maximo Nivel Language School to improve my Spanish for several years. I have always been more than satisfied, since I think in Spanish thanks to Maximo Nivel. I would recommend it to all levels of fluency; beinners to advanced.

I had an excellent experience at Maximo Nivel. The entire experience was well organized and well communicated. I thought the Spanish classes were fun and engaging. My Spanish is markedly improved from this experience. The host family was wonderful and the people I lived with were also wonderful. The staff at Maximo Nivel were always available and more than happy to help. I would highly recommend this experience for anyone interested in a Spanish study abroad experience.

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.

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 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!

The best experience I've ever had. The class was so much fun, and I learned a ton both inside and outside the classroom. The professor was super nice, and she always made sure I understood the material before moving on, and I enjoyed the diversity of the assignments and the activities. Also, the employees at Máximo Nivel are incredibly nice and helpful with everything I needed. I don't know too many schools that would be willing to answer questions literally 24/7. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone who is thinking about traveling abroad, and I hope to return to the program myself in the near future!

After extensive research into language immersion programs we chose Maximo because of their professional website, quick responses to our emails with questions and online reviews. We are very happy that we did. There are things we would do differently should we chose to do a language immersion program again - but we will go with Maximo - or one they recommend if they don't have a program in the area we want to go to. They are very professional and supportive - they encourage you to ask questions and bring them any concerns immediately. We loved our home stay and have made life long friends. The last week we were there we traveled through their recommended agency and appreciated that Maximo kept tabs on us and confirmed that we had a good time.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering with Maximo Nivel. The spanish lessons were extremely helpful and it was a relaxed, yet productive environment. The class size was small so that we were able to interact continously and make new friends. The overall program was great and very affordable, especially for the unique experience of learning spanish from a native speaker. I have been able to retain the information I learned there, and can now progress further.

Growth, Good times, Great people. You will gain a renewed and broader perspective in the field of your placement area and improve your spanish speaking skills exponentially. You will have the opportunity to build strong and lasting relationships with locals and volunteers. You may even be lucky enough to dance the night away to a mariachi band and sing karaoke until dawn... Do this program!

Maximo Nivel is an incredible organization! Not only do they provide amazing volunteer/intern opportunities but they are 100% commited to ensuring your adventure is amazing. The staff are always there for whatever you need and are absolutely incredible. Whenever I needed any guidance, support or even a recommendation on somewhere to eat - they were always there to help. Throughout your time volunteering/interning with them, they will be there to support you and ensure you're experience is awesome. My experience with Maximo Nivel was nothing but positive. I would go back in a heartbeat!!

For my work I had to learn the language Spanish . I started with some courses in Holland but that was not fast enough, and also not working well.
For that reason I contacted Maximo Nivel and my first visit and experience was in april 2010 with a first course for two weeks , with 6 hours per day . Everyone in my neighbourhood told me that this would be very intensive and to heavy , but in the way they teach you in Maximo Nivel it was really very good to do.

In April 2010 I really could not speak any word of Spanish , but now after 4 courses of two weeks , even with my age of 55 years , I can speak and communicate in Spanish.
These teachers from Maximo Nivel are really great that they fixed it to learn me a new language .
Also the organisation and the friendly surrounding gives you soon the feeling that you are a part of this big (school) family

For sure I will continue in Maximo Nivel with my courses of Spanish to improve the language more and more.
I can recommend this school to everyone who want to learn the language Spanish.

In the three weeks, I have increased my fluency and never was "bored" in any of my classes. Everyday was different with different objectives and topics for the classes. I liked having two different professors with different backgrounds; subtle differences in their accents, cultural differences, different views and ways of teaching. If I had chance to change something from the experience would be the location of the host family: the host family was great and provided an awesome environment for living (except for Wi-Fi) but was a little far away from the school (30 minutes bus ride). Other than that, I would recommend the program to anyone who is looking for a foreign language immersion program.