AIL Madrid Spanish Language School

I really loved going to school at AIL. Our teachers Borja (in the beginning) and Rian were great. They have different ways to teach but both are perfect to learn Spanish from and their ability to encourage their students are immaculate. It’s the same with Javier that we had as a teacher after Borja. It’s normal to make mistakes but sometimes you feel embarrassed as a student. But let me tell you one thing with those teachers: They will NEVER give you the feeling that you failed. They will always motivate you and try very patiently to explain whatever you didn’t understand. The amount of students in one class were perfect except of one week were we changed schools and we were 9 or 10 students in a very small class room. That was not the best situation to learn but also here Rian made a great job and managed that week all on her own. I would come back to Rian‘s, Borja‘s and Javier‘s classes all the time if I would‘ve the money, haha. The facilities were very clean and enough. Everyone was nice and helped if someone had a questions. I can’t say anything bad about this school. I also made friendships there that I love!!
The activities were nice and were very different so that it matches everyone’s interests, but it was in advanced Spanish and very fast so that me and all my mates from class stopped going to the activities because we understood nothing. But the students from the B1 course seemed to enjoy the activities a lot, so it must have been very interesting :)

I very much enjoyed my stay in Madrid. It’s a wonderful city. There’s much to do and much to see.

Combined with half-day education. It was a perfect setting. The educational facilities were good. My teacher was excellent. Class-size was small which was very helpful for learning.

Afternoon activities were generally interesting. A change in schedule without prior notification was difficult. We were notified at 155 that their was a schedule change for a 2 o’clock event . The original activity did not interest me but the day trip did. This left me only minutes to arrive at the meeting point as I have not planned to attend the original event. Obviously poor planning an organization.. I think this sort of thing should be avoided.

I found the level I was placed in appropriate and the lessons instructive. I thought the course book we were given was irrelevant and without the appropriate Internet support pretty useless. The interaction in class was great. The instructor was excellent. Small class-size was helpful. First week we had six which was not as good as the following week when they were for students.

Housing was disappointed and not as described. I have requested non-smoking and preferably no children I was housed with a smokr who theoretically would smoke outside although the place did smell very bad there was not much interaction with the family, so I really didn’t improve my language skills in the household.the family was friendly. on the first day I was told meals would be served between eight and 8:30 PM. Therefore I organize my time accordingly on several occasions the family did not return until after nine or 10 PM for the meal which meant I sat in a smelly small room, waiting for them, which I found rude , and disappointing. The food was not as described. They’re certainly was never a 2 course meal. Usually a small bowl of pasta . Sometimes a yoghurt or serving of fruit after the meal. I would definitely not recommend a homestay. I think I would’ve been better off in an Airbnb or small apartment as I don’t feel I really got to know much about Spanish culture from this particular family.

I signed up for the school through a third party 4-5 months prior to the start of the program. The description was that it was for over 50 year olds and that the school was located on O'Donnell street in Madrid. Also, there would be activities for participants. I have other friends in Madrid and about a month before it was to start, I reached out to get the schedule as I wanted to make times to see my friends. No Schedule, No details of the activities, no information. About 1 week before the program was to begin, I was informed that the class might not be at the above location. I had already rented an expensive Airbnb close to O'Donnell street and could not r if there would be school on the Spanish Holiday during that week. Finally, that Friday I received the schedule. (School started Monday).

On Monday, classes began and I was more than pleased with our professor. Paloma is a star and I really enjoyed studying with her that week. Also, my classmates were very nice and we had a fabulous class. The excursions were disorganized and for the most part were led by teachers instead of professional guides. One of them was reading off print outs from the computer and ended up losing one of us as she raced through the world heritage site without waiting to if everyone was accounted for.
In summary, the quality of the instruction is excellent, the location of the O'Donnell location if great- but making the other students walk to that school for the excursions was tedious. There should have been rides for them. The excursions were on the cheap and I would have preferred to have professional guides and paid a bit more for the program. If the organization and communication had been better, I would have enjoyed the program much more. However, I still enjoyed it and met some very special people and would consider returning.

The program surpassed my expectations. I had a wonderful and gifted teacher, Paloma who was able to teach not only grammar concepts, but also helped improve my comprehension,speaking and understanding of the language and culture of Madrid and Spain. The classes were fun and relaxed. The class size was 6 students in week one and 4 students in week two which was ideal for learning and interaction. The classes and activities were all composed of the Over 50’s students and this made it so enjoyable to be in a group of similar age and experience. The locations of the school were in pleasant and safe neighborhoods. The nearby cafes were excellent and convenient.The activities were generally very good…and well chosen but some guides were much better than others. It was sometimes a bit rushed walking to the meeting place for activities and trying to grab lunch in just an hour. Overall the activities were very good value and the costs of transportation, museum entrance fees and food on the activities were covered by the school. The welcome lunch was very nice and a great way to meet the other students. I had a wonderful family… a couple who were pleasant, helpful and took the time to converse with me and the other student for an hour or longer over dinner. My only difficulty was adjusting to the timing 10 PM dinner…however it was a lot of fun so I didn’t want to miss it.There were so many positive things during the two weeks but my teacher, Paloma was a real gift. The Over 50’s group made the immersion a lot of fun and was one of the best parts of the program. I had understood that sometimes there weren’t enough Over 50’s to have a uniform class but luckily all of the group were Over 50. I would have liked to stay longer …for 3 or even 4 weeks but am Interested in going again next year.

Dzień dobry, otrzymałam wcześniej e-maila, ale miałam problem z odesłaniem wiadomości. Pobyt w Madrycie w szkole językowej
Ail Madrid wspominam bardzo miło. Prowadzący zajęcia Alberto bardzo zaangażowany w prowadzenie zajęć, lekcje przeprowadzone w ciekawej formie. Dużym plusem była nauka w małej grupie. Lokalizacja bez zastrzeżeń. Jedynie co przysporzyło mi trochę stresu i niepewności, to brak informacji e- mailowej przed rozpoczęciem zajęć. Przyleciałam do Madrytu i nie znałam adresu szkoły ani nie wiedziałam o której godzinie rozpoczynają się zajęcia. Wyszukałam adres w internecie, jak się okazało to nie było to miejsce, ostatecznie na zajęcia spóźniłam się. Szkoda, bo dla mnie każda godzina nauki była bardzo cenna zwłaszcza, że mój pobyt w szkole był bardzo krótki, bo trwał tylko tydzień czasu. Pozdrawiam serdecznie Alina Michna

The class is fun The professor is great, always positive and in a good Mood. It is very nice ! AIL Madrid is well located (10 min by feet from Retiro Park).

Teachers were very good and fun. I was placed at the wrong level but they were very helpful in trying to get me to the right level. I only enrolled for two weeks and the first week had two days of holiday. I got Covid at the beginning of the second week and they were helpful in getting me into an online class for that week. Unfortunately, I missed out on the after class activities for that week. I thoroughly enjoyed the activities of the first week. Classrooms were nice but the washrooms were a bit stuffy and smelly at times.
What I did not like was the housing. I had a difficult time finding the place because of incorrect directions. It was the first time that the family hosted anyone and the host didn’t really know how to cook. Almost half of the time that I was there, I either ate leftovers from the night before or had to cook my own meal. Meals were pretty basic. I notified AIL about this after the first week just so they know. Location of the Homestay was excellent though and the room was clean.

It was little odd just dimp down to a classroom where the people were studying since a long time in their own group. I think we oldies could have our own teacher concentrating in conversation and culture and not in grama.
Some years ago I was in a summer course in Madrid with Instituto Cervantes and they had organised like that .

I like it all
The teachers was excellent. The staff in the school was very nice . I like the apartment that we stay.

The classes were very good. The curriculum was very easy to understand to complete the exercises. Both teachers brought in additional curriculum to enhance each topic.

The teachers were very enthusiastic, and they both made sure that each student understood before moving on to another topic.

The location was great and very convenient. However, the traffic outside made it impossible to keep the door/window open so the classroom was always uncomfortably warm. The receptionist offered to adjust the temp but was unable.

The activities for the 50+ were acceptable..

The school was nice. I’ve had learned many new things.
The teacher are nice and friendly. Sometimes it’s hard, because
everything is just in español.

But after a few days you’re into it. That’s why my pronunciation is
much better than before. You do many games which are perfect to learn to talk.

Every evening are activities. For example, I was with other people
on Tapas, it’s was a nice evening.

I was very pleased with the overall organization. There are some professors highly professional, others less. As I was in the program immersion, I would have appreciated to receive the books for every level I was attending. I only got the one of C1.
I think it would be nice to provide nominative feedback to the professors, of course constructive one

I love my teacher and my class - after living in Spain for 2 years and not learning Spanish because my work is in English and having given up catching up the language I have learnt a lot and having confidence in that I will eventually master the language.
I am in a wonderful class where everyone supports each other. It has also helped tremendously to get through weeks of confinement in our homes to meet twice a week in the class.

The housing was nothing special but the school very much special. I’m very satisfied and will return as soon as possible to continue working with my new level of spanish. I will apply for another kind of housing in their students apartments than. But I really enjoyed the teachers capacity to guide us through the material. Also the cultural events were great.

The classes are great and the timing is suitable with my working schedule. The teacher is amazing who provides various effective and enjoyable learning techniques.

All the time we talked just in Spanish and it really worked out pretty good even though we were Just in level A2.

Teachers are super nice and helpful. Classes are fun although I was assigned to a class that wasn't quite suitable for me. But the staffs are really friendly and willing to help make new arrangements. Housing is quite nice too. Clean and well equipped. Had a very good time here over all.

I had private lessons , two a day, with Nuria. She prepared very well, what I needed. The lessons were interesting. I learned a lot and my Spanish improved. I understand native-speakers much better. I could ask her all, what I wanted, and she explained it very well to me.

The Family with the two children was very friendly. The school was only 25 minutes on foot to arrive.

The teachers at AIL Madrid were excellent; my fellow students great; the activities offered in the evenings were fun and offered another chance to practice Spanish. The location of the school, and my host's apartment, were great, too. My only frustration was with the quality of the WiFi at the school. Most of the time it worked fine, but other times it did not.

The support staff at the school were great. I had lots of questions and they were always willing to help. They even loaned me a phone after mine was stolen by a pickpocket.

I loved my two weeks at the school and learned lots!

I attended a course in Ail Madrid for just 1 week in August (I know, I had needed some time to write this review ), but that was enough to say that has been one of the most pleasant experience I ever had (I still remember all the staff names, ok facebook is helping me).
The accommodation and the booking service are superb (thanks Martina for the patience), they gave me a family of which one of the members was a cook = amazing food.
Courses are well structured and teachers are well prepared (thanks Marta), classes have a small number of students so that provide useful and fun activities. What differentiates Ail Madrid from the others schools of language (I had an experience in an English school) are the after-school activities (What a great Cervantes expert Dani is!), these activities allow to meet new people, to practice Spanish and to discover the city. But the best part is the Friday parties with the teachers and the staff of Ail Madrid, they share their time with the students even after the school time (I remember nice conversations with Agata and Raquel).
I hope to see again the school staff (maybe they will not remember me) and to be back soon in this amazing city that is Madrid!

So if you want good Spanish school, Ail Madrid is the right one to learn and have fun!

I actually really recommend the school since it has a great vibe where the staff, teachers, and students get along amazingly and are very helpful, outgoing, and beneficial. Their program is set in a way where you can flexible navigate your classes and their cost and offers are really good. I have been taking classes for the year and a half with them and I have met amazing people and learned tons of material and experienced and exchanged intercultural information. I think its really well located in a lively neighborhood where you can get to experience Madrid lifestyle also.

Within days of arriving in Madrid earlier this year, I was attending classes at AIL Madrid. I have now finished 2 courses and enjoyed every aspect of studying them through the whole process.

All of the AIL staff are wonderful and go out of their way to be helpful however is possible. They have created a very inviting atmosphere and from being at the academy, I have met some of my greatest friends in Madrid; what a delight to gain so much from one community!

I have already chosen and enrolled in the next course that I will join in at AIL in the next little while I'm sure you will enjoy being in classes there too!

I attended AIL Madrid for a 2-month course in between jobs and my experience exceeded my expectations on every level. My classes were split between two teachers each day, with a great mix of grammar along with conversation. With the small classroom groups your teachers really got to know you and before long, attending classes purely run in Spanish felt completely normal.

In the afternoons, I had free study time, along with a local excursion to meet other students outside of my class. The teachers and whole AIL team made me feel part of the family and were so kind and helpful with practical advice regarding accommodation, weekend travels and generally living in Spain. I miss them all following my return to London but am sure to return to Madrid soon, feeling hugely more confident to explore the great city! I could not recommend a course here highly enough!

It was a great experience.

Last year I went to London to study English with another school. But that wasn’t good. I didn’t enjoy learning ;(

This year I decided to go to Spain cause I’ve always been dreaming of learning Spanish. I’ve travelled to Spain many times and every time I heard Spanish speech I fell in love with it.

I had a great course which lasted a little bit longer than a month. I lived with a host family and living with a Spanish family can really help to improve your Spanish.

Every day except weekends I had lessons.
10:00-12:00 individual classes
13:00-16:50 with a 30min break

Each group has its 2 group teachers. 1st lesson with one, 2nd with the other.

During the lessons I was totally absorbed in Spanish. I enjoyed it sooooo much. Every day we played different games. We talked Spanish all the time, we laught and did our best to improve Spanish.

Thank you AIL for such a great experience. Now I have an A2 level. It is not a high level but I feel free to speak Spanish. Now I watch series in Spanish and listen to Spanish music, talk to my friends from Argentina, México and Spain to improve my Spanish.

I want to come back and I definitely will.
MUCHAS GRACIAS

I did not take part in the activities and did not use the housing of the school. Everything else was really well organized.

A language school not to miss: in my case, well-balanced individual class with two teachers, C1 level. Very helpful organisation from the first chat. Detailed pre-class form on student's expectations concerning his/her individual class. Welcoming atmosphere, good school facilities, multimedia equipment. Blanca and Jesus are great teachers. Tailor-made learning experience. Would have loved to stay another week. And the housing with my guest family was simply perfect.

I liked absolutely everything! The teachers there are very kind! The classes are very interesting! And also the socio-cultural program! Each day was respectful! I did not want to leave there! Without any doubt I can recommend AIL Madrid! I have had a good experience! Everything has been perfect!