Site submenu:
Our Mission
At Habla Ya Language Center we do not want you to just study Spanish... we want you to LIVE THE BEST SPANISH LEARNING EXPERIENCE! At our language school you will learn how to speak Spanish in the shortest time possible and you will have the time of your life while you are doing so!
"Provide the best Spanish learning experience"
BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION, SPANISH PROGRAM & TOURS WITH HABLA YA »
Our Vision
Having already earned a place amongst the best Spanish schools in Panama we have set ourselves the goal to be amongst the most prestigious language schools in Latin America. How do we do this? The idea behind Habla Ya's success is simple: we do our best to put the most talented people together. We are not afraid to work with people that are better than us and that is how we achieve excellence in what we do.
"Become the most prestigious language schools in Latin America"
BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION, SPANISH PROGRAM & TOURS WITH HABLA YA »
Our History
When one our students ask us for how long our language school has been open they do not believe the answer we give them. It is difficult to believe how in such a short time an institution has reached such level of excellence. At Habla Ya Language Center we know that this has been possible thanks to the staff that we have been able to put together. Each and one of them are huge professionals on their own and have made a valuable contribution to make Habla Ya what it is today.
Here is a summarized storyline of Habla Ya's history:
- April 2005. Explorations were made by Sergio Díaz and Julio Santamaría throughout Panama to find the ideal location for Habla Ya's first language school.
- May 2005. Initial business plan was developed.
- June 2005. Boquete was chosen as Habla Ya's first plaza. Carlos Raúl Cabrera joined the team of founders and was appointed as the first School Director.
- July 2005. Lucía Alvarado Cantero, a language teacher from Costa Rica with 5 years of experience joined Habla Ya as its first Academic Director and gave the first training to our teachers.
- August 2005. Habla Ya Language Center opened its doors to the public.
- January 2006. Irma Changmarín Isaza was hired as Habla Ya's Academic Director after taking the course for teaching Spanish as a foreign language at the CLIC IH Sevilla in Spain. She then trained our teachers in the use of the Communicative Method and developed our level system and syllabus under the guidelines of the Common European Framework for Languages.
- November 2006. We began to work with our first agent: ISLS from New Mexico, U.S.A.
- January 2007. ESL, an agent from Switzerland, who has been short listed for the LTM Star Agency Awards in Europe, visited our school and chose our school in Panama to be amongst their Spanish schools.
- April 2007. Our school moved to a brand new building, only 2 blocks away from our old school, still on Boquete's Central Avenue within downtown. This new building represented a 50% growth in facilities and our new physical premises have the same quality of any international first class school.
- July 2007. We started to work with our third agent: Learn Spanish Guide from Canada.
- November 2007. Cactus Language, one of Europe's top 4 agents, selected Habla Ya as their Spanish School in Boquete
- March 2008. Julio Santamaría, CEO of Tourism Generation, Inc., became Habla Ya's second School Director and Carlos Raúl Cabrera, former Director, went out to found Explora Ya, Ecotourism & Adventures, an initiative that is also part of the Tourism Generation, Inc. group.
To really get to know Habla Ya's history, you should learn more about our staff's history.
BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION, SPANISH PROGRAM & TOURS WITH HABLA YA »
Our Values
Leadership
Being a leader is about finding the truth, sharing it with others, motivating them to reach it and then helping them reach it. At Habla Ya, our vision and our mission are our truths and each and one of us knows that and helps each other to reach our vision and fulfill our mission.
Integrity
We act with honesty, responsibility and respect towards others at all times. In each and every person we see that: a person that deserves all the respect in the world and has every single right to aspire to happiness. Each and one of us have an intrinsic and unlimited value that always has to be taken into account.
Synergy
The Habla Ya team is built by the best professionals in our field. We achieve our goals through teamwork and by sharing a common vision and mission. Each individual in the organization is a valuable member of the Habla Ya team and contributes towards setting and achieving its goals. We know that by working together we can get a lot further. We are part of something that is a lot bigger than the sum of all of us.
We do believe this just to obtain results, we work together because Habla Ya is a real family in which we really care about each other, in which we want everyone to be better and to get further and we know that success that is not shared is really not success.
Generosity
We look not to only transmit knowledge, but to leave something of us into each and one of the students who passes through our classrooms. Very strong friendships have started in our classrooms and have continued outside of them. We will do whatever is in our hands to help you live the best Spanish learning experience. It is our passion to provide the highest levels of satisfaction to our students and that is why we work to be the best of the best.
Innovation
We are committed to unlock the full potential of our people and methods to provide the most effective and enjoyable learning experience. To us, the methodology and materials have to be incarnated by our people in order to make them better. This is why we never regret intelligently spending resources and time in training our teachers in the newest teaching methods and always encouraging to them find better ways in doing what we do.
Through novel initiatives we leverage our knowledge and ability to deliver efficient client-focused solutions that are responsive and tailored to their needs. We are continuously looking for better ways to serve our students, and we love making changes when we know it will improve our final service.
Commitment to excellence
We challenge ourselves to be the best we can be and to always do what it takes to exceed our student's expectations in everyway, everyday. We do not just teach Spanish, we give our students the best Spanish learning experience. In Habla Ya you will not achieve a consistent performance... each time it will be better.
Sustainability
We combine our strong performance with our unwavering commitment to society and environment. The educational needs are very profound in the communities in which our centers operate, so we give back through education, which is the key for a better tomorrow. We also help by putting our students and teachers in contact with many different volunteer projects. We work create a clear conscious on the main environmental issues and then propose and suggest solutions to specific situations that everybody can implement in their normal life.
BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION, SPANISH PROGRAM & TOURS WITH HABLA YA »
We consider ourselves realists. Our values have an objective value. They are our values, but they are real values, and make ours and others lives really better.
Tourism Generation, Inc.
The young group of entrepreneurs that initiated Tourism Generation, Inc. chose the company's name thinking about two ideas. First of all, they are part of the generation that is living the tourism boom in Panama: the tourism generation. And secondly, they decided to be an active part of that tourism generation in order to influence the type of tourism that Panama would attract. They would generate tourism for their country but not any type of tourism: quality tourism, sustainable tourism. tourism that would add to their country, making it a better place for all Panamanians and for those who chose to visit their country.
At Habla Ya Language Center we achieve this by:
- Being a place in which our collaborators can fulfill their professional aspirations and desires, by helping them procure what they need for their families, putting them in a position where they can exploit their talents and by creating an environment where they can become better persons.
- Adding real value to our costumers lives, always being part of the solution, not of the problem. We will always help people improve their quality of life and we will never be part of a business that goes against the human nature or societies real values and needs.
- Doing well our job to make sure that it will have a direct and positive impact in society. In this way we are a socially responsible company by simply achieving our business's goal and fulfilling its natural purpose. We do not having to rely on secondary or alternative activities to contribute to a better future for society and comply with our Social Responsibility. We do organize, contribute and participate with social and volunteer projects, but we believe that our major contribution to society is through the value we add to our collaborators and costumers lives.
BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION, SPANISH PROGRAM & TOURS WITH HABLA YA »
If you would like to do business with Tourism Generation, Inc., feel free to contact us.
hablaya@hotmail.co.uk
+507-720-1294
+507-6-480-4506
