LEARNING SPANISH AT THE COOPERATIVA

TEACHING METHODS

As a cooperative led by teachers, our goal is to teach you Spanish in such as manner that best sets the stage for you to become increasingly fluent. All of our classes are taught by Spanish teachers with many years of experience, and most have taught for years in the premier language schools in Oaxaca. While most teachers know English and other languages, our philosophy is that language learning has to happen in the language being learned, so that the students are immersed in the language starting at the beginning level. This also means that speakers of any language who want to learn Spanish are welcome! 

We use a communicative method of instruction, in order to encourage engagement and allow our students to strengthen their communication skills.  This means that while we focus on grammar and value grammatical understanding and form, the classes are conversational and in general, playful as well. We seek to balance the development of all language learning skills—speaking, listening, reading, writing—but we are especially attuned to how important it is for our students to take advantage of their time in Mexico by speaking and listening to native speakers.  As such our classes are structured so that the students can actively engage in class at all times.

We offer classes at all levels and structure our classes based on the DELE system. We will send you an online placement exam so we can figure out what class you should be in and plan for it before you arrive. We also do an in-person or phone interview, if necessary or requested.

In person, we are offering new Spanish Learning Program, which include private classes and group activities during the pandemic. We can also arrange for specialty classes and workshops, and homestays. See links below for more information on those options.

Below are our brief descriptions for Group Classes, Immersive Activities & Tours, Private & Specialty-Themed Classes, Language & Cultural Workshops, Online Classes, Community Workshops & Cultural Events, and Partner Workshops & Homestays. More details are available by following their links.

OVERVIEW OF CLASSES & ACTIVITIES

Group Class program

Our group classes are a central part of what we do. We see them as a way to share in the convivencia of learning and to make learning Spanish more affordable for everyone. We know that each student arrives with different language skills and learning styles, so rather than just offering prepared classes at each level, we tailor each group class to the individuals in them, which is one reason we request online placement exams. While obviously they cannot quite be as personalized as private classes, we seek to strike this balance to hopefully give our students in group classes the best of both worlds. Though our teachers are very experienced in teaching to many different people, group classes require some balance so everyone can learn from them.

We are happy to announce that we began group classes with activities again starting Monday, September 5th, 2022 after the pandemic has forced us to suspend them. This will be a transition from our mixed private class/group activity program we have been running at the school as we try to reestablish our classes after the pandemic. Thanks for your understanding!

Included in our group classes are access to local intercambios—language exchange partners (2 hours a week), plus 8 more hours of activities that always includes a short city tour, and a cultural workshop (rotating each week between activities like cooking, art, writing, language, etc.). Additionally there will be another rotating cultural activity—which could be a short urban adventure, a movie night, where you can practice chatting with teachers and students in Spanish at a local watering hole, for a total of 10 hours of extra activities. See “Activities & Tours” below for more info on these and other activities at our space.

PRIVATE Spanish CLASS PROGRAM

While group classes are our bread and butter, we also know they aren’t for every student. As we transition away from our pandemic offerings, we will still be offering our private class/group activities option for students. This way we can still accommodate students looking for that one-on-one (or two-on-one) attention. Our teachers can teach any level and adapt their approach no matter the student’s particular learning style. We offer various intensities of class options ranging from Ultralight to Super-Intensive as well as our more standard Immersive option (10 hours of private classes, 10 hours of group activities).

Like the group classes, these classes will include all our Immersive Activities, including access to local intercambios—language exchange partners (2 hours a week), plus 8 more hours of activities that always includes a short city tour, and a cultural workshop (rotating each week between activities like cooking, art, writing, language, etc.). Additionally there will be another rotating cultural activity—which could be a short urban adventure, a movie night, where you can practice chatting with teachers and students in Spanish at a local watering hole, for a total of 10 hours of extra activities. See “Activities & Tours” below for more info on these and other activities at our space.

SPECIALIZED PRIVATE CLASSES

Additionally, we also offer top-quality Specialty Private Classes in specific themes led by experts in these areas, with particular focus in the creative arts, such as Latin-American literature, cinema, art and art history, medical Spanish etc.

Thematic Options:

Immersive Activities & Tours

We organize various tours and activities for our students, which include intercambio language exchanges (conversations between locals and students in English or another language & Spanish), short city tours and urban adventures, movies nights, cultural workshops, etc. These are all included in the price regular group classes.

We also offer other extended teacher-led activities like our Exploraciones urbanas on the weekends, for which we ask for a donation that goes directly to our staff leading the activity.

LANGUAGE & CULTURAL Workshops:

PLAYFUL SPANISH

We offer a unique standing weekly workshop, “Playful Spanish” which is made up of thematic one-day classes that introduce the students to a variety of different ways in which Mexicans and Spanish-speakers in general play with their own language.

The workshop is currently made up of 5 classes:

• Mexican Slang 101
  (All levels welcome)

• Cursing and Exclamations
  (Advanced beginners and up)

• Texting Slang & Memes
  (Intermediate levels and up)

• Inclusive & Queer Spanish
  (Intermediate levels and up)

• Mexican Idioms & Sayings
  (Upper Intermediate & Advanced levels only)

crash course workshops:

Additionally, we offering several two-day “Crash Course” workshops that are available on request:

• CRASH COURSE: Spanish for Travelers (2 days, 2.5 hours a day, is a mix of classes and trips to the markets, restaurants, cultural spaces etc. to practice—for levels from beginner & up)

• CRASH COURSE: Contemporary Art in Oaxaca (2 days, 2.5 hours per day, includes class discussion of contemporary art in Latin-America, Mexico and Oaxaca, as well as visits to local museums, galleries, etc.—for levels upper beginner and up)

• CRASH COURSE: Politics in Oaxaca (2 days, 2.5 hours per day, and includes a discussion of the political situation currently and an overview of its history including the conflict in 2006—for levels intermediate and up)

OTHER LANGUAGE & CULTURAL WORKSHOPS

Lastly, we can turn many of our specialty classes into workshops if we have more than one student, as well as offering short or crash courses in these themes. If bringing a university or other group who wants thematic group classes, we can adapt our courses for your needs.

ONLINE CLASSES

We are also pleased to be able to offer online classes to our students. We offer the classic option of paying by the hour for classes; however, we also offer monthly subscriptions that provide a much more complete package of learning opportunities that include: weekly online classes, daily homework, and teacher support throughout the week.

Like our private classes, we can accommodate students that have a particular interest or theme, such as in literature, the arts, vernacular slang & inclusive (queer) language, and medical Spanish.

Cultural Events & community Workshops

We are a new space and we are working to make sure that our space, in addition to being home to a language school, also serves a cultural space for community events, such as photo exhibits, book readings, movie nights, etc. Additionally, we are working with others who would like to use the space to hold art workshops for the whole community. These events and workshops will be held in Spanish. We invite all students to participate in these workshop and events — as both are great forums for interacting in Spanish and learning in a different context, and participating more fully in the community. Your teachers can briefly prep you for the events, so you’ll have some context going into them.

lOCAL partnerships: