Austria | 
Period: 2016-09-08 | 2016-09-23
Program: Quito
I had great 2,5 weeks in the school. It was realy good to learn spanish there and you can do a lot of activities. Everybody is very friendly and the help you with everyting you need. Also to stay with a family was a good option. The make you feel like home. Thank you for the great time.
Germany | 
Period: 2016-09-05 | 2016-09-16
Program: Quito
Viel gelernt! Die zwei Wochen im Instituto Superoir de Espanol haben mir wirklich viel gebracht! Vor allem die Faehigkeit, zu sprechen und mich auszudruecken, hat sich immens verbessert. Vom der Volkshochschultheorie zur Konversation war kein einfacher Weg, aber die Lehrerinnen sind alle wahnsinnig nett und helfen gern. Keine Frage ist peinlich und zur Not wird alles noch einmal erklärt. Die gemeinsame Pause mit allen Schülern ist sehr unterhaltsam, vor allem kann man sich über Reisemoeglichkeiten austauschen, gemeinsame Aktivitäten planen und die Umgebung erkunden. Die Ausflüge, die von der Schule aus angeboten werden, sind vielfältig, interessant und preisgünstig.
England | 
Period: 2016-08-23 | 2016-08-26
Program: Quito
Really enjoyed my time here at ISE, although 5 hours of Spanish a day was a little intense! I enjoyed staying with the family, and the house was in a good location. Although I enjoyed my lessons, I´d say the best thing was having the school be so helpful- it made my trip much easier to have someone meet me at the airport and show me around Quito for the first day, as well as offering advice whenever needed. Would consider returning if I´m ever in Ecuador again! Susannah da Silva
England |
Period: 2016-08-23 | 2016-08-26
Program: Quito
I have enjoyed my lessons at the ISE, where I have learnt pratical Spanish for my trip around Ecuador. Although I found 5 hours a day hard work, the support from my teacher was useful, although i would have enjoyed more structure to the course as it was mainly vocab learning. The family I stayed with was friendly and welcoming. I would definately consider doing another course in the future with ISE if in Ecuador.
Canada | 
Period: 2016-07-04 | 2016-08-12
Program: Quito
Une expérience géniale! Comments: J’ai adoré mon séjour à l’Instituto Superior de Español de Quito! J’y ai étudié durant six semaines avec quatre heures de cours individuels par jour. Ainsi, j’ai eu la chance d’améliorer significativement ma connaissance de la langue espagnole. De plus, une grande partie des cours était axée sur la discussion sur une multitude de sujets afin d’en apprendre plus sur la culture écuatorienne et, surtout, d’être à l’aise pour m’exprimer en espagnol dans un contexte professionnel. J’ai eu d’excellents professeurs et j’ai eu la chance de vivre dans une famille afin d’être complètement immergé. Je n’hésiterais pas une seconde à recommander cette école à un ami.
Denmark | 
Period: 2016-10-03 | 2016-10-28
Program: Quito
Lovley school in Quito
When we arrived at the airport in Quito we where picked up be and taken to oure host family. Eugenio told us about the city and its people, and what the different parts was like. When we arrived at oure host we was greeted whit a smile and felt at home right away! We got a nice room which was well furnished.
At the school we started with the basic grammar, and the teachers where good at finding my level. I felt that they worked hard to help me understand the new and at times confusing language that Spanish was to me.
After four weeks I feel ready to take my skills to the “real” world!
The school has been very helpful in organizing every part of our travel and excursions in Ecuador!
I can highly recommend this school to everyone who wants to learn Spanish or improve their already acquired skills.
Denmark |
Period: 2016-10-03 | 2016-10-28
Program: Quito
En venlig og meget imødekommende skole. Lærerne er virkelig gode til at justere efter det individuelle niveau/behov. Man bliver taget godt imod og bliver sendt godt videre. Fantastisk familie.
Germany |
Period: 2016-05-09 | 2016-06-03
Program: Quito & Otavalo
Travelling in Latin America for the first time and speaking only a few words of spanish, it took a few days to get used to a different rhythm of life. But thanks to the teachers and the whole staff at ISE, I was able to adapt fairly quickly. The teachers patience and their motivating lessons made me improve step by step. The staff has always been welcomming and so helpful. Wheather it was about bying rainboots for the jungle or trying to find an appropriate hairdresser! I did spend three weeks in the Institute in Quito and I realy enjoyed my stay in the historical centre of town where the school is located. But I can also recommend a visit to the smal town of Otavalo where I stayed for one week of classes. It is a lovely and very chilled place. There is lots to discover around Otavalo and it was a welcomming change to the lively and noisy capital. The teachers were competent, lovely amd extremely patient with me. I can only recommend a visit to the Instituto Superior de Espanol in Quito and in Otavalo.
Germany |
Period: 2016-05-16 | 2016-05-27
Program: Travelling Classroom
I took part in the travelling programme in May 2016, doing the “Walking through the Andes” trip. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience in every respect. I felt really looked after on every stage of the trip (or even before as Eugenio, the director of the school, went out of his way to accommodate a few special requests I had and even picked me up from the airport). I got the feeling that ISE really care about the well-being of the student and you aren’t just a number there.
Travelling with my teacher Vanessa was just great! Not only is she a great teacher, with the right mixture of rigour and fun, but also a wonderful travelling companion. She took me on a trip first North to Otavalo and then south as far as Cuenca, taking in the main tourist sites along this route. What I liked especially was that I was the only student, so effectively I had my private teacher. I still can’t believe myself how much my Spanish improved in the short period of just 12 days. I arrived in Quito with a sound grounding in grammar but little speaking and listening practice, but after speaking with Vanessa all day and honing my skills in the “official” Spanish class I left with language skills fluid enough to hold a conversation about most of my interests (not only the usual tourist stuff). That was really due to Vanessa’s willingness to adapt the classes to my needs and to teach me the vocabulary I needed rather than just following a set course. It was just an added benefit that much of the time I did not even realise that I was being taught, I felt as if I was just travelling with a friend. I’d like to add that although my biggest difficulty with Spanish had always been oral comprehension (why do people speak so fast???!) I had no problems at all understanding Vanessa. She speaks very clearly and adapts the level of her sentences to what the student can cope with, but without giving you the feeling you are treated like a little child, so I was never left with that frustrating feeling of being out of my depth that I’ve sometimes known on other language courses. I’m a language teacher myself, so I know how difficult it is to challenge a student but not frustrate them and I feel that Vanessa did a great job there.
What I possibly liked best on the whole journey was that I could ask Vanessa any question regarding Ecuador, the country, its people, cultures, customs and she would answer openly and knowledgably. In this way I learned more about Ecuador than I could have ever done as a normal tourist on a two week trip. I really enjoyed travelling the country by public bus like any normal Ecuatorian would rather than being taxied in and out like the typical foreign tourist, and also sampling the local cuisine. By the way: all buses, restaurants, hostels etc. were perfectly clean and safe and none of the warnings in my guide book about stomach problems, terrible roads, questionable bathrooms etc. came true!
This trip was my first time in South America so I came with little idea of what Ecuador would be like and I left with definite plans of going back hopefully sooner rather than later. There are some other travelling tours that ISE have on offer that sound very interesting and I will certainly think about taking part in one of them again! Until then: Thank you Vanessa, thank you Eugenio and thank you ISE – mil gracias!
Finland | 
Period: 2014-10-27 | 2014-11-21
Program: Quito – Travelling Classroom
I did a four-week Spanish language study period at ISE and found the language school very suitable for improving my Spanish skills as the school provided very tailored and flexible teaching with emphasis on individual sessions. In general, I also found the city of Quito to be a good place for Spanish studies due to the rather clear accent of the locals, the variety of the city itself and the central location of the city making it a good base for exploring Ecuador on weekends.
I studied at ISE in Quito for three weeks and additionally participated on a one-week long travelling classroom program, where several places of interest were visited in the Andes and Amazon regions using public transportation while simultaneously learning Spanish. In my case, the travel group consisted of one student in addition to myself and the teacher (Hola Vanessa 🙂 Espero que todo vaya bien contigo!), with whom I had already studied one week in Quito prior to the travelling week. In other words, the three-person group was very small, which made the learning more efficient and personal. The school itself had a very nice atmosphere with great activities such as cooking sessions and common coffee breaks in the afternoon, and also they had a nice cooperation with one of the local salsa studios, which lead to me picking up a new hobby that still continues back home in Finland!
For the three weeks in Quito, the accommodation was organized in an Ecuadorian family by the school. The accommodation, where a varying number of students (max. 6 persons) were housed at the same time, proved to be a very good solution for housing as it supported the Spanish studies in the form of having day-to-day communication mainly with the mother of the family and eased connecting with other students.