Spanish Immersion Program for Adults and Families

I spent the first two weeks of April 2024 at the Agualivar School of Spanish Immersion. The setting is the family home/farm of the teachers, Eli and Fani, and overlooks the Mediterranean Sea just east of the city of Malaga. The school’s atmosphere is relaxed and intensive at the same time, because of the concentration and focus necessary to adopt your non-native language 24/7.

Fani and Eli use teaching methods that are instructive and fun. Both teachers are also exceptional in their ability to explain Spanish grammatics, sentence structure, parts of speech and colloquialisms.

Each morning is dedicated to didactic lessons and each afternoon involves excursions with family friend, Anna, to nearby landmarks/towns and/or cultural experiences, e.g., beachside refreshment huts for beer and tapas.

Anyone looking for serious exposure to the Spanish language, mixed with a very comfortable family home atmosphere and top flight Spanish instructors should seriously consider Agualivar Spanish Immersion School as money well spent.

En Español:
Pasé las dos primeras semanas de abril de 2024 en la Escuela de Inmersión en Español de Agualivar. El entorno es la casa/granja familiar de las profesoras, Eli y Fani, y tiene vistas al Mar Mediterráneo, justo al este de la ciudad de Málaga. El ambiente de la escuela es relajado e intensivo al mismo tiempo, porque la concentración y el enfoque necesarios para adoptar tu idioma no nativo 24/7.

Fani y Eli utilizan métodos de enseñanza que son instructivos y divertidos. Ambas profesoras también son destacadas por excepcionales en su capacidad para explicar la gramática española, la estructura de las oraciones, las partes del habla y los coloquialismos.

Cada mañana se dedica a lecciones didácticas y cada tarde incluye excursiones con Anna, una amiga amable de la familia, a lugares/pueblos y/o experiencias culturales cercanas, por ejemplo, chiringuitos para tomar cerveza y tapas.

Cualquiera que busque una exposición seria al idioma español, combinado con un ambiente hogareño muy cómodo e instructores de español de alta categoria, debería considerar seriamente la Escuela de Inmersión en Español Agualivar como dinero bien invertido.

What a fantastic experience ! Fani, Elly and Carmen welcome you into their beautiful home and make you feel right at home. Lovely, comfortable, clean rooms and beautiful surroundings . Delicious home cooked food every day prepared and shared with the family .
The daily Spanish lessons are excellent , well planned and fun. In addition to the lessons you are taken out and about locally each day for further tuition by the lovely Anna.
This is total immersion and very full on. Absolutely no other language than Spanish . A brilliant way to test your Spanish skills and gain confidence .

Exhausting but well worth it.

I recommend this course to anyone who is serious about moving their Spanish to another level 😊

I had an amazing experience with the Agualivar Spanish Language Immersion program. From the beginning, everything was perfect: Fani very kindly setup travel for a fellow student and I, and we had a really enjoyable taxi ride with the friendly driver to and from the school. We were shown to our rooms, which have balconies and spectacular sea views as well as private bathrooms.

The meals were delicious, with fresh food and warm conversation. There were four students the week I was there, and I appreciated how much care and attention we each got. I was the least experienced with communicating, so it was not always easy to keep up with everyone, but I never felt anything but encouraged. Fani was always so kind and encouraging, as well as expressive, so adept at being understood. She made sure I had as much opportunity to talk as anyone else. As the least capable, it would have been easy to be overshadowed by better students, but that never happened, and I really appreciated the effort Fani made for me to participate equally.

The coursework is well-designed, with a personal touch that encouraged us to speak and question. We had homework every day, and time to rest in our pretty rooms, so took that time to immerse in the language even when taking in a quiet moment. There was even time to take a dip in the pool while I was there.

We had several really fun outings to see some lovely sights. I really enjoyed everything about Agualivar. The week was spectacular, and don’t think you could find a better Spanish immersion program.

My goal was to push myself to grow to the next level, and thanks to the skill of Fani’s teaching and her warm encouragement, I feel greatly improved speaking and understanding Spanish. I have even stayed in touch (communicating only in Spanish of course) with one of my fellow students. It was hard work and a glorious experience.

I had a great experience at the Agualivar Spanish School. Th home where we stayed is large and beautiful, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. They made every effort to provide delicious food, accommodating everyone's tastes. The Spanish lessons were geared to my level and every day we had a new experience. The experiences included tasting olive oil, exploring a supermarket in Spanish, exploring nearby towns, and a cooking class. They were well organized and classes were individualized. I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to improve their Spanish. It is for intermediate and advanced learners.

The week I spent at Agualivar learning Spanish was incredible! My Spanish improved greatly and I learned about Spanish culture. The gorgeous house (mansion) where we had classes and meals and slept was so unique. My room had a balcony with an unobstructed view of the sea and the olive trees on the property. Our small group had lessons together which were quite varied and we had excellent meals together where of course we only spoke Spanish since it’s an immersion school. I loved that we had activities each day that took us to neighboring towns and areas so I feel like I got to know Malaga – and would gladly return there as well as to the Agualivar school. Our teachers were excellent and I really enjoyed our small class size.

I stayed at Agualivar for one month and had a life changing experience!! Although my experience with Agualivar was nearly two years ago, I still often remember this time with nothing but gratitude. My review will not be able to do my experience justice because it was just that special!! Somehow Eli and Fani were able to uniquely tailor my experience to my learner needs and travel wishes making it exceed all of my expectations. Fani, Eli, and Carmen welcomed me into their home and made me feel like a part of their family! They are so kind and full of love and warmth. They are truly some of the most special people I have met- they quickly changed from being teachers to friends. They were thoughtful and intentional in how they crafted this experience for me and the other students. For example, I spent the American holiday Thanksgiving with them, and they created an incredibly elaborate feast for us to celebrate with all the traditional staples- turkey, cranberry sauce (which was better than any I’ve tasted back in the states), and mashed potatoes. They also made sure that the other students who studied there at the same time as me were around my language level, leading to enhanced learning for all of us. In a short month I was able to improve my Spanish immensely. As teachers, they created an encouraging space for me as a language learner to build confidence with speaking. They knew exactly when to correct my mistakes so I could learn and when to allow them so that I could build confidence. They also provided Spanish lessons and engagement in multiple contexts. During my stay, we did this through classroom lessons, hikes, cooking experiences, wine tastings, games, over meals, at the local beach bar, excursions to nearby towns, etc. On our excursions, they took us to many hidden gems of southern Spain, avoiding many of the more common tourist attractions and instead giving us a glimpse of the real beauty of Spain.

The school itself is such a unique experience! The food is made fresh by Eli and Fani and was consistently delicious! They have a vast garden with fresh produce at all meals-my favorites were the mangoes and avocados! The accommodations were very comfortable- I was given my own room and bathroom and the views were unmatched! The school is located right on the coast of the Mediterranean with beautiful views from almost every room in the house! My favorite place to study was on the patio overlooking the sea! Additionally, during time off on the weekends, they gave great recommendations on where to visit and how to make the most of the excursions.

The depth of language development, friendships built, and travel experiences all made this a trip I will remember for the rest of my life! I wish I could go back every year! I have nothing but love and appreciation for these wonderful teachers and friends!

I cannot recommend the Agualivar Spanish School enough! This program is expertly crafted to suit the needs of every student. It's an intimate, immersive experience in a beautiful home; Fani and Eli are compassionate, supportive and intuitive teachers - I can't imagine there's another program like this one. Not only do you spend every day in a idyllic location, you take trips to places nearby to learn about the history and culture of Andalusia. You get the opportunity for adventure, but also for rejuvenation. I will most certainly be going back again very soon.

Agualivar is very special place. Magical in my memory and in truth I almost don’t want to write this review because I’d like to keep it small and secret. But it deserves more: more than the 5 stars I gave it; more than I can describe in the words allowed for this review. But I’ll try.

Imagine sitting on a terrace overlooking an infinity pool and the Mediterranean Sea with a cup of espresso in front of you and a white board to your right. The other three students gradually find their chairs and Fani stands in front of the whiteboard. It is 9:15 on Monday morning and two really special weeks lie ahead. That is the Agualivar classroom.

The classes themselves are a balance of lecture, exercises, games, presentations by the students to each other, occasional videos (think Antonio Banderas, born nearby), and tongue twisters. Many of the exercises and presentations are related to the region’s culture and history. And of course there are many suggestions for improvement tailored to each of the students.

The days are structured and full: wake up, breakfast, class, break, class, break, lunch, break/siesta, a walk or exploration of the local area, dinner, free time, sleep. ALL IN SPANISH, INCLUDING CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER STUDENTS!! By the second week, I even dreamed in Spanish!

The “sobremesas” at lunch and dinner along with the daily “paseos” were as important as the classes for actually using Spanish in conversational settings. If you stay for more than a week, the weekends too are opportunities to explore a bit farther away, or just hang out at one of the local chiringuitos.

The food was fantastic and really deserves a review all its own! We often helped set the table and with clean up after, and sometimes with preparation, all the while improving our food and kitchen-related vocabulary.

The home is amazing and my room was spacious, clean and comfortable. The internet was fast. I slept well and felt secure throughout my stay. The house is set among orchards, with fencing, remotely operated gates, and a modern security system. In the afternoons you could hear goats bleating as they returned home from their daytime pastures.

Getting to Agualivar was an adventure. I took the local bus from Málaga and was picked up at the Lagos bus stop. Total round trip cost: about 7 euros. Others took cabs. If you elect to take a cab, I’d recommend organizing through Agualivar so you get a cabbie who knows exactly where he or she is going.

While at Agualivar I felt like part of a very special family. An outgoing and welcoming family that included the other students. A family with enormous pride in this beautiful part of the world, its people, and its many thousands of years of history. Above all, they are fantastic and patient (in my case very patient!) teachers of the Spanish language. If your goal is learning or improving conversational Spanish, I highly recommend Agualivar.

One caveat--this school is fun, but it isn't a "party" school. If you want to spend your week day evenings drinking and dancing, there might be something more suitable in Barcelona or Valencia. But without the magic!