Our students speak
 Serge, The Congo-Brazzaville |
Melania, USA |
Gino , Suecia |
Sirpa, Finlandia |
Silvia Salandin (Italy)
I arrived in Malaga in August. I wanted to study Spanish but had no clue what school was the best. I went to many schools and by chance I learned of the UMA.
I was looking for a house and the owner of the flat that I liked told me that close was The International Centro for Spanish of the University of Málaga. I went there, talked to the secretary and my doubts disappeared. The seriousness of the place, the friendliness of the people (I didn´t know the teachers at that time) and the idea that it was a university, made the difference.
Today, after eight months, one Spanish course at South View 1 Hispanic B2 1 C1 Hispanic course, an Intensive C1.2 (and I have not yet finished), I know I've chosen the best.
The teachers are great, professional, serious and, why not, fun.
UMA is a school where you can study, make friends (and no matter how old) and at the same time fun.
I have to return to Italy at the end of June (but my heart stays here) and I plan on returning to Malaga next year and I will definitely study at the UMA.
Thanyanporn Thammrak (Tailand)
My name is Tanya. I'm from Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand which is a small country in Southeast Asia. I have been here for almost 2 months and now I'm studying at the CIE-UMA and living in El Palo. I have joined many activities in this Centre and I like them much. There are many complementary activities after class to improve Spanish skills and get to know Malaga.
For example, visiting the Picasso museum or visiting the Alcazaba castle in Malaga city Centre. I like this activity very much because I love travelling and learning new things. Since I came here, my life has changed as I have to study 4 hours per day, but I have got 2 days off at the weekend so I have got time to explore Spain. What a nice life! I love that.
The class is divided to be 2 parts, first grammar and second speaking so I can practice speaking a lot and I can use this in my everyday life. I'm here in southern of Spain so not everyone here can speak English. It means I have to be able to speak Spanish. The weather here is much better than my country which is hot and hotter all year long and the location is close to the beaches, so romantic when the sun is setting.
I met so many new people here they are from all over the world and we exchange our cultures with each other and the teachers always provide cultural knowledge of Spain. I'm glad that I'm here.
Yu Quiao (Taiwan)
Having been in the school for three months, I have enjoyed the class so much, and learned more than I expected. The pace of the class is just right. Our energetic grammar teacher Laura knows perfectly what a student needs, and the way she teaches makes its easy to understand, the grammar is not dead knowledge anymore but well-connected to daily life. And the time with our conversation teacher Álvaro makes me love Spain more and more. He shared so many interesting things about Spanish culture with us, connecting it to each student’s own country. Each day feels like an adventure traveling around the world.
Besides, the school holds many activities, visits to museums, city centres, or traveling to those amazing spots near Málaga, like another chance that we can have more intimate talk with this passionate, beautiful country. Thanks to the school and all the effort they have made for us.
Ángela Bello (Italy)
I really enjoyed my time at CIE and if I had to choose the best part of all i would go with the people who work there: everybody tried their best to be helpful and to make us feel at ease. Our teachers have been warm and welcoming from the beginning and I feel grateful with them for the passion they put in our classes.
I found the activities of the center extremely useful and I tried to participate as often as I could. They provided a precious insight of the culture I was living in, aspect that is essential in my opinion if you are learning a language. Being fond of gardens, my favorite will remain the first activity I did: a walk through the gardens of Malaga, where a teacher spoke a little about the history behind the many parks of the city and gave us some interesting facts about some of the plants that live inside them.
The computer room and the other facilities function really well and have been extremely valuable to me and my friends, as we didn't have internet connection at home (or computers) we spent our afternoons working in the rooms and preparing our homework and presentations.
Enrico Garatti (Italia)
I have been at the International Centre of Spanish from September to December and it has been a very positive experience. I loved the cultural activities, because they are varied and always different, making students stay longer. The organization is excellent.
I was able to use the facilities (reading room, computer room, autobar), whenever I wanted, and I think they solve any problem, question or need.
My teacher was excellent, and I also had the opportunity to discuss and talk with other teachers, and all of them have demonstrated their professionalism. I am very satisfied.
Francesca Federico (Italy)
The most enjoyable thing about the CIE is, without any doubt, its relaxed atmosphere; teachers make students feel comfortable during the classes and participate without any embarrassment.
During my course I enjoyed some very interesting talks about Malaga culture and customs and I loved having that possibility. I think it is important, for a Spanish learner, to know not only the language but its cultural environment.
As we have daily classes with three different teachers, I realized what a student needs to learn: to become a sponge!
In fact, you must absorb, as a sponge, as much as you can to really learn a language. Besides, dividing classes according to the linguistic abilities is very fruitful and I was pleased with each teacher´s method.
Likewise, the files used in classes and the textbook, easy and complete, were and still are very useful.
Valerio Ciriello (Switzerland)
I love studying in Málaga because it is a city surrounded by cultural jewels such as Granada, Córdoba, Sevilla…. Huelva, Almeria, Cádiz´s beaches... Other places like Barcelona are wonderful, yes, but are only that place and surroundings are not so valuable.
The treasure of this school is its teachers. They are well qualified, motivated and motivating, and students feel happy when coming to school and classes are well organized, scientific and flexible.
The environment is very good and international. The atmosphere is placid and people feel happy being here. In other places the level test doesn´t exist, because they have lower quality.
I like the cultural activities because they are varied and adequate and I think it is very important to have computers in the school.
The possibilities this center have, if I compare with other reference schools, are huge; for example, what I think is the best of all, the credit system and own degree programmes.
Hazel Harrison (United Kingdom)
I loved the teachers. They made me feel welcome and accepted and I think they motivate students to participate a lot in class. What I liked the most was meeting many positive and warn people, and the atmosphere at school.
The help I received from the Secretary was very important to me because I had to start my course later and I was informed and helped in all I needed.
I loved the cultural activities and the most the visit to the town center after a few days from students’ arrival. It was very useful for me to meet my colleagues and to start live together.
Marina Novikova (Russia)
I´ve been studying here for ten months and I´ve had the opportunity to attend a lot of cultural activities and I loved them: it is good to get the possibility to go with local professionals explaining everything and doing so well. I love sports and I feel like doing paddle surf and I´ll be able with the sport activities program we have at school.
Talks are very useful to know the real culture, not only the language. This way we know the different aspects of the Spanish culture and we can participate and settle in it.
I would like underline the Secretary´s work too; they help me a lot preparing documents and also with the accommodation when I was still in Russia. They treated me very well and answered kindly each message of my dozens!
Teachers are good professionals and they participate in many activities apart from classes. They are very pleasant and have a nice and warn attitude with students. They became our friends.
Dimitri Anisimov (Rusia)
¡Hola!
Study at UMA was an incredible experience. I chose the Málaga-Madrid course because it seemed a good opportunity to know two important cities in Spain, a fantastic country, and to know two very different parts. During the two months, I visited El Escorial, Segovia, Toledo, Asturias, Granada, Sevilla, Nerja, Ronda, Jerez, Cádiz, Tarifa and Gibraltar. I enjoyed Spanish life in each place. In Málaga I lived the Feria, for sure one of the most brilliant memories.
Regarding my studies, something that I liked very much was that we had three different teachers for different language aspects. The conversation classes were the most amazing, because we had to speak a lot, doing our own stories and learn new expressions. We were 10 students in class, a good number to speak all and to work in pairs. In classes we used the laptop and the screen to see videos and make presentations. We could always ask the teachers and sometimes we asked too much, but they answered always with patience.
Something I liked a lot was the visit to Malaga with the university. It was really interesting and useful because after that I could get this information to my family when it came to visit me. Besides the talk about the Feria helped me to enjoy it much more.
I want to express my gratitude for the unforgettable experience we had when we went to the radio. I´ve never been there in Russia and I had to speak in Spanish, a language that I started to study last year.
I´d like to come back once again to meet new friends from all around the world and enjoy Spain again.
Koffi Eric Innocent Konan (Ivory Coast)
I´ve participated in a lot of cultural activities, that allow us to know a bit more about the Spanish culture and seeing some images we had only by internet. The visits help us to be part of the Spanish culture and not only to know the language.
What I like the most is the kindness of the teachers, because the incentive is very important. All the teachers are kind and there is a very good environment and a family spirit. When I arrived I did not know anyone but right away I felt quite well and moreover teachers respect all ideologies.
I love having teachers with so many ways (dances, songs, drawings etc.) to teach.
