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Best place to learn Spanish - Invictus - 03-01-2011

I'm sure this topic has been up before - I've seen recommendations for places like Cuernavaca, Medellín, and the like.

I've got some good basic Spanish, and usually learn pretty quick. I'm looking for maximum immersion, fun and nice weather, which is why Cuernavaca sounded nice.

I have heard good things about Calí. I generally prefer European looking women, or more European looking Latinas, although I'd never say no to an African girl if she was just plain hot.

I'm thinking I'm going to use couch-surfing for whatever city I hit up. A local is just better

Other suggestions appreciated.

Best place to learn Spanish - Celtic - 03-01-2011

Quote: (03-01-2011 04:22 PM)Invictus Wrote:  

I'm sure this topic has been up before - I've seen recommendations for places like Cuernavaca, Medellín, and the like.

I've got some good basic Spanish, and usually learn pretty quick. I'm looking for maximum immersion, fun and nice weather, which is why Cuernavaca sounded nice.

I have heard good things about Calí. I generally prefer European looking women, or more European looking Latinas, although I'd never say no to an African girl if she was just plain hot.

I'm thinking I'm going to use couch-surfing for whatever city I hit up. A local is just better

Other suggestions appreciated.

I'm in the middle of planning my own trip. I believe I will go with Bogota, because Bogota has the reputation of having the most clear and neutral accent in the Spanish speaking world. The big challenge for me with Spanish is understanding it; Spanish speakers can talk really fast- so for me a clear accent is a big plus. Bogota is also in Colombia, so I know it has to have a lot of hot women.

Best place to learn Spanish - Ronaldo2spear - 04-08-2011

I have the habit of learning different languages. Can anyone provide some best and resonable ways to learn Spanish?

Best place to learn Spanish - gringochileno - 04-09-2011

Far and away the best way to learn a language is through immersion in a country that speaks that language. Go live in a Spanish-speaking country for 6 months to a year, have as little contact as possible with people who speak your native language, and you'll probably come out fluent or near-fluent depending on what your level was going in.

As far as a specific country to go to to learn Spanish, I maintain that if all you want to do is get good at speaking Spanish there's no better place to be than Chile. Few people speak English so you're forced to interact in the target language, and the Chilean accent is so nasty and hard to follow that once you master it every other accent feels like a cakewalk. I wouldn't recommend going somewhere like Colombia where people speak relatively slowly and clearly because you won't be able to understand a lot of Spanish speakers even after you get good at interacting with Colombians.

Best place to learn Spanish - Gunner - 04-13-2011

Spanish from Colombia uses the formal second person (USTED) that's only used in Colombia so...not that good. Also they speak really slow.

Mexico has the most Spanish speaking population in the world, Cuernavaca is nice but the accent is not so neutral, Queretaro-Guadalajara stuff like that is more neutral.

Chile, hate that accent so gringochileno is right.

Argentina is horrible too, don't even think about it.

Best place to learn Spanish - Mrs. Chocolate - 04-14-2011

Learn the language is about learn the culture.
Pick you favorite kind of music. Research it in the language chosen. Search classic books... and so on.

Best place to learn Spanish - deebow - 04-14-2011

I would have to say the best place to learn how to speak spanish is hands down Bogota, Colombia. I had this question about 3 years ago myself. I chose Colombia (Bogota specifically) and I never looked back. In hearing other spanish speakers, I believe that it was the best decision I made.

Now if you are looking for the best way to understand spanish, then it would be to go to a place like Chile, Cuba or the DR where the accent is so heavy that it is at times far from the original spanish.

Keep in mind that where ever you learn, that is how you will talk and how you will be known for speaking. If you go to Chile, you may be able to understand everyone but some people (many outside of Chile) may not be able to understand you (which doesn't really help if you are trying to communicate).

Pound for pound I'd have to say Bogota, Colombia. You will learn faster than if you were in a country with a heavier accented spanish and you will still have enough basics and syntax to understand the more difficult accents. An analogy is that if you speak typical American english, you may be able to understand a Irish man but some words may not be clear and you may often need clarification, but you can still have a full conversation and they will not have a problem understanding you because you speak slower and more clearly. I would say that spanish in Bogota is equivalent to english in the US (midwest and pacific northwest) and Canada; Cuban and Dominican spanish would be equivalent to Jamaican and Trinidadian english; of course spanish in Spain would be equivalent to the English in England; from what I hear, spanish in Chile would be nearly the equivalent to the English in Australia (I don't know how accurate that one is).

I also hear that Guatemala and Costa Rica are also great places to learn how to speak very good and clear spanish.

Most news anchors and communications experts on regional or international spanish stations are Colombian due to their clear and neutral accents. Try looking at international spanish speaking news or television and google the host/anchor, etc. In most cases they are Colombian (I've tried it). I'd personally rather be known for speaking very clear spanish and having everyone I'm trying to communicate with understand me with no problems. If I can't do that, what is the point?

Best place to learn Spanish - Sonsowey - 04-15-2011

There is no best place to understand Spanish.

EVERY place has their own particularities, their own words, expressions, and mannerisms.

Case in point: I have lived in both Mexico and Colombia, two countries frequently cited for having clear, neutral spanish.

Both have heavily local language that you have to learn when you go there, but isn't applicable in any other country. Bother have tons of slang that foreigners wouldn't understand.

But that is the case in every country. There is no such thing as a neutral accent, they're all distinct.

The best thing is to just choose the country that interests you, for whatever reason, there is no way to avoid learning a local dialect, just embrace it.

Best place to learn Spanish - Sonsowey - 04-15-2011

Quote: (03-01-2011 04:22 PM)Invictus Wrote:  

I've got some good basic Spanish, and usually learn pretty quick. I'm looking for maximum immersion, fun and nice weather, which is why Cuernavaca sounded nice.

Cuernavaca is a language learning hub for foreigners.

Which means, you will have a harder time immersing yourself there (socially) than in another place.

But if you're looking for a school attend, well Cuernavaca has plenty of those. Just difficult not to end up hanging out with your gringo classmates afterwards

Best place to learn Spanish - Sonsowey - 04-15-2011

Quote: (03-01-2011 10:08 PM)Celtic Wrote:  

Quote: (03-01-2011 04:22 PM)Invictus Wrote:  

I'm sure this topic has been up before - I've seen recommendations for places like Cuernavaca, Medellín, and the like.

I've got some good basic Spanish, and usually learn pretty quick. I'm looking for maximum immersion, fun and nice weather, which is why Cuernavaca sounded nice.

I have heard good things about Calí. I generally prefer European looking women, or more European looking Latinas, although I'd never say no to an African girl if she was just plain hot.

I'm thinking I'm going to use couch-surfing for whatever city I hit up. A local is just better

Other suggestions appreciated.

I believe I will go with Bogota, because Bogota has the reputation of having the most clear and neutral accent in the Spanish speaking world.

Bullshit! Living in Bogotá now, this is just a crazy thing to say, there are toooooons of people who speak with lots of slang and play with their words all the time.

The upper class is easy to understand, but if you hang out with students or just working people, no one will speak anywhere near ''neutral''.

Best place to learn Spanish - Jalouse - 04-15-2011

I haven't been but talking to some other travellers Guatemala sounds like great value. There are apparently two main places to go, unfortunately I don't have the names of these, maybe somebody else who's been there can shed some light on this.

People have told me you can live with a host family, have a one on one tutor and food for $100 a week.

Best place to learn Spanish - gringochileno - 04-15-2011

Quote:Quote:

If you go to Chile, you may be able to understand everyone but some people (many outside of Chile) may not be able to understand you (which doesn't really help if you are trying to communicate).

I never have this problem.

Best place to learn Spanish - deebow - 04-15-2011

Quote: (04-09-2011 02:25 PM)gringochileno Wrote:  

I wouldn't recommend going somewhere like Colombia where people speak relatively slowly and clearly because you won't be able to understand a lot of Spanish speakers even after you get good at interacting with Colombians.

Actually Colombians are not at all known for speaking slowly but Guatemalans are. Paisos are known for speaking quickly, Costenos are known for having a heavy accent and speaking lightning quick, Rolos are known for their fast pace culture and speak. Colombians certainly are not known for speaking slowly but are known for their clarity. This clarity will enable one to become more familiar with the language faster than spanish that is not as clear. You will also be able to understand others unless there they are using a heavy slang that is specific to the region that they are from. Chilean spanish will not enable you to become a better communicator than Colombian spanish will. It will enable you to understand heavy accented spanish, that is specifically spoken in Chile, better than learning in Colombia will.

Best place to learn Spanish - gringochileno - 04-15-2011

Quote: (04-15-2011 09:46 PM)deebow Wrote:  

Quote: (04-09-2011 02:25 PM)gringochileno Wrote:  

I wouldn't recommend going somewhere like Colombia where people speak relatively slowly and clearly because you won't be able to understand a lot of Spanish speakers even after you get good at interacting with Colombians.

Actually Colombians are not at all known for speaking slowly but Guatemalans are. Paisos are known for speaking quickly, Costenos are known for having a heavy accent and speaking lightning quick, Rolos are known for their fast pace culture and speak. Colombians certainly are not known for speaking slowly but are known for their clarity. This clarity will enable one to become more familiar with the language faster than spanish that is not as clear. You will also be able to understand others unless there they are using a heavy slang that is specific to the region that they are from. Chilean spanish will not enable you to become a better communicator than Colombian spanish will. It will enable you to understand heavy accented spanish, that is specifically spoken in Chile, better than learning in Colombia will.

Learning Chilean Spanish gets you good at understanding almost anyone who speaks at a fast pace or with a heavy accent. If you can understand the average Chilean, you're going to be a lot more successful following someone from Cuba or the DR than if you had only learned to understand the Spanish spoken in Colombia or Guatemala. Going to a country where the accent and talking speed are particularly challenging is definitely throwing yourself to the wolves, but I really believe your ear is at a higher level once you become proficient.

Now, I can see how you could argue that someone with very little prior knowledge of the language should go somewhere where the dialect is closer to "correct" textbook Spanish just to get a good foundation, but eventually you're going to have to expose yourself to people who are more difficult to understand if you want to train your ear to parse nastier accents. It's the same reason why it might be a good idea to take a first-year Spanish class from a teacher who slows down and over-enunciates everything, but eventually you need to step up and start listening to the language as it's actually spoken if you want to be able to communicate with native speakers.

Best place to learn Spanish - zoom - 04-19-2011

Gringochileno,

I am trying to study abroad in Santiago next spring. how long did it take you to become fluent in spanish?

Best place to learn Spanish - gringochileno - 04-20-2011

Quote: (04-19-2011 02:31 PM)zoom Wrote:  

Gringochileno,

I am trying to study abroad in Santiago next spring. how long did it take you to become fluent in spanish?

Assuming you don't make a little gringo bubble by only hanging out with other study abroad students, it will probably be about 6 weeks-2 months before you can understand pretty well and 2-3 months before you can really say what you want to say. True fluency will take a whole semester or more, depending on your Spanish level going in (I had 6 years of Spanish in high school and college before I went, which is to say I was pretty bad at it). One thing that helped a lot was staying with a host family, since I had to interact with them every single day.

My best advice is to find some cool Chilean dudes to hang out with who are down with mackin' on the ladies. That way you not only speak Spanish all the time, but you also learn a bunch of slang which helps you communicate with younger people, as well as the most common words that come up when you're running game.

Best place to learn Spanish - zoom - 04-20-2011

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards living in a residencia or getting my own apartment because I wouldn't want a host family to stop me from going out and coming back late. So you would now consider yourself fluent?

Best place to learn Spanish - gringochileno - 04-20-2011

Quote: (04-20-2011 05:35 PM)zoom Wrote:  

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards living in a residencia or getting my own apartment because I wouldn't want a host family to stop me from going out and coming back late. So you would now consider yourself fluent?

Yeah I'm fluent. You never get rid of that gringo accent but I can have a conversation like I would in english.

I can definitely see why you'd want your own apartment, you can go to sex motels to bang but that shit gets expensive. All I'm saying is living with a host family helps a lot with learning the language. Plus my host mom was an awesome cook.

Best place to learn Spanish - bounce - 06-21-2013

I plan on studying Spanish abroad in January. The problem is that it costs over $10,000 for a semester through an agency. However, if I were to go it alone I could probably save $3-4,000. Does anyone have any recommendations for specific schools in Latin America? I am sort of set of Colombia or the Dominican Republic. So far I found UNIBE in Santo Domingo and EAFIT in Medellin to be the most promising.

If anyone has any experience studying Spanish in Latin America could you please share your experience.

Best place to learn Spanish - bacon - 06-22-2013

Quote: (06-21-2013 11:28 PM)bounce Wrote:  

I plan on studying Spanish abroad in January. The problem is that it costs over $10,000 for a semester through an agency. However, if I were to go it alone I could probably save $3-4,000. Does anyone have any recommendations for specific schools in Latin America? I am sort of set of Colombia or the Dominican Republic. So far I found UNIBE in Santo Domingo and EAFIT in Medellin to be the most promising.

If anyone has any experience studying Spanish in Latin America could you please share your experience.

You dont need to go to school. The best thing to do is move here(any part of LA spanish speaking) and work(teach english etc) and make local friends and date local girls.

Classrooms are not the best place to learn. One on one conversations are the best so tutoring your best option. Hiring a private tutor is cheap(5 dollars or less an hr) but unnecessary if you date local girls/make local friends to practice spanish with.

You can also make signs for a language exchange in the town/city you live in where you practice spanish with a native who wants to practice english with you this would cost you no money. I personally see no reason to pay for school unless you really, really are not able to make shit happen on your own. After all spanish is not like Chinese so the learning curve is much quicker.

Best place to learn Spanish - Teedub - 06-22-2013

Spain [Image: undecided.gif]

Best place to learn Spanish - Gallego2006 - 06-22-2013

Colombia does have the clearest accent. I chose to go to Uruguay and Argentina in January for a month and take classes. Right now, if you travel around the Spanish speaking world, the Argentine accent is in vogue -- especially in Spain.

Like learning Japanese, speaking "standard language" (ie Tokyo dialect) isn't very cool, but it will get you by. Learning another dialect like Kansai-ben will set foreigners apart from the rest. I can't tell you how many time I would get compliments from Japanese women on my Kansai-ben.

Anyway, moral of the story is don't worry about which is the clearest. It might help you learn initially, but you should strive to make your language speaking ability unique from others as best you can.

Best place to learn Spanish - Gallego2006 - 06-22-2013

Bounce--

Check out Academia Buenos Aires. I studied at their sister school in Uruguay for 2 weeks and they housed me for about 20 days. It cost around $1,000.

In Santiago, Chile, Escuela Bellavista has a really good reputation. You can even do DELE prep there as well.

For really cheap, look at language schools in Guatemala or Honduras. I have a friend who did two weeks of classes for under $200 total in Guatemala.. I don't know what school, but could probably get the name if you wanted it.

Best place to learn Spanish - Alpharius - 06-23-2013

I studied at Proyecto Linguistico a while back and I really recommend it. I've had some friends spend time there, too.
http://www.hermandad.com/ It's in Guatemala, they have an urban school and a school in the campo. Both were pretty awesome. They do have a commitment to social justice and have deep connections in the local indigenous community, so if you aren't comfortable with seeing some real prejudice and poverty, it's probably not a good place for you.

Best place to learn Spanish - Kristian - 06-23-2013

Madrid or Valencia,Alicante,Malaga...