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A Survey of Spanish Schools in Guatemala

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Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School
Address Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School
6 Avenida Norte No.39
Antigua
(+502)-7882-4575
Registration
Write to the school
Location Map
Rank 87%
Prices 225 USD for 20 hours per week including host family
130 USD for 20 hours per week without host family
Study one hour daily more or less: add or subtract about USD 15 per week.
School Size 5-20 students
Openings This school currently has openings!
Summary Located a few steps from La Merced church, Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School has students learning in a Japanese - style garden with little bridges over narrow fish ponds. Trees have grown and the ambiance is nice and shady, which makes the hot summer months pleasant. Hillary Clinton, Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson have supposedly studied here. The heart of the school is the big cafeteria - kitchen - bar, where students - mentored by Caty and Letti - learn how to prepare delicious local dishes. The best school for Guatemalan lifestyle and social networking in Antigua. Host families are carefully sought out. Internet gratis.
This school was founded in 1972 by Juan and Caty Galindo.
Total immersion in Antigua: good if you avoid other tourists while studying Spanish.
Registration

It is always recommendable to register, at least two weeks, in advance in order to get first choice teachers and host families and in order to help the school plan their staff. The student coordinator is efficient in answering any of your questions.
From January to April and from June to August this school tends to fill up quickly.

With a timely registration, the school can assign you the best teacher from its list. (Contact us for group discounts).
Photo Gallery of Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School (click here)








Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School - Details
Teachers There are 15 fixed teachers who earn about $43 per week, plus benefits. Teachers are required to have a high school title and are being trained during 3 months. They have 7 to 20 years of experience. The director has a good sense for choosing teachers for the students, when you have 20 hours one-on-one with a teacher it′s very important to have a good match with the teacher.
Methods The school uses much the same methods as other Spanish Schools in Guatemala. Upon arrival, students talk to the student coordinator, who in the course of conversation gains insight into the student′s status and where to start the training. He then gets a teacher who fits him or her. The school recommends you to study during 6 hours each day, studying grammar and vocabulary in the morning and practicing conservation during the afternoon activities, using a different teacher in order to get accustomed to different manners of speech (this only costs $20 per week extra). Students progress at their personal speed and are not slowed down by conventional methods.
Materials Teachers assemble their own materials like "minidialogos", the textbook "Spanish One Year", and materials in other languages. The school uses blackboards. [Show Details]
Location Located a few steps from La Merced church, the school has a travel agency in the front and a Japanese - style garden with little bridges over narrow fish ponds in the back. Avocado trees have grown and the ambiance is nice and shady, which makes the hot summer months pleasant. Hillary Clinton, Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson have supposedly studied here. There is also a big kitchen - bar, where students - mentored by Caty and Letti - prepare delicious food.
Activities Activities change each week: preparation of local food, Salsa and Merengue classes, tours to Macadamia and Coffee farms etc. Local foods prepared at this school taste exquisitely because Caty and Letti are gourmets. Caty teaches students some neat cookery tricks. You will make the best guacamole in your hometown.
Host Families Host families are well sought out and earn $75 to $95 per week. A host family where you enjoy a private bathroom costs $30 per week extra. An example is Doña Araminta Díaz, an elderly widow who has been highly acclaimed by her guests. She has two rooftop apartments and, even more important, a very good cook to spoil the guests.
Volunteering The director, Caty, has contacts in and around Antigua and can tailor a volunteer job to your needs or interests. Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School provides you with contacts to social institutions like "Nuestros Aijados", "Ventanas Abiertas" (San Miguel Dueñas), "Bendición del Cielo" (Alotenango) and "Familias de Esperanza", among many others.
Airport Pick-Up Service Upon request private transportation is available from the airport . This is recommended. The cost is US$ 30 per person (groups: please negotiate). Airport pick up of this school is reliable.
How to get there How get there Send yourself an e-mail with information on how to get to Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School.

Located few steps north of famous 'La Merced' Church
Students' Feedback
Lynda Wrigley
lyndawrigley@telus.net
12 / 2009
In Nov. 2009, I went to Guatemala as a volunteer interpreter for a Vancouver based surgical team, arriving in Antigua a few days in advance to get my head back into Spanish at Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School. I'm a professional woman with a background in 2nd language teaching and was very pleased with the wonderful reception & professional instruction I received at Don Pedro. On the strength of a short notice email, a corteous driver met my plane promptly & gave me an entire "lesson" in Mayan culture during the drive to Antigua in a modern van. I was delivered to my homestay where a tasty dinner awaited me along with 3 other students. Director Cathy Galindo did an admirable job of trying to get me up to speed for my work at a clinic in the highlands. When my team members arrived, she arranged for Spanish coaching for several of them. I will be returning to Guatemala regularly & will make a point of returning to Don Pedro whenever I can. I would not hesitate to recommend this school. Lynda West Vancouver, Canada
Johanna McGlauflin
josiem51180@comcast.net
07 / 2009
Hello, I took classes at the Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School in Antigua, in July. I studied at the school for 5 days. I had an excellent teacher, her name is Sandra. I didn′t have any study materials. We mostly talked and I took notes in a notebook which worked very well for me since I was mostly interested in conversation. She did give me a few handouts that were helpful. My host family was fabulous, better than I could ever have imagined. Their names were Vinicio and Deli and lived across the street from the school. The afternoon activities that the school took us on were amazing. We went to a Mayan village, a coffee plantation and macadamia farm, these were some of the highlights of my trip to Guatemala. I have already recommended the school and host family to a number of friends, one of whom is planning to go in next year. Kind regards, Johanna McGlauflin.
Nora & sons
levesqun@friscoisd.org
06 / 2007
Hi, we did go to Guatemala; my daughter went to Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School in Antigua. She took 5 hours a day of Spanish and did very well. Her teacher was great. Thanks, Nora
Anne Groombridge
annegroombridge@yahoo.co.uk
01 / 2007
I have recently returned from studying Spanish in Antigua Guatemala, and I would like to recommend my school as one of the very best in Antigua. I studied at the Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School in Antigua. It is located right next door to La Merced Church, in a central and convenient location. My teachers were wonderful; I studied there for four hours per day for two months. The total immersion method was used to great effect, and we studied all four areas of language (speaking was most important, but we also concentrated on listening, reading, writing at one time or another). The teachers were patient and well versed in their subject, and they always corrected when necessary without ruining the flow. I stayed with a Guatemalan family the whole time I was there. They were also wonderful, and really made me feel a part of the family! The meals were wholesome and the food plentiful. The house was clean and tidy, and I enjoyed my interactions with them immensely. The added bonus was that I always had the opportunity to practice what I had learned in class, thus furthering my ability to speak the language. They were also very patient with me! The activities provided by the school were really good fun as well. I enjoyed the salsa dancing lessons (given by a professional dance teacher) every Tuesday evening and also the weekly fiesta on Thursday evening. During these fiestas, we had the opportunity to continue speaking Spanish with the many people who attended; both students and friends from outside the school. The administrators were wonderful as well. Caty Galindo, the Director, did everything she possibly could to make my stay with them as productive and comfortable as possible. She cooked for the fiesta each Thursday evening and her cooking was a real treat! It was fun to sample the local cuisine in this way; ′carne asada′ with ′chirmol′ and ′guacamole′ was a real favourite! The environment of the school is very beautiful and well taken care of as well. It is an easy, relaxing place to study. I really looked forward to going to class each morning. Now that I am back in England I find that I am missing the school and the lifestyle there very much. I hope that I have managed to convey my delight with my studies at the Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School. Please let me know how I can formally nominate my school for a place on your website. Thank you very much! Sincerely, Anne Groombridge. Cheddar, Somerset, UK.
Abe
ebergler@shaw.ca
11 / 2004
I went for 5 weeks and changed schools once a week. Week 1 I was in Centro de Espanol Don Pedro de Alvarado I had a very good teacher and the ambiance was good. The office is marginal, I don′t know if they even have a copier; the only test I wrote was hand-written by the teacher. All the teachers had copies of instructional material, one copied from the other. The activities you mention on your site were not all in place: They just had a once a week evening meal where they invited Spanish speaking students. That was good. They also had other activities, but never enough subscriptions to actually do it. Overall: 75% that week I stayed with a friend and not homestay.
Daniel Kaiser
10 / 2003
I decided for the Spanish School Don Pedro de Alvarado. For how long did you study? 2 months Did you get a good teacher? I had several teachers, some of them were really superb others less. How was your family? I stayed at 3 different families, 2 of them were great. I had a superb time in Antigua Guatemala and I really can suggest studying Spanish in Guatemala, especially if someone wants to start a trip in Latin America because it′s very cheap to study and to travel in Central America. If somebody wants to stay for a longer period in Guatemala he/she should try to get a Volunteer job which is also a superb experience and you can improve the knowledge of Spanish.
   
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