| References  Paul, London, UK
- "During October 1998 I visited Guatemala because I had decided, finally, to improve
my Spanish beyond "Donde esta el bano?" I tried three different schools in three
towns and found Spanish School Jabel Tinamit to be by far the best. First, the
relaxed and conversational style of teaching fully met my need to build vocabulary and
develop an understanding of grammar, and to give me practice and confidence in speaking
the language. Second, the climate and beauty of Panajachel made it the perfect
"classroom" in which to learn. I can thoroughly recommend Jabel Timamit; classes
there were a real pleasure! I made good friends at the School and help out as webmaster.
One year later, October 1999, I returned to Jabel
Tinamit for another week of classes as a prelude to a trip across Central America.
Again, the teaching was great and Panajachel as beautiful and relaxing as ever.
I love Panajachel and Jabel Tinamit so much that I
returned again in the first week of October 2001. It was wonderful to meet my
friends at the school again and to walk along the shores of the Lago. And, having
chatted with students from Korea, Denmark, Australia and the USA I know that this website
has a global audience!"
Ken, Canada - "Learning (Spanish) online has been a
very positive experience for me. It has allowed me to learn language like youngsters learn
language. They listen, repeat words, make phrases, and finally speak with sentences.
Children learn tenses, vocabulary, and concepts very naturally. My online classes with
Candelaria have allowed me to pursue this style of learning. Thank you Candelaria."
Barry, U.S.A - "I have had several on-line classes
per week over the past few months It has been an excellent experience. I have learned more
REAL Spanish in a few months than I had in several years of traditional methods with
tapes, CD's and books. I highly recomend it to anyone wanting to learn REAL Spanish
quickly."
Ingrid and Philippe, Belgium - "First we planned to
study Spanish only during one week, but when we discovered the professionalism of our nice
teachers and how they dedicate all their energy to their students, we decided to stay 4
weeks more. Candelaria and Gregorio were wonderful teachers who also made us discover a
lot about Guatemala. We warmly recommend you to this school. It is really a nice
experience to study here"
David Cohen, U.S.A - "I looked at schools in Antigua
and none of them had the atmosphere of Spanish School Jabel Tinamit. I have never studied
Spanish in a foreign country and I cannot wait to return in the future. I recommend this
school to anyone who wants to learn Spanish and to have the time of their lives at the
same time. I plan on telling all my friends about this school"
Alex Ismail, Nottingham, UK - "Thank you for a
thoroughly productive three weeks. It is incredible to think how much I have achieved in
so short a space of time. When I arrived here I knew only a handful of Spanish words but
can now converse in Spanish on politics and read Spanish newspapers. This experience has
meant that I can travel in Central America with greater confidence. Good luck with your
fund raising and all the best for the future"
Michael Hoskin, Australia - "After trying other
schools and not progressing as quickly as I liked, I decided to try this school mainly
because of it's flexible hours. You can make your own program and change hours according
your needs. It's a refreshing change to other schools. The relaxed atmosphere also helped
me to chill out, and the teachers were of high quality with great patience. I would
recommend any person to this school as I can now converse in the language"
Tio Roy, USA - "My family and I attended the school
in the fall of 1999 for 2 weeks. What a wonderful experience! We stayed with a wonderful
Mayan family. We were very safe and could even walk after dark without fear. While there I
checked out other schools in Pana, Xela, and Antiqua. By far we picked the best school! I
was concerned that studying with a Mayan owned school we might be picking up an accent or
the grammar would be inferior. Boy was I ignorant! The teachers are highly educated and
can quickly adapt to your level of Spanish and bring you up to greater conversational and
reading skills.
My daughter, a musician, was intensely interested in
the intimate details of grammar. She had taken intermediate Spanish as a home schooled
high school student at the local community college in the Kansas City area 97-98. Summer
2000 she quizzed out of some Spanish and earned a minor in Spanish after her first
semester at Ball State University in Indiana. My wife, a beginner, was able to grow in her
understanding and confidence.
As an intermediate student, I was primarily
interested in increasing my conversational skills. My instructor was easily able to create
a program for my needs. One of the things that bothered me about other schools was that US
contacts would promote these schools and rake funds off the top. This was not the case
with Jabel Tinamit. All the money I paid went to the school. The prices were reasonable
and fair. The field trips were excellent, and the school has bicycles for rent at better
prices than in town."
Tina, Munich, Germany - "The great thing about Jabel
Tinamit was that they are very flexible, so I was able to start my lessons in the middle
of the week. You can also choose between 4,5 or 6 hours a day. I decided to take only 4
hours from 8am to noon, since then I still had the whole afternoon to do different
things...Gregorio introduced me to Brenda, my teacher for the week. So we sat down in the
beautiful garden of the school and started the [first] lesson. I had learned a bit of
Spanish before - 7 yrs back in Germany in evening school - so I knew the basics. My goal
was just that I refreshed my vocabulary and get more comfortable again talking
Spanish...there were 3 more "estudiantes" and their teachers - so it's a nice
small school"
For more about Tina's trip to Guatemala and some
really great photographs of the region visit her website - click here
King M - "Most
people in Guatemala study in Antigua, which is a beautiful little city, but it also is
filled with tourists. I went instead to Panajachel, which is on the shore of a lake in the
highlands. The scenery is spectacular and you can take boats to the other villages rimming
the lake, each with their own history, Mayan language, and culture. The school itself was
Jabel Tinamit and was in a beautiful, garden-like setting. The teacher was excellent. My
Spanish was probably a high intermediate at the time" |
