Spanish Schools in Colombia

Out of all the places in Latin America to study Spanish, Colombia is not the ideal option. Someone beginning to learn Spanish may find the Colombian accents difficult to understand. In addition, there is not the abundance of Spanish language schools here that are found in other countries. If you choose to study in Colombia, make sure you obtain a student visa prior to your arrival. Overall, when looking for a place to study Spanish, Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena provide the best options. Schools arrange airport pick-up, housing and offer a variety of excursions and activities in addition to language classes, such as cooking classes or field trips to local museums and historical sites. Many of these extracurricular activities will be offered for an additional, yet low, cost.

International language school agencies allow you to book your classes before you arrive. However, these are often more expensive, and you won't know how the school is until you arrive. Languages in Action has general, medical and business Spanish courses in Bogotá and Cartagena (URL: www.languagesinaction.com). With Cactus Language School, you can choose to study Spanish and volunteer in Bogotá, Cartagena, Medellín or Leticia (Tel: 1-888-577-8451 (US), URL: www.cactuslanguage.com). Adventure Travel, affiliated with the World’s Best Language School, has Spanish courses teamed with scuba diving, salsa dance lessons or volunteering in Cartagena (E-mail: info@learnspanishanddive.com, URL: www.learnspanishanddive.com). Canadian-based Voyage International arranges courses in Cartagena, with additional options of volunteer work, or courses in scuba, kiteboarding or sailing (Tel: 1-514-844-2831, Fax: 1-514-844-2018, E-mail: info@langage.com, URL: www.vuvoyage.com).

A better option is to wait until you arrive in Colombia, so you can check out the school and its offerings firsthand. Also, it will work out to be cheaper. Nueva Lengua (www.nuevalengua.com) has locations in Cartagena, Bogotá and Medellín. Aside from intensive languages classes, Nueva Lengua also offers specialty, like medical Spanish, or combination courses, such as Spanish and scuba diving. The course prices vary depending on location.

In Bogotá, High Technology Learning or more commonly known as HTL (www.htl-online.com/international_s.php) offers each three, five or ten week courses. The longer courses offer fewer classes per week.

Foreign students coming to learn Spanish at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla (www.uninorte.edu.co) can choose between month long sessions offered according to the school sessions or private classes. The university partners foreign students with university students and offers foreign students the opportunity to attend all activities provided for all university students.

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