Overview

The Cemanahuac Educational Community offers a strong academic program of study of the Spanish language, Latin American studies, and extensive field study excursions to sites of archeological and historical interest in Mexico. Cemanahuac was founded in 1970, and today is among the most academic and professional schools of its type in Mexico.

Those who study the Spanish language and Latin American studies at the Cemanahuac Educational Community represent all ages and professions. We have high school students and senior citizens with us, but the majority of our students are professional people and college students. Cemanahuac offers special programs for groups of educators, business people, social workers, and health care professionals.

 

Spanish Language Curriculum

The basic approach to the study of Spanish at Cemanahuac is a balanced one, with emphasis on speaking and listening, reading and writing. We stress oral competency, and teachers have been trained using the Oral Proficiency  Guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). All teachers are native speakers of Spanish, and all have extensive training in teaching Spanish as a second language to adult learners. Students at the beginning levels of Spanish will find themselves challenged by our program, and the needs of the advanced student can also be met. We have a large number of Spanish teachers who study with us each year.

Classes meet 4 to 5 hours per day in small groups of no more than 5 students per class, 5 days per week. 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. We believe this approach clearly fulfills our slogan, "Study Spanish where it's spoken." Class-time emphasis is placed on the development of communicative skills, and we stress speaking and listening, with the grammar embedded in the exercises used to develop these skills.

The Cemanahuac Reading and Resources Room has a large collection of books, journals, periodicals and videos in both English and Spanish. Students are encouraged to coordinate a program of research along with their study of the Spanish language, and the members of the Cemanahuac administration work closely with interested students to assist them in making valuable personal contacts in Mexico to assist in their research endeavors.

 

Latin American Studies

The study of the Spanish language cannot exist in a cultural vacuum, and at Cemanahuac, the teaching of the history and culture of Mexico and Mesoamerica is an important component of the total program. Latin American studies classes are taught in Spanish for two or three hours per day to complement the study of the Spanish language. Topics include "Current Events in Mexico," "Mexico in the Twentieth Century," "Folk medicine and Traditional Healing," "Literature of the Revolution," and "Mesoamerican Religion." Additional supplementary workshops and topics on professional interests and specialized vocabulary can be included upon request. The staff at Cemanahuac can individualize a program of Latin American studies to meet the needs of any group that might want to study with us, depending on professional and personal needs of participants.

 

Family Housing

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.

 

Mexican family home stay program at Cemanahuac

The selection process for families who provide care for Cemanahuac students is a rigorous one. Cemanahuac is very aware that this aspect of the entire Mexican experience is a “make or break one,” and every effort is made to “match” the students with the families. The director of the housing program (who is also a director of the school) has been working directly with the families since the school’s inception in 1974, and she knows the families very well. The relationships between the school and the families are long-standing ones, and this dynamic of support and understanding is critical to the success of this important component of the family housing program. It would be difficult to overstate the importance Cemanahuac places on providing a satisfactory housing experience for the students, regardless of age or previous travel.

Many families have been providing care for students since the school began in 1974, but as the school has grown (and families have grown older), many new families have entered the program. Cemanahuac requires that each family accept only Cemanahuac students, and when requested, the school can place just one student (or pair of students) in each home, for concentrated language practice. Many families are within walking distance of the schools, and others are on an easy-to-master bus system, at a cost of about thirty cents per ride. Homes are assigned on a first come, first served basis, and students are encouraged to register early.

An exception to this is for students with disabilities. The director of the University of Minnesota program for disabled students visited Cemanahuac several years ago, and in addition to working with school personnel to improve access to all Cemanahuac facilities, she met with the families to discuss working with disabled students who want to come to Mexico, and as a result of this Cemanahuac has been able to serve students with almost any type of disability.

The procedure is that families first apply in person at the school to fill out a form about the home and the family members. The family is then visited to check on cleanliness, storage, lighting, study space, meals to be provided, and other factors. If the family is accepted, they are given information about working with foreign visitors, safe preparation of meals, water, etc. All the families in the Cemanahuac host program already use purified water, etc., so little new information is needed in this area. But the school has offered ongoing workshops for the senoras on vegetarian and low fat cooking and other topics which have enhanced the housing program for various dietary needs, including the special needs of diabetics.

Once a family is accepted into the program, an ongoing evaluation takes place. Each student is asked to complete an evaluation of the family with topics of lighting, family interaction, meals, and other topics. These are reviewed by the housing coordinator at Cemanahuac, and if there are any problems noted, these are discussed with the family. Generally, these problems are small (e.g. higher wattage light bulbs needed), but if the problem seems to be a large one, the family can be dropped from the family housing program. This seldom occurs.

Some families definitely work better with adults, and others are excellent with and really enjoy teenagers. Cemanahuac has some special requirements for families who accept teens (e.g., more fun home activities in the evening, strict adherence to the curfew rules for week nights and weekend evenings, more a ctive experiences, a little more easy going with food preferences, etc.), and the director of the housing program is very aware which families interact best to high school students. These families are consistently used for the teen programs Cemanahuac offers. Other families like to have serious discussion periods at the meal table, and these are better for adults and adult groups. Regardless of the age of the visitors in the Mexican family home, Spanish is the only acceptable language, and students of all ages are encouraged to speak up, practice Spanish, ask for whatever they need only in Spanish, and help each other learn the vocabulary necessary for family living.

Many who return to Cemanahuac request the same family they had on previous study periods, even if it’s been a long time since, and others who are new to the program request the same family where a friend stayed. Many report that the family home stay program has had the greatest impact on them of the entire Cemanahuac experience, especially if the stay has been for a fairly short period of two weeks or so.

 

Field Study Excursions

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.

 

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Links

www.caterhamspanish.com - offering Spanish and English classes in the United Kingdom

Spanish Schools - Directory of spanish immersions schools and language related sites.