Guatemala365 - A Survey of Spanish Schools - Learn Spanish in Guatemala

Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School

Address

Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School
6 Ave 5-39, Zone 3
Cobán
(+502)-7951-2459, (+502)-5819-4640

Registration
Write to the school
Location Map

Rank

85%

Prices

150 USD for 20 hours per week including host family
90 USD for 20 hours per week without host family
Study one hour daily more or less: add or subtract about USD 20 per week.

School Size

1-12 students

Openings

This school currently has openings!

Summary

Muqb′ilb′e is a well hidden school in a nice backyard garden. The director Jaime Macz, as well as his six allied teachers have a long standing experience in the Spanish instruction. Enjoy this family ambiance, solid teaching, well sought out host families and activities accompanied by Jaime himself - making them an extra Spanish class. In this school you are in good hands!
Founded in 1993 by Oscar G. Macz.
Total immersion in Cobán is very good, because there are not many tourists.

Registration

Free Sign Up

It is recommended that future students give at least two weeks notice, to allow time to make all necessary arrangements. Especially, for busy times like summer and end of year!

Need more information?
Write to the school!

With a timely registration, the school can assign you the best teacher from its list. (Contact us for group discounts).

Photo Gallery of Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School (click here)

Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School - Details

Teachers

There are six teachers with an average of 4 to 8 years of experience. Teachers earn US$45 per week.

Methods

As it is normal in most of the Spanish schools in Guatemala, this school employs the very effective one-on-one Spanish instruction, which has proven to be very effective in the students rapid advance in the Spanish language.

Materials

The school has quite a collection of Spanish textbooks, which staff knows intimately and uses depending the situation, blackboards are also used in instruction. [Show Details]

Location

In the Eastern part of Cobán you enter a driveway at the end of which you step into an enclosed garden with big somber trees and a corridor with a series of four cubicles. Cubicles are neat and quiet with big blackboards and windows, well ventilated and without any interference.

Activities

Activities are offered even if there is only one student at the school, provided he or she lives with a host family. The director Jaime accompanies students which makes activities a further Spanish class. [Show Details]

Host Families

The families that work with the school, have being sought out and trained by the director himself. [Show Details]

How to get there How get there

Send yourself an e-mail with information on how to get to Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School.

The school is located one block before the Chiú bridge, which leads to San Juan Chamelco

Students' Feedback
Brian Tyler bptyler@gmail.com 07 / 2009	Hi, I studied at Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School in Coban for six weeks. I have maintained constant contact with the director, Jaime Macz, since my time there. My Spanish absolutely improved. I had previously taken five semesters of college level Spanish courses (four regular semesters and one summer session) at the University of Florida; yet, I can honestly say that I feel that I learned more and grew more comfortable speaking Spanish in the six short weeks I was at the school than I had during all of those semesters. My host family (which I will discuss below) contributed immensely to this outcome, as well. My program was one-on-one with the teacher -- in my case, Mr. Macz -- for four hours a day, five days a week; however, I know that they are flexible and willing to work with the students′ needs, whether it be more/less time or group lessons. Each student takes a brief "test" that gives the teacher a rough sense of what the student already knows, for the questions progress from very rudimentary to progressively more advanced skill levels. I imagine that each teacher has a slightly different teaching philosophy, so I will give you an example of my typical day with Mr. Macz; I would arrive in the morning, and our day would start with some questions: What did you do yesterday? Did you see the fútbol (soccer) game? How are you feeling being away from home? Etc... He always asked, if I had any general questions (i.e., about expressions I heard, the difference between words, problems in Coban) and then we would usually go over the homework assignment from the night before, which was related to the previous day′s lesson and was always a useful way to ease back into the lesson(s)... Indeed, life in Guatemala was a constant focus of lessons (both in and outside of the classroom). As I am a doctoral candidate in anthropology, beginning my dissertation fieldwork in Guatemala, Mr. Macz made sure to always include discussions with me about the details of my project and his thoughts and ideas about my research questions. I stayed with a host family, and I am so happy that I did. My family was accustomed to having students stay with them, and it was a wonderful way to get acclimated to the country and to life in Coban. Not only did they willingly include me in aspects of their busy lives, but they were very encouraging and, at times, forced me to practice what I had been learning when, I might otherwise have tried to hide away for some peace and quiet (and non-Spanish downtime). I know that there are a number of families associated with the school; however, I can only state that the family I stayed with was a great reflection on the school and of Guatemala in general. For after school activities, we had at least two out-of-the-classroom activities each week, with most Saturdays taken up by an all-day activity. For instance, among my adventures, I went to the Quetzal Biotopo, the Orchid Farm (Vivero Verapaz), the Sachichaj park waterfall, the Rey Marcos cave park, the church in Tac Tic, a coffee plantation, etc. Because he knew that my dissertation research involves work with a community of returned refugees, he also showed some movies about the conflict here and in El Salvador. I also had some problems and needs related to my research project, and he always helped me solve those problems himself (by helping me find contacts, taking me to the market, etc.), as well as introducing me to good places to eat around the city, stores to shop at, and the prices in the market. As I said earlier, I unequivocally recommend this school. I have visited Coban in the past and I visited a number of schools, both Guatemalan-run and the more corporate programs (a la Oxford), but, I was immediately taken with the hospitality and professional, yet laid-back, nature of the Muqb’ilb’e School. The school itself sits aside a beautiful and pleasant garden, filled with a variety of animals (both wild and domestic), trees, and flowers, and set back from the street and, hence, the noise of city life. Though my own personal experience has been with Mr. Macz, I also met two other teachers there, who were both kind, funny, patient, and quick to correct my many mistakes; I should add that they also both helped me with aspects of my project. I am more happy than I expected to be with my language school experience and I know my research will benefit as a result. I only wish I could have spent a couple more weeks learning Spanish there or, perhaps, that I could have studied Q′eqchi, which they also teach at the school. Perhaps next time... I would also like to add that Mr. Macz and his mother, Sandra, have become two of my closest personal friends in Guatemala as a result of my time there and I have already returned to Coban from my field site specifically to see them, as they are now confidantes and supporters of my goals in research and life. I really can not express enough how important my brief time at the school has been for me. Entering into a foreign environment, filled with all of the self-doubts that, I assume and hope, most graduate students have entering into the field, I hesitate to imagine where I would be without the training, guidance, and friendship I gained at the school. I would like to do so. Regards, Brian Tyler.
Ben Jorgensen bennijorgensen@hotmail.com 07 / 2009	Hello, I studied for two weeks at Muqb′ilb′e Spanish School in Coban. I had a good instructor, and his name was Jaime. Study materials were fine. My Spanish showed vast improvement, going from no knowledge of Spanish to being sufficient for discussions on subjects including local politics and geography. I stayed with David Unger′s family and consider my time with his family a valuable experience. I would recommend the school to others. Thanks, Ben.
Hiroshi Nakata hiroshi@cantab.net 06 / 2009	Hello, I studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban for 1 week on 15th June, 2009. My Spanish indeed improved a lot. My teacher was really professional. Sometimes with the text book and sometimes only orally. During the coffee break, staff of the school, other teachers and other students join and chatted in Spanish. Even in those periods teachers kindly gave us corrections. It was really enjoyable and useful lessons. The host families also had good understandings of foreign students and are very helpful. I was in Guatemala for a project and I attended the class during the project, therefore, after the class I continued my project. I would definitely recommend this school. I hope my answers help. Best regards, Hiroshi Nakata, Japanese.
Nathalie Parra parra_nathalie13@hotmail.com 04 / 2009	Hello, I wanted to inform you about my stay in Coban; I went to a school called Escuela de Español Muqb′ilb′e and had spanish courses with Jaime Macz, who is the manager of the school. He′s a young but very professional guy; he′s very patient and good teacher. I really improved my spanish. The place is simple, but very nice and quiet; furthermore, the one week of lessons (4 hours a day = 20 hours in total) includes 2 extra activities (visits to places on demand). The school also arranges your stay in a local family; I had a great time there and personally recommend this school. Best regards, Nathalie Parra.
Jeffrey Blumenthal sustainablejeff@gmail.com 01 / 2009	Hello, I studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban for one week. I studied in the last week of January 2009. My Spanish improved a lot. Jaime was awesome. I cannot speak highly enough about him - one of the best language teachers I′ve ever had. He moves at a rapid-fire pace, which I enjoyed and suited me well. He is patient, engaging, sweet, personable and interested in the lives of his students. He′s a young guy in his 30′s and grew up there and knows the local haunts. I cannot count the number of times he said, "bueno, chico". I did not stay with a host family. For after school activities, Jaime and I went to an absolutely gorgeous and secluded waterfall one day, but other than that there wasn′t much happening, I think it was kind of a slow week. I also, spend my first 3 weeks in Guatemala at another school in Xela. The teachers and students and staff there are all wonderful, kind, engaging people, but I was not having quite the experience I was hoping for, so I decided to travel some. (Of course, only then did I realize how much Spanish I′d learned!). I ended up in Coban with one week left in the country and landed at the Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School through an odd series of events. It turned out to be wonderful - lovely, open air setting -- the school is adjacent to his mother′s house and they share a beautiful yard, like a tiny jungle/garden paradise behind the city streets. We would take a casual tea and biscuit break every day in his mom′s kitchen (his mother is also wonderful and kind and pedagogic) and would talk about culture, music, politics, our families or anything else. And he has an adorable dog named "tiny"! There is a fantastic museum of Mayan artifacts a block or two from the school. I loved Coban, even though people (including Jaime) warned me that there were too many tourists to be truly immersed, but I didn′t find that to be a serious problem and probably easily overcome by staying with a host family and exploring. The beauty and culture of Coban made the tourist-heavy town worth it, anyway. I wish I had spent all 4 weeks there and would love to go back! I would absolutely recommend this school. Thanks for the website. It is a good resource. Regards, Jeffrey.
Laura Allison laura.ruth.allison@gmail.com 06 / 2008	Hello, I studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban for one week in June of 2008. My Spanish did improved, I was at a very, very basic level and left there with a bigger vocabulary. My teacher, Jaime, was very patient! He would speak only in Spanish, which helped to be fully immersed. We played a game to help with vocabulary. He knew how to start basic and moved at a great pace. I was living at about one block from the school and the host family was amazing! My brother and I were very welcomed! For after school activities, we went to caves with our instructor. My brother has since, gone back to the area just to visit our instructors. They were that amazing. I would recommend this school to anyone! In Guatemala, I had experience at two schools, and this one by far was my favourite. Coban is a great setting and Jaime and his mom were extremely welcoming. It is a great learning environment with very dedicated teachers. Sincerely, Laura.
David White david.white@macregion.org 06 / 2008	Hello, we studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban, for one week in June of 2008. Our Spanish did improved a lot. My teacher mainly worked on word study, vocabulary, verb clarification, conversation, local expressions, etc. We did not stay with a host family, because we live in Coban. We personally did not have time for extra activities after school. I would recommend this school, small school but very welcoming. We will study there again if time permits. Sincerely, David.
Ramon Ellenbroek rjmellenbroek@hotmail.com 03 / 2008	We just finished our Spanish classes at the Escuela de Español Muqb´ilbe in Coban. We studied there for two weeks. Coban really is a good city to study Spanish, you have to talk Spanish since there are no tourist or other people who talk English. The school gave us two intensive weeks of Spanish in a nice atmosphere. We had two teachers (we were with two persons and both had our own teacher), both were good. They have 15 years of experience, so they know what they are doing! Study materials were fine (English - Spanish lesson books were used). The host family they arranged for us was really great! We just felt right in our place! They were very good and friendly, you could notice that they did not have students around all the time and they were really interested in us!! (we ate with them all the time and had good and nice conversations!) Everything was good, it could only be a bit more professional, but that was our choice not do a more professional and small scale school. I would advice to add this school to your website. I Hope this helps. All the best, Ramon (29 years old) from the Netherlands.
Juanito Holland johnholland4@gmail.com 01 / 2008	Hello, I studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban, for 5 separate weeks over 2 winters in 2007 and 2008. My Spanish improved, immensely. I did stayed with three different host families and all were enjoyable. Jaime was really wonderful and we spent many afternoons visiting cultural events, local villages and the orchid nursery. I would highly recommend this school! Sincerely, Juanito.
Robin Shoaps shoaps@uchicago.edu 07 / 2007	Hello, I studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban. I studied for one and a half weeks, in Summer of 2007. My Spanish improved a lot. I was at an advanced level, so the instructor and I, reviewed some grammar and spent the time on conversation and reading comprehension (I learned Spanish initially from living in Mexico and my spelling was atrocious). I did homework assignments. I did not stay with a host family. I did not ask about after school activities. I am a scholar and was spending my afternoons doing my own research. I would recommend this school. Sincerely, Robin.
Linda Wenzel dielilalinda@yahoo.de 03 / 2004	Hello, I studied at Muqb’ilb’e Spanish School in Coban, for 2 weeks in March of 2004. My Spanish definitely improved. My teacher worked really good, we arrange the way how I wanted to study. I did not stay with a host family. I didn′t do any after school activities, since I volunteered in the afternoons during and after finishing the 2 weeks. For sure, I would recommend this school!!! Because, they are sooo familiar with their students, have good teachers and help you a lot to arrange your stay. Cheers, Linda.