Surf and Spanish course

I liked my teacher Arkkaitz. I was at the correct level for my current ability. He showed interest in all the students.
The classroom was tight, too small.
I liked the handicapped and single bathroom.

I never received communication about the location of my class, I had to rely on other students to tell me where I was supposed to be, as a result I was 30 minutes late for my first class.

I joined a group for a tour of the maritime museum. The guide that day was awful. She didn’t tell us her name, she walked too fast and didn’t wait for us to get through the intersections.

The location of the school was excellent. Our teaching room was too small for the 8 in our class. The teacher was a young stand-in for the regular teacher. She was really enthusiastic and supportive. The course materials were good.

But there was much less conversation than I was expecting. Since I have been using Babbel as my main method of learning, I was hoping to add in the missing ingredient - conversational practice. But in hindsight, this was probably unrealistic.

So, this type of course is not for me. I will try other methods of getting more conversational practice.

One more point. Perhaps because our teacher was new, we were not told of the social activities that were available. I only found out about them on the Friday, by talking to other students. As it happened, it did not matter. I enjoyed exploring Bilbao and the area around each afternoon, and my flatmate and I got on really well.

As to the lodging, my host was very helpful and rightly insisted on Spanish only at mealtimes. My room was small but adequate. The food was simple and tasty.

My personal experience was fenomenal.

Instituto Hemingway excelled in all areas beyond my expectations.

The administrative staff were exemplary in arranging every stage of my journey to learn spanish.

Individual 1:1 classes were important for me as my focus was on conversation and not taking exams.

My teacher had exceptional energy, motivation and commitment. She gave me the confidence I was seeking to ‘get speaking in spanish’.

I love being close to the river, and as the school is located in the centre of Bilbao, on the river, it was the perfect spot and easily accessible.

The facilities and amenities were sufficient to make a comfortable learning environment.

The cultural activities, social get-togethers in a tapas bar and voluntary work, for me either beach cleaning or tending a vegetable garden, provided additional opportunities to connect with the local community and to learn new words. Cooking and salsa dancing was also fun to do.

I chose to live in the student accommodation which was modern and clean with a laundry room - a must! There was also a gym, games room, communal kitchen and study areas for those who wished to use them. A receptionist was always there, when needed.

I went to Hemingway mid July and the teacher I had was excellent. The only reason I did not give 5 stars is because there were a few younger students who had no interest in learning Spanish and massively disrupted the learning process. This is not the fault of staff or the institute, but it hugely affected the quality of the lessons.

The Institute is in the centre of town, and has a wide range of students of different abilities, backgrounds and ages. The classes follow a set of textbooks using the Common European Framework of Reference system (A1-C2), with classes grouped by level. Teaching balances reading, writing, speaking and listening, and supplements the textbook with additional materials, for instance from online sources or boardgames. The teachers were friendly and approachable, and took an interest in us as students.

The Institute also runs a regular schedule of activities in the evenings for students, which help them sociallise and understand the city and Spanish culture better. I didn't have a chance to attend any of these, but my classmates spoke highly of them.

I lodged with a family for my month in Bilbao, which gave me more opportunities to test and practice my Spanish. They were absolutely lovely, and helped me both with the language and by recommending me places and activities I would have missed as a naive tourist.

I enjoyed myself and learnt a lot, and would happily go back.

One thing though, we changed teachers four times in eleven weeks. We lost the opportunity to get the fully effect of learning! But the last teacher for the two last weeks was the best!

In general, my experience at Instituto Hemingway has been satisfying, thanks to good and very talkative teachers. The school is quite organized, even if the classes are small if compared to the students.
I didn't attend the evening activities, but they appear quite interesting.
In general my experience was positive, and my Spanish is significantly improved.

Javi was super, nice way of teaching. he manage the 16 year old one and us. He try to learn everybody with different levels.
He used different working methods. The numbers are in it because of the BINGO.


Location was old. The tables and chairs were old and in need of replacement. The premises were also due for a makeover.
The environment also influences learning outcomes!

We paid 250 euro each.

Tip : coffee and tea machine would be nice.

My language classes in Bilbao were a very good experience. The class was very small so that everybody had the chance to talk and to practice his Spanish. Every day the language school provided free activities like wine testing or going to museum together. I enjoyed this offer a lot and met many nice people there. The language school is also very well located in the center of Bilbao. Maybe they could offer a coffee machine, this is the only thing I would change. Thank you for this very good course!

Good central location. A bit dated classrooms, but with a lot of atmosphere. Excellent Professora Eli made the lessons very worthwhile and enjoyable. Social program (wine tasting) much appreciated. Method of teaching excellent and a good basis for further study on my own.

About the classes: Because there weren’t many students in a class the lessons were more effective.
The teachers were very nice and explained the topics very well. We learned speaking (pronunciation, interacting with others..), writing and we sometimes learned that with a game, so that was fun.
I think it was nice that the city centre was just next to the school. So that we could just get something to eat in the breaks.
I also enjoyed the activities!

My host family was very very nice and I was happy to stay at their house.
The host father even came to the school with me on the first day and he brought me back to the station on my last day.
The family talked to me in Spanish to improve my Spanish even if I was a beginner, I appreciated that so much.
The meals were very delicious!!

The only thing I can criticise is that I had to talk a few times to the headmaster and other people in the school until I got the number of lessons I booked. The problem was that everyone just had 20 lessons per week but I booked 30. So in the end because I was the only one with that option they gave me 10 private lessons. It was very good but I would have been happy if they had given me the number of lessons I booked without asked me a few times. Also I had a long break every time (2,3 hours) before my extra classes started and I only finished “late” with the private lessons.

My language course was in August 2020, so it was presumably different to other years. I quite enjoyed the small classes, with maximum 5 students, sometimes there were just two students present. So the teaching was very individual. I also appreciated the materials, we got a book which was inclusive. The problem with so limited studentnumbers was that there weren´t many people to meet and talk to and most of them weren´t my age either, the average age was +/-35 years and I am 19 years. But we nevertheless had fun together. Everybody was really relaxed despite Corona.
As I also took part in a daily surf course, I couldn´t join the activities very often, but I definitely enjoyed the surf course!! My host family was a single Woman, age ~60 years. We didin´t see alot of each other as I was on tour all day, which left having the evening meals together. I appreciated hearing Spanish spoken by a native to practise my newly learnt Spanish skills (although she did most of the talking). If you like to do your own cooking, or want to get in contact with other students you should stay at a student residence.
Altogether I enjoyed my time in Bilbao, it was a great experience, I lost my fear of speaking in a foreign language and I really improved my surfing skills.

Fantastic! Carlos is very well prepared - the best!

At Instituto Hemingway, I Ioved the lessons because they were very fun, interactive and educational.
I think that the location of the language school is very good because of how accessible it is.
I thought that the teachers/ classmates were very nice.

My host family was very hospitable, relaxed with the two of us staying with them, and welcoming, including the big dog. I liked how talkative they were, especially the father. They treated me almost like a family member, but weren't too intrusive. It was a good environment for learning Spanish, and getting to know Spanish people, and not like a hotel. As a teenager staying away from home for more than a day or two for the first time, and in a foreign country, that was very important.
Our teacher was very active and ethusiastic, didn't need to speak any language other than only Spanish with us for us to learn, and emphasised the students communicating in Spanish among themselves in class.
It was great to do things with other students, including those from other courses, outside class. That helped staying motivated every day.
Studying together with people from all sorts of different countries and ages all sharing a strong interest in learning the language created a bond between us. Learning Spanish in high school has some of this, but at the Instituto Hemingway the experience was something special. I have a special interest in phonetics and variations in language in general, topics which our teacher addressed very well.
At one point I lost track of my surfing lessons. My father says that Jose Lopez at Instituto Hemingway was very helpful and quick in resolving the problem.

I liked the Instituto Hemingway very much - the staff and teachers were very friendly and flexible, and always tried their best to accommodate the wishes of the students. They also had free activities for their students every day! The atmosphere was good and teachers were professional. I learned a lot in two weeks!

The school is located conveniently in the centre of town, next metro and just a few steps from the old town.

I chose family stay which was OK and I got to practice my Spanish. Of course it is always a bit difficult to adapt to the everyday life in somebody's home, it is never exactly what you expect - but overall it was good.

The experience was very interesting. The teachers are really good, the school is well located and the classes are long but very educational. I must say that I learned a lot. I was very lucky being placed in a warm and welcoming family, but I do know that many of my classmates weren't as lucky. Thank you for the experience.

As a place, I expected a bigger one in which the classes would be larger than the reality. However, the location and the view from the school as well as the warm-hearted staff and management made me ignore this little fact.

The classes were quite nice, however, sometimes it was a little too much of playing games rather than learning grammar and how to speak. But overall, I really enjoyed my time there.

The activities the school provided without charging anyone were super cool and I am really thankful for this fact. By the niceness of everybody there, they made my time really worthy by being present in their school.

The school could have provided me a house in the inner city, however, I had found a cheaper option in AirBnB, which was the reason why I did not take their houses.

Overall, I would not think I wouldn't be wanting to go back home after my classes in a month had come to an end, but because of all the experiences the school and the staff gave; I did not genuinely want to leave Bilbao.

I enjoyed this experience of refreshing the Spanish language. The administrative staff and the teacher were competent and pleasant. For my part I was staying near the institute in a hotel in the center of Vasco Vieja in Bilbao, which made my travels easier.
In conclusion, I am very satisfied with this 15-day experience.
Thank you for your professionalism.
Best regards
JLP

I felt welcomed when I arrived, given a book for my level based on what I submitted with my application. I do think that I should have been given a test first, as it would have been more accurate. After the first day, I realized that it was above my ability and asked to change classes. From the second day, I felt better and was pleased with the teacher who was very flexible and had many opportunities to have practice conversations. I was amazed that she was able to deal with students coming and going -one day started with 7 students and ended with 15. As a former teacher myself, I was impressed. It was also very interesting to see the number of different countries represented in the classes.
The location was good, I was in an airbnb only 5 minutes away.
I did not join in any of the activities because my husband was with me and would not have wanted to come. So, I did not need housing either.
The only thing I could say that I did not like is that we we were given a book which was not used. Perhaps if I had taken a longer course, it would have been used.

The teachers, support staff, and materials were very helpful. So were the conversational tasks to listen and speak.
I even had to cancel the first week due to illness, and Jose at Hemingway assured me I could come back and take the class again. Que bueno y mucho gusto! I would recommend.

The school is domiciled in central Bilbao, easy to reach and ideal for starting excursions. The facilities were limited in space, but with little impact on the lessons. The teacher I had was highly motivated, sometimes talking little long in my class of motivated adults eager to express themselves.

Excursions were attractive, one teacher (Theo) took me to museums despite being the only participant. He knows a lot about history and society and is open to broad conversations about all aspects of life.

The people at front desk are very helpful and Jose and Alfredo are always open for questions and good tips. To mention the sophisticated wine seminars of Alfredo in particular.

Accommodation was walking distance to the school, the couple who accommodated me offered a warm hospitality, open for discussions on all aspects of life in Bilbao.

Bilbao is an attractive city with broad cultural offers, open and friendly to visitors.

It is impossible to find something I did not like about Instituto Hemingway - the classes were a perfect balance between learning new things and practicing the old, the teachers were all very friendly, and being so close to the river was lovely, in such an amazing city. I really enjoyed all the activities that I took part in, and will certainly consider coming back in a few years’ time.

I joined the School knowing no Spanish at all, starting from scratch, and after 13 weeks I can say that I can understand, communicate, and speak Spanish with no difficulties at all. The teachers were VERY kind and patient. I really loved the lessons and had a really good time. The location was fantastic, as it was next to all public transportation networks, the leisure and cultural activities are the best of their kind, and Bilbao is the best city in Spain to learn Spanish. Why? There are very few tourist foreigners because all tourists tend to go to same places. Do not go to all typical places you see on the media. It is like a theme park and you need to search for more authentic places. Bilbao is always on the top ranking of Spanish cities in terms of quality of life. We were very few students in class and that made a difference too. I was accommodated in a shared apartment of school next to the bullring and it was a great experience too. My single room (no lockers like in most of apartments here in Spain) was enough for me, and the apartment with Wi-Fi and all facilities were great. All in all, it was a great School and I had a great experience. Adios amigos!