To promote and develop the teaching of Spanish and Mayan languages while working in unity and cooperation.
To help the student in his or her process of learning a language.
To share and make known Mayan culture by means of diverse components such as: history, spirituality, weaving, medicine, etc.
To organize and promote activities and projects by making adequate use of human resources, materials, etc. in diverse communities.
To form and maintain friendships and social connections among students, teachers, and host families
Our Teaching Methodology
Centro Maya Xela uses an intensive one-on-one program with one teacher per student. Classes last 5 hours per day with a 30 minute break Monday through Friday. This program applies to Spanish and Mayan language classes. Each teacher uses diverse techniques and methods according to the needs and level of the student in order to improve the student's fluency in both the oral and written aspects of the language. Language study is combined with themes such as Latin American literature, Mayan culture, Mayan spirituality, liberation theology, sociology, anthropology, political science, gender equality, and other themes of interest to each individual student. This process is complemented with diverse activities as you can see in the following calendar of activities.
Generally, the students are split into three levels:
Beginner: A person who knows almost nothing of the language. It might be the student's first contact with the language or he or she might already have some basic knowledge of the language.
Intermediate: A person who is familiar with verb tenses in the present, past, and future. The student may or may not be fluent.
Advanced: A person who knows the language and wants to perfect it, learn idioms, or study some aspects of Mayan or Latin American culture.
TEACHERS
We are a group of professionals of Mayan ancestry in the majority. Some of us have more than 15 year of experience as Spanish teachers, and all of us have at least 5 years of experience. We are all well qualified academically with university studies. Some of us have already graduated with post-graduate degrees in Education and Agronomy while others of us are pursuing degrees in Law, Economics, Psychology and Social Work. This means we can offer our students not only excellent language instruction, but also an ample knowledge of the Guatemalan and Latin American reality.
Centro Maya Xela uses an intensive one-on-one program with one teacher per student. Classes last 5 hours per day with a 30 minute break Monday through Friday. This program applies to Spanish and Mayan language classes. Each teacher uses diverse techniques and methods according to the needs and level of the student in order to improve the student's fluency in both the oral and written aspects of the language. Language study is combined with themes such as Latin American literature, Mayan culture, Mayan spirituality, liberation theology, sociology, anthropology, political science, gender equality, and other themes of interest to each individual student. This process is complemented with diverse activities as you can see in the following calendar of activities.
We are a group of professionals of Mayan ancestry in the majority. Some of us have more than 15 year of experience as Spanish teachers, and all of us have at least 5 years of experience. We are all well qualified academically with university studies. Some of us have already graduated with post-graduate degrees in Education and Agronomy while others of us are pursuing degrees in Law, Economics, Psychology and Social Work. This means we can offer our students not only excellent language instruction, but also an ample knowledge of the Guatemalan and Latin American reality.
