INSTITUTO CULTURAL OAXACA - 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez

Wonderful school. Terrific faculty, beautiful grounds, and a progressive curriculum. While in Oaxaca I recommended this school to an acquaintance from Switzerland who wasn't getting much from the classes she was taking at a different school, and she thanked me profusely.

I studied with ICO for the month of Feb 2018. Overall it was a great experience. I had a wonderful teacher, all of the staff were helpful and friendly. The cultural classes were challenging and interesting, although the offerings changed week to week and weren't always interesting to me. I'm glad I didn't book the four weeks up front, which gave me a bit more flexibility at a slightly higher cost. I would definitely study with ICO again.

I studied here for 3 weeks. Great place and ok staff. I stayed at a home stay and was not informed i’d be living with 2 dogs and a cat which is fine but give a heads up for the people that’s allergic. Also when you pay in Peso be SURE to remind them of the 5% discount that you should receive because they will not give it to you if you don’t remind them. Be very clear about what you want and always follow up with the staff! Oaxaca is beautiful and class at ICO are good.

I lived in Oaxaca and studied at ICO for 2 months. Going into my trip, I was really apprehensive about being in Oaxaca alone and how effective the school would be at helping me to acquire the language. I had the best experience! ICO absolutely surpassed my expectations. The office staff were warm and friendly, the teachers were personable, and the workshops were really fun. It was super easy to meet new friends, and there are always a million things happening at night in the zocalo, so it's impossible to get bored (and a great place to practice what you learned in class)! I highly recommend the ICO experience to everyone on the planet.

My teacher, Herman, and the staff have been wonderful. The main program is a ton of effort, but after a week of level A2 I can already talk to random strangers in Oaxaca with more confidence, after 2 weeks I have been able to converse with different people across industries in Mexico. All learning it takes effort on your part, but the school is willing to do as much work as you. Thank you for 2 great weeks.

Loved this place. Had a wonderful teacher with only 4 or 5 other students in class. The grounds are lovely, and the busy staff very helpful. When I was disappointed with my assignment in a home stay they immediately found me a better one. Very inexpensive as well. Plus, beautiful Oaxaca too.

I spent a month studying here and, after reading the mixed reviews, they are true. The instructors are hit-or-miss: zero structure or really good teaching skills. The class sizes are unpredictable, from 1 to 8 students. The grounds are beautiful but they are on a busy intersection where there is always lots of street noise and protests, a common theme in Oaxaca and around this school. Lucero sounds sweet via email but she doesn't appear to treat her staff well or provide good in-person service (ex: asking a staff member for a couple of blank pieces of paper to take notes one morning was an issue, and a response to a fair Q if the cooking classes were held on site or elsewhere yielded a sarcastic response of 'with 2,100 sq meters of space, you don't think we have place for a kitchen?'). Charging you for milk for your coffee. They also forced a study to return their used photocopy booklet when she needed to change levels... were they going to use the remaining pages? As well, they inflate the rates on the tours they offer, taking a cut but also having guides collect entry fees prior to visiting sites that were double the real prices (ex: Hierva el Agua). As well, a friend missed the tour bus in the morning because she went to the washroom for 2 min beforehand even though she spoke to the driver beforehand to make sure she could go, and the school refused to refund her. Ridiculous. The homestay experience (I didn't use it) received mixed reviews from friends but was generally quite costly; I found many private AirBNBs for half the cost with better conditions, although all the families are exceptionally warm and great people. This will depend on your interests while in Oaxaca. Overall, for the cost and quality of teaching, you're better off at another school or studying in another country, like Guatemala. If you can afford it, one-on-one lessons are also much better. I don't like leaving a mixed review because the staff are generally super sweet but this is a clearly a school that needs to step it's game up.

I loved this school, the teachers and the people I met. They have an intercambio program that pairs you with someone local who wants to practice English and helps you practice your Spanish, which helped me become integrated into the city and not feel as much like a tourist. The weekend trips that were offered, especially to learn more about the Day of the Dead celebrations, were outstanding. There were so many opportunities to learn outside of the classroom as well as inside.