20 Hour Spanish & Surf

I really enjoyed the small classes, the different teachers I was able to experience during my stay in Nosara. The school organized different activities every week where I was able to speak more Spanish, get to know more about the culture and connected with some of the locals. My homestay was great too even if it was a little bit far away from the school. From the school it is a 10min walk to the beach which is great to go swimming or watch the sunset every day no matter if you have morning or afternoon classes.

My time at Nosara Spanish Institute was very pleasant. I learned lots in just 2 weeks and would recommend anyone wanting to learn Spanish to do it here! The teachers are kind and incredibly helpful and intuitive. Plus the extra activities they host are very fun. The school is walking distance to the beach, which was a great place to go and study with newly made friends! Gracias Nosara!

The classes were great because the teachers took their time to explain everything in detail and they were amicable too. We were not only provided with excellent classes but with great trips too! The location was good too and you can not complain about the facilities. I, for one, believe that the activities by the school are what made it stand out to others. Furthermore, the housing was a completely new and unforgettable experience too and I met a lot of amazing people.

The teachers are consistently on time and patient. They are willing to go the extra mile to help students learn.

Classes were great. It took a while to settle in, so next time, I would want to stay for more than two weeks. Marilyn was excellent. She knew exactly when to push and when not. She is also very nice and fun. We had a lot of laughs in class. Stayed in Esperanza with a phenomenal home-stay family. Our home-stay hostess is a fantastic cook and her family is very happy and welcoming!

As the school is about half-way between our home-stay and the beach, I did a lot of walking. This suited me perfectly. The walk to school was mostly gorgeous, but with one terrible dusty patch of road in the dry season a couple hundred feet long. I am not a surfer, but I wish I was! The other activities were pretty low-key, but I am sure that if I had wanted a night life I could easily have found it on my own. Brock organized a couple of cool things and got us pointed in the right direction to hire taxis to go to Lagarta Lodge and took us to learn to play the Marimba.

Was really happy I did not need to buy a lot of food as breakfast and dinner was included with my home-stay. Otherwise I think food prices would be very expensive. Nosara was much more tourist-oriented than I anticipated, which has upsides and downsides.

My Spanish improved tremendously! Thank you!

Kath

The classes were great. The location was excellent. Marcus and Jeraldo were wonderful, thorough and committed. I would love to return.

During my 3 months at NSI, I had the pleasure of learning from all 3 of the Spanish teachers at the school. Each had their own unique styles, and classes always felt small and personal, having between 1-5 people. I went from understanding random Spanish words to understanding the majority of conversations among the Spanish people in my household. The administration of the school works extremely hard to ensure that all students are matched to the appropriate class/level. In my opinion, the school offers nearly as much return as a trip/activity organizer as it does as a language school. Much of the incredible things I got to see and people I got to meet were due to activities or arrangements made through the school...

I'm incredibly grateful for the time I got to spend learning from such wonderful people.

I have taken weekly group sessions on 3 separate occasions, each for 2 to 3 weeks, about 6 months apart. When I returned, the staff had gone out of its way to accommodate my level of "expertise" (LOL) and time-of-day preference. They really cared about the students' particular goals. Even if the sessions required review of things, I had a good hold on the teacher as she customized individual ability when addressing each student. When the other students were more advanced, the teacher brought me into a conversation that was at my level.

The location was central in the little barrio of Guiones. The facilities were comfortable. I did not go to a home stay as I own a home, so I did not need any of the numerous nearby rentals.

Marco was my teacher on all 3 occasions. He loves language and teaching. He is so smart! He also he reminds me of my son. I would be honored to have him as a teacher again.

I love that the staff tried to provide the time slot I asked for; Since I surf in the morning and at sunset, I prefer a late morning or early afternoon session for classes, and each time I lucked out.

The only criticism I have, which is actually a GOOD thing, is that weeks are very packed with new information and it is really impossible to internalize all that information during the sessions. It really takes me the full 6 months between visits to get a handle on all the vocabulary and grammar but that is because I do not speak Spanish at home... yet.