Spanish School Don Pedro de Alvarado.

Don Pedro De Alvarado Spanish school is amazing. I had been studying on Duolingo for about nine months and didn’t feel like I was making much progress but that was enough of a foundation for Cristy to get me speaking and understanding in just two weeks of lessons. I enjoyed the afternoon activities. Antigua is the perfect town for Spanish students to walk everywhere, enjoy delicious food, and feel safe. I will be returning soon and requesting Cristy again!

Highly recommend this school. My teacher, Amanda was amazing. So kind & patient and I had a lot of fun learning with her. My very basic Spanish defiantly improved and she listened to me and found learning methods that worked for me.

My home stay was a definite highlight. Christopher, Nelly, Chris & family were so welcoming and patient with my basic Spanish. I stayed with them for 3 weeks and was really sad to stay goodbye. Such a kind and warm family

This was a perfect experience for Spanish language students. A lovely outdoor space for learning, great teachers, fun activities. Wendy was my teacher and she was fabulous, combining grammar and structure with conversation so I felt like my Spanish improved a lot in just three weeks. Highly recommend.

This is the best school to learn Spanish! I did 4 hours a day then added 2 more in the afternoon with a second teacher who went on the field trips with me.
I needed conversation and to work on my verb tenses.
The teachers are great and very friendly.
I learned alot in 5 days!
I highly recommend this school over the other schools in Antigua because of the warm and welcoming environment!
I am a retired teacher who trains teachers now a day Number One in teaching and learning is relationships!
It's there!
Teresa Joiner

Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School was very good! It was a good time with my Teacher Dulce. She’s a very good Teacher 👌 next week I come back to this School for another week of Spanish class! Highly recommend!

I had a great 3 weeks with Llena she was great fun and very flexible with what I needed which was mainly listening practice

I loved Rufo the resident dog

I also had fun working on the alfrombra for Santa Semana too

My recommendations to students is as follows

If you do not get on with your teacher ask to swap you won't always be compatible.

If you want to learn in a certain way just ask.

Homestays in antigua are more like guesthouses due to the volume of students they operate as businesses, so they generally come with an element of solitude, if you are more social get a hostel (Xela has more social homestays I believe, though Antigua is much more of an idyllic place to study in)

If you have afternoon lessons and you choose to go on the activity it will come out of your lesson time 4 hour lesson may be come 2 etc, if you have morning you'll get it on top.

Also there is a 30 minute break which comes out of whatever option you select so 5 hours becomes 4hrs 30

This was the first time I learned Spanish and I have really progressed after just one week my my teacher, Dulce. We did the new program which combines one on one class in the school garden and outdoors where we walk around Antigua or go to a museum/market and practice speaking there. Even if you don't do this combined program, there's always an optional cultural activities in some afternoons such as a trip to a plantation or salsa classes.

Our homestay was also very comfortable, clean and only 5 minutes walking distance to the school. Food provided was always fresh and delicious.

All women teachers too, they provide opportunities for local women to earn.

I have attended this school twice, once in person for one week and then again many years later online (Skype). Both times the service has been exceptional. It is highly personalized and flexible. Wonderful staff with amazing teaching skills. I highly recommend for all levels of Spanish learning, from beginning to advanced.

I had a wonderful experience at Don Pedro de Alvarado. My teacher, Jauna, was very patient and personalized lessons to what I needed. She was a wonderful and experienced teacher that I would recommend. I look forward to being back to continue the learning.

I did a week of school here and had such an incredible time! My teacher Maby was so much fun to learn from. I learnt so much and laughed so much. Not only did we do lessons in the beautiful courtyard, we also had activities such as visiting a chocolate factory outside of Antigua, using a chicken bus! I highly recommend this school!

I took two weeks lessons with Juana and I loved it sooooo much.
She was one of the best teacher I ever had, I’m so happy to have done it.
They all super friendly and I felt comfortable the first moment I arrived there !

I took Spanish class at Don Pedro for four weeks in November of 2017. I was not able to take full day classes and the school was flexible in allowing me to take classes in 2 hour blocks each day. I felt very lucky to have Lidia has my teacher, although it seems that there's many wonderful instructors available. I enjoyed my classes with her because we had interesting conversations which helped me learn about the local culture as well as challenged me. She was very patient as I tried to get my Spanish words out during our conversations but was also very efficient about correcting me when necessary. Our classes were a mix of conversation, reading and writing, and various exercises. I never felt bored and was always eager to return the next day. My Spanish definitely improved and I highly recommend this Spanish school as well as Lidia as a teacher. Thank you Don Pedro and Lidia!

I spent 2 weeks at Don Pedro, my excellent instructor was Amabilia. Her teaching style worked extremely well for me at the adv beginner / intermediate level. She was patient, funny, logical and her knowledge of English helped with my learning. The school day is well structured with more formal instruction in the 4 hr morning session reinforced by 2 hr reviews in the afternoon, with different teachers. I would recommend joining the school trips or walking around the many sites in Antigua The School is very centrally located and in addition to the trips, the school offers meals with local students and salsa lessons. Everyone is very friendly and helpful.

Fabulous experience! I spent 4 weeks at Don Pedro, my instructor was Dalia and I loved it. The teaching was at the right level, 4 hours in the morning with the afternoons to do trips or walk around the many sites in Antigua, and to do some studying of course! Dalia was an excellent teacher, very patient! The School is very well located and it organised everything really well; we had all sorts of trips during the week, plus meals at the school with local students. The staff were all very friendly and helpful.
Highly recommended. I'll be back one day I hope!

This year I was fortunate enough to spend almost 4 months studying Spanish at Don Pedro. I had first come to Don Pedro last year for three weeks in August and had enjoyed my experience so much that I decided to return for a longer trip.

The school is beautiful and relaxing. Classes are one on one and all of the teachers make an effort to get to know all of the students and make your time at Don Pedro more than an educational experience but a social and cultural one as well. Dinners on Thursdays with the teachers and students in the school was always my favorite time of the week.

During my time in Antigua I requested to study with Claudia and although some students find it beneficial to change teachers during their stay at don Pedro I couldn't have imagined learning with anyone else. My classes were focused around me and my needs as a student. Whether it be grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary or conversation Claudia also had a variety of interesting activities and topics and my class routine changed throughout my four months so I was never bored or stuck in the same routine of grammar and games. During my stay in Don Pedro the teachers became my friends and my family, most of all Claudia. I love her very much and would encourage anyone interested in Spanish, regardless of age or ability to request to study with her or any of the other amazing teachers at Don Pedro.

I was studying in Don Pedro de Alvarado for a week but it was sufficient to improve my Spanish to a really good level and to spend time with the other students and teachers through the activities in the afternoon.
The school is located in the centre of Antigua with a very beautiful garden where the classes and the activities take place. My host family was amazing. They took care of me all the time, giving me recommendations and talking only in Spanish.
The teachers are really nice, well educated and ready to help you. You can adjust your class according to your needs.
But the most amazing is that the school help to feed the children from the village of San Felipe de Jesus which I consider it very important since 49% of the children below 5 years old are malnourished in Guatemala. The school gives you the opportunity to spend time with the children by eating together and by helping them with their homework. The children are amazing and it was a pleasure to spend my afternoon with them.
I highly recommend the school and I also highly recommend during your studies to spend time with the children. You cannot imagine how much you can offer to them and how much they can offer to you!!!

I absolutely loved my time at Don Pedro. I had been studying Spanish for 3 years and wanted to improve it grammatically for college classes so I spent two weeks there. My morning grammar teacher was Rosario and my afternoon vocabulary teacher was Angela. Rosario patiently taught me the entire subjunctive tense, including every case, in one week. She also helped me to find an awesome volunteer position over the weekend, which relates to my university major! I had so much fun with Angela and learned lots! We talked in Spanish for 2 hours every day, practicing my tenses and developing lots of inside jokes. I absolutely loved my time at Don Pedro and would definitely recommend it to a friend. Their lunches/dinners were delicious and a were a fun way to meet new people who were also studying at the school, especially since I was traveling on my own!

I studied at Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School for one month this past summer, and I had an incredibly amazing experience. I studied for 30 hours per week, and had 2 teachers, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon for one-on-one sessions. I came to Guatemala knowing a bit of basic Spanish, but not nearly enough to get by in a professional work setting as an attorney. Not only did Maria Enriqueta Pellecer, my afternoon teacher, help to teach me what I needed (both in terms of grammar and conversation skills) for my work setting, but she also became a dear friend over the course of the month. Maria Enriqueta is a fantastic teacher who has a great sense of humor, and is also very patient, no matter what your level of Spanish. She takes the time to get to know you as a person and also to help tailor your lessons to your skill level and your choice of topic, depending on your goals for your own language abilities. Aside from being a fantastic teacher, Maria was always helpful when I needed anything. She often accompanied me on errands and helped me find my way around Antigua, including introducing me to locals, shop owners, and travel agents who were able to help me with various aspects of my trip in Guatemala. Also, Don Pedro Spanish School also organizes various daily and weekly activities such as salsa lessons, student group dinners, and field trips outside the school, which helped to keep my Spanish studies engaging. I also stayed with a fantastic host family that was musically inclined and always included the students in family meals. I always felt at home with them, and am so grateful for everything they taught me not only about the language, but aslso about the local culture. I give my highest recommendation to this Spanish school, and you should definitely try to study with and get to know Maria Enriqueta!

My 2018 experience at Don Pedro de Alvarado School in Antigua was so good that I went back this year (2019) for another round of Spanish language school. This year I spent 3 weeks at the school and it was an even better experience than last year. I had the same teacher as last year. Evelyn is an extremely talented teacher and kept me working toward a better understanding of the language the whole three weeks. I can get frustrated easily but she would calm me down and always remind me "little by little". The rest of the program at the school was excellent also. The field trips gave a chance to use what we had learned and the meals at the school were always good Guatemalan meals. Although learning Spanish is only a hobby for me, it has become more than that as I find myself studying at home and speaking it more and more. I can't speak more highly of what a good job my teacher did with me and I am already looking forward to next year when I will be attending school for 4 weeks. I plan to study with Evelyn again in my never ending quest to speak and understand more Spanish.

I spent one week at the Don Pedro school learning Spanish. What a wonderful experience! On mornings, my lessons were one on one with my teacher Evelyn. She easily evaluated my Spanish level and tailored our lessons accordingly. I really loved her patience, knowledge and skills. In the afternoons, we enjoyed trips nearby with other students and teachers.
My teacher Marie was also thorough and well skilled. We practiced the lessons I learnt on mornings and added new words to my vocabulary. The salsa lessons, dinner, lunch etc arranged by the school must be noted. It was just a lot of fun, easiness and laughter!
The host family provided a comfortable clean home with vegetarian meals for me. Thank you all! The teachers, directors, host families and other students for an amazing week. Look forward to returning to two weeks on my next trip.