| INSTITUTIONAL
RECOMMENDATIONS: MEXICO (BRIDGEABROAD
• CUAUHNAHUAC •
FENIX • ICO • TEC DE
MONTERREY) |
INSTITUTION
|
TYPE
OF PROGRAM
|
RECOMMENDATIONS & RESERVATIONS
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BRIDGEABROAD-
GUANAJUATO
|
LANGUAGE
INSTITUTE
|
• I
would recommend the experience – particularly
in Guanajuato. It’s a beautiful city and
school is very accommodating. Study time should
be three weeks or more for real language acquisition.
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BRIDGEABROAD-
CARMEN DE PLAYA
|
LANGUAGE
INSTITUTE
|
• Met
wonderful people, learned a lot of spanish, enjoyed
the staff--friendly, helpful, easy to talk to. • Town
is beautiful, people great, school intense, classes
are small with lots of one-on-one attention. • Liked
cooking classes, most teachers, grammar classes
excellent.
• Communication
access (phone, email) not provided by school. Classrooms
are outside so it is hot and lots of bugs. • Could
have been more helpful during the hurricane crisis. • Afternoon
conversation classes need to emphasize more conversation,
and locals want to speak in English, which makes
it harder to practice using Spanish. Carmen de
Playa is too touristy. |
BRIDGEABROAD-
PUERTO VALLARTA |
LANGUAGE
INSTITUTE |
• Puerto
Vallarta has rich culture.
• Too
many people speak English so don't get street conversation
practice. Advanced class level too broad to truly
learn. |
|
|
LANGUAGE
INSTITUTE
|
Location
("beautiful," "great weather," "great
food,"): •...a nice relaxed
environment with tons of friendly people. •...it
is a beautiful place and located in an areas
that you could travel to many different places....
Host
families ("excellent," "incredible,"): •...strongly
recommend my host family, the Sassonie’s.
They truly made my experience better.
Culture
and people: •...the people were
friendly and it was one of the best experiences
of my life....
Opportunity for learning
Spanish ("excellent," "more
than a book can provide"): • ...a
lot of one-on-one assistance if needed • ...my
Spanish improved ten fold. • ...you
learn so much in so little time. • I
got a ton of practice speaking, which is probably
my weakest area. I wish I could have gone for
four or six weeks instead of two. • ... what
you learn in the classroom can quickly be applied
to the conversation and understanding with
others at school and in the city. • ...the
learning is very rapid and a lot of fun. • The
Mexican family you stay with will help in a
lot of learning. • ...opportunity
for language enhancement is immense.
Administration
and Instruction ("excellent teachers," "helpful
staff," "teachers who care,"): • ...the
school made my experience amazing. •...a
strong staff eager to serve. • ...supportive,
intense, people-friendly.... •...they
treated me very good, helped me learn and understand
with little confusion as possible...• ...staff
are helpful and friendly....• ... the
staff, instructors, and administration were
friendly, approachable, helpful, and professional.
The classroom instruction is appropriate for
my level and can easily be adjusted if needed. •
Activities:
("Lots to do," "good excursions,"):. • ...They
have a lot to do to keep you busy. • The
excursions were informational and fun.
Made
lots of friends. • The town
is also fun with young adults (college-age)
people everywhere. Great place to get out and
meet people to have a fun, safe experience.
•
Would prefer the instructors to focus on repetition
and thorough learning ofsubject matter and
not flying through the material.• I
really love the city, but I highly recommend
going to another school. • I didn’t
like the fact that the favoritism for some
students didn’t let the rule breakers
get punished as they should have or the attention
not even called to. • The
school seems to charge for everything so be
prepared. • I didn't like the administration. • Not
as student friendly as I would like. • Too
many high schoolers there in the summer which
can be disruptive. Some teachers not effective. • A
better experience if one can live closer to
campus. • Had problems with host family. • Received
misinformation on quality of hotel in Acapulco.
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|
LANGUAGE
INSTITUTE
|
Location
("beautiful," "good food," "clean," "cool," "safe," "loved
it,"): • Zacatecas gives
a true Mexican experience. • The
architecture was incredible. •...the
city is safe and at the same time very beautiful. • The
city is beautiful and the food rocked! • Christmas
time is so much fund and traditional. • lots
of museums to visit.
Host
families: •...great, but can
change if you ask Fenix. •...Yolanda
Lara family best of all. • I loved my
host family. • ... great family that
make me fell at home. • Host mother was
incredible, funny and even though she thought
she could not cook, the food was great.
Culture
and people ("beautiful," "nice," "friendly," "helpful," "kind,"): • All
the people are willing to help a foreigner. • ...
the friendliest, nicest people I have ever
met in any of the cities I have visited in
Mexico.
Opportunity
for learning Spanish ("few English speakers," "immersion," "intensive," "variety
in instructional methods," "teachers
wonderful and knowledgeable"): • There
were hardly any people who could speak English
so you must use every bit of Spanish you know
to get by. • ... it
is a safe area in which few people speak English • Zacatecas
is definitely a location at which learning
and understanding Spanish is emphasized. Teachers
really attempt for Spanish to be spoken exclusively.• I
really learned Spanish! • The teachers
respect the students as equals. • ...their
uniquely effective quality of instruction. • The
instructors were helpful and encouraging and
always willing to give extra study time when
needed. • The
instructors care about the students actually
learning-they chose their careers after all,
why wouldn't they want a student to learn?
They are still helping me through e-mail correspondence. • Teachers
are some of the best I have ever met. • ...
use modern linguistic techniques. • ...
they make learning fun and you do learn.
Administrative
organization ("excellent, caring, helpful,
encouraging teachers," "knowledgeable," "cozy," "friendly," "quality," "patient"): • I
looked forward to going to school and learning,
the teachers are great, classes are small,
cit is beautiful. • Great school, people
are very kind, smaller classrooms. • ...the
wonderfully friendly atmosphere of the school
... They are really personable and always encouraging
you to communicate, no matter what level you
may be at.
Activities "Lots of
museum," "much to see and do,": • They
offer a lot of fun excursions. • ...Quemado
is a great archeological site outside of town. Costs: Inexpensive
considering the experience and the education.Fenix
ID card provied 50% discount on return bus
ticket.
Professional Experience: Able
to learn about law enforcement and interviewed
Zacateca Municipal Police.
• Need
to get host family information earlier. • At
Christmas, and sometimes on weekends,
people are involved with families and
around town, so you have to join in family
celebrations and activities to have plenty
to do. • Depending on how many
other students you want to study with,
summer at Fenix is crowded but at all
other times there can be as few as 2-3
students total. • I didn't like
the weekly change of students in class. • Liked
the experience but not the institute. • Accommodating
blindness handicap not understood well
by school staff.
|
| Instituto
Cultural Oaxaca |
INTENSIVE
LANGUAGE |
• Ground
gorgeous, staff great, immersion can't
be beat. Oaxaca has great climate, but
city is busy and noisy. Close to many cultural
sites.
|
|
|
EXCHANGE
|
• Lots
of fun and good location to learn and meet
new people. (Mazatlan) • Tec de
Monterrey is a great school. • Very good
school, awesome city, lot's of fun, friendly
people, safe city. • I made a lot of
friends. • I experienced
many new things and saw Mexico from the perspective
of the privileged which helped me understand
Mexican economy and culture.• Excellent
cultural experience in a fairly safe Mexican
town. (Mazatlan) •...am now fluent
in the language. • I would definitely
recommend TEC because you will leave with a
great deal of knowledge about the culture and
language. • The professors are extremely
generous and understanding. •...well-organized
excursions and friendly staff. (Monterrey). • TEC
students nice to international students and
willing to help. • ... school is great
and quality of education is high. Professors
are easily available and they help you if you
approach them.
• Older
students are accepted, however it is difficult
to make friends. • If you are going to
this site to learn Spanish this is not the
place to go. Too many people speak English. • I
thought the classes were really easy and at
times boring and my host family wasn't’t
the best. • I
didn't feel like I got to know the "real" Mexico. • The
only thing that was disappointing was TEC's
International Programs Office. They would always
tell us that things would be done tomorrow
when it would take days. They seemed unorganized,
but with good intentions. • Dress is
more formal than in U.S.
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