Ana Maria is an absolutely fantastic teacher. Her knowledge of the language and its grammatical details is of course excellent, but many Spanish schools can say the same. What makes Ana Maria exceptional is that she knows how - and clearly loves - to teach. I felt she really made an effort every day to adapt the lesson so that it matched our needs exactly and we never felt like we were wasting our time. She is also very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her hometown and is eager to provide you with useful ideas about what to do. In short, she is doing what she was born to do and we consider ourselves very lucky to have head her as a teacher.
Ryan and Kate
Canada
Ana’s class was terrific. My girlfriend and I only knew a few Spanish words before taking her class, and by the end we felt comfortable navigating quite a broad range of practical situations in Spanish. Ana’s teaching style is natural, clear, and fun. One of the best aspects of taking Ana’s class was that her lesson’s were always extremely useful, because she was always took great care to focus on subjects and scenarios that we were interested in learning about. I’d definitely recommend her classes to anyone who wishes to learn Spanish in a comfortable environment.
Blake and Michelle
The USA
I spent two weeks receiving private lessons with Ani in February 2012. My classes were a combination of theory and her contemporary Spanish-On-The-Road Program. I wanted very specific lessons that would enable me to both prepare for my month of volunteering as an occupational therapist in an orphanage in Bolivia, as well as to experience the local delights of Mendoza.
Ani is an exceptional teacher and not only did she help me to learn vocabulary specific to my volunteer project but she also has a very strong understanding of Latin American culture and incorporated the importance of this in our lessons.
She will also cater your Spanish on the road to meet your interests, which for me was epitomized in our day trip to the thermal pools where we practiced conversational spanish over gourmet lunch and local wine, before having our formal lessons beside the thermal pools and surrounded by the Andean Mountains.
She was also able to incorporate my love for empanadas into a learning experience as my final lesson was an empanada cooking class. Ani is always professional and prepared and has a huge repertoire of learning materials that are very interactive (this for me was a huge bonus as I studied in other Latin American countries that were purely pen and paper activities).
So, if you are looking for a Spanish teacher who will enable you to meet very specific needs and as an added bonus lives in one of the most enchanting parts of Argentina then look no further because Ana Maria Troncosco is for you.
Tarryn
Australia
If you are looking for a good Spanish teacher in Mendoza, I can highly recommend Ana Maria. My husband and I did a 2 week beginner intensive course with her and she was brilliant, so patient and professional with us and tailored the course to what we needed and wanted to learn for our 6 months trip around Sth America. We did however do the international Spanish levels so if we want to pursue it further we have the correct paperwork with us. Our classroom was on a lovely patio under the grapevine at Ana Maria’s house. This made for a very relaxed environment and there were a lot of laughs, usually at ourselves, which according to Ana Maria is the best way to learn. Being a teacher myself it was difficult being a student again, but Ana had a huge range of different and interesting activities to keep us on track.
Sian and Tim
Australia and New Zealand
Ana recognized that we were learning because we love to travel, not to write an exam or work in Spanish. So our lessons were heavily focused on practical use, social chit-chat, restaurants, taxis, and shopping. But she also understood that we needed to study grammer to understand what we were hearing, and gave us the framework we needed. We were delighted.
Tom + Michelle Berend
Toronto
Besonders gut hat mir die freundschaftliche Art der Vermittlung von Theorie, Praxis und Kultur der spanischen Sprache gefallen. Ana Maria vermittelt mit sehr viel Freude, Geduld und Verstaendnis auf den persoenlichen Bedarf abgestimmt.
Manora Gerber
Germany
My name is Rachel Klomp and I took private Spanish classes with Ana when I lived in Mendoza (March-November 2007). Ana is a wonderful teacher! Her classes are conducted professionally and efficiently. At the same time, her style is very relaxed and open so I never felt worried or embarrassed about making mistakes.
The first day of class we sat down together and I let her know exactly what I was hoping to learn, and she was able to cater the classes to my needs with a vast variety of helpful teaching materials. I tried taking Spanish classes at other places in the area, but Ana offered the best price for the best quality.
Another great thing about working with Ana was the scheduling. I had an extremely busy and erratic schedule while I lived there, and Ana accommodated our lessons to meet my needs in that way too.
Rachel Klomp
USA
Ana Maria gave me some of my earliest Spanish lessons. She was always cheerful, patient, and encouraging in her teaching, and she gave us plenty of opportunities to speak in Spanish, which is one of the keys to being able to use what you have learnt outside the classroom. Thoroughly recommended.
Carl Beuke
I too had a great experience learning from Ana Maria! I only spent 2 weeks her and she really increased my level and gave me much more confidence in speaking (my listening also improved greatly).
Tyng Wang
The USA
If you’re looking for a good Spanish teacher in Mendoza, get in touch with Ana Maria. She gave me private class back in November 2009 and we met again in February 2010 to visit vineyards. So you get Spanish lessons with real profesora and wine knowledge at the same time.
Ana a été ma professeure d’espagnol lors de mon séjour à Medoza. Elle est très expérimentée dans l’enseignement de l’espagnol aux étrangers. De plus elle est experte en vin. Nous avons fais plusieurs dégustations de vins et ça été génial. C’est une très bonne personne. Vous pouvez compter sur Ana, elle ne vous laisseras pas tomber.
Jacques
Canada
Hi guys,
We are a couple travelling around South America at the moment, currently in Mendoza, Argentina.
We also wanted to add on to the many rave reviews of Ana María Troncoso and her Spanish in Mendoza Argentina (SIMA) school.
We have just done 2 weeks of classes with Ana at her gorgeous place in Mendoza. Well muchas gracias CSers, because we stumbled across cheese&crackers from the couchsurfing thread and we are so glad we took your advice and chose Ana as our Spanish teacher. The lessons were fun and informal (ie. we sat in her backyard drinking coffee and wine) whilst remaining professional. We were complete beginners and 2 weeks later have learned the basic foundations of the language - which is accredited by the way. Ana María is both a certified Spanish and English teacher, so although she tries to conduct the whole lesson in Español (which we learned a lot from), she is happy to help you out in English when you start to struggle :) We highly recommend her!
Also - Mendoza is such a nice place, a good choice to spend a bit of time in learning Español, climbing mountains and drinking wine of course :)
Rach and Lucian
Australia
Just to add my two cents, I too decided to stay in Mendoza for pretty much the reasons mentioned above. I spent a week doing private lessons with Ana Maria Troncoso (who was mentioned above) and would strongly recommend taking classes with her to anyone passing through Mendoza, even a single class with her would be helpful. I think I learned more from her in 2 hours a day for a week than 6 weeks of 4 hour a day classes in Peru. I really enjoyed Mendoza for the aforementioned reasons, but would warn people it has some of the most dangerous drivers I’ve run across on any of my travels (odd since when they’re not behind the wheel Mendocinos are some of the nicest people in Argentina which in itself is saying a lot :-)
Owen
Hi there
I saw this post when looking for a language school in Mendoza. I followed an earlier posted link which took me to Ana Maria Troncoso.
Can definitely recommend Ana if you´re looking to study in Mendoza, I took several hours of private classes with her and she was a brilliant patient teacher and tailored the lessons to exactly what I needed. She holds the classes at her house, and you´ll get to learn a lot about Argentinian culture too (she always offered me some traditional snacks, and Mate too which was interesting!) and she can offer you advice on good local restaurants to try/tour companies to use which I think is a big plus when you´re passing through a new place for the first time. Mendoza was a great place to visit, especially if you are interested in wine tours and seeing the Andes (which are easily accessible in a daytrip). We spent 10 days there which I think was a bit too long, so i´d say a week would be more than enough to get to know the place and practice your Spanish :)
Laura Prince
England
Ana was my Spanish teacher for a week in Mendoza. She is a lovely person and a great teacher. I had hoped to have had more lessons when I returned to Mendoza, but I was too disorganised!
Jodi Morrison
New Zealand
Ana is the best Spanish teacher I’ve ever studied with, and she is a lovely person, and gives great movie reviews! Her garden is the most beautiful classroom in Argentina.
Lindsay
Canada
She is very gracious and generous, and she is an awesome Spanish teacher! And her mother is awesome too, she made us an asado one day that was out of this world, the best asado I had in Argentina!!! Thanks for everything Ana Maria, I hope you visit me in Alaska or SF! You will always have a place to stay with me.
Tracy
USA
I ended up studying Spanish in Mendoza for 8 weeks with Ana Maria Troncoso, my private teacher. I learned an immense amount from her and would highly recommend her to anyone who is thinking of taking Spanish lessons in Mendoza.
Lachlan
Australia
Ana is a great teacher who accommodates her schedule due to necessities of her students. In my two weeks of studies in Mendoza, despite the amount of homework (tarea-will never forget this word!) I really enjoyed my classes that took place in her garden. We practised speaking a lot during the lectures and that gave me the confidence of speaking in Spanish wherever I go after Mendoza. Ana focuses on the needs of individual students so I believe within so short time I learned all I needed to use in my journey in South America. Our final lecture in Hotel Tower Suits with a brunch was excellent and I received my certificate there; such a nice memory to remember all throughout my life. I definitely recommend Ana for those who are willing to learn Spanish during their journeys in South America or even if you are not travelling but wanna learn Spanish quickly from a lovely profesora! If I get a chance to go to Mendoza again, I’d like to continue where we stop…Thanks very much for your teachings, patience and lovely approach Ana!
Damla
Istanbul, Turkey
Ana is thorough, patient, and above all fun and lively to have as a Spanish teacher. Her claim of “tailor-made lessons” is 100% accurate: I arrived with a level of Spanish that was already quite advanced; but she quickly managed to work out where my Spanish was lacking, and to focus her teaching in those areas. She’s also creative and spontaneous: my first lesson with her was an Argentine cooking class, where she invited myself and four other students, and taught us to make empanadas. It was a blast! If you want lessons from the best Spanish teacher in Mendoza, you need look no further.
Jeremy Epstein
Sydney, Australia
Ayant déjà de bonnes bases en espagnol et cherchant à améliorer certains points précis de mes connaissances (subjonctif, usages particuliers de ser/estar, expressions argentines,…), j’ai décidé après de nombreuses recommandations de contacter Ana. Après un test de connaissances, nous avons établi elle et moi un programme personnalisé sur 10 heures afin de travailler sur certaines de mes faiblesses en espagnol. Ana a été très flexible dans les horaires ainsi que dans le contenu du cours. Je recommande de contacter Ana à tous ceux qui comme moi parlent espagnol mais qui auraient besoin d’un petit coup de pouce dans certains aspect de la langue!
Josselin
France
Wir (meine Freundin und ich) haben uns im Mai 2011 für 3 Wochen Intensivkurs (20 Stunden pro Woche) bei Ana entschieden – und waren sehr froh über unsere Wahl! Ana war eine tolle, verständnisvolle und geduldige Lehrerin. Wir hatten keinerlei Vorkenntnisse und waren nach 3 Wochen in der Lage eigene Sätze zu bilden und uns auszudrücken. Durch die Grundkenntnisse die wir uns bei Ana angeeignet haben, ist das Reisen durch Südamerika nun um einiges angenehmer - und “sinnvoller”. Wir können Ana zu 100% weiterempfehlen - auf unserer Reise haben wir viele Leute getroffen, die mit den Spanischschulen in den Grossstädten nicht zufrieden waren. Einzelunterricht bei Ana ist effektiv und macht Freude.Neben dem reinen Unterricht war Ana uns immer eine Hilfe bei allmöglichen Fragen rund um Argentinien oder Mendoza. Besondere Freude hat uns die Kochstunde bereitet – die selbstgemachten Empanadas waren köstlich.Lange Rede, kurzer Sinn: Wir waren sehr zufrieden mit Ana als Lehrerin und würden jedem empfehlen, der Interesse hat die spanische Sprache zu lernen, den Unterricht bei ihr zu besuchen!
Matthias and Susan
Germany
Ana Maria is an excellent Spanish professor. Because of her experience and professionalism, she does a superb job of combining a structured approach to learning with the flexibility needed to customize her lessons for the particular needs and interests of her students. What better way to experience Mendoza than through its language, and what better way to learn its language than a combination of course-work and immersion in the life of the city, enhanced by visits to Mendoza’s wineries, parks and museums? Our time in Mendoza was too short, but Ana Maria helped us make the most of it.
Jason and Erica
United States
I loved learning Spanish, Ana Maria Tronocoso was so helpful and patient that I’m really glad I chose her and I hope I do her justice when I speak to her fellow Argentinians!
Steve
England
Before I moved to from the U.S. to Argentina, I spoke no spanish. I thought I would be able to learn enough from practicing with friends or people that I encountered in daily life. What a mistake!
Since studying Spanish with Ana, my life in Mendoza has greatly improved. Daily interactions are no longer stressful. Now, I can communicate with words and not with my hands.
I highly recommend Ana as a Spanish teacher to anybody living in or traveling through Mendoza.
Suerte!
Martin
The USA
My husband and I spent 4 weeks learning Spanish with Ana and I am so glad we did. Ana is a wonderful teacher and her rates are a great value. She tailors and prepares each lesson based on the student’s individual needs. Not only is she a great teacher, but she also works to include her students in activities outside of the class room – like taking them to wine tastings and teaching a cooking class. We’re glad we found her.
Kirsten and James
The USA
With no background in Spanish my fiance and I decided that if we were going to travel around South America for the next 3 months we’d need help.
We’d searched a few forums and had a debate between schools or private tuition and then we found Ani, which made up our minds.
I think if you are a little shy about trying to speak spanish then having a personal tutor is great, she will make you speak in spanish the whole time your with her, without ever putting you under too much pressure. We decided to do 30hrs including activities which was good as we may not have made it to these places other wise.
We both really enjoyed the cooking class and the wine tasting, and now confident in making Empanadas on our own. We would definitely recommend if you have time trying to prepare conversations before for activities and really practicing the stuff you have learnt already.
As for our spanish we believe we have made a good start and much better now in restaurants, shops and meeting new people and practicing our spanish with the locals. Its been great for making new friends i think they really appreciate the effort. I think its really going to enhance our experiences here, Thanks again Ani.
Buena suerte.
Barney and Mellisa
England
A big thumbs up for S.I.M.A.! I had the pleasure of taking just three Spanish courses with Ana and this was enough to convince me to start every future trip with a language lesson like this. It was Spanish from the first word on with no opportunity to slip back into English - good practice for actual travel. I wish I’d had time for more lessons - the little bit that I learned made a big difference in trying to get around on my own and I’d like to think my efforts were appreciated by everyone I met while traveling. No tengo hambre!
Dylan
Canada
Just wanted to say a big thank you for the fabulous course and wonderful lunch today.
When the dentist told us last week that John would need surgery and then need to come back in a week to have the stitches out we were initially quite depressed. We thought we would be wasting a week doing nothing.
As it turns out the SIMA course has been a real highlight of our trip. We had a full and thoroughly enjoyable week. Both of us extended our Spanish and enjoyed the outings and activities.
Thank you for being such a patient teacher and wonderful Mendoza guide. Hope we see you in York in June and we can cook for you in return.
Cathy and John
Australia
I took Ana’s Spanish Class in Mendoza for 20 hours a week for three weeks in the middle of my 6 month backpacking trip after realizing it would probably be a good idea to learn in Spanish in a country that speaks it. One week was with a group and the other two were private. After taking her classes, my Spanish has improved leaps and bounds. I went from speaking almost nothing (only a couple words) to being able to converse, read and understand most (~about 60%) situations. She really does drill everything into your head. Of course I am far from fluent but it has made my interactions during my travels a lot less stressful and more rewarding since I am able to interact with the locals.
If you are to travel in south america for a long time like me, I highly recommend her classes. I would have taken more but she was already booked for the next week. It’s years of high school Spanish back at home in just a few weeks. For traveling, even a week will help you immensely!
Good Luck!
Justin Lin
The USA, California
I took classes with Ani in late 2012. I had private lessons for 20 hours per week, for four weeks. We pretty much followed her ‘Spanish on the road’ programme, which entailed a mixture of theory at her house, as well as some lessons based around activities in Mendoza.
I began at a fairly basic level of Spanish, and I found that I improved rapidly over the month. Ani was able to tailor class to my level of ability, which I found particularly helpful. Through Ani I also met numerous other locals, and was able to join several social events. I would recommend Ani to anyone who is committed to improving their Spanish and learning about Argentine culture!
Todavía aprendo español. Quizás vuelva a Mendoza algún día!
Dave
David Oar
Australia
Recently, I completed a two-week Spanish course in Mendoza with Ana Maria Troncoso. I feel that Ana is an excellent professor, and that I learned as much as I possibly could in two weeks. We (my father and I) are complete beginners, and after two weeks we can comfortably navigate many common scenarios in our ongoing travels. Ana is very patient, precise, and professional. Classes take place indoors or in the garden. We also did some fun activities like cooking classes, touring the city, and attending exchange events with other language students in Mendoza. To be clear, she is not your tour guide, but she is able to help you get your feet wet. I believe it was the perfect balance. With Ana’s help, I was able to succeed in Spanish more than I thought I ever could.
Ray
The USA
Philippe et Catty Widling - France
Nous passons régulièrement plusieurs mois à Mendoza chaque année, et chaque fois, nous prenons une série de cours avec Ana. Ana s’adapte parfaitement à nos besoins et à notre rythme tout en suivant le curriculum officiel. Ses cours, souvant donnés dans son adorable jardin puisque nous les prenons en été, sont toujours clairs, enrichissants, et ponctués d’anecdotes de culture locale. Après une session de quatre mois l’an dernier, nous nous sentons maintenant beaucoup plus à l’aise avec la langue mais aussi avec les gens de Mendoza. Nous nous sentons suffisament à l’aise pour passer une journée entière par exemple avec des amis qui parlent seulement Espagnol. C’est avec grand plaisir que nous la retrouvons chaque semaine. Elle est notre amie et c’est toujours un plaisir de prendre un nouveau cours.
Catty and Phillip
France - Canada
I learned a lot during my 2 weeks of lessons with Ana, who has a vast library of resources from which she draws on to give you specifically the kind of education you require out of the lessons. She is able to spot my weak points and tailor the lessons accordingly. I had lessons in her warm house in freezing June, and sometimes outdoors when there is sun! I also had the opportunity to talk to her family from time to time, go on outings, and cook together, adding to the exposure to the language as it is spoken in daily life. She is highly recommended as a Spanish teacher during your stay in Mendoza!
Sue
Portland USA
Als ich nach Argentinien kam hatte ich fast keine Vorkenntnisse in Spanisch. Ich habe mich zu 10 Stunden Spanischunterricht bei Ana entschieden. Neben ihrer Professionalität und sehr fundierten Kenntnissen der spanischen Sprache besitzt Ana noch eine andere sehr wichtige Eigenschaft: Eine unglaubliche Geduld!!! Hinzu kommt, dass der Unterricht im Garten stattgefunden hat, was auf jeden Fall für eine gute Unterrichtsatmosphäre sorgte. Was mir außerdem sehr gut gefallen hat ist, dass Ana selbst viel gereist ist und sich auch in der “Couchsurfing Community” engagiert: Sie ist Mitorganisatorin eines kostenlosen Sprachaustausches, welcher einmal in der Woche in einer Bar stattfindet. Erst wird eine Stunde Spanisch gesprochen, gefolgt von einer Stunde Englisch und anschließendem “Spanglisch” ;-). Hier hat man die Möglichkeit, seine Sprachkenntnisse noch weiter zu vertiefen und Argentinier und Reisende aus aller Welt zu treffen. Aus meiner Sicht hat Ana als Spanischlehrerin nicht nur ihren Beruf, sondern auch ihre Berufung gefunden. Ich kann sie wirklich jedem weiterempfehlen!
Christiane
Germany