Where to learn Spanish in Boston?
January 13, 2008 6:14 PM Subscribe
Where should I take beginning Spanish lessons in Boston or Cambridge?
I'm trying to follow through on my New Year's resolution to take a crack at learning a second language. I see ads on the T all the time, but are these worthwhile?
The ideal class would be 1-2 evenings a week and Red Line accessible, but I'd take any suggestions. Meeting people would be a big plus as well, so I'm more interested in a friendly group atmosphere than solo tutoring.
I'm trying to follow through on my New Year's resolution to take a crack at learning a second language. I see ads on the T all the time, but are these worthwhile?
The ideal class would be 1-2 evenings a week and Red Line accessible, but I'd take any suggestions. Meeting people would be a big plus as well, so I'm more interested in a friendly group atmosphere than solo tutoring.
Seconding CCAE. I took two levels of Spanish there, the teacher was a dear, and I learned enough to spend two weeks in the south of Spain and communicate just fine. The classes were very social, too.
posted by cocoagirl at 7:00 PM on January 13, 2008
posted by cocoagirl at 7:00 PM on January 13, 2008
Best answer: I've taken classes at Boston Area Spanish Exchange (BASE) a few times before and had a great time. It's an independent outfit, run by a young couple (she's Columbian, he's a bilingual American) who also teach the classes. If you get a friend to enroll in the class with you at the same time, they'll let you split one tuition. Small classes too.
posted by jk252b at 7:15 PM on January 13, 2008
posted by jk252b at 7:15 PM on January 13, 2008
Best answer: Third for Cambridge Center for Adult Education!
In Harvard Square (so, red line), you can take classes two nights a week for 10 weeks, with native speakers as instructors, at a good rate. I haven't taken Spanish there, but have been happy with three other language classes and had some good conversations with the Spanish instructors before classes. Classes are about 15 people max, and textbooks are always inexpensive Borders-available types, not $100 university-exclusives.
As a poster above mentioned, these classes are full of people who are there because they want to be, so you get to meet a variety of folks who all want to learn! If you aren't an absolute beginner (or even if you are) you might consider going to their Spanish Conversation nights - a bilingual opportunity to meet others and practice Spanish. If your skills are pretty good and this is a refresher, you might also want to look at the cooking section (bear with me) of their classes, where you can take things like a paella class in Spanish.
The ads you're seeing on the T are for Boston Language Institute, right? A similar amount of face-time will cost you around $700 there, iirc, and if you wanted something obscure, it'd be a good deal. But for Spanish? CCAE!
posted by whatzit at 3:20 AM on January 14, 2008
In Harvard Square (so, red line), you can take classes two nights a week for 10 weeks, with native speakers as instructors, at a good rate. I haven't taken Spanish there, but have been happy with three other language classes and had some good conversations with the Spanish instructors before classes. Classes are about 15 people max, and textbooks are always inexpensive Borders-available types, not $100 university-exclusives.
As a poster above mentioned, these classes are full of people who are there because they want to be, so you get to meet a variety of folks who all want to learn! If you aren't an absolute beginner (or even if you are) you might consider going to their Spanish Conversation nights - a bilingual opportunity to meet others and practice Spanish. If your skills are pretty good and this is a refresher, you might also want to look at the cooking section (bear with me) of their classes, where you can take things like a paella class in Spanish.
The ads you're seeing on the T are for Boston Language Institute, right? A similar amount of face-time will cost you around $700 there, iirc, and if you wanted something obscure, it'd be a good deal. But for Spanish? CCAE!
posted by whatzit at 3:20 AM on January 14, 2008
BCAE is good, though it can be annoying if you get stuck in a really large class. Can't beat the price.
Friends of mine give mixed reviews of BASE (Boston Area Spanish Exchange).
I've had a really good experience with MasSpanish, which is probably the best option if you're willing to pay a bit extra for one-on-one. (They also have small groups, which I haven't tried.)
Has anyone here tried Hablespana?
posted by cambguy8 at 8:50 PM on November 12, 2008
Friends of mine give mixed reviews of BASE (Boston Area Spanish Exchange).
I've had a really good experience with MasSpanish, which is probably the best option if you're willing to pay a bit extra for one-on-one. (They also have small groups, which I haven't tried.)
Has anyone here tried Hablespana?
posted by cambguy8 at 8:50 PM on November 12, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by briank at 6:37 PM on January 13, 2008