In past years I have always taken students to Oaxaca to study Sapnish in the late spring. I have heard nice things about San Miguel and with the current situation in Oaxaca maybe it is time for a change? Any suggestions? Also, what other activities/sights are nearby for teens studying Spanish. I am sick about what I have seen and read from Oaxaca.

Mikemo, our expert on San Miguel de Allende, should be with you shortly.

Hola SrFlojo,
I agree and GM on the Trip Advisor forums thinks it will continue into next year in Oaxaca. AMLO with his dwindling followers will continue his protests en La Ciudad and will attempt to disrupt the inauguration of President-elect Calderon on 1 December.
Well, things are lots calmer and more rational here in San Miguel de Allende.
There are many respected local language schools as well as many individual instructors.
www.warrenhardy.com I really dislike flash cards, but his free on line games and CDs are good.
www.ahaspeakspanish.com intense immersion and more moderate groups.
www.geocities.com/centrobilingue - flexible.
www.mexicospanish.com
www.infosma.com/centromexicano
www.instituto-allende.edu.mx some recent negative comments
You might want to visit the Trip Advisor forum; www.portalsanmiguel.com and www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com for an overview of life and activities here.
Buen viaje.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

mikemo is unbeatable!!! LOL!!!

Anyone with the relative merits/safety issues/language schools in San Cristóbal de Las Casas for next summer? Chiapas really interests me - thanks in advance.

Hopeful List: I too have been interested in Chiapas. Will be interested in seeing what you find out. I hear things are settled there now but I only heard that from once source

Check the Trip Advisor forum.
www.tripadvisor.com follow the forum paths.
M

SrFlojo,
I too am disheartened by the situation in Oaxaca. My family and I switched our language school plans this past summer from Oaxaca to San Miguel (at the last minute with great help and wise input from Mikemo).
In Oaxaca we had studied at ICC. In San Miguel we had our best experience with language schools yet at Centro Bilingue. The teachers were excellent. The owners extremely accomodating. And San Miguel is, like Oaxaca, the sort of place that you can feel safe letting teens roam on their own. My 18 and 13 year olds were very happy as well as my husband and myself. Each of us is at a different place in language learning and all of our needs were met at Centro Bilingue. I would be happy to answer any other questions you might have on the school based on our 4 week experience. As for activities for teens: there are many hot springs near by for swimming, a number of organizations welcome short term volunteers (working with kids, animals, etc.) Guanajuato and Queretaro are both great for a weekend sightseeing trips. I would also look into whether there are any special festivals going on while you are there. When we were in SMA in July there was one cultural event after another! The only factor I would mention is that we found that there was a LOT more English spoken in SMA than in Oaxaca. Extremely accomodating for those who do speak no or little Spanish but not ideal for those who are attempting to be immersed in Spanish.

WLS,
I would very much like to talk to you about your trip. I am planning a trip to San Miguel to study Spanish at the Centro Bilingue with my daughter who will be ten. We are planning to rent an apartment for our stay. I am trying to figure out how long we are going to stay so that I can reserve to apartment and book our flights. I would love to find out what your days were like and what outings you took and any other suggetions or tips that you may have. We will also be there during June and July and I would be very interested to learn more about the festivals that were happening during your stay.
Thank You,
Gem

sparklejem: I am sorry that it has taken me so long to respond (I haven't been online for awhile). I would be happy to answer any questions about our experience in SMdA and about Centro Bilingue in particular. We thought the school was great. We were so happy with the large number of children in attendance (with plenty of teachers and small groups) and the many fun cooking, crafts, and games activities that were used to promote language learning. Last summer was our fourth experience with language schools in Mexico (my son was 10 when we started). Our experience is that 2 weeks should be your minimum and three is better. We have found that the first week is kind of a change over week as your brain starts making the switch to Spanish. The second week is when real learning starts. The third week solidifies all the new stuff giving you time to practice. My daughter and I stayed for 4 weeks last summer and though I would do it again, I am not sure that we gained much from the additional week. I have met families with children who stayed 6-8 weeks and felt it was too long all at once. Our days involved school in the mornings (we took classes for 4 hours), then lunch(main meal of the day) at a restaurant. We would usually go home after eating to rest, do homework, laundry etc. When the shops reopen in the afternoon we would do any grocery, bakery, etc. shopping. There are events almost nightly in the main square (folk dance, music, films) as well as dance and music performances in the theaters. Mostly we hung out, wandered aimlessly, ate icecream, bought a newspaper, etc. On the weekends we made day trips to Guanajuato, Queretaro, Bernal. I hope this helps. Let me know if I left any specifics out that you need. Perhaps we will even see you at school this summer. I am working on figuring out how we can get back to Centro Bilingue for a few weeks in July. This time I really want to take a 2-3 day trip to Patzcuaro, Michoacan!

Patzcuaro and the surrounding pueblos are wonderful!
Don't miss Rest. Cha Cha Cha - perhaps the best in Michoacan.
M

Hi WLS,
So glad to hear that your experience was such a good one! We booked our tickets last night. We will be taking two weeks of classes with several days on before and after. It would be fun to see you there. We will be there for the last week of June and the first week of July.

Do you have any tips or recomendations?

Very Best,
Gem

sparklegem
not sure how to contact you, but am curious about your experience in SMdA
am considering taking my kids for the same purpose...if you get this, please let me know.
thanks

Hi JRandall,

We ended up not taking the trip this summer. But, my friend and her daughter took our place. They thought thought that the school was wonderful and really enjoyed their time in San Miguel. They are just finishing a month stay there. I am sorry that I do not have much more information. I still think that it would be a wonderful trip. We may get there another time.

hi sparklegem
this is not the most convenient way to communicate...but thanks for your mssg.
am considering a few wks with the family and will strongly consider the centro bilinguale.
cheers.
jrandall

Got caught up with my friend yesterday. She very highly recommends the school. She and her daughter loved their classes and said that the school is run by wonderful people (they really give back to the community). They extended their week of classes to two weeks and then added a third. They loved it!

thanks...er...gracias.