Certified - what does it mean?
Education
Our exceptional team of teachers are all certified through the Rural University of Guatemala, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education and The American-Guatemalan Institute.
Our Teachers
Introduction of our team
Andrea Dinan, Ed.D., Director | Service-Learning & Experiential ProgramsPrinceton Public Schools
This past summer, I had the pleasure of studying under Francisco Sajquiy González. Not only was Francisco a teacher who was wise and clearly familiar with teaching pedagogy, but he genuinely encouraged my success daily.
I studied with Francisco for approximately three weeks and during that time my Spanish improved immensely. He always had myriad teaching techniques in order to keep me interested and hungry to learn more about Guatemalan culture, its history, and its language.
Throughout my studies, I practiced through various mediums—writing, reading, speaking, playing games, etc. In such a short span of time I was able to track and gauge the rate in which I developed a solid Spanish skill set. I was able to have conversations with my host family and Francisco, explore San Pedro and feel comfortable conversing with locals, write letters to my three Spanish-speaking cousins, and read Guatemalan newspapers.
My experience in Guatemala with Francisco as my teacher was one I will cherish forever. He not only taught me how to learn Spanish in entertaining ways that were approachable, but he also embedded a deep love for the country and its culture that will stay with me forever. And for that, I am forever grateful.
I spent one week studying spanish with Francisco González in San Pedro and I would definitely recommend him to anyone travelling to this part of the world. I only wish I could have stayed longer!
I was able to make excellent progress with my Spanish in the time that I did have. Francisco was able to pinpoint my current Spanish level at a very early stage and figure out the areas in which I could do with the most help.
Francisco was really energized throughout the process and great at finding innovative ways of teaching. He was also responsive to what I wanted to get out of it, and tailored the lessons so that I could improve both my grammar and my conversational ability. I also really enjoyed how enthusiastic Francisco was about Guatemala in general and San Pedro in particular.
Definitely the best Spanish teacher I have ever had and I really hope to be able to come back in the future.
I highly recommend Francisco Sajquiy as a teacher of the Spanish language. Francisco assisted me with language learning for almost three weeks last summer. He was patient and clear and followed a structured curriculum for learning. Francisco was engaging and developmentally appropriate, using a variety of assessment strategies to monitor and evaluate learning. He was the consummate professional, always on time and prepared with new multimedia based strategies to supplement our lessons.
More importantly, Francisco is a life-long learner and has continued to develop as an educator by studying in University. In addition, Francisco demonstrates a real passion when discussing teaching and topics regarding current events-- we were never without topics to discuss (which might have been the best language practice of all). Francisco is an intelligent, personable, energetic, and mature person with a concrete, ongoing, well-rooted interest in teaching. In short, it is clear to me that Francisco is and will continue to be devoted to becoming the best kind of educator.
I feel confident that Francisco will make a significant contribution as an educator. I give him my highest recommendation for any teaching positions.
After searching the web for sometime i finally decided to book with Community Spanish School in San Pedro La Laguna. It was an excellent choice. The school is situated on a beautiful spot right on the lake, making it a fabulous place for learning. My teachers Maria and Fransisco were both highly experienced and talented teachers. I studied for 5 hours a day, which might seem like a long time, but because my teachers were so well organized the lessons flowed and time flew by. I had a blast learning Spanish here. As well, the host family that I lived with were very accommodating and made me feel like I was part of their family. The other teachers and staff at the school were very helpful and friendly. If you want to study in Spanish in Guatemala I highly recommend Community Spanish School
Aleatha Ius
I originally chose this school for the central, lake-front location and the nice looking grounds. Although this wasn't the best reason for choosing a Spanish school it turned out to be the best Spanish school I could have asked for.
One of the highlights is that the teachers all have 8 years experience teaching Spanish and are also part owners of the school. They are very proud of their school and make sure their students get the best from them.
My girlfriend and I studied here for two weeks and it was nothing short of excellent. Maria and Selvin (our teachers) we so nice, and are such good teachers that we were able to travel through the rest of Central America confidently speaking basic Spanish after our two weeks at the school.
We chose what we wanted to learn, and they worked with us to get the results we needed for our travels. It was a lot of fun.
The school I would recommend as one of the best value Spanish schools in Central America. Cannot speak highly enough...thank you Selvin and Maria.
Leigh Webber
Being at this school was an unbelievable experience on many levels. There are quite a few different Spanish schools to choose from but this one by far has the most stunning views! You get the luxury of learning one-on-one Spanish in your own private hut! They provide fresh Guatemalan coffee as well! You get to know all the teachers that work there quite quickly as they genuinely enjoy chatting with you and watching you progress in your new language. There is also a homestay option which is a fabulous experience. I spent a week with the family, and they loved showing you their culture, way of life and doing activities with you. You stay in a lovely room and enjoy three meals a day with them. The kids are also a blast to hang out with, I recommend playing soccer or basketball with them. There are also options after school each day to practice cultural activities such as salsa dancing. This is a great way to put your Spanish to use in a fun setting and practice with other Spanish speakers. If you are a traveller on a budget, the lake is one of the cheapest spots to learn Spanish in Central America as well. Good luck!
Emily McIntyre
I showed up to Guatemala only knowing how to say hello and goodbye. At the end of two weeks with community spanish school, I could make short conversations. Using the material they gave me, I kept studying and now I have conversations in the streets in Mexico. These teachers are very good and very professional, especially Luis. My teacher was very well educated, polite, and patient. To this day he still checks in on me and how I'm doing. Oh and they came to my hotel! Muchos Gracias mis amigos. Nos vemos!
Art Reisinger
What Our Students Say...
Read some stories of our former students and how they experienced the San Pedro Community Spanish School.
Our qualified teachers have an average of eight to eleven years of experience; all are certified to teach Spanish by the Rural University of Guatemala, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education and The American-Guatemalan Institute.
We are an exceptional team of motivated and enthusiastic teachers, ready to accompany our students on their journey to become Spanish language speakers.
I have had the privilege of studying Spanish with Francisco Sajquiy for two weeks now and do not hesitate to recommend him to other potential students. Francisco has made learning Spanish straightforward and easy while tailoring courses to my individual needs. We started our coursework by discussing why I wanted to study Spanish, then he crafted a course for me that charted how I would learn. Along the way Francisco has done an excellent job connecting with me on a personal level, sharing parts of his culture, his family & history, and the interrelationship of the Spanish language with the history & culture of Guatemala. All the while he has maintained a professional demeanor as well as patiently and effectively correcting me and improving my Spanish. Our coursework has been a multifaceted mixture of listening, reading, comprehension exercises, music, etc. that has kept learning new, effective, and fun. I highly recommend Francisco and hope you get the opportunity to study with him soon!
I highly recommend Lorenzo as a Spanish teacher in San Pedro, Guatemala. I was fortunate enough to spend six weeks studying with Lorenzo at the beginning of a year long trip through Central and South America. I had only very little exposure to Spanish before commencing classes. Lorenzo provided a professional and friendly learning environment with classes including both conversation and grammar. With Lorenzo’s many years of teaching experience he was able to tailor lessons to my ability level, meaning that classes were both challenging and fun! These classes gave me the language skills to communicate confidently with Spanish speakers and provided me with a strong foundation to continue to build upon over the course of my trip.
I recommend Lorenzo as a teacher to all who want to learn Spanish quickly with a competent teacher and in a pleasant atmosphere.
Lorenzo was my Spanish teacher for 12 weeks in 2014. I learned with him grammar, common vocabulary, expressions commonly used in daily life. He taught me the language content through history and description of the Guatemalan society, the mayan culture and its various embranchments. Moreover Lorenzo has a way of teaching that makes you interested and the matter become easy. It uses case studies and performs analysis by introducing you to new words and grammatical rules. Lorenzo is a senior professor, able to discuss everything with you. And these qualities do not prevent it from being close to his students and devoted to make them learn in a pleasant atmosphere. I recommend Lorenzo as a teacher to all who want to learn Spanish quickly with a competent teacher and in a pleasant atmosphere.
I highly recommend Francisco and hope you get the opportunity to study with him soon!
Manuela was not only an incredible teacher but has become a great friend. During classes Manuela had the patience of a saint, she was always kind and enthusiastic but also strict when necessary.
My teacher Manuela has been such an influential person in my life. I had the pleasure of taking 5 weeks of classes. She was not only an incredible teacher but has become a great friend. During classes Manuela had the patience of a saint, she was always kind and enthusiastic but also strict when necessary. I came to class each day very motivated to study but after a few hours I just wanted to chat and she made sure that I took advantage of every minute of my time. She made the content very engaging and relevant to my life. I am a Spanish Major and wanted to take classes in order to maintain my level and Manuela was amazing. She worked with me on specific aspects that I struggled with (subjunctive) and over the course of 5 weeks my Spanish level improved and felt more natural than ever. She has years of experience and it would be hard for me to study with anyone else. She is an amazing human being and anyone who has the chance to study with her should consider themselves very lucky!