Lessons at Debla combine grammar and conversation, with communication, creativity and a good dose of humour built into the teaching method. Your teachers write and update their own materials and receive ongoing training. Courses run from A1 to C2, so you can start as an absolute beginner or continue at an advanced level. Debla is an official DELE and SIELE examination centre, and teachers are trained as DELE examiners, which matters if you are working towards a recognised certificate rather than simply picking up conversational Spanish.
Debla is family-run, and that shows in its scale: classes average six students and cap at eight, spread across more than twelve classrooms fitted with the latest teaching technology. Students come from countries across Europe and beyond, with Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands forming the largest groups, and no single nationality dominates the school's community. Most students travel solo, and a good number stay for more than four weeks.
The setting is one of the school's clearest assets. The building is a whitewashed Andalusian house surrounded by greenery, with garden terraces looking out over the Mediterranean. It is five minutes' walk from the beach and ten minutes from Málaga's city centre, so you get a quiet base without losing easy access to the rest of the city. Facilities include a cafeteria, a student bar area, high-speed WiFi throughout, and air conditioning and heating. The school is partially wheelchair accessible, with accessible toilets.
Beyond the classroom, Debla runs a fixed weekly activities programme that starts with a Monday welcome meeting and city tour, and continues with museum visits, flamenco or salsa classes, language exchange evenings and day trips to nearby cities, alongside extras such as guitar lessons.