Background:
I've now taken classes at Cervantes, UNAM, Spanish Language Center and Spanish Lessons Chicago / Latin American Language Center, so I have seen a decent cross section of what is available here in Chicago.
In my opinion, SLC is definitely worth trying and can be a very good value if you do the membership deal ($600 for 6 months all the classes you can take model). I took Beginner 0, 1 and 2 this Jan - June. Could have taken Beg 3, too, but got pretty busy at work and needed to take a break. I would also suggest that SLC is most useful for learning the basics and rules of the language, but it's not (at least not yet) been a great place for practicing much conversational spanish. This could be a function of my still being pretty early in the progression (Beginner 2) or the nature of the classes, where you've got 7 - 10 classmates and you go around the table taking turns translating examples and asking simple questions. So, it can be a help to start learning but you will definitely want to do other things to practice outside of the weekly class time.
What I like:
* The curriculum is clear.
You know what you will be covering in each section (e.g. Beg 1, Beg 2) and in each specific class (e.g. class 1 of Beg 2, class 2 of Beg 2). I can't say the same of the other places I have studied.
* The text / materials are clear, straightforward and useful.
I have also purchased a number of general spanish exercise books online and prefer the workbooks that SLC has put together to complement their classes (Note: these materials do cost extra, but are pretty reasonable. ~$35 or so per class, I think).
* They seem to draw a consistent mix of people who want to learn and consistently show up. So as you track through their levels you can be taking classes with familiar faces, which can be comfortable.
What could be better:
* Consistency of student levels
This is a challenge everywhere I've taken classes. Not sure it can be solved. Seems you're always destined to have some folks who are in a bit over their head and others who maybe should be in the next class up. This mix can make some lessons a bit choppy. But I've seen this everywhere.
* Consistency of the teachers
I have had classes with 3 or 4 different teachers now, sometimes within the same track (e.g first 3 or 4 classes of Beg 2 started with one teacher, last 3 classes have been with another). Styles vary and just when you really start to click with one teacher he might be be gone without explanation. All of the teachers I've had have been pretty good, so it's not an awful drop off. But just know you should expect this kind of variety. The materials are the constant, the teachers may vary. read more
