I just finished a one month intensive TEFL course at Maximo Nivel and I truly enjoyed my time there. My home stay was lovely, more of a bed and breakfast/inn vibe than a proper homestay and I had the best time there, great food, strong wifi, clean home. The staff at Maximo go above and beyond to make sure their clients have everything they need. They know most people my name and often check in to make sure everything is going smoothly. The facilities are great. There is a beautiful courtyard with a fountain in Casa I and a lovely terrace in Casa II with weekly social activities, salsa lessons, cooking lessons, chips and guac. What made the experience so wonderful, however, was the TEFL Trainer, Karen Wilke. She is an inspiration and a true joy to be around. She paces the course so well and is very knowledgable. Karen reinforces the ESL methodologies she is teaching by using them to teach. Her observations and feedback were so detailed and really did help me become a better teacher. I would highly recommend this program, most importantly because Karen Wilke is the trainer.

The Maximo Nivel TEFL course in Antigua was an excellent experience. The support Maximo provides, from airport pickup upon arrival to providing space to store your luggage while you travel after the course, and everything en between, was superb. The Maximo team works hard to ensure that you will feel comfortable and have everything you need while completing your program in a foreign country.

The course itself was intensive- you can have fun, but be prepared to work hard and learn a lot too. Upon completing the course, including a week of practical teaching in a real classroom, I felt well equipped to teach English myself. Karen Wilke, the teacher, was an amazing example of what a teacher can and should be, in a class about teaching. What more can you ask for in a teacher? She consistently utilized techniques that she was teaching us to to be able to utilize, so we understood firsthand just how effective they are. She truly cared about our success in the course and in our teaching careers afterward, and provided and continues to provide invaluable support with her extensive TEFL experience.

Guatemala is a beautiful country with warm, friendly people and tons to see and do. Antigua is an excellent home base for experiencing what the country has to offer. I am very happy with my decision to take the TEFL course there and would highly recommend it to anybody else interested in TEFL.

This was honestly an eye-opener for me I had no idea what I was going into when I decided to take this course I was unprepared for the amount of love and support I was going to receive when coming to this course. Choosing to go to Guatemala was a stressful point for my parents and I'd be lying if I said I felt safe visiting Guatemala. Media portrays it as a place of violence and turmoil, but I can say with confidence that a lot of those rumors are untrue. This is coming from someone who walked home at least twice a week after 1 in the morning and I'm a female ( I'm in no way advocating for people to do this, I HAD NO DATA FOR AN UBER, which is dirt cheap here, invest in a sim card guys, also really cheap I was just lazy). Any ways my point is don't believe everything you see or read, this place is beautiful and the people even more so. My trainer Karen was one of a kind and such an inspirational figure she pushed each and everyone of us and the people at Maximo international department were truly angels. If you're thinking of going anywhere give Guatemala a go who knows you might just love it.

The TEFL certification course was well organized and interesting. Our TEFL Trainer, Karen Wilke was full of energy and great knowledge and experience. She recognized our strengths and worked towards that rhythm. Initially, I was very nervous as I was going back to study after decades. But within a week I was very comfortable and looking forward to this new adventure. It was well balanced with the assignments and lots of examples and demonstrations were shown before we went into practical teaching. We made some good friends during this course and met people from different cultures and beliefs. In the end, we became very comfortable and I partly wished this never ended. The practical teaching on the first day was nerve wrecking, but very quickly I felt at ease. The Students were very friendly and warm. I enjoyed the course and would recommend it to anyone looking to get this certificate.

First of all, don't think of Antigua, Guatemala as a place to avoid. It is a beautiful colonial city in a developing country. Everywhere in the world has dangerous pockets and safe pockets and Antigua is definitely one of the best spots in Guatemala. Of course, take precautions when it comes to your safety but you should do that anywhere. Plus, Guatemala has Lake Atitlan and Tikal to check plus a bunch of other things that I would check out if I had more time.

Karen is a very experienced trainer that will help you out through this process. The program spends a week covering teaching theory and philosophy, a week of English grammar, a week putting this together, and then a week teaching an actual class. Before I took this course I had heard from many people to avoid a lower hour number course and I'm glad I listened to that advice because I don't know how I would feel prepared to teach with much less training plus I have noticed on many job postings from Asia that they will not accept TEFL certifications below a certain hour number or without actual teaching. I definitely recommend this course specifically but if you choose a different course make sure you choose a higher hour number course or you will be wishing you had.

The whole team at Maximo Nivel was amazing, and for the sake of time I will just say this: any positive superlative (a subject I presented on in Maximo's TEFL program) you could think might apply to an international TEFL program applies to Maximo. They are truly great!

Karen Wilke, our TEFL instructor, was amazing and gave so much of herself in helping everyone in the class put forth their best work. She's knowledgable, makes the material relatable, and does it in a way where class was often fun and funny. Not something I expected from a TEFL program.

I left this program feeling like a better teacher, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in become a better teacher, getting a TEFL certificate, and experiencing a new country.

I had an AMAZING experience during the TEFL course at Maximo Nivel in Antigua, Guatemala!

I came to Guatemala on vacation and had not wanted a job so that I could decompress and reflect. However, a week and a half before the course started I fell into a teaching position somewhat arbitrarily. I hadn't yet volunteered in Guatemala so I felt that teaching achieved this because of the difference in pay that I had been accustomed to.

I had also wanted to apply myself to some activity, have fun, and contribute to society. After a week of teaching English for the first time, the administrators told me that I needed a TEFL certification. This course allowed me to achieve these goals!

I decided to take the TEFL course at the last minute and I'm very glad that I did! Karen Wilke was my instructor and she proved to be the best teacher that I've had in my life. That's saying quite a lot given that I'm 39 and have had many academic and professional instructors.

Karen had an excellent blend of "art and science" and she helped me draw ideas from her varying methods to develop a hybrid teaching approach of my own.

Karen also made the course fun, which was essential given it's rigorous nature. Several of us students said that we would have been completely miserable if the course hadn't been fun.

Our teachers were phenomenal in all aspects! The course was tougher than what I expected but the support was great! Maximo Nivel is such a professional organization, I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Antigua, Guatemala is such a beautiful destination - I would definitely suggest taking more time to explore either side of the course to explore more of this wonderful country!

There are so many great activities that Maximo provides on a daily basis too, you honestly feel like part of a big family. The graduation event was a really special end to a wonderful month!

I can’t thank you Maximo Nivel enough for providing such a great ambiance for us all to learn all aspects of TEFL! I can’t wait to get out there and use everything I learned to teach, teach, teach!!!