My instructor has a gift for teaching. I had struggled with the language tremendously until I came to this school.

The teaching is excellent at this school. I thought I was going to stay for one week, but stayed for five weeks in total. Everything is tailored to meet the student´s needs: teaching methods, hours, and after-school activities. This is one of the less expensive schools in Antigua, but because it is run by the teachers, for the teachers, they earn a higher wage, attracting more experienced instructors. The garden we studied in was simple, but well-tended, with beautiful views of the mountains. The family they placed me with is awesome. They´ve been housing spanish students for twenty years, and seem to really enjoy the experience. I would definitely recommend trying the Escuela de Cooperacion.

I had a blast learning Spanish, salsa dancing, taking trips to the market, and getting to know the friendly staff at the Cooperative Community of Teachers. The host family provided us exellent accomodation and home-cooked Guatemalan meals. I highly reccommend this school.

Great town and an awesome getaway from chaos. The school was above average for Antigua. As with the rest of the schools in Guatemala, the teachers speak only Spanish which kind of slows things down a bit (as opposed to Costa Rica and Mexico). One thing that MANY students were rather upset about was the fact that this school is NOT a "cooperation" of language instructors. Whether or not it was in the past or not I do not know, but other students felt scammed because they thought they were supporting the teachers and not a business that exploits the Guatemalan instructors. This school recruits students who are teachers themselves and many felt it was false advertising. I would suggest going in the "rainy" season if you have allergies or are disgusted by fumes and exhaust because in the dry season there is n o relief from the fumes and dust. The rain cleans the air and makes things fresh and everything so clean. For that I was kind of let down. But everyone can't help but love Antigua and its people. Awesome experience as a whole.

The owner is sleazy and greedy. He charged me $8 to wash a small bag of laundry. Also there are ZERO activities offered after classes. The only excursion I went on was on Friday in place of my regularly scheduled class.

I was many times in Antigua for longer and shorter periods where I have seen several bigger and smaler language schools. The nicest school of all those I visited was „cooperation“ and I have returned there often. The school is serious and you learn a lot, but the school is also able to organise a party or excursion if the students like it and it is appropriate. I had a great time there and speak fluently Spanish now. Try it out, you will have a lot of fun and be soon master of a new language!

I spent 3 months studying at Escuela de Español "Cooperación" (Spanish School Cooperación) in Antigua, Guatemala and I highly recommend it. Here’s why. First, the teachers are great and have a lot of experience. Jorge Mario basically runs the show although he occasionally teaches classes as well. I communicated with Jorge Mario via email before arriving and he was very helpful. We arranged for him to pick me up at the airport but the day I arrived he was quite sick with the flu. Still, he sent someone in his place and still came out in a terrible rain to meet me at the school and then took time to quickly walk me through town and show me some things. I also did some activities with Jorge Mario (whose nickname is “El Sapo”) and always enjoyed spending time with him. My teacher was Milly and she is very professional and experienced – I think one of the most experienced in Antigua, actually. She has a teaching system with materials she developed herself and in my 3 months I started at the beginning and made it through all of the materials, getting a very solid grammar foundation with plenty of time to actually have conversation in class. I don’t think I am especially good at language but I met many students from other schools and with only a couple of exceptions it seemed that I had learned more in a shorter time. I also never met anyone who had a better study of the dreaded subjunctive than I had with Milly. But, Milly isn’t just a great teacher, she is also a great person who is easy to talk with. She also knows a lot about Antigua and you can learn a lot besides Spanish from talking with her. The school is one of the more reasonably priced schools and they are flexible in terms of scheduling. I didn’t need much flexibility but some of the other students did and I saw that they were accommodated every time. You can also start pretty much any day of the week and study for pretty much any duration you can manage. The Cooperación is a small school which has its pluses and minuses. You get great attention and all the teachers are experienced and professional. But, if one of your goals is to make a ton of friends with other students, there will obviously be less opportunities at a smaller school. Still, I met wonderful people from Norway, Germany, Ireland, France, U.S., Canada, UK, etc. The only aspect of the school I can’t talk about from direct experience is the homestay as I chose to stay for 3 months and got my own apartment (which El Sapo helped me find). But, it seemed that others students at the school who stayed with local families did have a good experience. So, there are a lot of school choices in Antigua and I am sure you won’t go wrong with many of them. But, if you aren’t decided yet on a school, I recommend you check out the Cooperación.

I enjoyed this school so much that I stayed June-July 2009 and studied for 6 weeks! The variety of activities for students (films, tours, chicken bus rides, markets) was wonderful and gave me a real feel for the culture. Materials that the school provided was more than I saw at other schools and I still use the materials back home 6 months later. The school coordinator was very welcoming and flexible to my schedule. If I had a set up my own weekend excursion, I could change my class schedule for a Friday or any days. The model of a cooperative school is beneficial to the teachers and students. Prices are lower but quality of teacher is high. I highly recommend Escuela de Espanol Cooperacion!!

I have studied at Cooperacion for two months and have had an outstanding experience. I had a sketchy knowledge of Spanish to begin with and I am wanting to achieve fluency as I am starting a business as a tour guide in Latin America. I have made considerable progress thanks to Mily's profound understanding of the language learning process, Cooperacion's excellent system for learning Spanish and the opportunity to integrate my learning through fascinating conversation and field trips. They were also able to address my particular needs. The home stay was great. Price wise it's one of the best deals in Antigua and all proceeds go to the teachers as opposed to the owner of the school. I feel that my study there has not only given me a solid knowledge of Spanish but also a deeper insight into Guatemalan culture. I recommend Cooperacion without reservation!

When I came to Antigua about 2 months ago I had no understanding of Spanish and having never studied another language before I knew I was in the deep end. My I spent my first week at a school that gave me lots of new words but they never told me how exactly I could use them. So after feeling disappointed with my minimal progress I decided to try Cooperative of Spanish Teachers in Antigua. The difference was huge. I was given new words and the tools to use them. Within a single week I could communicate lots of useful things with crucial words and in no time I was giving it a go out on the street. Jorge Mario (the coordinator) would call it building a firm base on which to build from. The school provides lots of materials to study with and a structure to the learning. Something that many other schools don't seem to offer. I found this to be crucial to my learning because without it I believe I'd still be learning random words without the ability to construct complex sentences. It's amazing what you can do with a few well placed words. I've now been studying with the school for over 7 weeks and I can't believe how far I have come! The teaching is truly professional, the classes are fun and the satisfaction is well and truly through the roof. I highly recommend this school to anyone, but particularly to those who want to get the most out of their time. I guess that's why I'll be hanging around for another few months!