Location
  • Spain
    • Barcelona
Term
Academic Year, Fall, J-Term, Spring, Summer, Winter
Subject Areas
Cultural Studies Global Studies Language Studies Linguistics

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Housing
Apartment Dormitory Host Family
Language
Spanish

Pricing

Starting Price
13890
Price Details
Twenty Two Weeks:
Your choice of course, with 26, or 32 lessons per week (40 min/lesson)
Your selected EF Accommodation (Upgrades Available)
A range of meal plan options, depending on your accommodation and preferences
An action-packed schedule of activities and excursions led by EF Activities Managers
Language level assessments, progress tests, and certifications
Access to EF Campus Learning (including six months access post-program) and EF Campus Connect to enhance your studies and help you easily manage your trip. Free Wi-Fi available on campus
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Classes Meals Visa Wifi
What's Not Included
Airfare
Jun 09, 2025
Mar 02, 2023
46 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Learn Spanish in Barcelona with EF Language Year Abroad—an immersive, multi-term journey designed to help you gain fluency and cultural insight for academic and personal success. Join our accredited program in Spain’s most dynamic city, where Gaudí’s architecture, Mediterranean beaches, and tapas nights set the stage for language mastery. With flexible intakes in September, January, April, and June, your experience is fully customizable—from two to four terms and small classes and native-speaking instructors this creates a dream Gap Year.

Your program includes tuition, housing, meals, and activities, plus the chance to personalize your academic focus with Special Interest Classes that enhance cultural fluency. Live like a local, connect with students from 100+ countries, and benefit from structured mentorship, community engagement, and a final capstone project to showcase your growth. A truly life-changing blend of Spanish fluency, global connections, unforgettable adventures

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Impact 🌎

Bringing sustainable practices to the heart of our business starts with understanding the full scope of our carbon footprint. To do this, we joined forces with a global leader in carbon accounting and voluntary climate protection projects: myclimate.

Program Highlights

  • Study topics that align with your career or passions. Enhance your CV to succeed as a global citizen.
  • EF Language Year Abroad offers flexible intakes in September, January, April, and June
  • Book excursions to Madrid, Málaga, Costa Brava, Andorra ski resorts & more
  • Choose to reside with a local host family or in the EF Residence, an international dorm.
  • EF students hail from over 100 countries around the world.

Popular Programs

EF Language Year Abroad students prepping for exams

Prepare for officially recognized language exams - DELE is the only exam for non-native Spanish speakers officially recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture. These exams, recognized around the world, enhance your resume and pave the way to university acceptance and international careers in many diverse fields.

EF Volunteer Experience

Dedicate time to charity: Test out your language skills and gain international business experience in a busy workplace. You can add a volunteer experience to any of our language programs.

Volunteer Experience: Get international experience volunteering part-time at a local organization. Improve your language skills and gain valuable experience for your CV.

Program Reviews

4.95 Rating
based on 22 reviews
  • 5 rating 95.45%
  • 4 rating 4.55%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.7
  • Support 4.95
  • Fun 4.9
  • Housing 4.95
  • Safety 4.8
Showing 9 - 16 of 22 reviews
Default avatar
Amanda
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Abroad with EF Málaga

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!

144 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Rosa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Academic Year abroad with EF Malaga

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.

100 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Sam
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Life experience

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.

What would you improve about this program?
Sometimes there're some students that don't really want to learn the language even if they made the choice to go to EF. So I think that the school should try to inform themselves on that student and try to make them want to learn the language and not make their trip only a "little unmemorable vacation". Everybody deserves to
101 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Henry
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Becoming a Madrileño

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

What would you improve about this program?
How to save your money! It is best to go to the super- market instead of buying lunch everyday. Also, check out the free activities.
104 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Victoria
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The experience of a lifetime in Madrid

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.

106 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jana
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My experience with EF Málaga

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...

101 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ragnhild
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My experience in Málaga

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.

What would you improve about this program?
The program could be improved if the students would try to speak spanish all the time, not only in class but also after school. The teacher are encoruaging us a lot, and we learn faster if we try to speak the lenguage all the time.
94 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Evan
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My experience in Spain

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.

What would you improve about this program?
I have found that kids who come to Barcelona with the idea to only study Spanish end up not having as full an experience. I understand that I am biased, but I believe that if the program were to improve, it would be with finding ways for kids to pursue and find hobbies outside of school, with clubs or other programs. I have found that piece outside of school with soccer and I feel like other students would have more fun, if they had that piece. This is also as much up to the student as it is to the program.
100 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers

Hello! Our gap year and semester programs start at age 16 year through professional adults and for all language levels. During the summer, we offer special programs for students 13-15. Feel free to get in touch if you'd like a personalized price quote. Thanks for your interest!

Hey Jazlyn! We teach through the upper advanced levels (C in the Common European Framework of Language Learning). Before you begin your course you will take a placement test and then be placed with other EF students who are at your level. With Spanish experience, you could make a lot of progress!