Oaxaca

Program Outline

At our campus in Oaxaca, we offer different programs according to each student’s needs, making it possible to advance more rapidly in your knowledge and use of Spanish. We emphasize oral communication, conversation, and grammar in lessons tailored to each student’s level, using a variety of enjoyable and productive language learning exercises. Our teachers are professionals with extensive experience teaching Spanish as a second language.

Our Regular program consist of three hours of small group classes with a maximum of five students, five days a week, divided into two sessions with a different teacher for each session. The first session emphasizes grammar, while the second session emphasizes conversation. The Intensive program includes four hours of class, divided evenly between two teachers. The Super-Intensive program utilizes three teachers. The Super-Intensive-Workshop program includes four hours of Spanish plus two hours of student-selected workshops daily.

We also offer private lessons. You can take as many hours per day as you wish.

Lodging

Students have several options for accommodations, including home stays, apartments, bed-and-breakfasts, or hotels.

We recommend living with a Mexican family because this lets students use their new language skills every day in real situations, while also experiencing Oaxacan customs and traditions. We select our host families carefully. Most of them are located in the downtown area, within walking distance to the school and the zócalo. Students can decide how many meals to take with their host family; just breakfast, breakfast and lunch, or breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cultural

Students who want to enrich their learning experience can join any of the workshops offered at Becari, which include Oaxacan cooking classes, ceramics, weaving, salsa-dance and traditional tin work. These have an extra cost.

Students can also join the excursions we organize to the nearby artisan villages and important archeological sites, also for an extra fee.

Every Wednesday we have a free hour-long presentation about different aspects of Oaxacan culture. On Fridays we offer a free movie in Spanish. Students can also practice their Spanish with a local Oaxacan student. These free person-to-person exchanges take place at the school several times a week.

Location

We are located in the beautiful state of Oaxaca, in the southeast of the Republic of México. Oaxaca is one of the richest states in our country owing to its colonial history, its unique mixture of pre-Hispanic treasures, its cultural inheritance and its temperate climate. Oaxaca’s rich and varied cuisine, music, dance, art and traditional celebrations provide something for everyone to enjoy. In the surrounding areas, visitors can explore picturesque and interesting artisan villages, as well as important archeological sites such as Monte Albán and Mitla. Oaxaca also provides a wide range of eco-tourism opportunities. To complement all this, the southern part of the state offers an incredible variety of beaches along the Pacific Ocean.

Our language center is located in the state capital, in “El Centro Histórico” (Oaxaca’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), three blocks north of the zócalo (main square). Because of our central location you can easily find shops, supermarkets, cafes, internet outlets, drug stores, etc.

Climate

Most of the year, the average temperature in the city of Oaxaca is an ideal 22°C (72°F). At the coast the usual temperature is 27°C (80°F). The hottest time for Oaxaca is part of April and May. Afternoon rains cool the city in the summer and autumn months.

Local Color

Oaxaca is famous for the warmth of its people, its incredible fiestas including its week-long festival of dance and music, “La Guelaguetza”, “Day of the Dead”, “The Night of the Radishes” and its colorful processions or “calendas.” Oaxaca is the state with the most diverse indigenous population. Many different indigenous languages are still spoken. Visitors can appreciate Oaxaca’s enormous cultural richness in our museums and monumental churches. Our markets—full of color, flavor and tradition—invite you to visit.

Points of Interest

The colonial center of Oaxaca is distinguished by the beauty and harmony of its architecture. Examples of this include the Santo Domingo de Guzmán church and its gorgeous museums, La Catedral and La iglesia de la Soledad, and el Palacio Municipal with its striking murals. Oaxaca’s zócalo is full of life night and day. Mitla, Monte Albán, Yagul and Dainzú are nearby examples of ancient pre-Hispanic centers. The small villages surrounding the capital city offer incredible handcrafts including tapetes (carpets), alebrijes (fanciful hand-carved animals), barro negro (black pottery), etc.

Hot Tip

“La Guelaguetza”—Oaxaca’s greatest festival—is celebrated on the two consecutive Mondays after the 16th of July. This fiesta, rich with vestiges of pre-Hispanic traditions, is a time when the diverse indigenous groups that form this incredible state share their crops and traditions. Delegations from Oaxaca’s seven regions show off their music and dance as well as their special products and vibrant traditional costumes.

“La Noche de Rábanos”, Night of the Radishes, is a traditional and popular fiesta where market gardeners and floriculturists exhibit their artistic talent every December 23. They produce amazing works of art fashioned from giant radishes, a dried flower called “flor immortal” or “totomoxtle,” leaves of corn. This celebration started around 1897 when vendors at the markets started to make their vegetable and flower stands more attractive by creating incredible figures from their products.

The July Gueleguetza and the festivals of December are two of the best times to enjoy Oaxaca’s charms. But one of Oaxaca’s best-kept secrets is that it’s a great place to visit—and a great place to study Spanish—any time of the year.

Start Dates

We start a new course every Monday of the year. We are only closed on the official Mexican holidays; January 1, March 21, May 1, September 16, November 2, November 20 and December 25.