Enforex - Learn Spanish in Madrid, Spain

I signed up online for the Enforex course in Granada to practice Spanish before my Erasmus internship. I paid 324 euros for this course, which was scheduled to last a total of 25 hours over one week (August 28 – September 1). When I arrived at the center on the first day, there was only one other person in the class besides me. Because there were fewer than three students, they announced that the course would be reduced from 5 hours a day to 2 hours a day. I wanted to speak with the person in charge that day, but they weren't available. I went back the next day to object, pointing out that I had paid for 25 hours of instruction but was now looking at receiving only 10 hours. I was told that the same situation would apply the following week—meaning there would still only be two of us—and that I would be the only participant in the cultural workshops I had also purchased.

Since my internship began on September 4, I couldn't attend the morning classes after that. I requested a refund. The staff member gave me the email addresses of two accountants at the Madrid headquarters, and I sent them an email. When I emailed the Madrid office, they told me I couldn't get my money back because the policy was stated in the terms and conditions I had agreed to before paying. Afterward, they kept stalling, promising to get back to me regarding my emails, but they never did. Had I actually seen the clause in the terms and conditions stating that a class of fewer than three students would result in a 10-hour course instead of 25 hours, I never would have signed up.

Furthermore, I have never encountered such a practice in any other country. Definitely stay away from this place and do not sign up for the course. You will be wasting your money, and you most likely won't get it back. It is a waste of both time and money.

My son has been on several overseas language camps. This was by far the worst. The publicity said all levels of Spanish from A1 to C2 and a tailored experience. In fact, there was no tailoring and the level was far too easy but with no effort to adapt to his level. Class sizes were also higher than the advertised 8 students (more like 10-12).

The activities were very restricted and some of the published activities did not go ahead. No freedom was given to 17 year olds to go out, even to exercise or for a run, and even if express parental consent was given.

There was very little Spanish cultural immersion. English is spoken almost exclusively outside of class.

I complained immediately (on day one) to see if improvements could be made. Responses were slow and grudging. I sent a formal complaint at the end of day 2. I got a standard email response 36 hours later saying they were looking into it.

I pulled my son out after one week (of the two weeks booked booked) and have been seeking a refund of the balance paid. After over a month of chasing still no refund has been forthcoming.

Let’s start off by saying this is based on my experience going to the summer camp in Barcelona. First off, having them contact me to ask questions before I paid the full amount for the trip was unusually difficult. Emailing was the only way they wanted to communicate with me. Looking for information on the site was limited as I had questions and wanted them answered in real time. The site was also hard to navigate and no one would explain to me the other much better option available for someone my age. I would find out it existed after my trip was completely ruined (basically the option to stay with a host family or on a residence that didn’t confine me 24/7). Throughout my stay we had to sit and wait for at least a couple hours or more daily in a common area that was packed with kids of all ages with barely anything to do. We would wait here in-between activities. The most unsettling part was that they mixed young kids and teenagers. The older kids would be swearing and generally mischievous along with some of the nearby college students smoking around the children. The counselors were overwhelmed and hardly spoke English. I get that it was a Spanish camp but it is an INTERNATIONAL Spanish camp that also taught English. Even the higher ups had a major language barrier. Now let’s start with the lessons, what a disaster. The classes were not structured and all over the place. A lot of the counselors were also the teachers so they were extra burnt out and it showed in lessons. My teacher admitted at one point that they only gave them 10 minutes to prepare each lesson. It certainly seemed like it since each day it was basically “What do you guys want to learn?”. Thankfully I was a bit advanced for the basic level that I was selected to be in so I would call out a topic for the others to learn. I was over the camp and just gave up on the lessons after hearing they were pretty bad at any level you were in. As if the lessons and the sitting around for hours at a time wasn’t bad enough, the activities were even worse. They would either keep you in the common area lawn or bring you around the back to the basketball court for some scheduled activity. They did separate the younger and older kids for this. All the activities were low budgeted despite hundreds paying thousands to attend the camp. I would overhear parents talking to the camp directors on how their children were not learning Spanish (the camp doubled as a day camp along with being residential). I must’ve overheard a dozen complaints. It was pretty laughable. The food here was also terrible. Bad quality and I saw a handful of people get sick from it the first week. I stopped eating for a few days just to try to avoid the stomach turning food. The extracurricular were also pretty boring. They either took you to the beach (two hours outside of Barcelona) or to one of Barcelona’s famous landmarks which to see the best parts of you had to pay. You would think when they put these famous landmarks on the itinerary it would be safe to assume that your fee for the camp would pay for full access to these places. Just another disappointment. The best part about the camp was the 2 days out of 2 weeks that you could venture out for yourself. This was only offered to the older kids. You of course had to be back at a certain time. They gave you five hours on a Thursday and eight hours on a Sunday. Everything was pretty much closed on a Sunday so the 8 hours you would spend wandering around trying to figure out what you should spend your only free time on. The cherry on top for this trip *drum roll* was personally getting assaulted by a counselor. I was boarding the elevator there and she used both hands to push me from stepping in. She apparently was taking a kid up so she didn’t want anyone else to board. It was totally disrespectful and even my peers were surprised. I reported her to her supervisors and they gave her a talking to and I tried to make light of the situation after she apologized. However, I did suppress some hard feelings and avoided that specific counselor whenever I could. Overall, this camp is a waste of money. I feel my experience could have been a lot better if I had known about the other option of joining a host family or a desperate residence where you were a bit more trusted to take care of yourself and see the city on your own time. Being confined majority of the time and looking at the city from your assigned room here was torturous. The only thing that kept me sane was socializing with my newly found friends (who I still talk to). I could go on about every negative detail of this camp but I will leave it here for these are the most stand out points that should persuade you from signing up.

Sorry for my English (google translator).
I’m French, but my mum was from Spain, she married with my French dad. I know some Spanish because my mum but she died and I don’t want to forget my mother’s language and I want to read in Spanish.
Enforex gave me all I wanted: good accomodation, good classes, good environment, good people. Everything was good for me. That was my experience. And I am not a child.

Realmente escribo para agradecerle muchísimo a Enforex Barcelona los estudios más maravillosos que tuve allí hace un año. Fue una experiencia increíble y extremadamente útil para aprender el idióma.
Tuve clases con José Ángel Díaz Blanco, que es un profesor por naturaleza, con talento y pasión en enseñanza. Me explicó muchísimas cosas que ahora encuentro muy útiles en mi trabajo (soy intérprete). No creo que sin sus clases haya podido trabajar tan bien como lo logro hacer ahora.
Además tengo que decir que voy este año también, será ya el cuarto seguido, y todos los años elijo Enforex. Los profesores son super guay, y no lo percibes como pura enseñanza, sino también como el modo de pasar tiempo a gusto. Yo a los profesores los veo también como a mis amigos, y al cabo de curso nos mantenemos en contacto, nos escribimos y tal, y claro que la parte personal te deja unos recuerdos importantes.

I had a great time at this school and I learned a lot about Spanish literature. This course helped me get a good grade on my academic career. The teachers are excellent professionals eager to help you get the best results. A highly recommended course.

This school and it's partner school Don Quixote, are a waste of MONEY!!!! Their websites boast that their teachers are all university educated and speaks multiple foreign languages, FALSE! Most of the teachers do not, which is not a problem unless you are the in beginner's level like I was. None of the staff members did either, making inquiring about anything (school related, accommodation, or even excursions) very difficult. The Spanish teachers are out of work Spaniards that can't find a job in their field of study during the country's Economic Crisis, therefore will take this teaching job that only pays them 8Euros/hr. And their work ethic reflects their wages. I had a teacher that sat in her chair just talking to the students about their weekend, and when she's ask to spell anything out, she'll just pronounce it really slowly. When you asked her to slow down (the Spanish have a reputation for speaking fast), she'll yell at you and say that, "this is how Spanish people speak and if you were going to live here, you will have to catch up"!. Remember, this is a beginner's course and you are paying thousands of dollars to take lesson from this person. When I complained about it, they just said they spoke to her and apologizes on her behalf. That's it, that's how much my thousands of dollars paid for.

SAVE YOUR MONEY! There are so many accredited language schools out there all over Spain that are much cheaper and much better in quality. They care more about showing the students a good time through the many planned repeated excursions than in quality learning.

My three weeks of studing Spanish in Madrid were great thanx to people i met there who were also studying in my school, nice teachers, fun at classes and many other good things. The accomodation was nice also, close to the city center, the neighborhood was safety. I didn't have any problems, i was only enjoying my time.