There's no better way of learning than to be among the people who share the same goals as you, while at the same time, you are helping each other to progress and improve your understanding and, importantly with a foreign language - build your confidence - in speaking Spanish with others around you.

Whether you're an absolute beginner, someone who wants to build on existing knowledge at an intermediate level or looking to master the language, you'll find a course somewhere to suit your needs.

If you have the time and resources available to you and you want to get immersed in learning Spanish, there is no better - and faster - way of learning good Spanish than by attending a residential language course in Mexico.

If you plan to visit Mexico frequently, for business or perhaps as part of a retirement plan, then taking a Spanish course in Mexico could be one of the best investments you make in your personal-development. Besides learning a foreign language faster and more effectively than you could do at home, you'll have lots of fun, meets interesting people, and enjoy the privilege of mixing learning with pleasure on your visit to Mexico.

Take the Time You Need
You can take part in a residential course for as long as you like. Generally soeaking, people stay for between one week and six months depending on their goals, lifestyle and budget.

Spanish Language Programs, Guadalajara
Spanish language centers charge a course fee, and arrange for accommodation to be provided in someone's home, with a local family. This is particularly important, as living with Mexican family helps you to become immersed in the culture and forces you use the language skills you are acquiring on the course. It also speeds up the pace at which you learn and makes the experience more enjoyable and authentic.

Language schools usually quote the price of the course and accommodation in the total price. The families they work with are carefully chosen and are often families that are used to having student lodgers.

If you prefer to make your own arrangements for accommodation, for example, if you prefer to stay at a local hotel or rent your own apartment (for longer stays) then the lodging element of the package is discounted and you only pay for the language course.

Class Sizes and Fees
Class sizes are small (usually 5 or 6 people max), and teaching lasts about 5 hours a day. This is an ideal situation for accelerated learning as the small class sizes enable you to get a good level of personal attention while still benefting from group learning, and social interaction.

Spanish Language Study in Beautiful Cuernavaca

CETLALIC is a progressive spanish language school that usually has at least two sessions during the year which cater to the GLBT student. It's summer program coincides with the Mexico City Pride celebration, and includes an overnight stay in Mexico City. The home stays offer stays with gay or gay friendly households and visits with gay/lesbian venues in Cuernavaca. http://www.cetlalic.org.mx/ The BajaGay moderator has attended this school and is pleased to endorse CETLALIC.

Fun, functional courses for professionals, travelers and students. Includes workshops that encompass visits in town to apply your knowledge and raise your your learning experience. Highly personalized classes of four students (max) per teacher. New classes begin every week! Visit our web site for full course descriptions.

In addition to the classroom work, many courses also incorporate practical workshops into their curriculum. For example, they may take students on a shopping expedition in the town's local market so that they may practice what they have been learning in the classroom in a real-life situation.

Fees for spanish classes in Mexico vary depending on the school, the location, the length of the course and the services offered. As a rule of thrumb, you should expect to pay around US$300 a week for classes (5 days); a fee which will include up to 7 days of accommodation and 3 meals a day.

Using a vacation to Learn Spanish in Mexico is not just a great learning experience, it's a lot of fun and does not have to break your budget.

You may consider using part of your vacation time in Mexico to learn spanish and, for example, spend the other part of your vacation relaxing or touring other parts of Mexico or the region near to where you have been studying.

Get Immersed and Learn Quickly!
The great thing about residential language courses, is that they take place in local surroundings, so everywhere you go you'll be surrounded by the language.

If you stay with a local family, you'll be encouraged to speak more Spanish even outside of class and your confidence will build very quickly indeed! When you're walking in the street, you'll see adverts and signs in Spanish, the people around you will be talking Spanish, the radio you listen to and the television you watch - will also be in Spanish, and all this helps your learning.

There is no better way to learn a foreign language than to be surrounded by it!

By Alan Amberg
Type “gay” “Spanish classes” in your search engine. Only a few choices come up and most of them are about just one place in Mexico. If you really like to experience the people and the culture of a country, read on. If you want a delightful gay-friendly vacation that most anyone can afford, this is the right place. Read on!
Why should a Chicagoan get to know Mexico? Chicago is actually a major Mexican city. According to the census, almost one in ten residents of Cook County was born in Latin America (with 90% of those from Mexico). Because Spanish helps me on my job, I wanted to freshen up the Espaňol. Instead of classes in Chicago, my partner Michael and I decided on a learning vacation. Since we like to hold hands and don’t wish to disguise ourselves, we needed a safe place.
Thus, our decision to check out the CETLALIC (Centro Tlahuica de Lenguas e Intercambio Cultural) in Cuernavaca, Mexico (www.cetlalic.com.mx). We were intrigued by the offerings of this language and culture center. Twice a year, they offer an LGBT Mexico program and programs about Women and Social Justice in Mexico (both coming up in January 2010). They offer Medical Spanish and Spanish for teachers. The timing of the intensives was wrong for us, so we decided that we would just go check the place out this fall and tailor our own program.
Magic behind the gates
Cuernavaca is 50 miles southwest of Mexico City with direct first-class bus connection (about USD $11) to the airport. It is dubbed “city of the eternal spring” because of its year-round mild climate and gardens. However, it grew exponentially in the last twenty years. The downtown area is charming, but the streetscape is mostly walls and gates. It’s what happens behind the gate that is magic.
Pass through the very non-descript outer gate of CETLALIC and you are on the grounds of a beautiful villa set on the side of a ravine. It stretches down the side of the hill three levels and opens onto a garden with a blue-tiled swimming pool. Fresh oranges, bananas and limes are there for the picking. Classes are on the verandahs and in the garden, no more than five people to a group.
CETLALIC was founded 22 years ago as center for resettling El Salvadoran immigrants fleeing unrest in their own country. Its methodology for teaching is inclusive, interactive, practical and culture-based. They are also interested in true inter-cultural conversation, which means that part of learning the language is the students sharing what their lives at home are like too. They have worked with and offered LGBT programs for over seven years now with the next coming up in January.
Classes run from 9-12 noon. Following is either a two-hour “Practica” with a lesson, a “Charla” (a lecture about Mexican life) or a trip to a cultural institution. The Charla on the day we arrived was given by a gay faculty member about LGBT life in Cuernavaca. Themes include modern Mexico and the advanced Tlahuica and Aztec civilizations predating the Spanish.
Several of the other students were queer too, similarly drawn to CETLALIC for the experience. Overall, students were teachers, social workers and others. Some were between jobs and were taking combination vacation, skill-building and Mexican adventure.
Consider it done!
We found staff exceptionally warm and devoted to helping us tailor our dream trip. When we wanted to stay with a LGBT household or LGBT-friendly household with Internet access, we were placed perfectly. Seňora Yolanda dubbed herself our “mama” for our visit. Her cooking was marvelous and fresh daily for us. She oriented us to the city and what services to use (e.g. laundry, how to bargain with taxis, what buses to take).
We wanted to learn to cook real Mexico mole poblano (chicken with chocolate, nuts and spices) and other dishes. Done. For $16 dollars apiece per class, teachers Marta and Augustina showed us step-by-step preparation of the meal.
Fifty dollars more yielded ten hours of individual lessons in Medical Spanish.
Near Cuernavaca are some of Mexico’s most significant archeological sites. Did CETLALIC know how to help us see the nearer site of Xochicalco? A taxi driver who was housing one of the lesbian students took us down personally, stayed half the day with us and helped us located a private guide to the site. Cost? About $40 each.
Couldn’t drive it that cheap
The amazing part about this wonderful program and the extras was how affordable everything was. Like many, we fretted about the cost of a vacation.
Yet classes were inexpensive compared to Chicago. Group lessons are $40 per day. Accommodations with local families including meals were between $27-35 per day. Private apartments can also be leased.
We realized that a road trip across the US, staying in inexpensive motels and buying inexpensive meals would cost the same or more. Yet a diet of Red Roof Inns and Denny’s would never have been as satisfying as this wonderful group of locals and other students. We will be returning more times to CETLALIC…with pleasure!