Amazing homestay with great teachers and a wonderful family!!

To put my review in context I am a 34 year old man, working in finance in London. Prior to staying with Spanish in Nature (Esther & Alvaro) I was studying on an evening course twice a week in London and had just completed 60 hours of classroom lessons at the time I flew out to them (October 2018). 60 hours sounds like a lot but for me it was just enough to have some very very basic knowledge of Spanish with very little spoken Spanish. Being an older student I was a bit nervous about what to expect. Having returned a couple of weeks ago I can honestly say that it was one of the best experiences of my life not only for learning the language but also to have spent time with an amazing family and to have also learnt about Spanish culture and been able to experience different afternoons out in places I never would have seen in my life. From the moment you arrive every second is in Spanish. Being pretty new to the language it probably took my brain a day or two to start fully absorbing the words and phrases and to start committing them to memory. However you soon find yourself keen to speak and ask questions and have normal every day conversations that you’re never going to get in a classroom. My studying was tailored to my level of Spanish and I felt like the pace and the things that I learned were just the right amount for me. My tutor Alícia came to the house every morning for a few hours and we had classroom based lessons. She’s an excellent teacher and knows just how to structure the lessons to your specific level, I was very impressed. After the lesson I would then do a quick bit of homework, then we’d sit down for lunch and talk in Spanish about every day things. After lunch for the afternoon I was then fortunate to go hiking with Alvaro and/or Esther, into Madrid to see the city, or to go see flamenco or into Segovia. The days flew by and I was genuinely very sad to leave them after a week as very much felt part of their family, they are wonderful people and their children also engage with you over dinner to help you learn. The one regret for me is that I only stayed for one week. I think to really accelerate your learning, two weeks minimum is better as when you return you find yourself answering questions in Spanish or just wanting to speak it every second. I can’t recommend Spanish in Nature enough, they are excellent and I’m hoping to return next year to learn more and spend time with them all! If anyone has any questions I’m happy if you want to reach out to me but I promise you will not be disappointed at all :)