Hola!!

So … The Best Spots To Learn Spanish In South America.  Well if you plan on travelling to South America, make sure you fit some Spanish lessons into it!  I arrived to South America under the naive impression that I wouldn’t need to learn how to speak Spanish and that I’d be fine getting by with just my English … and well … I was wrong. So now I want to dedicate this post to sharing with you the best spots to learn Spanish in South America!

Note – In Latin America they refer to Spanish as ‘Castellano’ or ‘Castilian’.   However to avoid confusion, in this blog I’ll be referring to it as Spanish.

Apart from paying lower taxi fares and knowing when someone is talking about you, there are actually lots of other benefits to knowing Spanish.  But to start, lets talk about the best spots to learn Spanish in South America.

(I guess another positive is being able to speak to dogs in Spanish and having them understand)

During my trips I ended up studying Spanish in almost half the countries in South America.  I had a few private classes in Colombia, one in Argentina, 2 weeks in Peru (private classes in a Spanish school) and I also spent about 5 weeks in Bolivia learning Spanish in 2 different schools.  These recommendations are based on my personal experiences and perhaps those of others are slightly different.

Now then …

The Best Spots To Learn Spanish In south America

3. Colombia

Colombia is a gorgeous country.  The scenery is spectacular and the people are lovely.   I love it when they speak – they almost sound as if they’re singing.  When I was in Colombia I had already developed quite a good understanding of Spanish so I didn’t seek out classes in any schools.  However I did get some private Spanish lessons which can be anywhere from $10-$20/ hour.   In the capital, Bogota and in Medellin you can definitely find an abundance of Spanish schools.  The prices however are slightly higher than schools in Peru and Bolivia, usually anywhere from $10-$15/hour depending on the school.

 

2. Peru

Peru is obviously home to some of the most fascinating ruins in the world.  The food is amazing and the people are also very friendly.  If you’re passing through there, then stopping in to learn Spanish wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.  If you do go there, I’d recommend doing it outside of the big cities. Ie. Lima and Cusco.  Although it is very possible to learn Spanish in those cities, the prices are going to be a little higher than others.

Where to go?

 My recommendation would be going to Arequipa (9 hours from Cusco).  The long bus ride is worth it and the city is actually really cool! There’s a giant canyon (Colca Canyon) that you can go visit, and there’s also a few Spanish schools to choose from.  One of the main ones, Spanish School Arequipa is a very beautiful school.  They have an outdoor area where you can study with you teacher in the gardens.  It’s very nice! The school was very reasonably priced ($7/hr for private classes).  The only thing is though that you need to commit to a 20 hour package… which isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all.  I however didn’t continue at this school as I was fortunate enough to come across a school which was even cheaper.

(View from the top of Colca Canyon – El Cañón del Colca)

I had signed up with WorldFusion Spanish Peru, which was a new starting school and so they were offering really low prices.  Even still their prices now are very competitive $5.50/hr (which is actually the cheapest I had found in South America).  My teacher was lovely and I learnt a lot there!  Make sure you drop in to see her if ever you’re over that way.  Her name is Marice.  Also it’s good to note that WorldFusion Spanish Peru hire all fully qualified teachers so don’t let the incredibly cheap price fool you!

1. Bolivia

Now my overall FAVOURITE place to learn Spanish in South America would have to be in Sucre, Bolivia!

This capital city was born to teach Spanish.  Travellers make specific trips to go there JUST to learn Spanish.  The culture for it is huge.  Almost every traveller you bump into is there learning Spanish.  You begin to get into a routine; going to your classes, doing your homework, making new friends and practicing your Spanish with hostel workers and other locals. It’s truly incredible.  I studied at two schools there.  The second one I studied at has now unfortunately closed, BUT the good news is that the most of the teachers from that school are now working at the first school that I went to !  Funny how things work out hey?

 

(This is a view from a cafe that my friends and I used to go to everyday to study and do our homework.  It was amazing! It has all these balconies that look out over the main plaza)

Details

  This school, Sucre Spanish School is amazing!  They have a really beaufutl set up with an awesome Colonial style courtyard.  I loved it! I stayed there for 3.5 weeks and studied from 3-4 hours per day, 5 days/week.  Also expect to pay no more than $6.50 for private classes!!

 

(Here you can see the Colonial style courtyard.  Your teacher will ask you if you’d prefer to do the Spanish lessons here instead of being inside the classroom.  Awesome hay?)

The school has an amazing energy.  They organise events for all the students to go to i.e. dance classes, sports etc.  Also if you help out with these events you can even try to score a discount 😉

 

Which One To Choose?

So if you are running short on time and had to choose, then I would definitely say to go to Sucre, Bolivia. Apart from travellers going there from all over the world to learn Spanish and so the culture there is mainly comprised of those wanting to dedicate their time to learn the language, Sucre had some of the cheapest Spanish lessons that I found in South America and the quality was on par as being the highest.  They also speak a fairly neutral Spanish and don’t use an overwhelming amount of slang like they do in some of the other South American countries.  They speak nice and slowly and so understanding them is very easy.

Well I hope this blog has helped you to find some of the best spots to learn Spanish in South America! Chao y Buena suerte (good luck)

Also, like always feel free to contact me here if ever you need any assistance or have any questions!

🙂