I am going to Antigua next week (June 24) and am currently planning to go to Christian Spanish Academy at the recommendation of someone who went there a couple of times, however, they don't have any homestays left for that period of time, and so I'm wondering if it is a better idea to switch language schools? There are actually 5 of us in all going at the same time, but I can't speak for them. Does anyone know something about the language schools there and if some of them have better homestay connections or other accomodation connections? I'm a little concerned that this is all happening so much at the last minute. Anyone know if this is too late to do this?
gail
gail2
1
hopefulist
There are a lot of language schools so there will be something; lots of folks don't pick a school until they get there anyway. One of my sons just spent a few weeks at Academia de Español Antigüeña and had a wonderful experience. He was studying 4 hours in the morning and an additional 2 in the afternoon and thought his teachers were excellent (and his standards are high). He thought their activities (though he studied instead of attending quite a few) were great, something almost every day, and loved his host family. He said he didn't talk to any other students who weren't pleased with their teachers and hosts as well. The school gets very high marks from the guatemala365.com review site and is one of the cheaper schools they review. It's a small school, though, so I don't know if they could accommodate 5 at this late date.
Good luck and please keep us posted!
2
xinloi
Some school will fit you in--also---most travel agencies know families that are looking for students for home stays.
Try La Union--they have a guest house for students and a lot of families on their list. Same with Sevilla.
3
sil_
I would switch cause a homestay is necessary to speak spanish with all the tourists hanging around in antigua...
I went to Ixchell for 4 weeks and was very pleased with the school, teacher and homestay.
http://www.ixchelschool.com/
4
mollyoso
I can't speak for other language schools but I went to Christian Spanish Academy last year and LOVED it. Very high-quality instruction. 100% professional. My one complaint was that there were several other language students staying with the same family I was so the accommodations took on more of a "hostel-type" situation as opposed to a family stay. The family usually ate in the kitchen while us students ate in the dining room. Speaking Spanish amongst ourselves was a bit of a challenge because we were all at different proficiency levels. From what I understand, my situation was fairly common at this busy time of year at language schools in Antigua. I guess my point is that if you have to stay in an inexpensive hotel as opposed to a family's home, it wouldn't be the end of the world. You will still be getting lots of practice speaking Spanish at CSA and around town in Antigua. (I found that if you spoke Spanish, people would speak back to you in Spanish. I didn't find the droves of English-speaking tourists that many people complain about.) Best of luck!
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