LA CALLE - Spanish School Merida — Local services in Mérida

La Calle was an awesome school to learn Spanish. Honestly, I did my homework before reserving a space with them. Most other Spanish schools in the area did not reply to my emails, but La Calle did, which showed me that they were actually willing to help me figure out where I wanted to go, and therefore the people I probably wanted to do business with. I wasn't mistaken. They were great. Best prices, best teachers, best school. Yes, there is grammar in the lessons, but it's more about conversation than the Spanish you're used to in school in the USA...it's more functional and related. Also, with no English spoken in class, it forces you to speak in Spanish (note that the instructors CAN speak English...they just pretend that they can't). All together, it was me, my two daughters, and a friend of mine that went. The school was kind enough to set up a kids class for my girls, and they loved it. I asked them fairly regularly, and they said the teacher made learning Spanish fun. In the month we were there, I can tell their Spanish really improved...probably more so than mine or my friend, even (perhaps because of their young flexible brains). When I came, my Spanish was probably on a low A2 level, but I'm almost a B1 level now. My friend's Spanish was on a high A2 level and was told he is almost approaching B2. So in a month's time, that's an amazing amount of progress from all of us. Besides the learning, I would recommend doing other things with the school, as well. They offer an afternoon lunch every day for 120 pesos (about $6 USD). It includes the main dish, sometimes a soup, as well, and a local fruit drink. The food was amazing...better than restaurant food in my opinion. I am a vegan, and have been for about 40 years. The cook was always able to make sure my food was vegan. My friend and my oldest daughter are not vegan, and he loved the food, as well. My youngest daughter is a picky vegetarian, and she thought the food was good, too. There are events pretty often, as well. I would recommend going on the weekend excursions when you can. It was relatively cheap, compared to anything else I could find, but was top notch. For example, one trip, we went to a cenote (not one frequented by tourists, but a semi-private one that was absolutely beautiful), Mayan ruins (Uxmal), and then to an abandoned Hausienda. The tour guide was amazing (he is a Spanish teacher at La Calle, as well, so it was like an extra Spanish lesson on the side). He was very knowledgeable about the places we went to and helped us understand everything we needed/wanted to know. The trip I mentioned in this example was about 1000 pesos, but excluded our entry fees and meal. All together, we spent less than 1500 pesos each, I think (about $75 USD) for a full day of amazing...definitely worth it. The school offers other events, too. They give you a list every Sunday evening by email, and then also at school. And if it's not on the list, ask them...they may be able to do it. For example, we asked for cooking classes. At one of the cooking classes we went to (by the same cook that works at the school...she is amazing) we learned how to make salsas and burrito shells, and then used that to make a meal. It only costed us 250 pesos each ($12.50). You can barely eat at a restaurant for that! So, if you're looking for a place to learn Spanish, this is it. The teachers are amazing at what they do and they are friendly. The classes are very relatable to you...it's not mindless worksheets all the time like in the USA. The food is amazing (I preferred eating here than anywhere else in town). The excursions offered outside of class are amazing with a great price. Talking about price, this school is much cheaper than a lot of other schools I've seen. This is the school you should go to if you want to learn Spanish! I hope my review helps them because I and my family really enjoyed it there. If we are able to get to travel to Mexico again, we will definitely be going back. Thank...

I loved my experience at La Calle. I arrived as a barely A2 Spanish student lacking confidence in speaking. After 5 weeks of intensive group classes I had moved onto B1 and felt comfortable navigating almost every part of daily life in México with Spanish speakers. The classes are small, the learning method is conversation-based with some worksheets as scaffolding to support grammar concepts. Writing assignments for homework improve your writing skills and serve as the basis for class discussions. The teachers ensured all students had speaking time and rotated classes week to week. The teachers are definitely a highlight of the school: They corrected us kindly, gave recommendations around Mérida, and shared pieces of their lives with us, which made the classroom a place of camaraderie and cultural exchange.

La Calle has great programs for total beginners as well, but I believe arriving with a little theoretical Spanish helps immensely with this method, because you can focus on speaking and listening and higher-level grammar, rather than acquiring vocabulary. The students generally seemed to be a mix of European, Canadian, and USians; some of the folks we met were in their mid 20s on a gap year or digital nomad adventure, while others were retirees. We started classes in February, which was a busy month at La Calle. By the time the Mérida heat began to set in in March, there were fewer students; it's a good time to come if you want more 1-on-1 attention. It was easy to chat with other students during breaks and lunch and form little groups to do different activities together, like visit cafés or beaches. Another student commented to me that this level of camaraderie is unique, and that she hadn't previously experienced it at other language schools in México.

The school building itself is lovely, colorful and with a sweet garden. It's located in the more touristy part of centro, which is convenient for most visitors. As is common in México, there is no air conditioning, but the ceiling fans in every room and building construction keep things relatively cool. Erika, who runs the kitchen, is a genius and we ate the delicious, affordable vegetarian meals many times. Fer leads the admin and community side, scheduling activities after classes and on weekends. We had an amazing group tour of Uxmal ruins, a cenote and a historic hacienda, totally in (slow, patient) Spanish.

Committing to several weeks of intensive Spanish classes is an investment and a big undertaking. There is no better place in Mérida to do so than La Calle. I am confident the time, effort, and money we put into this great place has been a great investment for our Spanish skills and for our knowledge of México...

Great school! I did two weeks of intensive Spanish course at La Calle in October 2024 at the beginning of my traveling in Mexico and everything was amazing. I had basically no previous knowledge of Spanish except for the numbers 0-20 and a couple of basic sentences which I studied on my flight from Europe to Merída. The first group, which I was assigned to, was challenging. There were for example a person, who had already two weeks of Spanish courses at the school and persons living in Mexico as well, so I felt quite challenged in order to keep up, but this was exactly what I needed and wanted. The classes were based on communication between the students and fun exercises, the grammar parts were not held too long, the homework tasks were not too long at all. You don’t need to buy any study books, which is a plus. The teachers would speak only Spanish with us, which at the beginning is a bit challenging but also contributing to the progress of learning. After the first week and just having a feeling that I caught up with the level and start to feel really comfortable, I was assigned to another group for the second week, with some new and more advanced students - so I kept to be challenged (in a very productive and positive way) until the very last day and was able to get the maximum out of the lessons. All the three different teachers I experienced - Amanda, Saúl and Octavio were highly professional, very friendly, open for feedback any time, very understandable and patient with our questions or with us not understanding things. What also made the process of learning very enjoyable for me personally was the positive, open-minded and joyful attitude of the teachers, their sense of humor and the lightness, which they brought into the learning process (I wish I could have experienced more of this during school and university education in Europe as well…:). The ambient of the school with its lovely patio was inviting for conversations at the breaks or after classes. There were also activities in the evenings or on the weekends for extra language practicing organized by the school. Organization and communication including payment procedure were all easy, effective and client-orientated, here thanks to community manager Fer. Now five weeks after the completion of the course and practicing with just speaking while traveling I can say that I am able to manage almost all of the simple traveling needs and conversations in Spanish. 1000% recommendation! Thank you,...