Cemanahuac Educational Community in Cuernavaca For over 25 years, Cemanahuac has offered one of the finest programs of Spanish language study in Mexico. It is an excellent program for those who wish to quickly develop a working proficiency in Spanish.
In addition to the four-hour language classes each day, taught by native speakers of Spanish (from 9:00 to 1:00 each weekday), students may participate in professional seminars, field trips, and conversation and vocabulary classes in the other half of the day. New classes start every Monday.
The school occupies a large villa in the southern part of town and is located within three blocks of a bakery, supermarket, banks, restaurants, bus station, pharmacy and one block from the main street with bus transportation to all parts of the city. Cemanahuac has 30 classrooms and can accommodate five students and an instructor in each classroom. It has a library, an email room, a snack bar, pool, gardens, two seminar meeting rooms for groups of up to 60, disability facilities, a gift shop, and an infirmary. Learn more..
Programmes
1. 20 hours per week group class
2. 30 hours per week group class
3. Private tutoring by the hour
4. A rural option including all of the above in a rural setting.
Certificates and Diplomas
We issue a Cemanahuac certificate and transcript.
Upon request we can provide a diploma from the Morelos State Department of Education.
Teaching Materials
ASI HABLAMOS is the textbook we use. It is the leading textbook in Latin American and is published by the UNAM, Mexico's national University
Methodology
Teaching at Cemanahuac is a balanced one, with emphasis on speaking and listening, reading and writing. We stress oral competency. All teachers are native speakers of Spanish, and all have extensive training in teaching Spanish as a second language to adult learners.
Classes meet 4 to 5 hours per day in small groups of no more than 5 students per class. Many "out of the classroom exercises" are included in the weekly program, with teachers frequently escorting students to a nearby spot (the post office, the grocery store, a restaurant, etc.) for the purpose of vocabulary building and learning situation-appropriate behaviors and language.
Social and Cultural Activities
1.Mexican Cooking classes focusing on corn and salsas
2. craft classes including backstrap weaving, 'papel picado', making 'piñatas', etc.
3. salsa dancing as well as Mexican folk dances
4. Music
Many cultural activities in town at the Jardin Borda, the Teatro Ocampo and the University Cultural Center. We announce these on the bulletin board.
Accommodation
At Cemanahuac, a family stay is an integral part of our program, not only for the hospitality students enjoy, but as an additional first-hand way to experience the culture of Mesoamerica. Families are carefully selected and supervised. All homes are within easy walking or public transportation distance of the school facility. The family housing program includes three meals per day. Hotel accommodations can be arranged. 1. Host family stay with carefully selected families in single or shared rooms.
2. Guesthouse unit with bedroom, private bath and kitchenette on the same street as the school.
3. Nearby hotels starting at $80 US per night
4. Home rentals upon request..
Excursions and Visits
Each weekend, field study trips are sponsored to places of historic and cultural interest. Areas around Mexico City, such as the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon at Teotihuacan, the Museum of Anthropology, the Templo Mayor in the center of the Valley of Mexico, and the Folkloric Ballet presented at Palace of Fine Arts are frequent destinations. Field trips in the Cuernavaca area are conducted weekly, and all excursions are led by Cemanahuac anthropologists.