"Meine Erfahrungen mit Oaxaca International

Von Mai bis Juni 2009 war ich insgesamt vier Wochen Schüler der sehr familiären Sprachschule Oaxaca International. Für gerade diese Sprachschule habe ich mich daher entschieden da die Beratung und der Kontakt im Vorfeld vorbildlich waren und ich dies bei mehreren anderen Sprachschulaufenthalten in der Vergangenheit leider auch anders kennengelernt habe.

Schon zu Beginn gefiel mir der überaus freundliche Empfang. Dies schliesst sowohl den Empfang am Flughafen durch die äusserst sorgsam ausgesuchte Familie, wie auch die Begrüssung in der Schule selbst mit ein.

Sehr gefallen haben mir die kleinen Lerngruppen, die während meiner Zeit nie über 4 Personen pro Gruppe hinausgingen. Das sehr freundliche und kompetente Lehrteam kann dabei jedem Niveau vom absoluten Anfänger bis zum Fortgeschrittenen gerecht werden. Verständigungsprobleme ,gerade während meiner ersten Tage als absoluter Anfänger, konnten dank der guten Englisch- wie auch Französischkenntnisse der Lehrer schnell gemeistert werden.

Nach den sehr lehrreichen Klasseneinheiten wurden regelmässig Exkursionen zu schönen und sehr interessanten Ausflugszielen in der Umgebung angeboten, die es sich lohn wahrzunehmen. Dabei ist stets einer der Lehrer mit an Bord, der einem bei Fragen hilfreich zur Seite steht.

Da ich während meiner Zeit in Oaxaca auch Schüler anderer Sprachschulen kennengelernt habe ist vor alllem die hervorragende Auswahl der Gastfamilie hervorzuheben. Alle Familien befinden sich in kurzer Distanz zur Schule und zum Zentrum, so dass man kaum auf Verkehrsmittel angewiesen ist. Meine Familie selbst hat sich eine eins mit Stern verdient, da ich selten so geduldige, hervorragende und freundliche Menschen während meiner Sprachschulaufenthalte um mich hatte.

Die Stadt Oaxaca selbst besticht durch ihr wunderschönes koloniales Zentrum das wunderbar zu Fuss erkundet werden kann und für Touristen wie auch Einheimische sehr sicher ist. In weniger als einer halben Stunde ereicht man zudem mit dem Auto einmalige Sehenswürdeigkeiten wie die Ruinen von Monte Alban oder Mitla. Auch am Abend besticht die Stadt durch ihre zahlreichen Tanzbars, in denen man zu Salsa und Cumbia leckere und preisgünstige lokale Köstlichkeiten geniessen kann.

Insgesamt kann ich nur jedem zu einem Sprachschulaufenthalt in Oaxaca und bei Oaxaca International raten – Es wird eine Zeit die man lange in Erinnerung behält".

"I studied at Oaxaca International from March to April of 2009, to refresh my Spanish language abilities. My experience with Oaxaca International was wonderful. OI is a small, beautiful school that offers a great deal of personal attention to its students. Their staff went above and beyond to provide me with the instruction that I needed to meet my Spanish goals, and made my stay in Mexico much easier.

Oaxaca International connected me with a host family that I enjoyed throughout my month-long visit. The school is very conveniently located in Central Oaxaca, so I was able to attend classes in the mornings, and then walk around the city, visit several museums, and take trips to surrounding towns in the afternoons.

Oaxaca International’s classes were great! I had two hours of grammar instruction in the morning, followed by an hour of conversation. Often, I received private lessons because I was the only student at my level in the school at the time. At the most, I had two other people in my class. The classes and materials are personally tailored, and my Spanish improved by leaps and bounds during my stay. Oaxaca International staff also went above and beyond to make my stay in Mexico easier. For example, they helped me arrange a weekend trip to the beach, and drove me to the post office when I need to mail some packages home. OI also offers afternoon outtings in Oaxaca and the surrounding area. They took my interests and needs into consideration when planning these outtings. Basically, they asked me what I would be most interested in seeing, and then made it happen. For example, we visited a weaving cooperative, and I took a wonderful cooking class. I cannot recommend Oaxaca International enough for their quality, professionalism, and service! You will not be disappointed".

"Im Sommer 2007 habe ich einen Monat bei Oaxaca International Spanisch gelernt. Ich kann die Schule weiter empfehlen. Der Unterricht war abwechslungsreich und interessant und ich konnte spürbare Fortschritte machen. Nachmittags wurden uns dreimal in der Woche die Dörfer der Umgebung mit ihrem Kunsthandwerk gezeigt und für die individuellen Ausflüge am Wochenende erhielt ich wertvolle Tipps.

Die Stadt Oaxaca bietet sehr viel an Kunst, Kultur und Folklore und ein nettes Ambiente, die besten Voraussetzungen für interessante, angenehme Sprachferien".

"As travel coordinator for a large group of Kentucky educators, I hesitated at first to select Oaxaca International for a two-week program of study and cultural immersion. I and other teachers in the group had attended language immersion programs elsewhere, and the slate of activities proposed by Leticia and Ileana just sounded too good to be true. But they always responded so promptly and thoroughly to my numerous e-mails that I ended up choosing their program over other competitors for our business.

The school directors went above and beyond our expectations. Here are just a few of the benefits we experienced at Oaxaca International:

1. Classes were led by kind, patient and warm instructors. This was more than just a business to them; they really seemed to care about their students. This sense of caring was also felt among hosting families, who took time out of their busy work schedules to get to know their guests.
2. The program benefited all levels of learners from rank beginner to highly advanced. Our group included a wide range of abilities, from ESL teachers with very basic language skills to advanced Spanish speakers. At all levels, learners were pleased with the progress they made during just two weeks of classes.
3. The class size never exceeded 4 students. Conversation lessons were especially good because of the instructors’ responsiveness and openness to our interests. Leticia designed her lessons around the topics that we requested on the first day. It was apparent that she conducted additional research to address our preferences.
4. We enjoyed a generous allotment of private lessons. Each of 18 participants had five 90-minute one-on-one sessions over a period of two weeks—a remarkable feat considering the small size of the school, and our full schedule of group activities.
5. One of our teachers who has traveled widely in the Spanish-speaking world kept exclaiming during our stay: “ Oaxaca is the real Mexico .” Even though it is also a tourist mecca, with about 80% of the local economy dependent on tourist trade, this didn’t get in the way of experiencing the local culture. Everyday life was consciously integrated into instruction. The school location also afforded a good view of the “real” Oaxaca , since it was located several blocks away from the tourist center, in a neighborhood frequented by locals. Private lessons made good use of the school’s location with walks into the surrounding community.
6. If you are looking for true cultural immersion, this is the school for you. Everything was conducted in Spanish, and in such a congenial manner that no one seemed to miss speaking English. Even among themselves participants at all levels of instruction preferred to keep conversation going in Spanish.
7. All of us were transformed by our experiences in Oaxaca and returned to our classrooms with a wealth of new ideas to share with our students".

"I highly recommend Oaxaca International Language School! I attended the school for two weeks in June of 2006. I was part of a group of ten teachers from the United States who came to Oaxaca to enhance our knowledge of the Spanish language and the Mexican culture. While there, I stayed with a wonderful host family that treated me like a king. The accomodations were very clean and comfortable, not to mention very affordable. My host family made me feel like a part of their own family. The conversations over home cooked meals immersed me in Mexican culture like nothing I had ever experienced. The school offers first rate instruction with a low teacher to student ratio. They do everything possible to meet your needs and expectations. I could not believe the lengths they went to in order to make my experience the very best. The classes at Oaxaca International are tailored to your ability level and interests. The afternoon excursions are amazing. I especially enjoyed the hands-on cooking lesson in which I learned how to make an authentic Oaxaqueño meal. The classes, together with the excursions, are highly effective in teaching you the language while also allowing you to experience the culture".

"This is an excellent school for all age levels. Competent teachers provide personal attention and are always there to help. Ileana runs a professional institution with able support from her husband Augusto. We, myself and my wife, had two hours private tutoring from Augusto who introduced us to grammar in an orderly and nonoverwhelming manner. Later on during the day, we had an hour of conversation with various teachers. In four weeks, we were able to improve our grasp of Spanish from almost nothing to an intermediate level. Twice a week, at no extra cost to us, Ileana and Augusto provided personally escorted outside activities introducing us to Mexican culture and history. The family they organized us to stay with, treated us like family providing excellent home cooking, conversation and help in every aspect of life in Oaxaca. We definitely want to go back to the school in the near future".

"Hola,

Elk jaar probeer ik een aantal maanden door Z.Amerika te reizen. Dan maak ik de voor mij ideale combinatie taalschool en steden/natuurschoon. Ik heb dus al veel scholen bezocht in o.a. Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, Argentinië. Dit jaar in Mexico heb ik de steden Merida, San Christobal, en Oaxaca bezocht. Elk land en elke stad heeft uiteraard zijn eigen schoonheid en type school. In Oaxaca was ik in maart 2008 en het was er geweldig. Zowel de stad, de omgeving en de school. Omdat ik al aardig spaans spreek heb ik deze school ervaren als een ideale omgeving om mijn spaans te verbeteren en perfectioneren. De professionaliteit en aardigheid van de docenten is opvallend. Ook het verblijf in het gastgezin was perfect. Een echte aanrader dus om het prachtige land, de schitterende stad en indrukwekkende cultuur te leren kennen. De afwisseling in de school van grammatica en cultuur, de extra’s die de school biedt, de kleine klassen, en dus veel persoonlijke aandacht , kortom een aanrader om goed en snel spaans te leren in een fantastische stad.Marjan van der Weerd".