"I have taken classes at I.L.P.E 4 different times now, and all the times have just been great. For me Puerto School is the perfect place and the perfect location to study Spanish (open air, with a view of the sea). What I like most about the school is that you can study Spanish at whatever pace you like; whether you want to focus on grammar or if you just want work on your speaking skills, it's all possible. You can decide to take group classes or have private lessons. You can study for whatever amount of hours per day and days per week that you want. Just let them know and they will facilitate whatever you want !! For me the school has all the ingredients for a perfect place to study and work on my Spanish. I always have a great time and learn a lot thanks to the excellent and friendly teachers ! "
"We would like to thank you and the whole staff of the Instituto de lenguajes for the great experience we had. Our teachers managed to bring us to an incredible level in Spanish in only two weeks. Also, we would like to thank the administration for doing an absolutely great job in managing everything and organizing our classes on short notice. We will definitely recommend the Instituto de linguajes to anybody who wants to learn Spanish in Mexico."
"I had the best experience possible at the school. My teacher was the best I have ever had, and the location and organization was first rate. Everything was perfect, apart from the fact I had to leave!! I'm sure I'll be back, in which case I'll be sure to come back to the school. "
"I am a teacher in Portland, Oregon. I traveled to Puerto Escondido by myself for a month to study Spanish at El Instituto de Lenguajes. What a great experience! The onsite bungalow that I stayed in was comfortable and quiet. The view of the ocean through the beautiful garden right off my patio was stunning. I really loved the convienence and security of living onsite in the school atmosphere. Plus, Playa Zicatela was only a short walk down the hill. The onsite manager was there to help me with whatever I needed (including kicking a crab out of my room one night!) He was always cheerful and available. I had 5 different instructors during my month stay. Each one of them was really well trained and able to help me in different ways. Each teacher had unique strengths and wonderful personalities. My skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing improved a lot. I am really happy with all the progress I have made here. I highly reccomend checking out El Instituto de Lenguajes. I had an amazing time here and would come back in a heartbeat. The beach and atmosphere are amazing and the people you will meet at the school are wonderful. Totalmente vale la pena. Buen viaje. "
"After studying Spanish in high school and college, I was ready to take my Spanish skills out of the classroom and put them to work in the real world. Studying at I.L.P.E. and living in Puerto Escondido helped me to do that. The instructors quickly identified my weakest areas and helped me to improve my skills. Moreover, the one-on-on instruction allowed me to progress faster than I ever had in Spanish classes back home. I soon found myself speaking Spanish better and more comfortably than ever before. As a veteran of more than a few Spanish courses, I can say that I.L.P.E. offers some of the best instruction I have come across. I'm grateful for the time I spent studying at I.L.P.E. Living in Puerto Escondido only added to the experience. The locals are welcoming to visitors and seem to be very appreciative of foreigners who are taking the time to learn their language. As my Spanish skills improved, I was able to interact more and more with Puerto's residents. Whether it's due to the tropical environment, beautiful Pacific Ocean, or comfortable weather, I found the people all along the Oaxacan coast to be friendly and utterly charming. You just can't go wrong living in Puerto. "
"After studying at Instituto de Lenguajes Puerto Escondido (I.L.P.E.) I went to study Spanish at a university in Mexico City; the level was nothing compared with the classes I had at ILPE! I think the level of the teachers at ILPE is excellent! I´ve just reached page 100 of the Harry Potter book in Spanish which I bought when I was in Puerto Escondido, so I’m still doing my best to learn more... You can test me when I will come back in Puerto, somewhere in the end of this year. I will certainly be back!"
"My name is Sara and for the past 6 months I have traveled alone In South America, Central America and now Mexico. I personally highly recommend Instituto de Lenguajes Puerto Escondido, Spanish school in paradise, for its highly professional attitude toward learning, its excellent teachers who are extremely patient and friendly and its superb location overlooking the gorgeous Zicatela Beach. After an initial assessment I was placed with a teacher and a program was set and tailored to suit my individual needs. I'd previously had Spanish lessons in Bolivia and Argentina, with limited success, but my progress here has by far exceeded my expectations which I feel is due to the structure of the lessons and quality of the teachers. Puerto Escondido is a fantastic place and once here, you won't want to leave. One big upside of this place is that it feels safe for a female traveling alone and where I've been, that is a pleasant change."
"The teachers were great! I loved the facilities and made full use of them. The school was beautiful, clean, shady, and more than comfortable to be at. Some days I would just go there to chill out. Anyway, I highly recommend your school to anyone who asks and I can't wait to get back to Puerto Escondido."
"TThe school experience was great and the apartment on the point was even better. It's a great opportunity to learn and make friends in a glorious location."
"When we first came across the Puerto Escondido Spanish language school with a catchy slogan Study Spanish in Paradise, we could not imagine how close this slogan is to the reality. Brian and his very talented instructors have been able to create a very engaging atmosphere. My wife and I came to school with very primitive knowledge of Spanish (we knew the numbers from 1 to 10 and things of these nature), after 2 weeks of intensive training we were able to discuss very complex topics regarding Mexico foreign policy and education albeit in shaky but conversational Spanish. The teachers were able to adjust their material to ensure that our enormous gaps in Spanish were covered. They gave us the fundamentals of Spanish to build on and did so with a smile; they became our friends. The school itself is very conveniently located, has very beautiful grounds, is close to the surfing Mecca, Playa Zicatela and only a 5 minute walk to the great lunch spots on the beach. There is nothing more conducing to learning than raging ocean waves that one can see from the classrooms. We also have a very restless 7-year old who had a private Spanish teacher. Our son loved his teachers and was doing his homework (unheard of at home). We liked that the studying was very structured and well-organized and that between 3 of us we had 4 different teachers in two week which was very nice as it gave us different perspectives. My wife had several cooking lessons and gained new appreciation for Mexican cuisine which is so different from Tex-Mex stuff we get in the United States. We had a great experience in el paraiso of Puerto Escondido and will be looking forward to coming back soon.”
"The school is a very relaxing and easy place to take on the difficult task of learning a language. My 16-year-old daughter and I had a fabulous time. They were extremely helpful in making our arrangements in advance, guiding us on all sorts of mini-adventures while we were here, and, of course, teaching us Spanish. Our teachers were very smart, personable, and very responsive to where we were as students."
"The only thing I would have changed about my experience in Puerto was an extension of my time there. One week is just not enough time to spend in such an incredible place. The staff and instructors were excellent and wonderful people to spend time with. I couldn't have asked for a better view of the beach from the school. Our host family was great and we enjoyed spending time with them and their children. We even had the opportunity to travel and hang out with them because they were on a vacation from school the week we were there. I hope I have the chance to go back and study for a longer amount of time."
"I just got back from a month vacation in Puerto Escondido where I took 3 weeks of Spanish at the Instituto. I want to let you know that I enjoyed my classes (both group and private) very much. The teachers were very professional in their teaching. I am a French teacher myself in Montréal and I found the experience of being on «the other side» very nourishing. The administration was very friendly and takes good care of the school. I had rented a small apartment few minutes away from someone not related to the language school, but it was far from the description on Internet. If I go back, I will consider your housing offers which seemed very interesting according to a fellow student.”
"My experience at Instituo de Lenguajes Puerto Escondido was extraordinary. I was treated to very convivial one-on-one lessons tailored exactly to my needs. The instructor was attuned to my successes and frustrations alike in an extremely low stress setting. The studio apartments for the students was superb in its comfort and location nestled cozily just a few short steps from the ocean. Probably the most memorable and long-lasting learning experience was the excursion. Our guide was knowledgeable, funny, accommodating and extremely conscientious about our need to communicate, etc. She had a profound impact on my 17 year old daughter, who wants to be just like her some day. We are scheduled to be back in Mexico this summer!"
"It was an improvised situation for me to take Spanish lessons in Mexico during my trip and it ended up being what was probably the most satisfying experience. The teachers were very competent and friendly. The school was well managed and very flexible. My stay with the homestay family was just perfect, same comments about them, competent, friendly, flexible and careful. I was planning a week, I stayed for 5 weeks."
"I.L.P.E. provides quality instruction to students, from beginner through advanced. It is an environment that lets you make of it what you desire, be that an immersion experience for several months or just a few lessons to help you get by. My experience with I.L.P.E was of great help in preparing for the upper level university classes that I had the following semester. Puerto Escondido captured my heart as a funky, off the well-beaten path, little town with friendly locals and an eclectic traveler-surfer scene. However, the most telling statement...I enjoyed myself so much the first time, I returned nine months later and used Puerto as a base for the rest of my travels that summer."
"In my experience all Spanish language schools in Puerto Escondido are equally full of nice, friendly people. But as a friend of mine said, ´You aren´t paying for nice´. You are paying, rather, to learn Spanish. And when it comes to teaching Spanish some of Puerto's schools are definitely more equal than others. From the evidence of my visit in 2005, the Instituto de Lenguajes Puerto Escondido doesn´t really have any competitors in the good teaching department. The staff is interesting to talk to (in español of course!), and they really know what they are talking about. If you want to concentrate on grammar, they have teachers who won´t get their present and past participles mixed up, and if I conversation is what you crave, you can find someone who will make space for YOU to talk!"
"I really enjoyed my 4 week stay in Puerto Escondido and - what is even more important to me - I really made great progress in learning Spanish. I had some experience speaking this beautiful language during my travels across Spain and Latin America, but it was limited to topics like hotels or restaurants. Now I feel confortable talking about any subject - elections in Mexico, the future of the air transport, the history of Indian population in Mexico or whatever. I like the concept of changing teachers every week - it allowed me to meet more interesting people. All of the teachers were really great but with different personalities. I have learned a lot - not only about the language, but also about the Latin American culture. The school is a place where learning Spanish is fun, and Puerto Escondido is the place you want to stay during the cold European winter."
"I.L.P.E. is the best place I've ever been to learn a language. It's so wonderful to see the ocean in the background and learn Spanish at the same time. The school is in a perfect size to offer individual lessons or small group classes for each level and still be as personal as a big family. Everyone was super friendly and helpful all the time. Before I came to Mexico I had one year of Spanish lessons at university and I think that I learned more in the two and a half weeks at L.I.P.E. then during the whole previous year of studies at home. It's because the teachers are really good and every one of them spoke English really well. The classes are really small so the lessons are very intensive which helps a lot. The surf in Puerto is just amazing; every day there were good conditions, swell and waves. I have never had such good surf as in Puerto. Another good thing is that the teachers really understand or actually surf too themselves, so if ever I had a question about surfing, they were able and happy to help me. The same in the pseudo home stay, which is just a few steps away from the market. The place and the family was nice, authentic, super friendly and clean all the time. Puerto and the L.I.P.E. is one of the memories that I'll never forget. "
"Hola! I Recently returned to England from Mexico and just wanted to say how much I enjoyed my stay in Puerto and the four weeks of lessons I had. Although I realize now that I should have stayed with a Mexican family so that there that there would be more opportunities to speak Spanish in the evenings, I do feel that I made great progress and found the teachers very inspiring. My "profesores" made a great effort to engage me in subjects that are of interest to me or of mutual interest and it was wonderful to be able to have fairly adult conversations even if they happened at a very slow speed. One of the teachers introduced me to the writing of the journalist and poet Eduardo Galeano and to aspects of Mexican history and culture about which I was ignorant so this added yet another dimension to the learning experience that I will always remember. Another teacher shared my interest in anthropology and alternative medicine and was a mine of information about local customs. Her enthusiasm was infectious and her sense of humor so uplifting that what might have been two hours of hard work was always two hours of pleasure. The administration was very accommodating about my movements and exceptionally helpful to me. I was able to spend several hours a day walking along the coast in both directions and as you know, every day between Dec and May is a perfect day on the Costa Esmeralda (perhaps all of the year but I have yet to try it in the wet season). I think that one must also pay tribute to the people of the town and region who go out of their way to assist language students, not only patiently listening and correcting us, if asked, but even waitresses in cafes took an interest in my essays and knew immediately if I had misused the subjunctive, or used the present instead of the imperfect or the conditional instead of the subjunctive imperfect, misused por and para, saber and conocer (I hope I have finally stopped making that mistake) and so on. I have spent a fair amount of time all over Latin America but I have yet to find anywhere that is quite as appealing as Puerto and surrounding coastline for its extraordinary combination of fabulous coastal and mountain scenery, perfect climate, delicious, fresh food, friendly people and accessibility for those who like to explore and who enjoy solitude but without the expense of hiring a car. I hope to return in the not too distant future and have more lessons at the school."
"This is a great school. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn Spanish. I have been studying for years and I made some of my greatest improvements with Puerto School's patient teachers. They are intelligent, kind, and insightful. They really focused on how I could be more fluent as well as taught me about Mexico. The view of the beach is beautiful and the location is perfect for surfers. It was easy to set it up, get there, learn, and enjoy it. You won't miss any good waves. I will take classes there every time I visit."
"Great for all levels and paces. I learned more in less time than in any other program and with an open air view of the crashing surf de bout. The program is firmly rooted in an immersion style, but the few-on-one class sizes make it flexible and fun. Study hard or relax on the beach it's up to you. "¡Va a aprender muchÌsimo!"
"We want to thank all of you at I.L.P.E for the enjoyable week we spent in Puerto Escondido. My husband and I had NO background in Spanish and we are well past the "optimum learning window" age for language acquisition. Our instructor did a great job teaching us the mechanics of the language and helping us acquire basic vocabulary. He was so patient with us and his lessons were very sequential. We covered so much in just one week. My daughter and her friend had several years of high school/ college spanish and their instructor was able to determine their level and build upon it. Puerto Escondido is a wonderful vacation spot. We do not enjoy typical U.S. style resorts but we do look for certain qualities and Puerto fullfilled these expectations. The scenery is beautiful, the food is great, the people are very warm and friendly and we felt safe. With the recent bad press the US state department is giving Mexico, we were somewhat concerned, but we felt much safer in this city than in parts of San Antonio. The girls met so many young people from all over the world and from a parent standpoint, we were able to relax when they stayed out late. Now, if we will just practice, maybe we won't forget everything that we learned."
"I found Puerto Escondido to be the perfect balance between big city and small town Mexico. There are a lot of great things to do but the town isn't just another tourist resort. My Spanish classes were designed to fit my learning style. The personal attention I received helped me to get as much as possible from my time in Puerto"
"The Instituto de Lenguajes en Puerto Escondido is a perfect place to learn Spanish at all levels. You can choose to study as hard and for as many hours as you like, even on week-ends. Even better yet, you can combine the studies with vacation. That was perfect for me. It was very important for me to be able to speak Spanish as I don't have any possiblity here in Switzerland. My teacher helped me to do exactly do that. She was not only a good teacher, but she was a wonderful friend too. I did enjoy a few lessons with another teacher also. Those classes took place outside of the classroom on the beach in the municipal building, something different and special. The school has wonderful and lovely dogs; the school would not be the same without them. They are lovely friends and I miss them too... The schools director and administrator did everything possible to make me feel welcome and at home and were so kind to accomplish all my extra wishes. Thanks for the good time I enjoyed. I will certainly be back if I have the chance. Ricarda Schibli, St. Gallen, Switzerland... "
"When I was researching various Spanish schools around Mexico, I was trying to find a school that would not only give me the intensive Spanish instruction that I was looking for, but that would allow me to enjoy my vacation as well. Puerto Escondido appeared to be a place that I could have a great vacation, but I was somewhat apprehensive that ILPE would be serious enough for me. What I found at I.L.P.E. was instruction that was as intense as I wanted it to be, but relaxed enough to allow for a great vacation in a beautiful place. The balanced pace of the classes was complemented by excellent instructors who tailored their lessons to my interests. As far as Puerto Escondido is concerned, I can't think of a more perfect place to study Spanish. The town has great restaurants, very friendly people, and plenty of things to do. Brian set up several excursions such as rock-climbing, a trip to a nearby ecological project, and of course, surfing. Brian also set up a "pseudo-homestay" with an incredibly friendly family. The pseudo-homestay gave me the freedom to come and go as I pleased, but also gave me plenty of opportunity to practice my Spanish with the family"
"If you want to learn Spanish in a relaxed atmosphere at your own pace, the Puerto School is the place to go. Classes are held in the fresh air with very knowledgeable staff. I was happy to be able to choose how many hours a week I wanted to study as well as what time I had my classes. It was great to be able to chat with instructors about many different subjects while they worked to recognize what parts of the Spanish language I need more help with and then taught me what I was lacking. It was fun, practical and I plan on attending the school again in the near future. My homestay was also great! It was another opportunity to practice my new skills, learn more about Mexican culture and laugh with some locals. The school organized a day trip to a waterfall. This was a bonus made even better when we stopped at a private home on the way to the falls and got to watch them make tortillas, then help to make them! After that we were rewarded with a snack of quesadillas made with tortillas that we had just made. All in all the school was a wonderful experience; I learned a lot of Spanish, met some great people (students, staff and my host family) and even got to surf!"
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