Learning Spanish

Want to learn Spanish? This section contains all our posts to do with learning Spanish, and studying Spanish – whether with online courses, or one-on-one classes in Latin America – including Guatemala and Ecuador.

Spanish Conversation Practice – ‘Intercambios’

Spanish Conversation PracticeHaving studied Spanish grammar in Guatemala and Ecuador until I was blue in the face, my Spanish language learning leveled out for a while simply because I couldn’t face opening up another grammar book.

Then I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and decided to try out the famous Intercambio concept. Put simply, an Intercambio is a language exchange between two people. You meet up, spend half the time talking in your native language and half the time in theirs. This usually takes the form of meeting for a coffee and chatting for an hour in English and an hour in Spanish, although some Intercambios I have done have lasted 5 hours or more…!

I have been using a website called Conversation Exchange to organise Intercambios in Buenos Aires, Madrid & Barcelona. You need to register and add a brief profile (no photos allowed incidentally), then you can either contact people or wait until people contact you.

Intercambios also have a bit of a reputation as a means of meeting potential partners. Out of 15 people that contacted me in Buenos Aires from the Conversation Exchange website 14 were women between the ages of 28 and 33. My Colombian friend suggested to me that they were all after European visas. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that more women are learning English?

Whatever the underlying motivations, intercambios are a great way to practice your Spanish, get out and meet local people, and make new friends.

Studying Spanish in Cusco, Peru

Finding myself with a few days to kill in Cusco, and having seen enough colonial churches and Incan ruins to last a while, I decided to try and find a Spanish school that I could join at short notice and do a few days of one-on-one Spanish lessons.

Spanish classes in Cusco, Peru

I quickly found out about the Fairplay Spanish School, a relatively new Cusco-based NGO that trains local Peruvians who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to become Spanish teachers – especially single mothers – to teach Spanish. Fairplay then acts as their agent finding them work and then taking 33% of the fee with the rest going directly to the teachers.

As I’ve already studied 8 weeks of one-one-one Spanish on this trip in both Guatemala and Ecuador, and have done huge amounts of Spanish grammar, I specifically requested to just spent my time on conversation practice. I spent my time with my teacher (Marta) pictured above, strolling around the museums, plazas, shops and markets of Cusco, chatting away. The photo above was taken at San Cristobal church overlooking Cusco in the middle of one of my Spanish ‘classes’.

I would highly recommend Fairplay Spanish School and especially Marta (herself a single mother) to anyone thinking of studying Spanish in Cusco, Peru.

Further information

You can contact Fairplay Spanish School through their website at http://www.fairplay-peru.org.

The Fairplay Spanish school charges the following:

$15 or $30 enrolment fee (the higher fee includes the Fairplay grammar book)
$4.50/hour – for one-on-one lessons with a less experienced teacher
$6/hour – for one-on-one lessons with a more experienced teacher

Whilst in Cusco, I stayed at Andes de San Blas guesthouse. It is located in the heart of San Blas (Calle Carmen Alto 227), and costs about $10 a night including breakfast and free wi-fi internet.

You can contact them at andesdesanblas@hotmail.com or by phone on (+51 84) 242 346.

Onwards to Bolivia!

Having spent possibly a bit too long in Cusco, Peru – I’m heading back to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca tomorrow morning, then onto Copacabana on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. Whilst in Cusco, I have been studying Spanish with a fantastic Spanish teacher called Marta at Fairplay, a local NGO that trains single mothers to teach Spanish. Our lessons consisted of wandering around town going to the market, churches and just sitting in the sun chatting. No more grammar lessons!! More soon…

Podcast: Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador

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Cuenca is a UNESCO World Heritage city, founded in 1557 by the Spanish, about 10 hours south of Quito in Ecuador. I chose to study here following my Spanish studies in Guatemala as Guatemala and Ecuador are the cheapest places to study, and with the ‘cleanest’ spoken Spanish in Latin America.

Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador

This time around I opted for two weeks of 4 hours a day one-on-one Spanish lessons.

In this podcast I discuss why I chose to study in Cuenca, getting to Cuenca from Quito, the bag slash that occurred to me on the way from Quito to Cuenca, how I chose the Spanish school, the costs of living and studying here, and how I rate the Spanish classes at the Abraham Lincoln Cultural Centre where I chose to study. I finish the podcast with an interview with Richard, the founder of the Abraham Lincoln Center in which we discuss the school, activities in and around Cuenca, and why it is better to study in Cuenca than Quito!

If you have comments or questions about studying Spanish in Ecuador or Guatemala, please feel free to post them below.

Links

My photos of Cuenca, Ecuador
Abraham Lincoln Center website

Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador

Having got over the trauma of my bag slash, I found some Spanish classes in Cuenca, Ecuador through a recommendation on the Lonely Planet forums. I’ve just completed a week of 4 hours/day one-on-one lessons here – at the Abraham Lincoln Cultural Center (pictured below).

Abraham Lincoln Cultural Center, Cuenca, Ecuador

I’ll be studying for another week here and also publishing a podcast shortly containing a lot more information on studying Spanish in Cuenca….

Listen to the podcast I made on Studying Spanish in Cuenca, including an interview with Richard the director of the Spanish School.

Video: Madera beach surfing paradise in San Juan del Sur

San Juan del Sur is a coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in south-west Nicaragua. The town is a popular tourist location because of its many nearby and spectacular beaches. San Juan del Sur is also popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan families and foreign tourists. It really is a good, unspoiled alternative to Costa Rica.

The population is approximately 18,500, comprised mostly of families engaged in fishing. There are plenty of Spanish schools in town making San Juan a perfect place to come and immerse yourself in the language and take home something more than a tan.

The surf is, however, not in San Juan del Sur itself "the waves are simply not big enough in town. We went to Madera beach about 10 km north of San Juan del Sur to surf. Madera beach is an incredibly beautiful and peaceful beach and when you don’t surf you can suntan and go for long walks. Amazing.

The video below gives you an idea about why Madera beach have become so popular – it simply is a stunning place!!

Studying Spanish one-on-one with Marlon

studying_spanish_guatemala

Thomas has already written about studying at the Cooperative – so I will concentrate on telling you a bit about my personal experience studying Spanish one-on-one.

I also study with the Cooperative and my teacher’s name is Marlon. Marlon is 9 years younger than me, but this is usually not the case. Most teaches are around mid 30s and have many years experience teaching Spanish.

Marlon, on the contrary, is an artist and an intellectual and have studied Art at the university in Guatemala city.

I really like studying with Marlon because he has A LOT of patience. He never makes a face when I repeat the same mistake for the 10th time and is always mentally present for all 4 hours we spend together every day.

Having your “own” private teacher is great. He will correct me every-time I make a mistake and we have gotten to know each other really well. He tells me stories (in Spanish) from his life and I tell him stories (in Spanish) from my life.

I will miss my teacher when I leave San Pedro 🙂