Spanish Classes in Puerto Escondido
March/April 2009
While more than three months in Mexico can do wonders for one’s Spanish, particularly the vocabulary set associated with specific travel type situations, I was still finding the formal conventions of the language to be quite a mystery. While I am perfectly competent to order food, request accommodations, and make purchases, frustrating incidents like one in which we may or may not have paid too much for a car battery solidified my belief that a greater competence with the language would allow us to enjoy ourselves even more on this great adventure.
To remedy this deficiency we enrolled ourselves in some Spanish classes at the Instituto de Lenguajes Puerto Escondido. Located just a short dusty walk from our apartment and overlooking the waves of Zicatela Beach, the school setting feels nothing like that of a traditional learning institution. The instruction is catered to the individual’s skill level and desired interests and can be quite rigorous, if desired. We individually focused on a combination of formal grammatical lessons and conversational skills. Both private and group lessons are offered at rates of twelve and eight dollars per hour, respectively.
Having had experiences with several of the teachers, our highest recommendations are given to Irene and Reyna. Although their teaching techniques are slightly different, these women helped us tremendously. The organizational system of the school is not terribly structured (it is Mexico, after all) which allows freedom and flexibility to accommodate each student. There were, however, a few occasions where there were some attempts to switch our instructors. We would strongly recommend against this. In our cases we found it to be interruptive to the continuity of the lessons and therefore less conducive to learning. However, once settled in with our respective teachers, we cannot say enough about either of them. Classes consisted of a combination of reading, written, conversational, and field trip assignments. There was no shortage of homework but we found the whole experience to be well worth the effort. Vale la pena!
Mexpipe on Zicatela Beach
While more than three months in Mexico can do wonders for one’s Spanish, particularly the vocabulary set associated with specific travel type situations, I was still finding the formal conventions of the language to be quite a mystery. While I am perfectly competent to order food, request accommodations, and make purchases, frustrating incidents like one in which we may or may not have paid too much for a car battery solidified my belief that a greater competence with the language would allow us to enjoy ourselves even more on this great adventure.
To remedy this deficiency we enrolled ourselves in some Spanish classes at the Instituto de Lenguajes Puerto Escondido. Located just a short dusty walk from our apartment and overlooking the waves of Zicatela Beach, the school setting feels nothing like that of a traditional learning institution. The instruction is catered to the individual’s skill level and desired interests and can be quite rigorous, if desired. We individually focused on a combination of formal grammatical lessons and conversational skills. Both private and group lessons are offered at rates of twelve and eight dollars per hour, respectively.
Having had experiences with several of the teachers, our highest recommendations are given to Irene and Reyna. Although their teaching techniques are slightly different, these women helped us tremendously. The organizational system of the school is not terribly structured (it is Mexico, after all) which allows freedom and flexibility to accommodate each student. There were, however, a few occasions where there were some attempts to switch our instructors. We would strongly recommend against this. In our cases we found it to be interruptive to the continuity of the lessons and therefore less conducive to learning. However, once settled in with our respective teachers, we cannot say enough about either of them. Classes consisted of a combination of reading, written, conversational, and field trip assignments. There was no shortage of homework but we found the whole experience to be well worth the effort. Vale la pena!
Mexpipe on Zicatela Beach
Thanks for this wonderful information about Spanish instruction. I may just check into this for myself at some future time. I reallly enjoy your blogs. Andal Mira Tomás
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