Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish Schoool
6a. Avenida Norte No. 39
La Antigua Guatemala
Phones:
(502) 7882-4575
(502) 5925-2604
e-mails:
donpedro77@hotmail.com
donpedro7703@yahoo.com
A Lesson Is a Journey—Knowledge Is A Landscape
We take pride in the fact that we are so highly recommended by our former students. We have also been cited on several prestigious websites, and in popular guidebooks about Guatemala.

Click here: Don
Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School, Antigua Guatemala | Facebook
and you can read comments made by our students and also contact them direct.
There are more than 100 former students who are Fans of our Facebook page.
This is one of the best ways to learn about our school. You may participate
in Discussions about the school and its programs and activities, and you can
view recent photos taken in the school and watch our video.
Student Recommedations
The best way to learn about us is to make contact with our former students.
Please read the following student references. Each of these former students
has indicated that they are happy to receive email enquiries from prospective
students.
Feel free to write to them to ask questions about the school.
I have recently returned from studying Spanish in Antigua Guatemala, and I
would like to recommend my school as one of the very best in Antigua. I studied
at the Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School in Antigua. It is located right
next door to La Merced Church, in a central and convenient location. My teachers
were wonderful; I studied there for four hours per day for two months. The
total immersion method was used to great effect, and we studied all four areas
of language (speaking was most important, but we also concentrated on listening,
reading, writing at one time or another). The teachers were patient and well
versed in their subject, and they always corrected when necessary without
ruining the flow. I stayed with a Guatemalan family the whole time I was there.
They were also wonderful, and really made me feel a part of the family! The
meals were wholesome and the food plentiful. The house was clean and tidy,
and I enjoyed my interactions with them immensely. The added bonus was that
I always had the opportunity to practice what I had learned in class, thus
furthering my ability to speak the language. They were also very patient with
me! The activities provided by the school were really good fun as well. I
enjoyed the salsa dancing lessons (given by a professional dance teacher)
every Tuesday evening and also the weekly fiesta on Thursday evening. During
these fiestas, we had the opportunity to continue speaking Spanish with the
many people who attended; both students and friends from outside the school.
The administrators were wonderful as well. Caty Galindo, the Director, did
everything she possibly could to make my stay with them as productive and
comfortable as possible. She cooked for the fiesta each Thursday evening and
her cooking was a real treat! It was fun to sample the local cuisine in this
way; 'carne asada' with 'chirmol' and 'guacamole' was a real favourite! The
environment of the school is very beautiful and well taken care of as well.
It is an easy, relaxing place to study. I really looked forward to going to
class each morning. Now that I am back in England I find that I am missing
the school and the lifestyle there very much. I hope that I have managed to
convey my delight with my studies at the Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School.
Please let me know how I can formally nominate my school for a place on your
website. Thank you very much! Sincerely, Anne Groombridge. Cheddar, Somerset,
UK.
Anne Groombridge annegroombridge@yahoo.co.uk
I recommend this school wholeheartedly. After being here for three months
I've heard a lot of stories of students from other schools and I came to the
point that this small school is the best one in Antigua! If you are looking
for a friendly, personal, fun and good school this is the one.
Lilla Nikolics kakr5aa@facebookmail.com
I greatly enjoyed my time at Don Pedro Spanish School. My teacher, Caty, was
wonderful. I did not know any Spanish before coming to Antigua, but after
one week I learned sufficient Spanish to be able to describe myself, ask for
directions, shop in the mercado, and much more. The salsa classes with Herman
were also great fun! Thank you all so much. I had a great time and I plan
to come back next year.
Catherine le Clerc, du Quebec, Canada
Catherine Le Clerc cleclerc12@yahoo.com
I would recommend Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School to anybody who is looking
for fun, adventure, and a chance to learn a new language in a completely fantastic
place! My friend had already studied at Don Pedro Spanish School for a month,
and she was planning a to go back again, so she asked me to go with her to
Antigua Guatemala. I was a little bit nervous, but I found the registration
process very easy via the school website, and any questions I had before I
went were answered promptly. The Assistant to the Program Director, Anne,
was very helpful and spoke and wrote in English very well. The school shuttle
was there to pick us up when we arrived at the airport in Guatemala City,
and when we got to Antigua we met by Caty Galindo, the Program Director, and
had a tour of the school. It was beautiful! Then we went to meet our local
host family. The family was the same one who my friend had stayed with before,
and they were really glad to see her again and to meet me too. I couldn't
wait until I could speak some Spanish so that I could talk to them! Our room
was big, the beds were really comfortable, and we had our own private bathroom.
It was a lot better than I thought it would be!
After breakast the next morning we started our lessons. We each had our own
teacher. I never spoke a word of Spanish before I came to Antigua, but I could
say a few basic things even after the first lesson, which lasted four hours.
My teacher was wonderful, and really patient with me. She knew just what I
needed to learn, and encouraged me so that slowly I picked it up. We had lessons
in the gardens every morning, then after lunch we had activities outside of
the school. We could choose from things like climbing volcanoes, visiting
local Mayan markets, going to see a coffee farm, and going mountain biking.
We had salsa dancing lessons one evening, and we had a fiesta one afternoon.
Caty cooked a typical Guatemalan lunch and we students helped her; we made
tortillas over an open fire. We all ate together, and danced, and had a great
afternoon!
During the second week, in the afternoons after classes, my friend and I went
to volunteer at a school just outside Antigua that is run by a charity. We
read books to the children in simple Spanish, which I could do by then, and
we taught some English to the older children. It was great to see people in
their normal environment, and it was satisfying to be able to help out a little.
My experience at Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School was unforgettable. I
will definitely go back to Antigua again to continue to study of Spanish.
I feel like I've made lots of friends there, including Caty, my teacher Lety,
and the members of my host family. I would encourage anybody who might be
thinking about studying Spanish in Guatemala to strongly consider going to
this school.
Savannah Rose, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Savannah Rose savannah.rose@live.com
I very much enjoyed my 2 weeks at the Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School.
They have AWESOME teachers. The one-on-one focus is great whether you are
a beginner to the Spanish language, or have some knowledge already. The school
offers great tours... and other services to make your immersion experience
complete. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone going to Antigua. Gracias Caty,
Leticia, y Rosa.
Travis McElroy,Los Angeles, USA
Travis McElroy Travis
McElroy
I am writing to recommend Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School as a very good
option if you are looking for a place to learn Spanish. The school itself
is remarkable; the gardens are colorful and well kept, and provide a peaceful
atmosphere in which to concentrate on what is being taught. My teacher was
organized, and completely aware of how to go about pushing forward my existing
skills. She has been teaching at Don Pedro Spanish School for many years,
and is adept with the method she employs. I myself am a former teacher, and
so know the importance of this sort of approach. In my case, I can attest
to the effectiveness of her methods. I am a much more competent speaker of
Spanish after my course of study with Betty. I am retired now and will be
getting out of Michigan winters in the future, staying in Antigua, and it
is essential for me to know the language to live comfortably in this magnificent
city. Whilst I was not able to participate in some of the activities offered
each afternoon, such as the climb to the summit of the local volcano, I was
happy to have the opportunity to visit local villages and markets, and I found
the excursion to a local coffee finca to be most interesting. There were other
retirees studying at Don Pedro Spanish School during my own course, and it
was very nice to be able to make some new friends as a result. The Director,
Caty Galindo, is a lovely, warm person and made me feel very welcome. As a
lifelong resident of Antigua, Caty was also a good resource for me in terms
of getting to know my way around the town. Caty also helped me to find an
apartment to rent. I would recommend Don Pedro Spanish School to people of
all ages.
Anne Marie Gerhardt, Michigan, USA
Anne Gerhardt annemariegerhardt@live.com
I would absolutely recommend Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School. The first
time I arrived in Guatemala my plane was three hours late and I spoke no Spanish.
I was terrified that the transportation I had arranged through the school
would not be at the airport to pick me up. As I walked out of customs there
was a man holding a sign with my name. I was very impressed from the start
and continued to be impressed throughout my time at the school. I have studied
there twice and hope to return again. The school is smaller and the classes
take place in a garden. The staff is terrific and will go out of their way
to make your stay in Guatemala a great one.
Audra Popovich Portsmouth, OH,USA
Audra Popovich Audra
Popovich
I had a fantastic time here at Don Pedro Spanish School; I would recommend
this school to anyone. Claudia was my teacher. She was very helpful and lots
of fun to work with. She was the best language teacher that I have ever had.
I hope to come back to Antigua Guatemala and study at Don Pedro de Alvarado
Spanish School sometime again in the future.
Eddy, Calgary, Canada
Eddy
edy1570@yahoo.com
I would recommend this school without hesitation ; as an airline pilot I was
traveling standby, and the day I was to leave for Guatemala, Denver had a
huge snowstorm and I couldn't get out. I emailed the school, and they were
extremely helpful. They changed everything to a day later, and my transportation
was waiting when I showed up the next day. They made it so easy, and the same
when I asked if I could stay longer. I offered to pay for the missed days,
but they said it was no problem and just worked with me. Not too many places
offer that kind of customer service anymore.
Katie Smith, USA
Katie Smith Noonesfo@aol.com
This is such a brilliant school, and I will recommend it to everyone!! I miss
you all alot, and cannot wait to see you again in January 2010 - especially
for lunch ; Muchas gracias Caty, Lety, Claudia, Celena (? ) y todos los maestros!
(y el perro y German tambien;) abrazos!
Ida Heland ,Bryne, Norway
Ida Heland ida_hetland@hotmail.com
I studied at Don Pedro de Alvarado Spanish School for two weeks in January
2009. I had a great time. My teacher was Betty. She was very good. She was
experienced. She was demanding. She is the best Spanish teacher I have ever
had. We used several books to emphasis the areas that I wanted to cover. When
I went to Antigua, I wanted to learn more than just the present tense and
I wanted to focus on conversational skills. When I left, I could converse
in the preterit, imperfect, future and conditional tenses. I had never done
that before. Most of my homework was in a book called: The Ultimate Spanish
Review and Practice. By Ronni Gordon. I stayed with Irma Guerra and her family.
Good family. Good food. Very clean. Very friendly. I plan to stay with them
when I return. I did not participate in all the school activities but the
ones I did I enjoyed. I visited a coffee farm, a nut farm, learned to salsa
dance and learned some traditional Guatemalian cooking. Once Caty, the school
director, helped me shop for a small Guatemalian flag.
Finally I found Guatemala to be a beautiful country The people were very friendly
I would encourage others to visit.
Phillip Moore , USA
Phillip Moore Phillip
Moore
You may want to check blog at I have talked about my time at Don Pedro.
http://phillipmoore.webs.com/apps/blog/show/732060-selecting-a-ool-in-guatemala
While studying at Don Pedro de Alvarado, I spent my afternoons volunteering
at Casa Jackson in San Felipe. Volunteering at Casa Jackson was one of the
most rewarding and valuable things I have experienced. The volunteers were
well coordinated and the children are beyond amazing. Whether I was feeding
a child or pitching in with the laundry, I enjoyed every minute working at
the hospital and plan to return soon!
Audra Popovich ,USA
Audra Popovich monkeycrazy@hotmail.com
A great way to learn spanish,muchas gracias por todo.
Pascal ,Paris, France
Pascal Pascal
Chesnoy
We are proud of being recommended by the following famous travel guides:
- Lonely Planet Guatemala (1st and 2nd edition)
- Footprint Mexico & Guatemala
”20 years of experience” (meanwhile 27 years!)
- Stefan Loose Travel Handbuch (German)
”old-established and popular Spanish school”
- Let’s Go
- American Handbook
- Guide du Routard (French)

We are the only 5-star rated
Spanish School in Antigua on www.123teachme.com
Ratings were all made by former students.
Our school is a member of the Guatemalan Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR). Aside from that we are authorized by the Ministry of Education and the Guatemalan Tourist Board (INGUAT)

