How do I choose a Spanish school in Caracas

November 6, 2006 6:44 AM

I'm planning to spend the intersession studying Spanish in Caracas, Venezuela. There are a lot of very similar programs advertised through a series of websites, but i'm having a hard time finding any credible reviews or enough basis for a comparison between them. Anybody have experience in language school there, or know where I can look to help me make a decision?
posted by milkman to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

Not a direct answer, but a lot of travel guides - Lonely Planet and the like often have at least a few guides (look for work/volunteering/language school) - places that place you for work often have links to language schools, too. Go sit in Barnes and Noble

Also, you might try calling up a local university's Latin American Studies department - students tend to do the same programs if certain faculty know about it. People that went to my undergrad tended to go to Nicaragua and Bolivia progams, precisely because it was cheap and beacuse of university links (faculty, nonprofit, or otherwise) to those programs.

I don't know what your Spanish speaking ability is right now, but...

I've done two Spanish language programs abroad - and I would look for somewhere that puts you in a homestay (do NOT live with other English-speakers), and that will give you an opportuntiy to go out in the city, do cultural activities, etc. Price isn't everything - it often means a program just has more first-world overhead.
posted by jare2003 at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2006

Ask on traveller's web forums like The Thorn Tree or Virtual Tourist. People like you will be travelling while they study, and imported teachers of English will also be posting.

And second the homestay suggestion.
posted by Idcoytco at 10:14 AM on November 6, 2006

Did you see today's question about learning Spanish? limagringo included in their answer:


You can check out the South American Explorer's Club. They offer reviews of different Spanish language courses. http://www.samexplo.org/


I have been assuming you would search for local Caracas web forums as well.
posted by Idcoytco at 2:12 PM on November 10, 2006