Chile Schools

By Tammy Portnoy

Be aware when choosing to study Spanish in Chile that what’s known as Castellano chileno is not what you may have learned in high school. Spanish in Chile has been influenced by many Mapudungun and Quechua words (like gua-gua for baby instead of bebe). Also, Chilenos tend to use a lot of slang (poto for buttocks) and eat the s on the end of words, so there may be a lot of “otra vez, por favor?” (“One more time, please?”) when speaking with the fast-talking natives. But, go for it, take the Castellano chileno challenge. You might want to check out a guide for slang first (joeskitchen.com/chile/culture/slang.htm).

Test your Spanish level at ABC Spanish School’s website (spanish-schools.com.ar) to see what level you would place in their Santiago school. If you don’t have a lot of time to devote to school, invest $260, take the Crash Course -six classes a day for five days- and don’t miss out on the school activities, like visiting Pablo Neruda’s houses.

Smack in the middle of Chile’s lake district, the Pucón Center of Languages and Culture (languagepucon.com) really emphasizes learning Spanish through immersing yourself in the culture, i.e. getting out there and conversing with people, like the woman selling homegrown vegetables. A prime example is one of the mixed learning programs the Pucón Center offers; a 10-week Spanish and work program that has you spending two weeks in Spanish classes and two months working on a horse farm ($1,052 with meals and housing included).