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Agualivar Spanish School

Why choose Agualivar Spanish School?

Agualivar is a family-run school in the south of Spain, Málaga, off the beaten tracks!! We are Estefanía and Elisabeth, sisters and Spanish teachers at Agualivar, we opened the doors in 2014. Now, we have a third teacher, Carmen, who is enthusiastic and professional.

Our programs are based on the needs and likings of our students. They live together with us and our family, giving them exposure to a real Spanish Immersion. Attending lessons in the mornings, enjoying meals and chatting with our family, participating in our daily life.... students take advantage of Spanish around the clock!

Our immersion school is not for everyone. We don't like to create false expectations. It suits individuals looking for a different place, interested in nature, arts, culture, gastronomy, Spanish language, and above all sharing experiences with us and our family. Don't expect noise or large malls, we are in a rural setting. Prepare yourself to work hard in your Spanish and live a real immersion.

Reviews

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Judy
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great Experience!

I had a truly wonderful experience at Agualivar in October 2022. I was a bit nervous before arriving. My Spanish tests at around an A2/B1 level, so I wasn’t sure how I would manage 2 weeks in only Spanish. But Fani and Eli are such great teachers, I was able to relax and thoroughly enjoy my time there. Carmen is a great hostess, and the house is beautiful. How can you top studying on the patio with a view of the pool and Mediterranean? 😊 The lessons are designed to encourage speaking, with grammar and pronunciation as well. In addition, they do an excellent job of creating content that is practical and interesting, as well as lots of information about Spanish culture and history. It was exactly what I wanted! From my time at Agualivar, I gained confidence that carried me through an additional week being a tourist. I came away with refreshed motivation to continue studying the language. I hope to go back in 2023.

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Leslie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Una Experiencia Maravillosa!

We had a wonderful stay at Agualivar Spanish School! Elisabeth, Fani, and their mother were excellent instructors and hosts. (And the food was amazing). Our days typically started with a delicious breakfast, lessons until lunch, and then a fun activity or outing until dinner - all 100% in Spanish! Even though I was initially daunted at the thought of only speaking in Spanish, over the course of the week, I felt more confident in my Spanish speaking and comprehension, and Fani and Elisabeth were very kind and patient. The school is located in a beautiful area by the ocean, surrounded by mango and olive trees - they even have a pool! I would highly recommend Agualivar and hope that I can come back soon. Muchisimas gracias, Agualivar! Hasta la proxima vez :)

Pros
  • Highly personalized instruction
  • Delicious food
  • Lovely accomodations
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Averil
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing Agualivar

What an amazing place!! I absolutely loved my time at Agualivar. The lessons are fun, interesting, challenging and you feel like you’re learning by accident as you get to know other students & the teachers.
Elizabeth & Fani are amusing & lively teachers - they flex to the needs and interests of the student group. Nothing is too much trouble.
The food is amazing - Carmen (Mum of Elizabeth & Fani) makes putting a meal together look effortless. Sharing meals with this fabulous family is a highlight every day.
The area is lovely - little beach down the road & a beach bar, the house has a pool - but if you’re looking for muchos vino & nightlife - this is the wrong place for you!
Honestly wish I could spend at least a week a month here.

Pros
  • Small Group
  • Totally immersive
Cons
  • Out of town
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Heather
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing Experience!

Amazing experience!

My husband and I have been learning Spanish on and off and for an embarrassingly large number of years. We've used apps, studied grammar in workbooks, watched movies in Spanish (with Spanish subtitles), listened to podcasts, read stories out loud to each other, and even attended an informal online conversation group by zoom. We were still at a very elementary level. We wanted to build our confidence and knowledge with immersion and we definitely did at Agualivar!

Our week at Agualivar was so much better than we anticipated it would be. The family is SO warm and welcoming and cheerful. Fani and Eli (the sisters who run the business and are the teachers) are so fun and funny. Carmen, their mom, is so sweet and kind and is an amazing cook. The whole family is fun and friendly. The home is grand, surrounded by mango tree farm and olive groves, hills, and the Mediterranean sea. The family is environmentally conscious. The food we ate comes from their gardens and local vendors and it was all delicious and fresh.

Classes were held out on the veranda every morning, overlooking the pool and sea. Stefi and Fani are great at making learning a language fun, not like high school spanish at all! Both my husband and I gained confidence and knowledge, which helped us a lot for the two weeks we had to travel around Andalusia after our time at Agualivar. A couple of months before our stay, we had a zoom call together so they could asses our level and learn how we best like to learn, in order to tailor their teaching style with our needs.

In the afternoons, we had a choice to go out for a little excursion, or relax by the pool. We went for a walk with Fani along the coastline to a marina and beach bar, where we learned how to properly order a beer one afternoon. Another day Eli brought us to the dreamy little pueblo blanco called Frigliana. We toured the olive grove and Fani taught us all about how olive oil is made, how to read a label, and the differences between different olive oils. Then we had a tasting right under the shade of an olive tree, overlooking the hillside and the sea - pinch me! One afternoon we decided to take our car to a beach Fani recommended, and we loved it so much! One afternoon we had a cooking lesson (all in Spanish of course!) We learned to prepare Pallea Negro, using a variety of fresh seafood, including squid and its ink.

It was a dreamy mix of classroom time, excursion time, and rest time.

We loved having the freedom a rental car provided, but I think we would have been fine without one. The home and grounds and pool are so lovely, it would have been nice to spend an afternoon just doing nothing at Agualivar!

We agreed to the house rules to only speak Spanish the entire week, even with each other in our room and off the property. We weren't 100%, but we do understand that is the best way to train your brain.

We felt so comfortable, and everyone was so friendly and accommodating. We wish the greatest success to this family. This is hard work to open your home to strangers all the time, but they do it together and they do it all so well.

You will be so glad you chose Agualivar!

Pros
  • Instruction was excellent and fun
  • Food was amazing
  • Experiences outside of classroom were great
Cons
  • Unless you travel in a group of 4, you are stuck together with the others who are also taking the course the same week
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Chris
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Incredible School

I spent a week at Agulivar in September. Fani, Elisabeth, and their mother Carmen are all amazing, such wonderful people. From the moment I arrived they were all very warm and welcoming, we had great conversations and many laughs throughout the week. I only wish I'd stayed longer. They go out of their way to ensure they meet your learning needs and that you have a good experience. The whole program was fantastic, especially the food, the room was comfortable, private, and had an incredible view. Fani and Elisabeth are able to quickly adapt and accommodate the needs of all students present even if they are at different levels. If you ever dreamed of having a language immersion experience don't hesitate to choose Agualivar. I will definitely return when I am able.

Pros
  • Teachers
  • Lodging
  • Food

Programs

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Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Elisabeth Díez

Job Title
Co-Founder
Elisabeth co-owns Agualivar Spanish School. Before joining at the project, she worked as a Training Manager at different companies. It was during a business travel in Portugal when Elisabeth had the idea to create her own Spanish School. She brings her management skills, enthusiasm and a natural interest in people to Agualivar as well as her own experiences as a learner, combined with her creativity, complement her pedagogical training.
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How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

Elisabeth: Well, this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Before starting with Agualivar, I worked in other training companies. And I have had amazing experiences with students and co-workers. However, nothing compares to Agualivar. This school is our project. My co-workers and I have the opportunity to make a difference, as we have always dreamed, and it's incredible!

Agualivar has given me the chance to work in something I really love, and what is more important, the way I want. With small groups of students, in a family atmosphere, with lessons out the classroom, with creativity… without frontiers! Agualivar is not only my company, it's also my home.

It’s the place where students become friends. And the place where both teachers and students stop to learn. It is easy to realize when people are completely happy in their lives and that is just what Agualivar has brought to me.

What unique qualities does your company possess?

Elisabeth: Agualivar is not a traditional academy or school. It is a real house with a family and teachers who host the students. The learning process is very intensive because not only are students attending lessons in the morning or afternoon, but also sharing lunch and dinner together and enjoying all the activities of the day.

All we expect from the students is their involvement in our daily life and the promise to speak only Spanish. In exchange, we offer a unique experience in Spanish Immersion, where students will speak only in Spanish all the time, improving quickly and gaining confidence.

That is not simple or easy. However, we can do so by hosting only groups of four. In fact, most of our courses are individuals. So I would say what makes Agualivar unique is our home and having students feel like they are at home too.

What was your favorite traveling experience?

Elisabeth: It was an inter-rail though Europe. It was my first experience traveling abroad on my own so it was exciting! Meeting people in each city, running from one place to another, catching trains, sleeping in hostels or on the trains themselves…looking for something cheap to eat! It was an amazing experience that I always remember happily.

I try not to forget that experience because it reminds me best travels are those that are not planned. I experienced a lot of different funny moments in that travel and others less funny… But what I remember quite well is that I noticed how important languages skills were. At that moment, I didn’t know too much English and it was frustrating because I couldn't speak naturally with other backpackers.

Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of the Agualivar Spanish School team.

Elisabeth: It is always the same time: when students say goodbye and tell me how amazing their stay with us was. It is really quite comforting when people tell you that you’re doing a good job. But there was one student who made a difference and left a mark on me. She was a student from Luxembourg and stayed only one week in our school.

However, time in Agualivar is very relative… One week may seem like a month sometimes! That it is what happen when the immersion is so intensive! She decided to have one week in our school and other week in other one. First week was with us and the thing is that student and our family understood each other very well. The day of her departure, without going into many details, was very emotional.

Just hours after, I received a message from her to tell us that she already missed us and our house. We met again before she came back to Luxembourg. I noticed that I have achieved what I have dreamed! We are a team that works for something more than just a Spanish School.