I spent 3 weeks in Oaxaca attending the Español Interactivo.  Here is my experience.

Location & building:
This school is located within a couple of blocks of the traditional Mexican city center, the zócolo.  To enter, you pass through the outside wall via two tall, beautiful wooden doors.  The doors lead to the office and classrooms via a little courtyard garden complete with a white metal table, chairs and benches.   The thick adobe walls of the building are painted a sunny yellow with bright blue trim.  There are probably about 5 or 6 classrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen (for cooking classes!) and another cozy little courtyard just outside of the kitchen.  Everything is cheery and welcoming.

Staff:
New students are immediately given a warm welcome by Luz, an administrator and teacher at the school.  She can speak and understand English, but the school is designed for complete immersion, so English is avoided.  Luz is very skilled in the art of communication, so she can communicate in Spanish even with beginners.
In addition to Luz, I had classes with two other teachers during my three weeks there.  Luis is a teacher in his mid-20′s.  He conducted the verbal portion of the placement exam.  He seemed very stern and serious at first, but I later realized he was fighting a cold and feeling miserable.  He was my grammar teacher.  I found him to be a very skilled, patient and observant teacher.  He was equally comfortable teaching in the classroom, while strolling around the zócolo or while leading a small group on an excursion.  He was very knowledgeable of Mexican and Oaxacan history and culture, loved movies and exhibited a passion for teaching.
My third teacher was Fernando.  He is the younger brother of Luis.  He is also a serious, patient and observant teacher, following closely in his brother’s footsteps.  There were one or two more teachers, but I didn’t have any classes with them.

Cooking class in Oaxaca

My experience:
I cannot say enough good things about my experience at this school.  Everything about it was a perfect fit for me.  The atmosphere was bright and cheery.  The teachers were skilled, patient and ran a very well rounded program that included  serious grammar study, relaxed conversation interwoven with history of the country, the city of Oaxaca and local culture, cooking classes, movies, dance classes and excursions.
During the three weeks that I attended Español Interactivo there were not very many students attending.   There were several reasons for that.  One, it was early February and not a big travel period.  Also, the recession in the U.S. was getting into full swing and taking its toll.  Also, the “troubles” in Oaxaca a few years earlier had gotten the area a lot of bad press (all in the past, now).
I was enrolled in the intensive program which included 4 daily hours of conversation with Luz and then 2 hours of one on one grammar classes with Luis (mostly) and Francisco (sometimes).  During my first 2 weeks, there was one other student in the conversation class.  The last week  I was the only student in that class, too (so I was getting one on one for the price of group).
On the first day of conversation class, Luz gave each of us a folder with the information that we would cover.   Without going into a lot of grammar specifics, she still managed to teach us many new phrases and words to help build our vocabulary.  We also practiced the concepts that I was studying in my grammar class.  She was always happy to answer our questions and explain anything that we asked of her.  She is a good story teller and made the history and culture of the area come alive.  I cannot imagine how she manages to keep a conversation lively and interesting and educational day after day, but she does.  My daily 4 hours always flew past.  Often, we would continue talking through our break without even realizing it!
Luz also conducted the cooking classes.  At least once each week, she would bring bring a bag of groceries and guide us through the preparation of a wonderful Oaxacan meal.  Often Luis would join us just in time to share the meal and participate in some lively conversation around the table.  It was a lot of fun not to mention a gourmet treat!  I asked Luz what age students the school accepted.  She said she could design a program for any age group, including children and told me of a recent class that included lots of games and activities for the children.  It sounded fun..  I would definitely consider including my granddaughters (age 15 and 10) in an immersion program at this school.

I left the school with a much better ability to both speak and understand Spanish.  Leaving was difficult because I felt that the teachers at the school were not only my teachers, but had become my friends.  I will definitely try to return to Oaxaca for more classes at Español Interactivo and I very highly recommend it to others.  And I’ve barely mentioned the lovely and interesting city (and state) of Oaxaca.  As for Español Interactivo, I recommend it completely, full heartedly.  I loved it.  It’s one of the best language schools that I’ve attended (and I’ve attended 6 – four in Mexico and two here at home).

Have a look:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/espanolinteractivo

Español Interactivo, Oaxaca, Mexico

(Originally posted on Learn Spanish Travel Spanish on 03/13/2009)

This entry was posted on January 19, 2012