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 an in-person or phone interview, if necessary or requested.

Our group classes include two-hours focused on grammar and one focused more on conversation, however, all three hours are a mix of both—the grammar part using conversational methods to teach, and the conversation hour reinforcing what has been taught grammatically. Additionally, the group classes go a pace in teaching the students the grammar in a way the teaches it and then practices it. If you are looking for classes that either solely grammatically-focused or conversationally-focused, we would recommend taking our private classes.