Program Reviews

The teen program was beyond my expectations; I'll tell everyone I know how great it is! I loved Caroly’s teaching style. Most of the class was fun and engaging conversations in Spanish. It really helped my speaking and listening a lot (the most important in my opinion). I love all the extra practice I got in the extracurricular activities, adventure tours, and volunteering with Club A! The campus is beauiful and feels like a second home during my stay. My group only stayed a week and I wish we could have stayed longer!

Después de haber vivido esta bella experiencia de la cual ustedes han sido parte, quiero darles las gracias por todo lo que han hecho por mi, realmente lo aprecio mucho. Gracias por ayudarme con mi sueño de mejorar mi español, ser paciente, y por todo tu apoyo. Los extrañaré mucho a mi familia Tica y toda la gente en el Instituto Estelar. Espero que podamos seguir comunicandonos desde Virginia, especialmente con mi familia Tica. Quiero visitarlos nuevamente cuando regrese a Costa Rica. Los quiero y los llevo en mi corazón.

I had the pleasure of learning Spanish at Instituto Estelar Bilingue for 2 weeks in beautiful Costa Rica! I learned a lot about the culture, saw many beautiful places and also improved in my Spanish immensely. I really loved the warm atmosphere created by the school and the teachers. Caroly and Merlin were really helpful in answering any grammar questions that I had or just on life in general in Costa Rica! They made the lessons fun and engaging making grammar something that I actually looked forward to in my lessons. Thank you to both Spanish teachers and of course to Bethany for making me feel so welcome at the school. I also, took part in some of the extra-curricular activities such as cooking and have found my new favorite guilty pleasure- Patacones and can somewhat dance the salsa after a quick class… Thank you for making my experience great!

I have loved studying Spanish at Instituto Estelar. I took five weeks of the immersion program and can't believe how much I progressed! The staff is warm and friendly, and teach in a way that is practical and easy to understand. I love being in Merlyn's and Caroly's class because they provide ample opportunity to converse and practice what we are learning. I really enjoyed going to the Farmers Market: Caroly made it fun and educational. Club A is always enjoyable. The children are always happy to see us, and are easy to engage. The staff is great! Estelar's English and Spanish teachers, reception, director, all go above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and allow for a comfortable environment in which to learn. My hostmother, Iris, is extremely kind and thoughtful. She is always giving consideration to what I might need, and is happy to help. She's a fabulous cook. One thing I appreciate about the family, is while they are caring and look out for me, they are not overly protective. While they might offer cautions and advice, they have allowed me to explore and experience Liberia and Costa Rica to the extent of my desire.

I really enjoyed having one on one classes with Merlyn. She was able to answer my questions, and provide clarification when necessary. She provided examples of how to use new information. The lessons are quick paced, but I felt like I learned a lot. I also enjoyed the conversational aspect of the class. I attended Club A, Spanglish and a cooking class this week. I especially loved Club A. I went on the Farmers Market tour this week and enjoyed it. The staff is always friendly and helpful, and the institute is always in a very clean condition. Dona Iris is my Tica madre. I really enjoyed living with them, they went above and beyond to make me feel welcome, comfortable and safe. I enjoyed that they expressed concern for me, but were not over the top in trying to make me feel like the city is unsafe. I especially loved the quiet morning breakfasts with Iris, as it is the time that we got to spend talking and practicing my Spanish.

Learn English at Instituto Estelar! Simple as that. I can’t begin to describe how much progress I made studying Spanish at Estelar and the crazy thing is it was only for a week! I had Caroly as my teacher and she was beyond helpful. Overall, she was an outstanding teacher and it really showed in her lessons as well because they were always really fun. I mainly enjoyed the open discussions and how engaging the lessons were which were then supplemented by games and extra-curricular activities! The games were directed to learning topics that we had previously covered but also common conversational Spanish that really made me think outside the box. Aside from improving in my Spanish I also felt that I was much more confident coming out of the program and the biggest plus was being able to converse more with the local Ticas. I thoroughly recommend taking Spanish courses at Instituto Estelar Bilingue, you won’t regret it. Thank you all that you did for me.

Overall, fantastic. I really appreciated the individual attention and adaptability of my instructors to my learning style. Only thing I would suggest is, make me ask more questions! When we are having a long convo, it is pretty easy for me to simply sit and listen, and I am trying to be better about engaging actively instead of just trying to understand. Love cooking and dancing lessons. They are so fun, and I cannot wait to go home and show off. The trips were great, and the help in coordinating hikes, etc, was super useful. I found everyone to be incredibly friendly, welcoming, and attentive. Excellent experience. My Mama Tica is Annia Garcia Gerra, and my experience has been incredibly comfortable and fun. My host family talks with me every day in Espanol and is incredibly patient. The food is wonderful, and they are very supportive of my studying and various adventures.
Deydi was incredibly flexible and did everything she could to answer my questions and to make sure I learned what I needed before I left town. She was encouraging, precise, and very knowledgable. Thank you so much Deydi!! Super helpful and inspiring. Spanglish helped me meet locals with whom I got to hang out outside of class. The tour to the chocolate farm was amazing and so fun. Staff here is amazing, friendly, and helpful. They could not have provided a better environment in which to learn Spanish.

Beyond my expectations: this teacher is the best I've ever had! Teacher was knowledgable and very kind. Staff was professional and extermely helpful. I learned a lot of Spanish in 1 week. Club A was very exciting and I was extremely glad to help children. Class was phonomenal. Learning activities met my needs. This is a great class for all people who want to learn spanish. Great she will teach you what you need to know about spanish. I participated in Club A! It was very fun and it feels good to help other people. Everyone was very nice and everything was organized.

An excellent experience!! It was my first experience of an intensive Spanish class and I loved it. My teacher was very helpful and made the classes very conversational. My experience with my teacher was great, it was really interactive. She was always willing to answer my questions, even after class. She really explained everything well and assigned a reasonable amount of homework to complete, which was great practice. It was awesome, it was great to interact with younger students and start to see their progress. Playing games while incorporating english was a great way to see progress within the students.

Both teachers Caroly and Maryln were great because they had such a good attitude about teaching. I was very happy with pace of the classes because I found it challenging. I learned alot in the short stay I had here and believe this has alot to do with how great the teachers were. Club A was Beyond my expectations: a truly unforgettable, rewarding experience! My host parents were awesome. They were very accomadating and hospitable. They only spoke Spanish to me which was awesome!