i\'m travelling to south and central america from sept-november and i really want (and will probably need!) to learn spanish. so is the best way to learn it before i go or wait til i get there? can anyone recommend places to learn it out there or will i pick it up if i know bits already? and can anyone recommend places or ways to learn it in the uk (somerset)?
thanks!
Reply to this Ok i have a few opinions on this...
Before you go.....
* Yes highly benificial to learn as much as you can before you come...i used audio tapes which taught me alot of words but i was useless in conversations for about a month till i got the hang of it...i am still crap but have the bare minimum now.
When you get there...
*Do you know any spanish at all? i knew a few words but that was it... i needed at least 2 weeks to get something out of it but I did 1 week in BA and didn´t get very far and i had 1 on 1 lessons. then again i am a bit of a slow learner... but minimum i think is 2 weeks.
* it is possible to get around with minimum spanish but i would recommend sticking to hostels... when you camp or stay in hotels the english ppl start to thin out... i have done full weeks on end and not spoken to a english speaking person. this also has the plus side if you like to jump in the deep end and emmerse yourself in the culture as you pick up spanish alot quicker... in hostels you may never say a word in spanish.
* finally... locations the one i did in BA which was ok you can stay in a residence or a home stay which would be alot more chilled than a hostel party wise and they organise activities e.g tango lessons, soccer games etc... a warning on home stays alot don´t speak any english at all. i don´t know of any others but they are not a bad way to go.
hope this helps
Reply to this I wish I would have listened to others' advice and taken some spanish lessons before I left, but on the other hand, I did one week of spanish school in Quito, Ecuador, and stayed with a family and it was an unforgettable experience. Very glad I did it, although I recommend at least two weeks in lessons, if not three, as spanish is completely essential to a successful experience in South or Central America. Very, very rarely have I ran into anyone that spoke more than broken english, other than travellers of course. When dealing with hostels/hotels, bus companies, tour companies, etc, it is always helpful to be able to bargain and communicate in spanish. But beware, Argentina speaks its own dialect of Spanish which is quite different and very fast.. extremely difficult for the beginner! Hope this helps!
Reply to this I agree, I recommend that you do a homestay if you have the opportunity
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Reply to this I disagree with those saying that you should try and learn as much as you can before you go. Honestly, unless you have a decent proportion of time to spend on it, you will probably find that when you get to Latin America you know so little that it is more or less worthless anyway. Well, that's how it was for me. I'd spent a year at night classes to no good effect, but once you are in a Latin American country surrounded by Spanish speakers, it is easier to pick it up.
The best place to learn Spanish in my opinion is in Quito, Ecuador. I went to the Simon Bolivar Spanish School, which is a long established and efficiently run school. To make it worth your while, it is probably worth investing 4 weeks in this - 4 hours a day of learning Spanish in the mornings, and staying in a homestay too so that you get plenty of chance to practice what you have learnt. With regard to staying in Quito for a month, there is a great online resource with more hotels and restaurants than I have ever seen anywhere else. The company name is Viva Travel Guides. They also have information for other parts of Latin America, but it looks as if they are best for Ecuador and Peru at the moment.
Good luck with your Spanish!
Reply to this Thanks for the info from all of you. i leave in 1 1/2 weeks and haven't learnt much yet! but i have a language cd and accompanying book that i'm taking (it'll be 3 months before i actually reach south america) so hopefully i can learn some on the plane. i have a friend meeting me in santiago who is doing spanish classes at the moment so hopefully between us we can get buy!
Reply to this fionchadd, i am sure you will have a good time with no dramas, travelling with a friend will definately make things easier... for me the main reason to learn as much spanish as you can is really to pay respect to the culture and the people who you deal with whilst travelling... people will definately be more responsive if you make an effort and try to speak to them in their language. (even if you sound ridiculous haha)
I have now returned from south america and i must say my most rewarding friendships were those with the locals... i made friends with alot of south americans in my hostels that were also travelling, they proved absolute gold class when I had to deal with some serious spanish converstaions (like getting cash advances from the bank when i lost my credit card etc.) I also met up with a couple of them and stayed with them in their cities where they showed me around.
These were by far the best times of my holiday and i hope you have the same experiences.
ciao 😊
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