'Painless' Español at The Spanish Experience Center
 Roberta Rand - SF Productions
October 22, 2009
|
| | The Spanish Experience Center is located at República de Chile #182, in the Cinco de Deciembre neighborhood of downtown Puerto Vallarta. For more information, visit SpanishExperienceCenter.com. | |
When you first step into the Spanish Experience Center in Puerto Vallarta, you may do a double-take. With its central open-air courtyard, modern kitchen facilities and a lovely cascading cantera fountain, it looks more like the hacienda of a prosperous Mexican family than a school.
But look closer and you'll see the compact air-conditioned classrooms, a bank of flat screen monitors - and the real dead give-away: students. They mill about the courtyard, checking email on the computer monitors - and bonding with the two resident Labrador Retrievers, Charro and Gayla. What gives?
Indeed, there is a strategy at work in the breezy, laid-back ambience of the SEC. Making students feel at home is all part of the design in this "immersion" style language-learning environment. According to Enrique Jimenez, the school's director, the Spanish Experience Center concept began with Patty Marchak, an American student of Jimenez' in Cuernavaca, who had the idea to start a Spanish language school in a beach community.
Patty considered several resort towns on the ocean, but ultimately chose Puerto Vallarta for its unique tropical setting. Marchak and a few partners purchased the building at República de Chile #182 and completely renovated the structure, adding classrooms, the kitchen, and sleek, modern bathrooms. The school is ideally located in El Centro, close to the Malecón and the beach.
"Spanish is a difficult language," says Jimenez, "with many irregular verbs and tenses. We opt for a natural approach to learning, with everyday conversations taking place not just in the classroom, but in restaurants, grocery stores and other common settings where communication is needed." The SEC's immersion program is recognized and accredited by the Education Ministry of Mexico and the teaching staff are all certified to teach Spanish.
With an average student to teacher ratio of 5:1, learners can expect plenty of personal attention. Individual tutoring sessions are available and the rooftop patio is an ideal spot to do homework assignments or take a break from studies to enjoy the breeze coming off Banderas Bay. Everyone at the school loves the dogs, whose low-key, affectionate personalities make them treasured mascots.
"Flexibility" is the byword at the Spanish Experience Center. The school can accommodate almost any work (or play) schedule, and has classes geared to children, teens and adults. A "semester" can be a week, a month or 12 weeks, and classes are two, three, five and eight-hours in length. "And if you need to take a break for a few days," says Jimenez, "you can always pick up where you left off."
Field trips are part of the curriculum, with excursions to local markets, the zoo, the beach and museums. Salsa dance classes are offered once a week. On Thursdays, there's a class in Mexican cooking, conducted entirely in Spanish. "It's an excellent way for students to learn about the typical Mexican family," says Adriana E. Bedolla, Public Relations Director, and also a teacher at the school. A traditional meal is prepared, then students share the meal together - with dinner conversations also conducted in Spanish.
"We want students to learn the way real Mexicans live and speak," says Bedolla. "Spanish is not just about repetition and grammar. Mexicans tend to speak from the heart, not the head. By understanding the culture and the people, students are able to get a better grasp of everyday slang. They come to understand the psychology of Mexican people, and why sentences are constructed the way they are."
Children's classes feature lots of play, games and songs. Teens take part in skits and speeches, and participate in conversations about clothes, books, music and fashion. The school also introduces students to Mexican cultural events like the Day of the Dead and Posada - the Christmas time re-enactment of the Mary and Joseph story. Through the many activities at the school, it's common for teachers and staff to become friends.
"I love my job here," says Suzana Chavez, the school's administrative assistant. "I used to work at a hotel where I heard complaints all day long. Here, my coworkers and the students are my friends. We are like a family."
Of course, you don't learn a language by osmosis. It takes a commitment - and there's no getting around those pesky homework assignments. But for anyone who wants to get beyond basic "Cómo está usted?" conversations to have real communication with Mexico's people, the Spanish Experience Center's immersion learning program is the fast, fun and nearly effortless way to do it.
The Spanish Experience Center is located at República de Chile #182, in the Cinco de Deciembre neighborhood of downtown Puerto Vallarta, near the beginning of the Malecón. For more information, visit SpanishExperienceCenter.com, send an email to info(at)spanishexperiencecenter.com, or call (322) 223-5864.
 Roberta Rand is Public Relations Manager for SF Productions TV, a full service production and marketing company in Puerto Vallarta. Prior to relocating to Mexico from Colorado Springs with her dog, Bo, Roberta worked as a magazine editor, web editor and marketing copywriter. She is also an essayist and author, whose book "Playing the Tuba at Midnight" explored the quirks of living single.
To learn more about SF Productions, click HERE or visit SFProductionsTV.com. |
Vallarta Weddings
Vallarta Living | October 2009 
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us