EF Language Year Abroad in Barcelona, Spain

My academic year abroad with EF Málaga have been amazing. I have gone from just knowing a few words in spanish to being able to understand and talk with locals without any problem. I have made friends all over the world, which I'm sure I'll keep for life. You get really close with the people and friends here, as you live together and hang out all the time, both in school and in the free time. Also, living in Málaga while studying makes you "live the culture" and you learn a lot of new things that at least for me was new. It's very possible that the culture in your own country and the culture in Spain is different, so it's a change suddenly living there, but a positive change. I really liked that the staff in the school treat you like family, the bond in the classes are really strong, the teachers are really flexible and in the end you have a feeling of a second family in Spain. I recommend it strongly!

It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot about the culture of Spain, other cultures, other people and about myself. I made so many nice friends from all over the world, for example from Norway, Italy, Belgium, the US, France and of course from the Netherlands. I am sure that i will keep in touch with all of them and that they will be friends for life. The school is a really nice place, a beautiful building filled with nice people. The teachers and the staff are always ready to help you with no matter what.

When I started my course in January 2017 in EF Madrid, I thought it was going to be a difficult experience for me because it was one of the first times I left home without my parents. After arriving there, I quickly realized that this was going to be a great trip or even one of the best trips I ever did in my life. Indeed, I met great people throughout my journey in the school and in the city (people from all around the world that I still go see when I have the time). The EF staff is also amazing, everybody is there for you and everybody is really nice. If you are a shy person and you want to change that, I really recommend this school.
I was suppose to stay there for only 3 months but at the end I stayed 5 months there, I wanted to stay even longer but I couldn't due to personal things back in France but if I had a choice I would of stayed there.
I thank EF Madrid and EF Lyon for making a big part of my year really memorable and I would go back again and relive this experience if I could.

Hola Madrileños del futuro,

If you are considering traveling to a vibrant, wonderful, and indsutrious city, Madrid is the right place for you! In addition to immersing yourself in a new culture and language, Madrid caters to every type of person. This city is home to some of the best soccer teams (Real Madrid and Atletico), breath-taking museums, lucious parks, and great cafes.

As an EF student, you have all the support in the world. At school the curriculum is very interactive, instead of a traditional lecture. The teachers are here to help your Spanish improve every day. Although school is a great place to practice your Español, speaking with local Madrileños is extremely beneficial. Whether you are staying with a host family or at the EF Residence, I would strongly encourage you to engage with the locals. Including EF students and staff, everyone in Madrid is very approachable and nice.

My experience in a homestay has been superb. My host-mom cooks delicious traditional Spanish dishes, and I can always rely on here when I need help. The transit system here is very user-friendly. Many students take the metro to get to school and experience little difficult. If you are wanting to travel outside the city, there are regional buses that go to Segovia, Toledo, and Aranjuez for cheap prices. I have only been here for roughly two weeks, and my experience has been awesome!

Gracias,
Quique

I am currently studying Spanish in the EF school of Madrid. For those of you who are still doubting the benefits of coming here, let me turn them to dust.

This school has been, so far, the best experience of my life. Not only did I meet unforgettable people but ,while doing so, I also got to learn one of the most spread languages of the world.

Moreover, learning Spanish in the capital city is, according to me, the best choice one can make. Indeed, Madrid is the heart of Spain and therefore offers all the extracurricular activities you could ever imagine. Not to say, the amazingly nice staff members will for sure do everything they can to make of your stay here the best time of your life.

It seems like I couldn't have chosen a better place to study Spanish than the EF School in Málaga. The beautiful school with residence is located in the neighorhood of Pedregalejo, 5 minutes away from the beach and about 20 minutes away from Málagas city center, which is stunningly beautiful and exciting by the way. I had an amazing time there and would recommend this exact school to anyone who really wants to learn Spanish and have fun whilst doing that. The teachers at this school are the best, they really want you to learn the language, improve your skills and encourage you to speak Spanish outside of the classrooms as well.

The staff in general is really great.

The Residence Advisors and the other people taking care of the residence (if you choose to stay there like I did) are always around and help you with whatever problem you have.

The people that take care of the academics stuff always make sure you're in the right level and feel comfortable.
The extremely dedicated Activities Coordinator makes sure you're also having a good time outside of school with activities like visiting museums or going surfing but also helps you if you want to e.g. play the guitar or find a football team you can train with and keeps you updated about events in the city that you can go to.

They just know how hard it can be for someone to leave family and friends behind to study in a foreign country on their own so they try to make your experience as enjoyable and rewarding as it could be.

All together I can say that I really had the best time ever at EF Málaga, I improved my Spanish, met amazing and interesting people, made friends from all over the world and experience the southern Spanish way of living...

I chose to study spanish in Málaga because it's a beautiful city and it's not that far from my country, Norway. Education First Málaga is a school where you learn spanish. The teachers care about you and want to help you learn the language and about the spanish culture. You can choose to live at the school or in a host family. I chose a host family because I wanted to see how they live in spain, and also try new food. The school is only 20 minutes on the bus from the city centre. A normal day strarts at 09:00-13:20 or 12:00-16:40. We learn spanish by playing games, group work and grammar. The teaching is always in spanish, so if we don't understand a word they explain it in spanish or show us a picture or we google it. In the afternoon you can do different activities like horse riding, sports at the beach, kayaking and more. It's different every week and in the weekends you can travel to Marocco, Portugal, Sevilla, Cadiz, Granada, or wherever you want. I recomend Education First Málaga if you want to learn spanish and like the beach and a city that's not to big. I've leared a lot and the malageños are very open and welcoming.

I came to Spain for a year before college to play football (soccer) at a level higher than that availible in the US for 18 year olds. In order to obtain a Student Visa and stay in the country I had to take 20 hours of classes a week and chose to do this at Education First Barcelona. Being on a team of only Spanish speakers, the obvious choice was to study Spanish. At the same time to stay in touch with my future major, I took two online classes from MIT in physics and calculus. On top of that to keep me even more busy, I worked as a model in Barcelona through a local agency. A normal day for me included waking up at 7:30 am and essentially being on the move doing something until 12:30 am. That was my goal, to be busy and through it I believe I have gotten a ton out of my experiences. I have gotten better at soccer, depending on your definition, become fluent in Spanish, and above all else lived on my own as an 18 year old far far away from just about everything I know. All the pieces lined up exteremely well and I am sure that I have developed more individually over this year than any of my previous years and I highly recommend challengeing yourself as I have.