Learn Spanish in Mexico - Spanish Courses in Mexico

Mystical, magical, colourful, vibrant. Learn Spanish in Mexico and you will find yourself touched by the charisma of its people, its fascinating culture, and its rich history. Sample some of the worlds most beautiful beaches, relish in it's culinary delights, absorb and infuse the culture and heritage of it's rich historic traditions, its art, its spectacular beauty. With fascinating ancient sites, magnificent colonial architecture, sensational food and vibrant festivities, attending one of our Spanish courses in Mexico will give you insights into one of the world's most enigmatic countries.

History of Mexico

The earliest of Mexico's known civilisations was the Olmecs, who flourished in southern Mexico between 1200 and 400 BC; they established traditions that subsequent civilisations, especially the Maya (300-900 AD) and the Aztecs (1200-1521 AD), built upon. By the beginning of the 16 th century, the Aztecs had conquered much of Mexico. They believed that the god Quetzlcoátl would return one day from the east to reclaim the land. In 1519, Hernán Cortés, a Spanish explorer, appeared on the coast. The Aztecs' ruler, Montezuma II, believed this was Quetzlcoátl's return. Cortés took advantage of Moctezuma's belief, as well as European technology, and easily defeated the Aztecs. The natives were thus devastated by European diseases.

Mexico remained a Spanish colony until 1808, when Napoleon's deposition of the fairly liberal Spanish king Ferdinand VII sparked Mexico's war for independence. The years after independence were full of strife and disappointment. Maximilian, the Archduke of Austria, took power with the help of Mexican conservatives and Napoleon III in 1863, but was conquered by Benito Juárez, a former president, in 1867. Juárez passed away in 1872. Porfirio Díaz, his former ally, dominated Mexican politics from 1876 to 1911, when he was overthrown by a group of regional political leaders and generals. The Mexican Revolution, which pitted Díaz's enemies against each other, took more than 1million lives and left the country in turmoil for most of the next twenty years.

Mexico's recent history has been dominated by a single political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which combined populism and patronage to hold on to power for more than 70 years. The PRI's founder, Plutarco Elías Calles, became president in 1924, and Lázaro Cárdenas, president from 1934 to 1940, set the PRI's popularity: he instituted land reforms and nationalised the oil industry. President Ernesto Zedillo allowed freer elections in 2000, and PRI rule ended with the election of Vincente Fox of the mainly urban-based, market-friendly National Action Party.

Learn Spanish in Mexico - Geography

Mexico is situated in the mid-latitudes of the Americas. Its territory comprises much of southern North America or also within Middle America. Physiographically, the lands east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec including the Yucatán Peninsula (which together comprise around 12% of the country's area) lie within the region of Central America. Geologically, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt delimits the region on the north. Geopolitically, however, Mexico is not commonly considered a part of Central American; its southern border with Belize and Guatemala separates North America from Central America.

Mexico's total area is 1,972,550 km², including approximately 6,000 km² of islands in the Pacific Ocean (including the remote Guadalupe Island and the Islas Revillagigedo), Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of California. On its north, Mexico shares a 3,141 km border with the United States. The meandering Río Bravo del Norte (known as the Rio Grande in the United States ) defines the border from Ciudad Juárez east to the Gulf of Mexico. A series of natural and artificial markers delineate the United States-Mexican border west from Ciudad Juárez to the Pacific Ocean. On its south, Mexico shares an 871 km border with Guatemala and a 251 km border with Belize.

Spanish Courses Mexico - Economy

Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US ; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The FOX administration is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labour laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector, but has been unable to win the support of the opposition-led Congress. The next government that takes office in December 2006 will confront the same challenges of boosting economic growth, improving Mexico's international competitiveness, and reducing poverty.

Spanish Schools Mexico - Food

Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and its variety of spices. Mexican gastronomy, in terms of diversity of appealing tastes and textures, is one of the richest in the world in proteins, vitamins, and minerals, though it is characterized by some as excessively spicy.

When Spanish conquistadores arrived in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (the ancient city on which Mexico City was built), they found that the people's diet consisted largely of corn-based dishes with chilis and herbs, usually complemented with beans and squash. The conquistadores eventually combined their imported diet of rice, beef, pork, chicken, wine, garlic and onions with the indigenous foods of pre-Columbian Mexico, including chocolate, maize, tomato, vanilla, avocado, papaya, pineapple, chili pepper, beans, squash, sweet potato, peanut and turkey. The totopo (a salted corn tortilla cooked in a fire oven) may have been created as part of this cuisine.

Most of today's Mexican food is based on pre-Hispanic traditions, including the Aztecs and Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists. Quesadillas, for example, are a flour or corn tortilla with cheese (often a Mexican-style soft farmer's cheese such as Queso Fresco), beef, chicken, pork, and so on. The indigenous part of this and many other traditional foods is the chili pepper. Foods like these tend to be very colorful because of the rich variety of vegetables (among them are the chili peppers, green peppers, chilies, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes) and meats in Mexican food. There is also a sprinkling of Caribbean influence in Mexican cuisine, particularly in some regional dishes from the states of Veracruz and Yucatán. The French occupation of Mexico also yielded some influences as well: the bolillo (pronounced bo-lee-yo, with the "o" as in "bore"), a Mexican take on the French roll, certainly seems to reflect this.

Mexican food varies by region, because of local climate and geography and ethnic differences among the indigenous inhabitants and because these different populations were influenced by the Spaniards in varying degrees. The north of Mexico is known for its beef production and meat dishes. Southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. There are also many exotic dishes. Cooked in the Aztec or Mayan style, with ingredients ranging from iguana to rattlesnake, deer, spider monkey, and even some kinds of insects, this is usually known as comida prehispánica (or prehispanic food), and although not very common, is relatively well known.

A distinction must be made between truly authentic Mexican food, and the Cal-Mex (Californian-Mexican) and "Tex Mex" (Texan-Mexican) cuisines. Mexican cuisine combines with the cuisine of the southwest United States (which itself has a number of Mexican influences) to form Cal-Mex and Tex-Mex cuisine. Another style of cuisine that is commonly mistaken for Mexican food is New Mexican cuisine, which is, of course, found in New Mexico, USA.

Learn Spanish in Mexico - Climate

The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones. Land north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months. South of the twenty-fourth parallel, temperatures are fairly constant year round and vary solely as a function of elevation.

Areas south of the twentieth-fourth parallel with elevations up to 1,000 meters (the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula), have a yearly median temperature between 24°C and 28°C. Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5°C difference between winter and summer median temperatures. Although low-lying areas north of the twentieth-fourth parallel are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from 20°C to 24°C) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.

Mexico - Interesting facts

Mexico City is the largest city in the world. It was built on the land over the ancient city of Tenochtitlán. Tenochtitlán was built by the Aztecs in 1325 before being destroyed by the Spanish when they conquered Mexico.

Mexican children are given both their father's last name and their mother's maiden name. This tradition helps to preserve the heritage of both of the child's' parents. Fathers would often weave a God's eye when their children were born. At each birthday for five years the father would weave another God's eye.

Did you know that:

• Mexico City was built on a lake
• Mexico introduced chocolate to the world
• Mexico is the most populous Spanish speaking country in the world
• Salma Hayek is the first Mexican movie star to reach success in the U.S. since Dolores Del Río in the twenties
• The language spoken is Spanish
• The currency is the peso Mexicano
• In the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, the Aztecs used the poinsettia leaves to dye fabric for clothing and the sap for medicinal purposes, including to help control fevers
• Mexico has 31 states
• Mexico City is sinking at a rate of 6 to 8 inches a year because it's built on top of an underground reservoir. Wells are drawing out more and more water for the city's growing population of more than 15 million people
• Some tequila is priced at 225,000 dollars a bottle.
• Tequila dates from the sixteenth century
• Thousands of dinosaur bones have been found in northern Mexico
• Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia
• January's weather serves as a forecast for the year
• Thousands of Mexican secondary school students receive all their classes by TV
• The birth control pill came from Mexican yams
• As many as 62 indigenous languages are still spoken in Mexico

Learn Spanish in Mexico - Advice

At our Spanish schools and courses in Mexico and throughout Latin America our advice can really be summed up with one simple word - practice! What kind of study materials you use is not quite as important as how or how often you use them. Your hard work and determination will be one of the biggest factors in successful language learning.

The Spanish school and course you choose in Mexico is going to be the core of your Spanish study, so make sure you choose a Spanish language course that gives you structured lessons and lots of opportunity to practice your new language skills. Our Spanish courses at our Spanish schools in Mexico and throughout South America, will give you the perfect opportunity to study, learn, and practice Spanish in a supportive, well planned and friendly environments.

You must work at your new Spanish language skills every day. Ideally, you should study Spanish an extra hour or more every day. If you can get at least an extra half-hour of study time, that's pretty good too. Try to at least get a little review and study, learn and practice Spanish every single day.

If you attend one of our Spanish courses in Mexico and you learn Spanish everyday, you will have a good basic knowledge of the Spanish language in a reasonable amount of time. Your knowledge and ability will increase and improve depending upon what other tools you use and what kind of experiences you have using the Spanish language.

Grammar book. A good old-fashioned grammar book may be boring but they are a great way to really get to grips with the details of the language.

Phrase Book

These are extremely helpful books that you can carry with you. They can be useful for practicing pronunciation, or for quickly finding a lot of more commonly used phrases, words and idioms. Phrase books are always a nice supplement to learn Spanish and they are convenient and cheap.

Dictionary. Absolutely necessary in the long run. You must have a dictionary if you wish to expand your vocabulary, and you will need one in order to take full advantage of many of the Spanish language learning tips set out here. Make sure you get one that translates both ways e.g. English to Spanish AND Spanish to English. It is also helpful to find a dictionary that contains idioms - the phrases particular to the language which you are studying - as well as phrases that are commonly used in the Spanish language, but may be difficult to translate. As an example in English - 'to give the cold shoulder' or 'it's a piece of cake!'

Flashcards

A simple Spanish language learning tip, but a very effective way to review, refresh your memory and expand your vocabulary. There are pre-made flashcards that can be purchased, or for extra help, you can create your own. Keep them with you at all times, in your pocket or in your car, and look at them for a quick review or language lesson at every opportunity. They are very convenient.

Talk to yourself

It may be obvious, but the best way to learn Spanish in Mexico is to speak Spanish in Mexico! This convenient method can be use at all times, as you can even talk to yourself. Even if you are in public and don't feel comfortable talking to yourself out loud, you can make it your habit to practice Spanish by thinking Spanish. Throughout the day, think of the Spanish words for everything you pass - objects in your house, things you pass when you are traveling, things you use at work or school, etc. Learn basic Spanish phrases like - ‘it is cold today' or ‘it is sunny today' and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out the window. By putting this tip into use on a regular basis, the vocabulary and phrases will become more routine and automatic.

Practice with friends

Taking it even further than talking to yourself, you can practice with your friends. Even if they don't speak Spanish, talk to the people you know by using your new language. Warn them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they'll know what's coming. Even a simple 'good morning' or'see you later' in Spanish will make those phrases more natural to you. Your friends may even begin to learn a few words and join in the fun too!

Listen to music

Listen to Spanish music. You'll hear the Spanish language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and pronunciation even better. This method will also give you a further understanding of, and appreciation for, the culture and customs of the people. Music in Spanish might be easier to find than others, but Amazon or eBay and many other global websites will enable you to find music in Spanish and many different languages.