Best Safe South American Country to learn Spanish (teach, international, life)

[diako_lorddm]

Mexico & Chile

[Lolailo]

Cuba.Not Havana, but provincial cities and towns.For example, Camagüey.Their Spanish (Camagüey) is very good, very close to Spanish from Spain.Extremely safe.They have a vast teaching infrastructure, and you would be able to have many private teachers for meager amounts.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by mountainannie

The most famous language schools in all of Central and Latin America are located in Antigua, Guatemala. The oldest is known as Escuela Francisco Marroquin. Antiqua is the old capital of Guatemala located north of the capital. The education is absolutely first rate, with one to one instruction either four to eight hours a day. For years and years it was where the Peace Corps sent all the volunteers to learn Spanish. So if you want to learn Spanish, go there. Then you can travel around where ever you want to have fun and dance. Guatemala is much cheaper than either Mexico or Costa Rico.

I wouldn't consider Guatemala to be a safe country, not even Antigua which is a tourist city.

There's also a shortage of books and of educated locals to talk to in Spanish in Guatemala, not to mention that you'll stick out like a sore thumb if you don't look like a local. And I'm not that impressed with the small Guatemalan upper class either - they may be nice and polite, but if you talk to them you'd think you were talking with an upper class Mississippian in 1955 considering their attitudes. Even if one stays out of trouble Guatemala is a rather disturbing country to be in, far more than Argentina, Uruguay, or Chile, and for that matter more than Mexico (outside of those parts of Mexico affected by drug violence).

[DrEarth]

Has anyone attended a Spanish school in Buenos Aires? A school called Expanish seemed to have some affordable rates, but I don't have anywhere else to compare it to.

For those who have attended a school in LA, what would one expect to pay?

I would be more concerned with price...

[DBCC]

Spanish schools in Bs. As. (Buenos Aires) are aplenty. Please before making inquiries in any part of South America or concreting the deal make sure that you know who the professional outfit is that will provide you with this course, where you will stay, distances etc, and who will be your professor.
A recent study in South American Spanish/English learning institutes showed a definite lack of professional teachers. For example, many English schools had people (not natives in the English Language or Graduates in the language) teaching English, it was just that they had lived in "Meeami" for a year and thought they could speak English.
Similarly, for those wishing to learn Spanish, make sure you see their professional "matriculation" and registry of their company before making a commitment - and speak with them on the phone to see their level of English - you will need them to be able to explain the intracies of the Spanish language and it will be easier understood in your own language.

[NewCalifornian]

I would recommend Chile or Argentina. Chile is the most advanced country in South America, of course you would live in the capital. But it can get very cold there.

Buenos Aires, Argentina because you must not miss the Latin American culturethat is still very Spanish compared to the other ones. It is safe too. Argentina and Chile are not in the tropical zone so that you can avoid deadly tropical illnesses.

Also consider Panama as it was a lot of time under American influence and therefore has a better infrastructure and lower crime rate than the others.

[clavoski]

No need to travel outside the U.S to practice. Go to the city of Hialeah Fl, specifically West Hialeah, find a comfy bodega and have a seat.

[dgfurman]

I'm American, and live in S. America. Right now, we're in Colombia. If you want a really good, pure, easy to understand Spanish, try Bogota, Colombia. Or Medellin. And no, Colombia is not the dangerous place that everyone makes it out to be. In the days of Pablo Escobar, back in the late 80s, yes, but now, no. It's not different than being in any other city in the US.

Coastal Colombia, the Caribbean - have a TERRIBLE spanish. It's very slurred, chopped off words, fast.....Argentina has a specific dialect, and not as pure. Bolivia and Ecuador, like Venezuela, are becoming rapidly anti-US, and are now considered (by the US embassy) more dangerous for Americans to live in than Colombia. Chile would be a good option too.

Interestingly, in Spain the spanish is actually less good than in Latin America. And a large part of Spain speaks Catalan, which is a totally different language in and of itself. Yes, you might learn the "vosotros" if you're in Spain, but the reality is, if you are American, you won't need that, b/c you will, in large part, be dealing with Latin Americans, that don't use the vosotros form.

[KickAssArmyChick]

Chile... by far
I spent many years in Brazil and only heard good things about Chile.

[k374]

Can anyone comment on Costa Rica in terms of the Spanish spoken there...