We sat down with Haleyda Galicia who is one of the teachers at the Chichen Itza Language School here in Playa Del Carmen. We wanted to tell you about this Spanish school in Playa Del Carmen. This is just one option you have for learning here.
The Chichen Itza Spanish school in Playa Del Carmen
The Chichen Itza Language School is a family run school that opened December 2013. Both Haleyda and her father are certified teachers at the school. Haleyda has been teaching for more than 4 years and her father has been teaching for more than 6 years. They teach five levels of Spanish which can prepare you for getting your masters.
Haleyda and her family are originally from Veracruz, Mexico. They moved to Playa Del Carmen 10 years ago. She likes having a school here because of the culture here that students can experience while studying. There is the beautiful beaches and the Mayan culture with ruins.
What makes this language school different?
We asked Haleyda what made their school different from the other schools in Playa Del Carmen. She likes offering the smaller family feel of the school with activities to help students further interact with locals and native Spanish speakers. They offer home stays to students that come to Playa Del Carmen. This helps students get more of a feel for life here and further their language skills by interacting with locals. Other activities they offer are cooking classes, trips and dance classes. Halyeda’s favorite activities are the Mexican conversation club where they play Mexican games and the cooking class with the most popular menu item being chiles rellenos.
Why teach Spanish?
We asked Haleyda why she likes teaching. She said that since Spanish is her language she enjoys sharing it with others and seeing people get the grasp of it with time. Another big benefit is the cultural exchange that goes on between students and the teacher. She has not had the opportunity to go to the places where students come from, so she learns about the world and places when the students practice their Spanish and talk about where they are from.
Cultural exchange and practicing Spanish
If you are in the area and want some casual fun with languages, ask them about a cultural exchange group meeting. They offer these meetings so Spanish speakers studying English get to practice speaking with other language groups. So, if you want to come for fun and socialize you can.
Prices for Spanish classes
What are prices at the school? An intensive group (20 hours a week) is $185 USD a week. This class is from Mon-Fri. 9:30am-1:30pm. Semiprivate lessons (two people) are $30 USD an hour. Private lessons are $20 USD an hour.
Note: These were the prices at time of writing this article. Prices may be subject to change.
Tip: If you are a resident living in Playa Del Carmen, ask about prices for local residents. They realize that it can be expensive for people living here and they try to accommodate locals with more local rates.
If you want to stop by and check them out, they are located on Call 4 between 10th Avenue and 15th Avenue. Or you can check them out online.
If you are looking to learn Spanish in Playa Del Carmen and want a private teacher you might also like to read our article on this private instructor.
About The Author
Hello, Hola:
I am looking to teach Spanish in your wonderful school.
I am presently teaching in Asia to ESL University students.
Please email me if you would like to see my resume.
Thank You
Gracias
Profesora Rosellini
Hello Paula
Thank you for your comment here on our website. This is an article we wrote about this Spanish school in Playa Del Carmen. If you want to contact them, you will need to call or go to their facebook page and talk to them there.
I was in Playa for 2 months this winter with my husband. I had planned to take Spanish classes while there.
Originally I only wanted group lessons and planned to register with International House but the week I wanted was offering only 4 days of classes (for the price of 5 days) so I rode my bike several blocks further to Chitzen Itza Language School.
This place is easy to miss and I rode by it a few times before finding it. It is next to a restaurant called Romeo’s with a thatched roof.
Here most of the classes are private unless you arrive with a group yourself or you happen to be there when others are also looking for a group.
They also offer other languages for locals (English, French and more).
While I was not excited about private because I find one-on-one draining, I loved how this is a family run school (the other felt like business, this was much more personal!) and they make you feel like an extended member of the family.
I bought 10 hours of lessons and most of those I took 2 hours at at time. Another nice feature is making your own schedule. I can’t sit in a classroom with a white board doing grammar for 2 hours so I asked if the 2nd hour we could just walk around the area and talk. This is more my style. My teacher was young Emmanuel, the son of the owners of the business and he was accommodating, cheerful, patient and very encouraging. I could not believe he was only 20! Very impressed by this good natured young man.
Another major bonus here is on Fridays they have a light dinner and game night for any students to attend. When I asked if my husband, who was not a student, could accompany me, they told me he was very welcome and they did indeed make him feel welcome. At the other school (where I eventually did do a week of group classes), they also had a Friday evening cocktail hour. I asked if my husband could accompany me and the answer was a quick no. (I didn’t attend)
At Chichen everyone greets you by name and engages you in conversation at your level and helps you along either correcting you (gently) or helping you find your words. They are always about helping you improve your language skills but without any judgement if you make mistakes.
Their friendliness and encouragement went a long way. I loved my Friday evenings there with food, drink and games and meeting people from all over the world all there to learn Spanish. It was sometimes the highlight of my week. Wish we could have attended more. Even once my 10 hours were used up we were still welcome to attend!! You just don’t find this kind of business everywhere.
They deserve to be successful.
Thank you so much for your personal experience and taking the time to write this. We love hearing back from people. We first wrote about them when we first started the website. We are glad they are still going strong.
¡Hola soy Kairi! Mucho gusto. Creo que quiero estudiar tu escuela desde más o menos el 11 de julio hasta más o menos 18 de junio . Además tengo unas preguntas.
*Ahora tiene tu escuela japoneses? Porque quiero estudiar Español que donde no hay japoneses.
*An intensive group(20 hours a week) is $185 USD a week. ← pienso estudiar que dos semanas. Cuanto cuesta? pero yo no tengo mucho dinero. si están bien, Pueden 300 USD por dos semanas?
* yo no tengo un lugar de quedar. Conocen un lugar barato.
*Puedo pagar en pesos?
こんにちはキリ。 あなたは私たちにウェブサイトでメッセージを送ってきました。 学校にこれらの質問をする必要があります。 私たちはあなたにメッセージを送ります。 あなたからの連絡がない場合は、メールで学校に連絡してください。 ありがとう