Program Reviews

My daughter attended the Spanish in Nature Summer camp in July 2023. She had a wonderful time and I would highly recommend the course for the following reasons.

The pre-travel information and organisation was excellent. I was able to email and speak to Esther, the director of the course. She was very helpful in answering all my questions. She also Skyped with my daughter to see her level of Spanish and it was nice to meet her in advance.

The host families are extremely carefully selected. Esther knows them all personally. They are therefore very suitable for giving the student a wonderful happy family experience. You are given information and contact details of the family well in advance, giving you time to contact and Skype them if you wish.

Esther personally picked my daughter up from the airport. We received a text, a phone call and a photo at the airport. She then let us know when my daughter had arrived at her host family. This was very reassuring as she had not flown by herself before.

This attention continued through the two weeks. My daughter was picked up and dropped off each day from her host family by Esther or other staff members.

The location of the camp is perfect. It is very convenient for Madrid and the airport. The school is situated in a National Park area. This meant my daughter was able both to enjoy the beautiful countryside and to get to know the city. As the camp is quite high, the weather was warm but not too hot.

The lessons were excellent. My daughter's Spanish improved and she gained a lot of confidence.

All the staff were very friendly. They all made a huge effort to make my daughter feel welcome and encouraged her to use her Spanish and talked to her as much as possible.
The animators were excellent at making the activities great fun.

The afternoon activities were very well thought out and varied. My daughter loved the kayaking, rope and water parks. Camping out in a beautiful national park was an amazing opportunity. She had the chance to get to know Madrid on two visits, one around the city and another to the beautiful El Retiro Park. She also liked the Manzanares el Real castle.
The lunch at the school was very good and healthy. Little touches like delicious watermelon and ice cream treats were much appreciated.

We received regular updates and photos from Esther.

Special mention to my daughter’s host mother who made every effort to make my daughter feel at home. She cooked delicious meals for her in the evening and always talked to her in Spanish finding out about her day. She had a very nice time over the weekend with her extended family and visited El Escorial on the middle Sunday.

The return journey was also excellent. Again my daughter was driven by Esther to the airport and her husband waited with Emily while she checked her bag in.

On her return our daughter was very excited to tell us about the friends she had made, how much her Spanish had improved and all the fun she had had on the activities.

I am so pleased I found Spanish in Nature. It was a huge success.

My son Ivan (14 years) had a great time, learnt more Spanish fast, made friends and enjoyed the lovely setting and trips to Madrid. The family type arrangements are a great plus, making students feel supported and safe. I am pleased with his progress and will definitely encourage him to go back next year.
My son Ivan (14 years) had a great time, learnt more Spanish fast, made friends and enjoyed the lovely setting and trips to Madrid. The family type arrangements are a great plus, making students feel supported and safe. I am pleased with his progress and will definitely encourage him to go back next year.

This is an amazing program with highest quality and warm home touch. The opportunities for all students and level of engagement from peers to family to education is 10 star. Communication with families at home was consistent. This is an authentic program where care and quality are highest. It changed our son’s whole outlook on the world! We give our highest recommendation. Since this time my son has applied and been accepted to a high school semester full immersion experience in Spain. Spanish in Nature was the spark that will lead to a lifetime of learning.

I just completed a 1 week stay with Alvaro and Esther and their unique Spanish immersion program. It was, by far, the most thoughtful and well organized language program I have ever attended. The main difference from other programs I have attended either abroad or in the US, is that the students have the opportunity to live with their professors the entire week. Esther conducted an online evaluation (both written and oral via Zoom) to assess my level before arriving. Their experience working with students of different levels allowed them to communicate in an effective manner which allowed me to be progress much more rapidly. When I arrived I had significant difficulty with auditory comprehension. By the end of the week I was able to understand most everything that was said.

The program is also much more than language immersion. In addition to structured learning periods, Alvaro and Esther planned multiple activities to introduce their students to all aspects of Spanish culture including tours of important historical and cultural sites in the greater Madrid area.

Another huge bonus to the program is that both Alvaro and Esther are fabulous cooks and enjoy sharing their love of traditional Spanish cuisine. I very much enjoyed getting to know their 3 children some of their friends which gives the student a window into the life of a Spanish family.

This is a wonderful and very affordable opportunity to learn Spanish while also visiting some of the most beautiful parts of the Madrid area.
I cannot recommend this program more highly.

Our daughter Joanna has just finished her one week half term camp which was an absolutely incredible experience for her. The camp was very well-organized, the teachers were excellent, the program was full of interesting activities and attractions. Our daughter had an amazing adventure learning Spanish with Spanish in Nature. She also made some great friends during the camp. I’m sure that the educational and cultural activities of the camp had a great positive impact on her self-confidence in expressing herself in Spanish. She came back with much greater fluency in Spanish, which she noticed after the camp, while spending few days in Madrid and communicating in Spanish, she received a lot of nice compliments about her language abilities.
The host family that was chosen for Joanna was absolutely fantastic. They were easy going, very friendly and nice to our daughter, inviting her to their day-to-day life. Obviously, speaking the whole time in Spanish with the family, helped her a lot to improve her Spanish.
The whole time Esther, Álvaro and other teachers were very caring with their students. What’s more, before, during and after the camp, Esther was very helpful and keen to answer every single question of ours.
I would highly recommend Spanish in Nature to everyone.

I had the opportunity to have a real immersion experience for a week at Spanish in Nature.

I loved the concept of being able to live and study in your teacher's home. I have attended language schools in the past and was looking for an experience outside the traditional classroom. I found it!

Esther and Alvaro and family were fantastic, fun and funny hosts and teachers, taking care of all details and offering the full immersion experience, from food, traditions, day excursions to nearby towns, using colloquialisms and, essentially showing me how to live like a Spaniard. I loved waking up to the quiet each morning and having a beautiful view of the mountains right outside my bedroom window or while eating the afternoon comida.

For me, Spanish in Nature offered the right amount of formal, structured learning (grammar, speaking, listening) with the added benefit of more casual learning, like having a conversation while strolling and taking in the sites around the town, or during a hike in the mountains while hunting for mushrooms.

Thank you Esther and Alvaro for the wonderful, unique experience. It is obvious how much you love your work!

I cannot recommend the school highly enough.

In one week I learned more than several weeks on a standard language course.

Everyone in the family is warm, friendly and helpful. Immediately you are made to feel welcome and at ease . All your interests and tastes are carefully catered for, from the food you eat, to your lesson plans, to your daily timetable. Anyone with any doubts or reservations will feel immediately reassured: they genuinely want you to have a wonderful experience.

The only downside is that I would have loved to have stayed longer!

I'm 37 years old and I spent 1 week with Esther and family in November to improve my very basic Spanish, it has been a great experience! Before getting there my doubts were about how it would feel to live 24/7 with a family within their house and also if my Spanish would really progress in just 1 week. In fact living in the house has been very easy and interaction with the family has been full of very interesting conversations, you have your space and the whole family is very friendly and easy going, we had a lot of interesting conversations. Regarding the classes they have been able to tailor made them to my needs which made me progress quite rapidly, moreover speaking the whole time Spanish during the day helped me a lot. They really make a great effort to make you speak the whole day ;) On top of that the location is impressive and very relaxing and the house very cozy and clean. Concerning the activities I was able to decide what to do and had nice cultural visits and outdoor activities. I can warmly recommend Spanish in Nature!

Coming back to Spanish in Nature for a second linguistic immersion felt very much like visiting old friends. Esther and Alvaro have this incredible ability to make students feel at home in their beautiful house, while juggling family life and the requirements of the School.
Alvaro, Ana and Lucia, my teachers, were able to zero in exactly on what I needed to learn and design lessons accordingly. My skills improved considerably in a week, which helped sustain my interest in continuing to learn Spanish at home and become fluent.
I really appreciated the time and energy spent by Esther and Alvaro in offering an extensive cultural program. Visits to Segovia, Avila, the Escorial, Alcala de Henares and the Valle de los Caídos were among the highlights of my trips to Spain.
Spanish in Nature offers an incredible linguistic and cultural immersion in a unique family setting. I can’t imagine a better way to discover Spain.

In June this year I spent a homestay week with Spanish in Nature. It was a highlight of my holiday and at the end of the week I felt very sad to leave. My level of spoken Spanish was very basic when I arrived and I didn’t realise until I left how much my confidence and ability had improved.
The family is beautiful – friendly, open and very patient, the accommodation is very comfortable and the home cooked food was delicious and plentiful.
The teachers prepared morning lessons that were challenging, fun and level appropriate and the afternoon excursions were interesting and varied. My favourites were a walk in the beautiful mountains nearby and a tour of Madrid followed by a Flamenco show.
Esther and Alvaro work hard and have put a lot of thought into delivering a fantastic language, culture and history experience that not only exceeded my expectations, it also made me feel that I wanted to learn more about Spain as well as continue to improve my language skills. They also provided encouragement and great recommendations for continuing to learn and practice Spanish at home.
For me it was a perfect week and I hope I will have the opportunity to return.