Jack: 4 week Standard Course

“I expected the course to further develop my grammatical and linguistic Spanish skills and generally improve my conversational Spanish. I also looked forward to being taught by native Spanish speakers in a country other than Spain.

I definitely improved my all round Spanish langue and grammar but I also felt the course set me up perfectly for travelling around South America for the 4 months afterwards.

The lessons and particularly the teaching were excellent, I was particularly happy with the rotation of teachers, not due to poor teaching but because it kept things fresh and interesting. The lessons in general were varied and interesting ant totally different to anything I had done before.

The school was in an absolutely ideal location in Cuenca, near to everything and 15 minutes walk from my host family. I felt entirely comfortable with all the staff both in and out of lessons.

I got on really well with all the staff and students in Cuenca and subsequently at the tennis club with my fellow tennis coaches. Generally, meeting so many new people each week and being in Ecuador with some of the world’s friendliest people were the best parts of the course.  
 
I had a fantastic time with everyone I met in Cuenca both in and out of the school. The social activities were a great way to meet people and with everyone being in the same boat it was impossible not to get on with everyone.     

For a place in South America to study Spanish I would say Cuenca is the best. The locals were incredibly friendly and seemed genuinely interested in talking to foreigners. Whilst I was in Cuenca there were a few robberies but nothing serious and for South America it was extremely safe. Whilst Cuenca was a reasonably quiet town by night there were still enough bars to keep us occupied every night of the week.

My host family were fantastic. After I accidentally met Alfredo (my host dad) in Quito on the first day, until the day I left they were extremely welcoming and did everything within their power to help me out and make me feel comfortable. The food they cooked was fantastic and they didn’t even mind when I accidentally set their burglar alarm off at 4am! I would recommend them to anyone going to Cuenca that wants to learn Spanish as although they all spoke perfect English – they will only speak Spanish!

CESA were fantastic in sorting everything out for me and even finding me some awesome work experience. I had a problem with flights (i.e. mixed up am with pm on the flight time) they sorted out for me to be picked up a day early and found me an extra nights accommodation. They were really efficient and made my stay in Cuenca excellent.

Staff were always quick to reply to emails and calls and really gave really good advice through out.

The course was a really fantastic thing to do before heading off travelling. I met lots of people doing similar trips to me on my travels regarding language schools, but no ones experience seemed as good as mine in Cuenca!

All through South America I was recommending people to head to Cuenca for Spanish lessons. I would definitely go again, I may try to organise something during my 3rd year of University (year abroad). My most memorable moments were the Carnival and my final night with all the teachers there!”