Spanish classes

[andreal]

Hi all,
I will be in the city for six weeks and would like to take Spanish classes. I am not looking for daily classes, and my funds are limited. Does anyone have any tips? I'd really appreciate help. Thanks.

[MNRon]

That is an almost impossible scenario. I would go hang out at the university and ask directions to the language lab -- "Donde esta CAADI? There you would meet students that are interested in languages and may get a lead.

[andreal]

Thanks, that might be a possibility.

[Sue100]

There are classes available through Gerardo Araujo and his sister at Casa Solaris real estate (held at their office on calle del Sol in centro). As of April 2016 the cost was 150 pesos per hour. I believe the price is the same whether or not there is more than one student. The instructor is Alejandro. I took classes by myself (just an hour a day) from him and found him to be a very effective teacher.

[wwintermute]

I have tried CAADI before and will probably go back. It's very reasonably priced.
My frustration has been going down for tutoring, and it being a crap shoot as to whether the tutor shows up.
If not, sometimes you end up sitting around, speaking English with fellow expats, which is nice, but sort of defeats the purpose of taking a Spanish class.

If your Spanish is fairly advanced, the class I've been taking for the last year and a half is a Spanish Literature class with the instructor below.

estrella.de.belen@live.com.mx or via phone (Meixco 52) 473 121 2137
Elena is a local writer with an extensive knowledge of Latin American literature.

She sends out the short stories we read in class via email a few days prior, so you can read through the text and look up any words you don't know, and research the author. The day of the class we read through the stories together and discuss.

To me, it's much better than the standard Spanish conversation classes I've taken.
I have learned a ton of additional vocabulary and a lot about Latin American literature as well.

[andreal]

Thanks to Sue100 and wwintermute. My Spanish isn't advanced enough for lit classes. However, I will give the real estate office a try when I arrive, which is in two weeks. I really appreciate your ideas. Andrea

[zerbit]

I take my classes online at baselang.com. You can try it for a dollar for a week-I took 3 hours worth of classes every day for my first week. They charge $120 per month for an unlimited amount of classes and it really is unlimited. Lessons are one-on-one via Skype. I have been a customer for several months and am very happy with them. There is no way I would have been able to take this many lessons daily at the rate I was paying before ($13-$15 per hour). They have a lot of teachers to choose from and I have managed to find teachers that I truly click with and they have been incredibly helpful. The teachers are all college graduates and many are English teachers in their native Venezuela. They have an extensive knowledge of the customs, idioms and slang of other Latin American countries. There are also video profiles of teachers a the website that you can review to assist in choosing a teacher. I tried a lot of teachers during my $1 week, took notes, and narrowed it down to a few that I really seemed to have a good chemistry with. They are adding teachers all the time, so there is never a lack of really wonderful, enthusiastic teachers to choose from. Appointments are available from morning to evening and can be booked up to five days out (up from three when I started). I also book classes "on the fly" when I have free time, and used it while in GTO as well.

If you have any other questions about this, feel free to reach out to me.