Mexican Spanish
 

Hi,

I've got an impression that Mexican Spanish is a lot easier on the foreigner's ear than the Old World Castellano. Is it my personal quirk, or other students often say so?

I wouldn't necessarily say that. Mexican Spanish has fewer verb conjugations though, so in that respect it's easier for native English speakers to learn. :)

Many students I know agree with you, Tyrn.
They seem to like Mexican pronunciation better. They usually also like Argentine accent. :)

Non-native Spanish speakers are a sufficiently heterogenous group that I would be very cautious about making any generalisation about them.

Another important factor is what the Spanish learner's native language is.

PJT33 is right. Generalizations are dangerous, but to my ear, well spoken Spanish from the Americas, the likes of which is often spoken in Mexico, sounds more straight forward than Iberian Spanish. This parallels the difference between American English and British English. This is not a value judgement in my mind, because I think well spoken Iberian Spanish and British English sound better and smarter than their American counterparts.