• The School for Foreign Students is hosting the intensive course delivered by CiFRAN, from Quebec, bringing together teachers from Mexico, the United States, and Costa Rica.
• Universidad Veracruzana is strengthening its position as a leading institution in Latin America in the implementation of the Neurolinguistic Approach for teaching Spanish as a foreign language.

The UV School for Foreign Students is bringing together teachers from Mexico, the United States, and Costa Rica for a course delivered by specialists from CiFRAN, based in Quebec, Canada.

David Sandoval Rodríguez

Photos: Luis Fernando Fernández

30/06/2026, Xalapa (Veracruz). – Universidad Veracruzana (UV) has strengthened its leadership as a leading reference in Latin America for innovation in foreign language teaching by becoming, through its School for Foreign Students (EEE), the host institution for the “Intensive Course on the Neurolinguistic Approach to Foreign Language Teaching,” delivered by the Centre International de Formation et de Recherche en Approche Neurolinguistique et en Neuroéducation (CiFRAN), based in Quebec, Canada.

Over the course of one week, teachers of French, English, and Spanish as a foreign language from various cities across Mexico, as well as from the United States and Costa Rica, will take part in this training program designed to strengthen their teaching practices through a methodology grounded in neuroscience and neuroeducation.

In an interview, Celia Cristina Contreras Asturias, Director of the School for Foreign Students, emphasized that this academic unit was the first institution in Latin America to implement the Neurolinguistic Approach for teaching Spanish as a foreign language, a process that began in 2020 following training received from Canadian specialists.

Celia Contreras, Director of the School for Foreign Students, emphasized that UV has established itself as a continental leader through the implementation of this pedagogical approach.

She explained that UV’s experience has gone beyond adopting the pedagogical model, leading to the development and publication of the first teaching guide for Spanish as a foreign language based on the Neurolinguistic Approach, as well as the Spanish translation of the reference book on this methodology, originally published in Canada for Latin America and Spain.

This work, she noted, has strengthened the academic partnership with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and CiFRAN, the organization that invited UV to host this international training program.

“We are contributing to a pedagogical innovation that enables us to better understand how the brain learns and to implement teaching strategies that make our work as foreign language teachers more effective,” she said.

Steeve Mercier, Director of CiFRAN (Canada), highlighted that the partnership established will make it possible to train a greater number of teachers.

She also noted that the School for Foreign Students offers the Diploma in Neurolinguistics and Neurodidactics for Foreign Language Teaching, the only program of its kind in Mexico.

The training is delivered by Steeve Mercier, Director of CiFRAN and professor at UQAM, who explained that the Neurolinguistic Approach originated in Canada in response to the need for language instruction that enables students to communicate confidently in a second language rather than simply memorizing grammatical rules.

He explained that this methodology prioritizes the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through practical strategies that foster the gradual development of communicative competence.

“More than a one-time training program,” he said, “it marks the beginning of an ongoing support process designed to help teachers progressively integrate these tools into their classroom practice.”

Mr. Mercier expressed confidence that the group of participants could become a reference for expanding the implementation of this approach throughout Mexico. He added that its ultimate goal extends beyond language learning, as it also contributes to the development of cognitive abilities and critical thinking.

Iliana Arias Corrales, a French instructor at the University of Costa Rica, emphasized the importance of establishing collaborative networks.

The international dimension of the program is also reflected in the diversity of its participants, including Iliana Arias Corrales, a French professor at the University of Costa Rica, who believes that the Neurolinguistic Approach represents a paradigm shift in language teaching by delivering more effective results and responding to the ways today’s generations learn.

In addition to the theoretical and practical training, she emphasized the opportunity to build collaborative networks among teachers from different educational contexts, enabling them to share experiences and strengthen the implementation of this methodology in their respective countries.

For her part, Wendolyn Ríos Valerio, a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language trained at UV, stated that applying this approach in her classes has allowed her to observe more natural, faster, and longer-lasting learning among her students, most of whom live in the United States.

Wendolyn Ríos, who teaches Spanish as a second language, highlighted the benefits of this teaching model for her students.

Regarding the results achieved, she explained that they have confirmed the potential of a methodology that places oral communication at the heart of the learning process and promotes spontaneous communication in authentic contexts. For this reason, she described the presence of CiFRAN’s Director in Xalapa as an invaluable opportunity.

During these five days of intensive work, teachers from different educational levels will exchange experiences in foreign language teaching and put into practice strategies based on oral communication, interaction, and the progressive development of communicative competence, with the goal of transferring them to their own teaching contexts afterward, explained the Director of the School for Foreign Students.

The training program represents the first in-person meeting of a professional development process that will continue with ongoing support from CiFRAN, whose specialists will monitor the implementation of the Neurolinguistic Approach in participants’ classrooms in order to evaluate its progress and encourage the sharing of experiences among teachers from different countries, Steeve Mercier explained.