Learning Spanish - Online Resources And Uba

[Girino]

Thanks! I wasn't able to find this information on google maps (the public transport option is greyed out). Unfortunately I am outside city limits (Olivos).

 

[ivan]

Hello,

I will be moving to BsAs in a month and I'd like to start learning Spanish as soon as possible. Once I read that most of a new language you get is in the first three months in a new country, so I'd like to get it straight right from the beginning (I am not that good at catching spoken words, anyway).

I already checked UBA's page about Spanish course for foreigner, however I can't understand if you can join the course anytime through the year or if it goes from February onward, only. I can't wait next February to start going school, obviously.
I already took the written online text, but then they asked to attend an in-person evaluation of my spoken skills on last February, and I was still abroad back then.

Besides, it would be nice to have some online resources to rely on in case I can't attend UBA (we still have to look for a home, and it could be too far from UBA, anyway).

I am native in Italian but I would like to get to a fluent level and not just at a "I can make myself understood" one. My aim is to be able to speak and write at a professional level as I hope to add Spanish to my professional skills.
Any insight is much appreciated!

The UBA can be quite useful for Spanish classes. When I arrived here in may 2011 I attended a level 4 course (there are 8 levels) and it was quite good. Prices are reasonable and I would say teachers are competent.

you can visit the following page and find out what they offer : http://www.idiomas.filo.uba.ar/

Now of course a private tutor might be better, but I personally think the lower levels in the UBA are good to get you started and give you the bases in grammar.
What they do is they test you before the classes start and then decide what level you need. I attended the level 8 course last year, a 4 month course, and there were people dropping in after the classes had started.

Now the best thing you can do is study a lot yourself, read, watch TV and interact with people. Otherwise you will not really learn.

hope that helps,
Ivan.

 

[Girino]

It looks like I have to pass on UBA because it is very distant from here (about 1 hour of commuting) and its fee seems comparable to that of other private language school.
I have been to the International House of San Isidro and I am gonna take some classes there. They offer 1-to-1 courses in Spanish for foreigners for $200/hr, which seems reasonable to me. I took an assessment test yesterday (free of charge) and talked with the Spanish teacher and I really liked her!

I saw another language school in San Isidro but I didn't check if they offer Spanish courses for foreigners.

Besides, at the public Library of San Isidro they have Spanish for foreigner courses that are very cheap ($350/month for 8 lessons a month). They have both morning (Tue-Thu) and evening classes (Mon-Wed).

I am really regretting not taking with me a Spanish course book from Europe! Who could have thought it would be a rarity here!