From: "Lisel Bisanti-Siebrecht"

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.

Lisel Bisanti-Siebrecht

From: "Ferrel Rose "

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.

Ferrel Rose, PhD
German/Spanish teacher
Bowling Green , KY
Trip leader, Kentucky Improving Educator Quality grant, summer 2006

From: "Michael Gruber"
< miguel156@aol.com >

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.

Michael Gruber

From: "Enver Etem"
< enveretem@gmail.com >

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."

Enver Etem

From: "Marjan Vdweerd"
< marjanvdweerd@hotmail.com >

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.

Marjan Vdweerd