Studying Spanish in Ecuador:
Learning Spanish is a goal of almost every foreigner passing through Ecuador, and luckily this is a great country to learn the language in. Ecuadorians speak clean, clear Spanish, and are usually very friendly with foreigners, providing endless opportunities to practice the language. To meet the demand of so many foreigners, there is a supply of hundreds of Spanish Schools all throughout the country, but especially in Quito.
The goal of this guide is to make a little more sense out of what each of these schools offers, and how to get the service that best meets your needs, at the lowest possible price.
Picking a School from Abroad or “In-Country”:
Should I sign up to take classes with a Spanish School from home, or should I wait until I get to Ecuador to decide? This is a very good question, and is really a question of how much time and effort you are willing to put into finding a school.
If you are going to be in Ecuador for a while, and don’t need to start immediately with Spanish classes, I would recommend waiting until you arrive in the country to decide on a school to take classes with. This also requires more effort on your part, as once you arrive you will have to visit a number of schools and talk get to know them before deciding on one to take classes from. However, with these personal visits you can meet the teachers you will be studying with, hear about possible families to setup a homestay with, see the school and it’s amenities in person, etc. With this approach you are almost guaranteed to be setup with a program that really meets your needs and desires, as you will be seeing everything first hand. The only problem with waiting until you are in country to make these decisions is that it will take a little bit of time, and YOU will be solely responsible for getting it done.
If on the other hand you have limited time and/or you do not feel confident in your ability to get classes, a place to stay, etc. setup once you arrive in country, then it would probably be a better idea to book everything from home, so that you do not have to worry about it once you arrive in Ecuador. If you book classes from abroad, most schools will assist you in having everything ready and waiting for you as soon as you step off the plane. They can have someone pick you up at the airport, take you to the living arrangement you decided on, and be ready to start Spanish classes the next day. The only problem here is if you start your program and decide that you do not like your Spanish teacher, or do not like you apartment, or Ecuadorian homestay, etc. In this sense, organizing everything from abroad is a bit of a gamble. However, you can easily minimize your risk with this option by talking with the school ahead of time, and take the following points of advice into consideration:
- Do not commit long term to the school. Tell them you would like to try things out for a week or two, and then decide from there.
- Do not pay for more than a week or two in advance (or if you do, make sure it is refundable, and that you understand the terms).
- If you book accommodation, travel, or anything else along with your classes, try to set it all up in a way that you are not in an "all or none" situation. I.e. If you decide that you do not want to continue Spanish lessons with a particular school, do you also have to give up your homestay that you love, or the Jungle trip that you booked?
- Get as much information about the school and all services that you will be provided with, or that you will NOT be provided with. NO SURPRISES!!!
Most Spanish schools are very flexible and will work with you on the points listed above as they understand that foreigners often have different expectations. For this reason it should not be very difficult to get all of this sorted out with your school ahead of time, but it is VERY important that do so, otherwise you may be in a very difficult situation when you get down to Ecuador and things do not work out the way in which you had hoped.
Price - Budget vs. Non-Budget Spanish Schools:
Most Spanish schools range from about $4.00 - $10.00 per hour for private lessons. I define budget schools as those who offer private lessons for $4.00 - $6.00 and non-budget schools as those offer private lessons for over $6.00. While a couple of dollars difference doesn’t really seem like a big deal, please remember that those dollars do add up. For example lets compare someone who takes 25 hours of class per week for 6 weeks at $5.00 per hour with someone who pays $7.00 per hour:
$5 x 25hrs x 6wks = $750
$7 x 25hrs x 6wks = $1050
So the person that pays just $2 more per hour of lessons, ends up paying $300 more over only 6 weeks. Let’s now compare budget and non-budget Spanish schools:
Budget Schools ($4-6 per hour private lessons): If all you want from a Spanish School is Spanish lessons at a reasonable price, then a budget school is definitely the way to go. Budget schools do not offer a wide array of amenities such as free internet, weekly outings, specialized classes, etc. They set you up with general Spanish classes, and teach you Spanish, PERIOD! Their teachers may not have all of the international qualifications that some of the more expensive schools boast, however let’s be honest, all that the average Spanish student really needs from a teacher is someone that keeps class interesting, knows the grammatical rules, and corrects you when you make a mistake. It is my opinion that for the majority of travelers in Ecuador (people who just want to learn some Spanish to be able to communicate better) this is the best option, and you can use the money you save for travel after your lessons.
Non-Budget Schools ($6+ per hour private lessons): These schools usually offer a number of perks or options along with their Spanish lessons. Some examples include free internet, more activities (cooking classes, dance classes, cultural activities, etc.). These schools also often offer different classroom options as opposed to general Spanish. For example, Bipo and Toni’s Academia de Español offers classes with a focus on Ecuadorian culture or Latin American Literature. These schools are usually a little more reputable than the budget schools, and often staff more thoroughly trained teachers. I would say this is the best option for the traveler who wants a few perks along with their lessons, who is concerned with having the best of the best, and who doesn’t mind paying a little more for it.
Private vs. Group Lessons:
Roughly 2/3 of the Spanish Schools in Quito offer both private and group Spanish lessons. Deciding whether to take private or group lessons is basically a question of what you hope to get out of your Spanish School experience.
Private lessons are definitely the way to go if your primary goal is to improve your Spanish as much as possible as quickly as possible. Classes in which 100% of the teacher’s attention is focused on YOU and working with you and only you on improving your Spanish is definitely the most efficient way to learn the language.
On the other hand if you would like to improve your Spanish, but also meet some new people and have a less intense classroom experience, group lessons may be the way to go. You probably will not learn the language as quickly in the group setting, however for many people it is nice to have others around to lighten the mood a little. Plus group Spanish classes are a good way to make some new friends.
Homestays:
A great compliment to your Spanish classes can be living with an Ecuadorian family in a "homestay". Many of the Spanish schools (budget and non-budget) will set you up with a family if you so desire, as this is a fantastic way to practice your Spanish 24/7.
The individual school pages on this site note whether or not the school arranges homestays (most do) and for how much.
Things to watch out for:
Watch out for "Package Prices": For the Spanish School prices listed on this site we have calculated the cost of classes per hour for each of the Spanish Schools so that they can easily be compared. However, many schools do not advertise their prices in such a simple manner, instead they give package prices that include a whole array of services including classes, homestay with an Ecuadorian family, books, registration fee, etc. Listing prices in this way can make it much less clear how much you are actually paying for each individual service, meaning you could be paying much more than the industry standard… Make sure you shop around and know exactly how much you are paying for each product (classes, homestay, books, etc.), so that you can make an informed decision.
Private Lessons over $10: It is my opinion that any school that offers private lessons over $10, unless they are providing University or Corporate level instruction, are totally overpriced. Some schools do the majority of their advertising at an international level, to an audience that basically doesn’t realize that $12 per hour of private Spanish lessons in Ecuador is well above the norm. These schools, in my opinion, are just taking advantage of an uninformed population.
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