spanish ya

I Have studied Spanish most of my life in different settings ranging from a summer in Spain at 19 years old to Spanish Ya at 67. In between those two experiences came college, numerous trips to Spanish speaking countries including two weeks total immersion in León, Nicaragua. I found the instruction at Spanish Ya to be just what I wanted. I previewed the material offered at this school which are wide ranging and very comprehensive. They definitely can fit you with the instruction you need. I chose to work on my conversational skills. I had limited time which presented no problem. I didn't need to sign up for intensive study and they accommodated my schedule. Nice people and a great opportunity to advance your language skills.

Being located in tiny SJDS, I was very surprised at the excellent quality of the Spanish Ya school. My instructor, Zaira, was awesome; super smart and very patient (she needed a lot of patience with my broken spanish). She seemed genuinely interested in any subject we happened to be discussing which made me study harder in the evening so I could be prepared for the next days discussions. Zaira was the only instructor I worked with but my interactions with the other instructors led me to believe that they are all very dedicated and good at what they do. I only had one week there and that is not nearly enough, but I plan to return this summer. I looked at the other schools in SJDS and would not consider going anywhere but Spanish Ya.

I was at Spanish Ya for 2 weeks and my spanish really improved. The teachers were very attentives and patients. The individual (one teacher for one student) approach allows to have your own learning progression. I would have stay for a longer time. It was also fun to have those 3 activities per week outside of the school with the teachers. Allow to mix with the others and know the other students and also to learn spanish vocabulary related to the activity. They also helped me organize some non school related activities in town by calling on the phone on my behalf. This was a first family stay for me. The proximity of the town of san juan del sur (3 minutes by foot)and its affluence of tourists helped me not feeling isolated during my stay. Would definitely recommend Spanish Ya. Now all I need to do is continue practice spanish.

Wow,as I'm sure you can see, there are quite a few Spanish schools in SJDS! It's a bit difficult to settle on the right one. I was looking for help in brushing up my conversational Spanish to eventually reach a goal of professional fluency. After visiting a few, I eventually settled on Spanish Ya, after visiting the premises, talking to the owner and reading reviews. A good decision it sure was. I lucked out with a great teacher - Dinorah was quite experienced, patient and well-versed in basic pedagogy. None of the teachers know much English but Dinorah's was quite sufficient for me, esp since I already knew some Spanish. I suggest that you brush up on basic grammar before you show up - for example, it'd help you if you knew the difference between perfect / imperfect object pronouns, or what are participles for example? Another point to add is that no matter how good your teacher is, 3 hour 1-on-1 daily lessons everyday is too much for almost everybody. I'd have preferred to have spaced out my lessons as much as possible to allow for greater time for practice and review. But alas, I was only there for a short period.Finally, I tried to find a reason to award less than 5 stars but simply couldn't! Their skill and dedication calls for maximum appreciation!

I had lessons for 2 weeks and would have loved to prolong but my time was limited.All was great: teacher and quality of the lesson (mine and the ones from the other students), atmosphere at school, set up in the school (lessons were outside), stay at the family and flexibility of the school to adjust (was not needed for me but other students could change teacher / accommodation / schedule without any issue where they felt it eould be good gor them).

I had the pleasure of being a student and guest of a host family with Spanish Ya for two months in the summer of 2012. The Spanish Ya staff and my host family made that summer wonderful for me. The instructors were flexible to my time constraints and learning goals (I was working part-time for a medical clinic during that summer) while also pushing my learning far enough in two months to give me a solid foundation of basic conversational Spanish to use with patients back home in the US. That's right- I spoke no Spanish prior to my arrival, and my two instructors at Spanish Ya built upon my clinical experiences in San Juan to have me leave Nicaragua with Spanish that I could build upon. My tutoring sessions were both conversational and academic and both of my instructors were invested in teaching me useful language and grammar skills.My host family was also wonderful- my friend and I felt integrated into the family through shared meals, movie nights, walks for gelato, helping out in the kitchen, etc. We always felt safe and well-fed, our lodgings were clean and bottled water was always available. Our host family lived near to the school and other host families, meaning we could count on meeting other students to go explore and the school was nearby if we had any issues. The school staff also have great activities to offer- I had less time to pursue these, but the husband of the school's director took us beach exploring for a day outside of San Juan, which was a major highlight from our stay. Give Spanish Ya a strong look if you are staying in San Juan and are serious about learning some Spanish! I would definitely go back if I were traveling to Nicaragua again soon.

Overall: I had a great experience at Spanish Ya, having classes in the morning, and then surfing in the afternoons at Maderas, or doing the afternoon activities with Spanish Ya (like horse riding, beach excursions, one day we went to a primary school show, etc). On weekends you have the opportunity to visit near-by attractions such as Omatepe, Granada (I myself went to Popoyo to surf). Homestay was great - great value for money and Lucia was my Nica mom! Yajaira is amazing host of the Spanish School and her family is immensely helpful and supportive (her brother, for instance, made me this medicinal juice everyday while I was feeling ill). The Spanish Classes: I had Juanita. She was amazing, patient and a great teacher. She has years of experience and it shows. The four hours fly by. But all the teachers are great - the other students were all happy. Everyone I meet who speaks Spanish is astounded by what I managed to learn in a month - although honestly I wish I had practiced more. Having other students at the homestay, and SJDS filled with tourists means that you end up speaking English most of the time. So if you are serious - get the foundation - and then PRACTICE!!! Homestay: I stayed at Lucia's and Miguel's place two houses down from Spanish Ya, which was great. Had a wonderful large room with my own bathroom and fast internet for only 5USD per week extra. Food was great - although as a surfer I would have preferred larger portions (of course I never voiced this to them so only have myself to blame). Lucia is amazing and warm! There were a few other students staying there with whom I made friends and were great but this added to my laziness regarding the spanish practice. A great low cost option and a great way to learn more about local life. The surf: I would recommend to anyone who wants to do a surfing/spanish vacation to come here to SJDS. No surf in SJDS, but you can catch a shuttle (all sort of different ones go at all sorts of times - Casa Oro and Arena Caliente most reliable) for 5 USD return. You can surf all afternoon at Maderas (Hermosa was closed while I was there due to Survivor) - I liked Maderas. The bigger it gets, the emptier it gets. Also go on Sundays (everyone is doing Sunday fun day) I often had great waves all to myself. Playa Yankee is a great left - but difficult to get to. Make sure you take weekends to get to Popoyo (a great wave but filled with aggressive crowds), Santana (barrel beach break), and more south Colorado and others around Playa Gigante. The surf is generally crowded - be prepared for that. San Juan Del Sur (SJDS): To me, the town was a bit tacky. Filled with tourists and expats who own businesses and make things slowly more expensive and it seemed to me that the locals are slowly being pushed out of their own town as a result. The town is pretty, beach not so much - but great sunsets. I met a few people who had been there for two years or more who still couldn't speak a word of spanish - should tell you something about the place. Make sure you support local when you are there! La Lancha has great fish! But yes, this something you can make your own opinion about.

This is all around a good school...the homestay was great also..it was a great location, close to the school, to the beach, coffee shop, etc. A+

I recently attended 2 weeks at Spanish Ya and it was even more than I expected. I had a great time. The teachers were great and made the learning lots of fun. Included activities were a nice bonus and the home stay was excellent. Before I went here, I planned on attending a different school at another time, but after Spanish Ya, I can't imagine finding a better place to go so I plan on returning asap!

Tried two others, Spanish Ya by far the best. Great teachers, place to learn. As I live here, I didn't want the intensive full time lessons, and they structure it so I can go at my own speed. It's up to you. The full time students appear happy with the school too.

I recently have taken some beginner spanish classes at Spanish Ya! All of the staff members I have worked with are very professional. I love the style of teaching as well. My teacher started with the alphabet and then on to the present tenses of popular verbs mixed with vocabulary as well. I plan on going back soon.

Great lessons, great teachers. This was the third school I spent time at during a recent trip through Central America and I thought the lessons were the best I had recieved.

I was at the school for two weeks right after the Holy holiday - mid April. It was the perfect time to be in SJDS due to the crowds had left after the holiday. The family was very nice. I liked that one can take moments to themselves throughout the day and then get together for meals. I was lucky and got to go out fishing with the father and his buddies. It was a great experience. My teacher Juanita was very patient and we had some great laughs. She was very interesting and when I didn't feel like like the coining some of the worksheets I could always distract her by playing Scrabble.

i studied at learn spanish ya, a couple of years ago (2011-2012). i was at that time in costa rica where i where i went with the idea of studying spanish language. over there i learned that it was cheaper in nicaragua and as it was only a few hours with bus (tica bus) from san jose towards san juan del sur the choice was easily made.i had two different teachers the first 2 months i had dianora (Great teacher) after two months i went around the country to try out my new spoken language (i didn't spoke anything in spanish before... i could say un, dos tres and cervesa... that was it!)and after a few weeks i came back and had for another 2 weeks juanita (wonderful teacher as well! juanita doesn't speak english... but in my opinion that is good! because then you dont have the chance to go easy and lazy ;) which i am sometimes to do)and i came back after a small year for another 10 weeks. after which i traveled towards south america...anyway, learn spanish ya is a great school for learning spanish. i didnt spoke nada (nothing) and now i do... good enough to have spanish speaking friends who dont speak english and with whom i speak and write spanish.small hint for everybody.... dont play games with little allan! he cheats every time :)

i loved every minute of my spanish ya experience. denora (mi maestra) was very professional and encouraging. my daughter and i went for one week = after the 2nd day i wished i had planned on 2 weeks. loved the lessons, the after school activities (horseback riding, cooking and salsa lessons). my home stay family was so sweet and i was within 1 block of the school. afternoons were spent going into town, sitting at the beach practicing and reviewing. it was interesting sharing travel experiences with other students. this was over 3 years ago and i do hope to return to San Juan del sur and spanish ya in the near future.