April 13, 2004

6:00 PM

I'm thinking of doing an intensive Spanish language course in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico this summer. Has anyone tried a school there? Any other suggestions for the town or surrounding areas are much appreciated as well. [More Inside]
posted by fionab to (4 comments total)

I'll be there for a few weeks, so I'll have time to do a few day trips in the surrounding area. I've been to Mexico often and have some family in Mexico City, but this is the first time I'll be in San Miguel itself.

As for the language course, I'm looking for classes at least a few hours a day, with the option of securing a tutor for one-on-one if necessary. Any experiences or accounts of language schools in Mexico may be useful as well. What should I look out for? What's the sign of a good program? What is a productive class size?
posted by fionab at 6:00 PM on April 13, 2004

I went to Universidad Internacional in Cuernavaca and loved it. Great instruction and very organized. The school used the "group 5" system for instruction with no more than 5 students (my groups over the 4 weeks I was there never had more than 4 people). There was also a classroom lecture on certain grammar and vocab stuff. There were also elective courses and conversation practice. They had excursions on the weekends into Teotihuacan, Mexico City museums and the Ballet Folklorico.

I would look for if the program has connections with major universities in the US or the rest of world. See if the school will give references.

The school I went to wanted to make sure the students were happy in the level of courses, the faculty and the host families. Make sure the school is flexible -- you might test into a more advanced level than you thought and might need to adjust.

I learned a lot of Spanish in just four week. Living with a Mexican family and having "Spanish only" happy hours really helped me.

Good luck and have fun.
posted by birdherder at 6:45 PM on April 13, 2004

I'm thinking of taking a spanish immersion course in winter 04/05. Any recommendations or experiences with other programs would be a great help to me. Thanks!
posted by maniactown at 6:49 PM on April 13, 2004

er, Spanish.
posted by maniactown at 6:51 PM on April 13, 2004