All four tracks run at every level, from complete beginner to advanced. The difference is not the content but the pace: more hours a week means faster progress, and from the Intensive Track onwards you also get time you decide how to use — a specific area of grammar, vocabulary for your work, or whatever you need most that week.

How a day of class works

Every day is split in two halves. You spend an hour and a half on grammar with one teacher, and an hour and a half on conversation with a different one. That change of teacher is deliberate: you hear two ways of speaking, two accents and two teaching styles every single day, instead of getting used to just one voice.

Classes are one-to-one or in very small groups, so there is nowhere to hide and no waiting your turn — you speak from the first day. Depending on the track you choose, you study between 15 and 25 hours a week, Monday to Friday, and you work with two or three different teachers.

Who these courses are for

Our students are travelers passing through Chiapas, expats settling into life in Mexico, and remote workers who want to stop surviving on gestures and actually hold a conversation. Some arrive without a single word of Spanish, others want to clean up years of self-taught habits.

You do not need a test, a level certificate or previous study to start. If you have never taken a Spanish class in your life, that is exactly what the first day is for.

When can you start?

Almost any week of the year. Classes normally begin on a Monday, but we are flexible and can fit around your travel dates — if you land on a Wednesday, you can start on a Wednesday. There is no fixed term, no intake date and no group you have to catch up with, because your program is built around you.

Where you will study

Our school is in Barrio de Guadalupe, a five-minute walk from the historic centre of San Cristóbal de las Casas. The city itself does half the teaching: it is safe, affordable and walkable, with a calm pace that makes it easy to focus, and a living Maya culture that turns every café, market and street corner into part of your classroom.

San Cristóbal — Jovel, as it has always been called here — is the cultural capital of Chiapas and was the state capital until 1892. Between classes you will find art galleries, museums of textiles, amber and jade, craft markets, colonial architecture and street art, and a food and live music scene well out of proportion to the size of the town. See what life in San Cris is like.

More than Spanish classes

Learning does not stop when the lesson ends. We can arrange a stay with a carefully selected local host family, often just minutes from the school, so you keep practising at the breakfast table and not only in class. We also run experiences and tours around the region, and for students who want to go further into the culture of Chiapas, we teach Tsotsil — one of the Maya languages still spoken in the highlands. English classes are available too.

Cannot travel to Chiapas right now? Our live online Spanish classes are taught by these same teachers, with the same method.

Levels, ages and who can join

We teach every level of the Common European Framework, from A1 to C2 — absolute beginners through to advanced speakers. If you are coming with a specific goal rather than a general level, we can build the programme around it, including advanced work on areas such as literature.

There is no age limit in either direction. Our students have ranged from children of eight to adults of ninety-nine, and the programme adapts to each of them.

Class times

We teach Monday to Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Mexico time. In-person classes run in blocks of an hour and a half:

• 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
• 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
• 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
• 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
• 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Your timetable is agreed with you when you enroll, and it can be adjusted while you are here.

Materials, certificates and payment

We have our own SanCris workbook. You do not have to use it — not every student needs the same kind of material — but you can ask for it at reception whenever you want it. If you are staying for one week it carries an additional cost; from two weeks onwards it is free.

We do not issue official certifications. If you need proof of your studies, we can give you an institutional letter of attendance from SanCris Spanish Language School, which is usually enough for universities and employers.

A $100 USD deposit reserves your place. We accept several payment methods, including cards; card payments carry a processing fee.

The school behind the classes

SanCris Spanish Language School opened on 12 September 2016, though our director, Niko Pale, has been teaching Spanish since around 2009. Today the team is six permanent teachers plus associate teachers who join us depending on demand, all native speakers with specific training in teaching Spanish as a foreign language.

Frequently asked questions