Free or cheap conversational Spanish language lessons in New York?

August 9, 2004 2:33 PM

Any free or cheap Spanish language lessons in New York? [reasons for miserliness inside]

One of my friends is doing a Masters in Journalism at Columbia Uni. She's been assigned to cover the Bronx beat as part of her course. As expected, she's a struggling student without lots of money, so she needs to learn conversational Spanish without busting the bank.

So... anybody know any place / person where she can learn Spanish for either free or at an affordable price? Apparently, there are free Chinese lessons in the city, but nothing on the Spanish front yet.

posted by madman to Writing & Language (5 answers total)

Here's an idea:

1. Pick up a basic Spanish grammar book at a used book store. Study it.

2. Place an ad on craigslist to offer to buy a native Spanish speaker (cheap) lunch semi-regularly in return for talking in Spanish with her/correcting her etc. Given that she's female, she'll probably get a good response for this.
posted by vacapinta at 2:46 PM on August 9, 2004

Meetup also has a "Spanish enthusiasts" meetup for people who want to practice their Spanish.
posted by gramcracker at 3:00 PM on August 9, 2004

is she single? a spanish speaking boyfriend might be useful. worked for me. kind-of.
alternatively, surely new york must have spanish speaking people who want to learn english. why doesn't she just ask in a local shop in the area where she's having problems? bet someone knows someone who knows someone who would trade spanish for english, and it's also a great way to get to know people.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:05 PM on August 9, 2004

Cortina Spanish, $130 on CD or cassette
http://www.cortina-spanish.com/spanish_html/index.html
posted by wordsilk at 9:59 PM on August 9, 2004

Response by poster: is she single?

Hehe. No, she's recently married, though her hubby is not there with her.

(Did I mention she's a fellow Indian?)
posted by madman at 10:00 PM on August 9, 2004