F.A.Q
- What is "Total Immersion" Spanish? top
- At some point while learning to drive someone sat you behind a steering wheel and you drove. With us you sit at your computer and you speak Spanish.
- In total immersion lessons you learn that "manzana" means
– not "apple". We teach you to think in Spanish – to not translate at all. With proper training when you go to buy an "aguacate" in Mexico the word "avocado" does not enter your mind.
- We would rather not have our teachers or students speaking English at all. Of course there is the occasional word that needs to be translated. What words your teacher doesn't know translate.google.com does, but try not to rely on it.
- Our teachers are trained to teach this way and know how to guide you through the rough patches. Successfully working your way through them in Spanish is very rewarding ... and that's exactly why our system works!
- What is our accreditation? top
We work with schools that are accredited by both the Minesterio de Educacción de Guatemala and the Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo (INGUAT). Both accreditations are required under Guatemalan law. They in turn can only hire teachers who have a diploma in teaching Spanish as a second language.- The school will give you a diploma upon achieving certain established requirements.
- Can I get college credit? top
- Yes. Upon passing a test the Minesterio de Educacción de Guatemala (MINEDUC) will give you a diploma that is the equivalent of a college course. For years many (but not all) colleges and universities in the U.S. have accepted credits given by MINEDUC toward college degrees. It's up to you to find out if in fact your school does. Being as you will not be physically present when you take the exam we have some requirements that has to do with how the test is administered.
- Just so you know, this is no "easy A". ElAguacate doesn't give you the exam, we don't write it and we don't grade it. MINEDUC is in charge of that and they have certain standards at any given level that need to be met before they award diplomas.
- How many hours should I take? top
- Of course, that depends on you. If you are just brushing up on your Spanish before taking a trip or you have a specific issue you would like to address you might not need to take too many. If you are moving to Latin America and speak little or no Spanish it's going to take some time.
- One thing we have found out is to dedicate at least four hours a week to classes. Every class starts out reviewing the previous lesson and if you take too much time off between classes you end up spending more time reviewing old material than learning new.
- We can adjust to your schedule without any difficulty. If you want to study an hour a day in the evening, have one long class Saturday morning or whatever we'll work with you.
- Is the Rosetta Stone Spanish course any good? top
- Actually I'd have to say yes, it is. A while back I met a woman who's Spanish, while a little stiff and mechanical, was really quite good. Her grammar was admirable and accent not bad at all. She had learned her Spanish in a Rosetta Stone course.
- She had only been in Guatemala a couple of weeks but clearly she knew her stuff. I haven't spoken with her since, but I am sure the slight robotic quality of her speech has diminishes the more time she spends in Guatemala. I have friends who have been here for years (some even decades) who could do with a good dose of Rosetta Stone.
- Is the Rosetta Stone course better than ElAguacate's? top
- Of course we prefer our methods for the simple reason that a DVD can not replace a native Spanish speaking human teacher – at least not completely.
- Spanish is a living vital thing. People speak it, not machines. That said, there are mechanical elements to any language. There's no getting around learning the gammer and building a vocabulary. To be able to enjoy communicating with someone in their language you have to have done your homework; but you also have to have someone – a person – on the other side of the conversation.
- We take a different approach to teaching Spanish than does Rosetta Stone. The fact is that one method does not eliminate the other. A number of our students have put into practice what they learned with Rosetta Stone in a series of lessons with us.
- If you have a question you would like answered please Contact Us