Oaxaca and "tourist" teachers, who have less than three years experience and do not desire to
stay in Oaxaca.
2.4.3 The Self-access Centre (SAC)
I will now give the reader a brief description of the outcome of the project, that is to
say the actual self-access centre in Oaxaca and the way it is working. At the same time, I
shall provide an account of the way we interpreted the theory on self-direction.
After eight months of setting up the self-access centre (SAC) it was opened in May
of 1993. A pilot course was held in August and the SAC was opened to the university
students in September. As of 1997, more than IOOO students have been registered.
Enrolment is possible at any time of the year. The SAC is open 15 hours a day during
weekdays (from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.), 11 hours on Saturdays (from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m.) and 5 hours on Sundays (from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.). The SAC is only closed in
Easter (two weeks), Summer (two weeks) and Christmas (two weeks) and official university
non-working days (around ten days). In order to study a foreign language in the SAC,
students need to fill in a form, show a high school certificate or some equivalent and attend
an introductory course. There is a one-time fee of 200 pesos (less than 20 pounds) that
entitles the student to use the facilities and materials in any language (English, French,
Italian, Japanese and Spanish) she wishes for a period of six months.
The main goal of the SAC in Oaxaca was for university students to be able to study a
foreign language in a flexible scheme. In an atmosphere where students did not have other
possibilities to attend taught classes, the SAC was meant to be a learning centre (in
opposition to a practice centre; see Sturtridge; 1992, for a classification of SACs). The SAC
had to provide the students with all the necessary tools to Ieam a language in a self-directed
way. Based on Holec's rationale, our aim was to create a learning centre with "all things to
all learners" (1979). Not having to attend regular classes in regular hours with regular
groups, the SAC would open a new possibility to cater for different needs, learning styles
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