Instituto Estelar Bilingüe

I found Merlyn to be a great teacher. She was able to clearly explain concepts. Her main challenge in this particular class was to manage the different levels of the students, which I think she did quite well. I think the extra activities were fantastic! every opportunity to practice speaking spanish is great, and to have experienced teachers ad willing converstion participants is really helpful! Everyone was truly amazing, being as helpful as possible at every given opportunty. The facility is also great! I love your initiatives to reduce waste (e.g. laminating materials, not writing on the test paper so it can be reused etc.). My hostmom Iris is amazing, she's super patient with my wife and I and takes her time to teach us spanish. She took very good care of us while we were her, cooking and cleaning for us and always making sure we were contento. Johnny was also very patient and helpful in teaching us spanish and making us feel welcome and informed.

I spent a month in this Spanish immersion program, and all of my teachers were awesome. My profesora Nelly was amazing! Gabriela was also a fantastic professor! She was patient, kind and was willing to answer questions. Gabriela is fun and knowledgeable! Class was dynamic and efficient. I learned a lot in one week! The class was fun, and I liked the different learning styles like conversation, dialogue, playing games and writing. The class with Merlyn was awesome too! The class was intense and there was a lot of new information to learn. Merlyn made it interactive, easy, and fun. She answered questions as needed and was willing to give additional examples. Merlyn often shared stories of her own which made her easily relatable and allowed opportunity for conversation. Homework was assigned daily.

I enjoyed the activities during that week that allow me to practice my Spanish. I attended intercambio, spanglish social and a cooking class. I enjoyed the planned trips. It was unfortunate that some of the trips were more expensive or could not be done due to the lack of the number of people signed up to go. The director and staff were helpful. The school was clean and well organized. I appreciated the books available upstairs.

My mama Tica es excelente! My family was amazing - Leti made me feel at home and was willing to change meal plans as necessary. The house was clean and she regularly changed my bedding as well as washed my clothing. They only spoke to me in Spanish and although it was somewhat challenging at first, it became one of the things I eagerly anticipated most when I would return home in the evening and share dinner with the family.

The campus is clean and organized. There are always spaces available for studying and quiet time. 

The class, program and teachers have been exceptionaly helpful, especialy helpful when I was having problems with the study. Gabriela was and is an exceptional instructor. The staffs help with self trips was again excellent. My experience was beyond my expectations. Everyone has been very helpful. The facilities and staff are exceptional and provide every need that I might have had this first week. Andrea Zunigo and her familly were wonderful. The class with Merlyn was my favorita. The discussions were very helpful for my understanding of how to use the language. Having a classmate to engage with in these talks was also most helpful. Merlyn was so great at facilitating the talks while correcting us on the fly. Very, very helpful! The intercambio practice was great. Wish I had done it sooner. Andrea and her familly were, are wonderful to stay and interact with.

Mi profesora era muy buena e inteligente. Creo que ella me enseno mucho. La clase fue excelente! Todas las actividades eran divertidas y útiles. Los viajes y las actividades eran buenos - especialmente Club A. El personel del Estelar fue muy excelente. Mi familia fue excelente también: doña Iris era muy amable y la comida era suficiente y muy rica.

Beyond my expectations; I'll tell everyone I know how great it is! My teacher is completely amazing...fantastic modeling and gestures. She shows passion in her lessons and compassion with her students.

My whole visit with Estelar was wonderful. I came for 10 days with my high school last summer, and the institute did an exceptional job organizing our group of 19 people. Estelar was the perfect combination of service work, spanish immersion and exploration. My host family was very welcoming, warm, patient with my developing Spanish, and helpful. The day trips were incredible and beautiful and the classes were informative but also fun. I absolutely loved Club A - those kids are amazing. Overall a great trip.