I have a new admiration for our Colombian friend, Luis, who was Doug's college roommate. Just three months before starting classes at Michigan Tech University, he took intensive training to learn English. Not only did he have to master a new language while pursing an engineering degree, but he had to hang out with a roommate who in Luis' words, "seemed to learn things by osmosis ... there was no studying involved". During the past two weeks we have begun our formal Spanish lessons, and I too, have come to the conclusion that ...
I Study, and Doug Learns!
I have read through a few "Spanish For Dummies" books, taken lengthy notes, and religiously completed at least three Duolingo lessons a day for the past three years in the hopes of at least being able get through the basics here in Colombia. Doug's best "study" mode is depicted in the picture below. The Colombian music video channel is giving him the listening practice that he needs.
Our goal for this extended stay in Colombia is to become more proficient at listening to and speaking Spanish. While our Spanish is bound to improve just by doing some of the usual "tourist" activities, we are putting a emphasis on taking classes while we are in Medellin. We tried out two educational methods ... formal classes and a private tutor ... during the last two weeks to see what would be the best fit for us. Here is our review of both methods.
Formal Classes at Toucan Spanish School
Toucan Spanish School claims to be Colombia's leader in immersive Spanish lessons. "You Can At Toucan" is their motto. They offer daily four hour classes from beginner to advanced levels as well as private tutor sessions. In addition to the classes, they offer cultural activities to help students practice their Spanish skills. Activities such as a welcome luncheon with traditional Colombian food, salsa dance lessons, cultural talks, and language exchanges help students practice what they have learned while meeting new friends.
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| The welcome luncheon featured a variation of "Bandeja Paisa", a traditional Medellin dish. This one consisted of chicken, rice, beans, plantains, and an arepa (Colombian bread that is all the rage here). |
The Toucan staff determines your placement level based on a computer test. On the first day of classes, we found ourselves in separate classrooms. No problem until I discovered that my ability to read Spanish (and make good guesses) had put me in a level that was way over my head. At Toucan, as with most Spanish programs, classes are conducted totally in Spanish ... No. English. Allowed. I quickly figured out that my ability to understand and speak Spanish was not going to allow me to get past the polite introductions. It was a loooong first hour, but I was able to get into a more appropriate level during the class break time.
This change took me from the level 7 class into Doug's level 4 class. I quickly knew that our instructor, Vanessa possessed the right amount of clarity, patience, and enthusiasm to get her point across. Her organized sentence structures when teaching us about direct and indirect objects reminded me of my favorite eighth grade English teacher. Our class consisted of four students, but because of some more shifting around, we ended up with just Doug and me on the last day of class.
Toucan also hosts a language exchange three evenings a week from 6 to 8 pm in their coffee house. During this time we rotate between speaking Spanish and English with whomever may be sitting at our table. We dropped in a couple of times and found ourselves "conversing" with a mix of native Spanish speakers as well as visitors from around the world. It surprised me how many Medellin "locals" come regularly to the language exchange in order to practice their English with visitors to their town.
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| Our group one evening represented Colombia, England, Poland, and the United States! |
Private Spanish Lessons
Some friends that we met here in Medellin talked highly about the private Spanish tutors that they were working with through Easy Spanish. We decided to give that program a try the following week.
Even though he has done about half the studying that I had done over the past few years, Doug and I are pretty much at the same Spanish level. The "couples" lessons with our tutor, Lucas, worked well for us. He met us at our apartment for two hours a day and went through the lesson plans that were sent to us via email. Once again, total Spanish was spoken during the session, but with our Google Translate apps, we could figure out new words and phrases when we had questions.
One of the days we had a "conversational" lesson in which we just talked about everyday happenings ... in Spanish. From the picture card shown above (somehow I know we were at an "elementary" level in our lessons), we talked about waking up (me despierto), taking a shower (me ducho) and making coffee (Doug hace el cafe ... and oh, what wonderful Colombian coffee it is). We talked about simple but important stuff ... like ordering food in a restaurant ... and learned about some of the local nuances that we may experience while eating out.
Two weeks of lessons ... Two different styles
The Pros and Cons
While it was evident that ...
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| I study, |
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| ... and Doug learns, |
... we decided that each program had its pros and cons, and we would like to share our thoughts with you.
Toucan Spanish School:
Pros:
- A well-defined program and course progression
- Many opportunities to meet other people
- More time to cover more material with the four hour classes
- A more traditional classroom setting with worksheets, homework, and oral exercises
Cons:
- Less flexibility with class times
- Work at the pace that is set by the whole class
- Four hours of listening, speaking, and learning Spanish can be very taxing on these old brains of ours
Private Lessons
Pros:
- More time to practice conversational topics of interest to us
- Flexible scheduling
- Lessons can be directed to address skills that we want to work on
- The "conversation" lesson seemed very helpful and gave us more confidence to get out and explore our surroundings
Cons:
- Less defined program and natural progression
- The power-points didn't seem to explain topics as clearly as the classroom handouts and lectures at Toucan
- The class was just us, so we don't get the opportunity to meet new people
And then there is one of the most important considerations ...
The Cost of the Classes
Toucan Spanish School's weekly tuition is 575,000 Colombian pesos a week for 20 hours of instruction which translates to $182 USD or $9.10/hour per person or $18.20/hour for the two of us. The 20 hours has to be done over a week ... Monday - Friday
Private Lesson prices can vary, but ours came out to be 525,000 Colombian pesos for 10 hours of instruction (the "couples" rate) which translates to $166 USD or $16.60/hour for the two of us. The 10 hours can be used in a week or spread out over a period of time of your choosing.
About the same amount of money ...
Decisions, decisions
We have decided to take classes at Toucan every other week in order to really solidify the "basics" of Spanish. During our "off" week, we will have a couple of private "conversational" lessons with our Easy Spanish private tutor in order to improve on our listening and speaking skills while exploring some of Medellin's parks, restaurants, and museums.
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| We enjoyed our tour last week of El Castillo Museo y Jardines, but understanding what the guide was saying in Spanish ... not so good! |
I will continue to study ... and we both will continue to learn about all the beauty that surrounds us in the language and the culture of Medellin.
Until next time ... study just a little and always learn a lot ... while you enjoy the adventures in your life!
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