Intensive Spanish + Paddle

What I liked most about Debla was the excellent, motivational, friendly and patient instructors. Each one had different skills and attributes suited to teaching. The school staff members were great as well.
The intensive course was divided into two classes of grammer and two classes of conversation each day, which I felt was a mix that was condusive to picking up the language as fast as possible.
The school was near to the centre of the city and close to bus lines.
The student apartment accommodation was good. It was near the school, the beach, a main road, bus lines, the city centre and grocery stores.
Overall, I felt the total experience, although challenging at my level of Spanish, was a very rewarding experience. I was very pleased at how much my Spanish improved in three weeks. I hope to return at some point soon!

The classes were fun and engaging, also quite intense! There was an emphasis on class participation, which I thought was a good thing. The teachers I had were great. They had engaging personalities and were effective in teaching the class material. The location had a great view, and the facilities were clean and taken care of. I enjoyed the included activities in my program (50+) and I liked that most participants were solo, as it made for good mixing. I made some new friends there. What I didn't like was my homestay. I felt from the first day that it wouldn't work well for me but I resolved to give it a chance. I stayed with a couple close to je in age. They were 69 snd 62 years in age. They had air conditioning in their apartment but didn't use it, so I found it hard to sleep in the heat. My information said the bathroom wasn't shared, but it was. The wife did 90% of the work of having a student, and had physical pain and family concerns to deal with as well. So mood and energy levels were unpredictable. The apartment was small for 3 people. I was supposed to be able to do a load of laundry once a week. The first one I didnt get until I had been there 7 days. When I asked to do one on my final day, I was flatly told no. I explained what was in my information and then she called in her husband to "set me straight" on the subject of laundry. I received a dressing down for a good 10 minutes in rapid Spanish, of which I only understood a portion of. The gist of it being that people chose a homestay because it was cheaper and that laundry was a service that you paid extra for in a hotel. Electricity, water, detergent costs, etc. It would cost another 7 euros to have a wash done that I was entitled to. He told me that they had been doing this for 25 years and hadn't had a problem until me. Which I find hard to believe. I didn't stay for dinner that evening as a result of this confrontation. All I did was inquire about doing a load of laundry and received a dose of whatever was going on with them. When I tried to talk to the wife the next morning to try and understand what had transpired the night begore, I was told that the week students left, they didn't get a laundry becsuse it wasn't a full week and had always been that way. I spoke with the liason person at the school the next morning and confirmed what I already knew. After a discussion over what my experience had been, they moved me to a different accommodation for the last night. I wish I had listened to my instincts in the beginning and changed my accommodation then. I didn't want to offend my hosts, though and tried to fit into their household as best I could, realizing that it was going to be a different experience. I had had a previous homestay experience in Mexico with a language school there which was a wonderful experience and had hoped that this would be the same. If I were to do this again, I would opt for my own solo apartment so that I would have my own kitchen, bathroom, washing machine and air conditioning. A lesson learned going forward.

I was very pleased. Not only teachers, but also all the students were very nice and I had really good time working with them. At the beginning I didn't know what was my language level, so I wanted check it my self and ended up changing my class two times, but noone made me any problems, because of that.

The school location needs you to do 5 minuts cardio before classes, because it's a little higher than the rest of the city, but it's definitly worth it.

Activities are intersting and I went to every one of them. They are only better thanks to the people who lead them (thank you, Kristina)

The last and the most important matter was housing. That was absolutly the best part! I was in two different houses and both were AMAZING! IT was really reasuring to have someone to talk and help me in the unknown city where a lot of things were new. Also talking a lot in spanish at home definitly helped me with my skills.

I liked the teachers. The group was excellent and fun! The other students were much younger than me but I was accepted very well in the group although I could have been their grandmother. I had the semi-intensive course, but it would have been better to take the intensive course. I tried to learn the grammar by myself, but it would have been more efficient in the course.
The home housing where I stayed, was excellent and we had interesting discussions at home with the hostess who was also an older woman. This was also a safe way to travel alone. I had a schedule at the course and in the housing but I had a lot of free time to get to know Malaga and Costa del Sol, visit museums, concerts etc.

Everything was great, the school helped me find housing that was in walking distance to the school and the beach! The teachers I had are native speakers which is good because it’s not like textbook Spanish it’s real life. My only complaint is sometimes other students would get sidetracked speaking English and it took away from my learning time.

The trachers was already Good. But they Change so often. For me IT is better to have one teacher. The location was verry nice. But The Room in the first Week was to smal for 10 peoples. The lessons was to fast. No Chance to learn at home.

Debla hat mir ein shared Department ganz nahe am Strand und nahe an der Schule angeboten. Das war für mich sehr angenehm und der Blick auf den schönen Strand Malagueta war für mich besonders schön! Die Schule hat eine besondere Lage - wieder mit Blick aufs Meer! Ich war meinem Sprachlevel entsprechend passend eingeteilt und ich konnte dem Unterricht super folgen. Das Lehrerteam war so engagiert, freundlich, nett und hilfsbereit. Ich habe den 50+ Kurs besucht und jeden Tag konnte man an einer gut durchdachten und geplanten Aktivität teilnehmen. Die Mitglieder meiner Gruppe waren sehr aufgeschlossen und wir unternahmen auch viel gemeinsam. Ich kann diese Sprachschule mit gutem Gewissen gerne weiter empfehlen.

I combined a short holiday in Malaga with a week’s language course as a refresher of my Spanish grammar knowledge & conversation skills. The school is located at a 20-minute walk from the old city center which was perfect for me. I choose Debla because they offered this one week option including a few gastronomy activities, and because the advisor from Language International through which I booked greatly helped me.
The atmosphere of the school and its crew is relaxed and informal. I was particularly happy with how the lessons were structured; 2 hours of grammar and 2 hours of conversation. I was also lucky that my lessons were from 9-13hrs which allowed me to spend time in the afternoon and evening enjoying Malaga and trying to put into practice what I had learned.
The teachers were super nice and very good. I appreciated the time taken to go off topic and provide additional explanation and answer any questions. I feel I have been able to pick up the Spanish language again, improved my conversation skills but one week is indeed very short to really realize noticeable change.
I enjoyed the tapas tour, but the two other gastronomy activities were a bit disappointing; explanation of the typical Spanish cooking meant reading recipes out loud…and the paella cooking, which took place in the garden of the school, came down to watching others how to prepare and put ingredients in the pan and wait for it to be ready to eat. There is definitely room for improvement there or otherwise better expectation management.
Although I enjoyed the company of my class mates, I would advice Debla to have a closer look at the profile of its students and try to match those better.
All in all, I enjoyed the language course, the crew was super friendly and capable, and the informal atmosphere helped make one feel at home.

Het appartement was prima en schoon
De activiteiten waren gezellig. Alleen jammer dat een docent geen engels sprak, waardoor ik(A1) niet alles begreep
De school en omgeving was perfect
De teachers waren goed, praten rustig en langzaam zeer fijn.

Twee opmerkingen,
1. Op de website wordt de indruk gewekt dat je alleen met 50+ in de groep komt te zitten. Dit klopt niet we worden op level ingedeeld. Ik zat nu met 14 en 17 jarigen in de groep. Vond ik niet echt leuk. En zij ook niet. 50 jaar leeftijdsverschil is te veel.
De andere 50+ ers hadden hetzelfde idee, en vonden dat tegenvallen. Dus website aanpassen
2 de laatste anderhalve dag ben ik nog overgestapt naar een hogere groep. Had dit achteraf liever eerder gedaan.
Voorstel. Laat de docenten na dag 2 het nivo van de leerlingen beoordelen en dan de groepen herinrichten. Natuurlijk in overleg met de leerlingen.

Dank voor de fijne tijd
Barbara

The school offers high quality instruction. The time in class sped by. The (outstanding) instructors are enthusiastic and committed. The classrooms are pleasant and light-filled. I enjoyed our activities that were offered outside school. I was pleased to be placed with mostly seniors—we found that we had a lot in common.

I loved everything. The gramática y comunicación periods were very well structured. The teachers are nice, professonal and have good humor!
The homestay was perfect for me. Everything was A1 for me!

I enjoyed my week at Debla very much!!!
Location great, teachers experienced, I learned a lot in Spanish laguage, about the culture, always good atmosphere!

I spent 2 weeks at the School.
The first week I had a fantastically skilled Grammatik teacher. The conversation teacher, on the other hand, was not particularly attentive to the lever of the class. She became almost angry when one of the students said that she did not understand the teacher. The class consisted of 6 young Germans who were in their 3rd week at school and 2 Danish Ladies (including me). Level A2.
The second week there was illness among the teachers, which made the teaching incoherent. I still learned something though.
All in all, a slightly uneven performance.

The school was characterized by using a lot of force on large groups of young German students, and not so much force on other students.

My personal experience was absolutely unforgettable as I have met many wonderful people. I was in Malaga before, so I was pretty sure that this trip cannot be bad. The location of the school was wonderful - it is located right in the town, 15 min away by foot from the Picasso museum. The main buildings is up to the hill what shows up the gorgeous view on the sea. There are two large terraces and a lovely garden downstairs. What is more, there are always sunny at the balcony. As the school is always full, they have just opened a second office down to the hill, what is even closer to the town. The second office is right in front of the colosseum, so If it's your first time in Malaga, there are many things to look around.

If I would like to learn Spanish, I would definitely go there, but I don't for a moment.

The overall experience was great. The teachers where always there to help and made the learning fun. The classes were interesting due to meeting new people. The location is very ideal the bus stop was a 5 minute walk away and I could get the bus into the city center after the classes. Had a lot of fun activities planned and this helped me learn more about the Spanish culture and allowed me to practice my Spanish speaking. There is a lot of facilities surrounding debla such as the snack bar within Debla itself to the supermarkets and cafes. I was very impressed when Debla arranged my accommodation for me. The school was clean all the time.

To get to Debla there is a bit of a hill to walk up but the view is worth it once you get to the top.

I really enjoyed enhancing my knowledge of the Spanish language. It helped to immerse myself in the Spanish culture, surrounding myself with Spanish speakers and so on. The activities that the school organised were very fun and gave me a chance to meet new people as well as practice my Spanish. After studying I felt so much more confident. I feel the teachers and students showed a lot of support. The location was INCREDIBLE, only 10 minutes away from the beach and 15 minutes to the city centre. The scenery in the school and town was amazing for taking them gorgeous photos.

The school organised accommodation for me and I stayed with a host family. This was new to me to stay with strangers and the first couple of nights I felt anxious. Although the more we got to know eachother it was good, the family was very friendly and supportive. The building is kept clean at all times which is a big thing for me, All facilities were hygienic.
You have to walk up a little hill to get to the school, although it can be tricky for some, the veiw was definitely worth it.

I would recommend this School to anyone looking for quality Spanish education.

The location is amazing with a fantastic view to the Mediterranean. The facilities is god and the building is well kept and clean.
Some of the classrooms are better than other ( the best has even view to the see ).

The atmosphere at school is warm and welcome - thanks to all the good people working at the school. At the desk you always find to nice persons there makes you feel welcome, and always willing to help you. That means a loot especially the first days and make you feel comfortable - in a foreign country.

The teachers are very dedicated and kindly and the quality of education is excellent. They are also very personal in the way that they remember your name. It seems to be a god team there like each other which spreads a good atmosphere all around the school. Not to forget- a lot of laughter and humor

I really enjoyed the language classes in Debla with the very professional and lovely teachers. I learned a lot in very short time. The location of the school is perfect as you can see the sea from each classroom and after school you can reach the really nice beaches in 5 minutes. Every day another activity was offered and I enjoyed joining them a lot. Thanks a lot for that great experience. I would recommend everybody to do a language course there.