Study Spanish in Argentina - 7 Reasons You Should Make the Trip Today

Have you ever wanted to learn Spanish? Have you ever thought about visiting Argentina? You can do both by taking Spanish classes offered by schools in Argentina. Spanish classes are offered by different schools in the cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Patagonia. Choose which city you would like to visit and which school best fits your needs for a Spanish educational experience and get started.

Below are seven reasons why you should make the trip today and why Argentina may be the most perfect destination in the world to fine-tune your grasp of the Spanish language.

1. IMMERSION - Immersion into a foreign language is a quick and beneficial way to learn any new language, and there are a number of schools in Argentina that teach students Spanish (or Castellano) through summer classes, semester classes, internships, and volunteer projects. The Spanish language is now the fourth most spoken language in the world, the second language in the international community, and the official language of twenty-one nations. Argentina is one of the largest countries in South America and the eighth largest in the world, home to the Andes mountains, the Patagonia pampa or desert, emerald rivers and a vast array of wildlife.

2. INTERNSHIPS - Internships are available in Buenos Aries thru http://www.gicarg.org. GIC Argentina, one of the largest providers of such services in the region, will place you with a company in your field of interest that will work with you to have real life work experience combined with the business vocabulary necessary to further your career. Your internship placement will be based on your knowledge of the language before you arrive. You will generally work normal business hours, generally 30 to 40 hours a week. Your work program can be combined with tango lessons, cooking lessons, or weekend excursions. At the end of your internship, GIC Argentina and your employer, will give you a certificate of participation in the internship program.

3. CLASSES - Classes are offered from a variety of schools in Argentina for learning Spanish thru the immersion method. http://www.iberospanish.com offers Beginner I thru Superior classes with both group and individual instruction with 20 to 40 hours per week of learning. http://www.abcspanish.com.ar offers a wide variety of classes from individual to group, to combined classes to fit your needs. GIC Argentina gives you three locations to learn from: Buenos Aries, Mendoza, and Patagonia. The Buenos Aries location offers the best of city life in downtown along with historical and cultural locations near by for excursions. The Mendoza campus, located in the wine country of Argentina, has a strong liberal arts curriculum that includes degrees in Business, Journalism, and International Relations. The campus in Patagonia is located at the Universidad F. A. Santo Tomas de Aquino. It is a private university located in the heart of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, combining your Spanish education with outdoor sports such as rafting, snowboarding, hiking, and rock climbing.

4. COST - The cost for classes range from as little as $18.00US for individual intensive classes that helps you design a course suited to your needs at ABC Spanish, to intensive Spanish classes for $380US a week for combined group and individual lessons. The Ibero Spanish School offers all books and necessary materials, maps, cinema lessons and a city tour for 4 weeks starting at $460.00US. Classes from GIC Argentina range from $1,190.00US for a 1 month student resident to $8835.00US for 6 months in a private apartment. The current exchange rate for the US dollar to the Argentine Peso (ARP) is 3 to 1, making excursions, cooking lessons, or tango lessons available even to those on a budget.

5. ACCOMMODATIONS - While learning Spanish in Argentina you can choose the type of accommodations that fit both your budget and your travel plans. Each Spanish School can help you with a variety of stay types to fit your needs. You can expect each type of Spanish school in Argentina to offer homestays with local families in a single furnished room or residence halls where you can have your choice of stay in either single, double, triple or quad rooms with maid service. Some schools also have two or three bedroom apartments available with single occupancy rooms. If more privacy is required, they also offer single occupancy apartments with your choice of studio or one bedroom.

6. EXCURSIONS - There are many excursions available to explore while in Argentina. In the Mesopotamia region the Iguaza Falls is an amazing range of approximately 270 falls that spans 2.7 kilometers (1.67 miles) rising up to 269 feet in height, providing a beautiful natural landscape and abundant outdoor activities. The Mendoza province boasts most of the wine vineyards in Argentina with an annual festival called Vendimia every March that includes wine tasting, folkloric festivals, the religious grape blessing ceremony and the crowing of the Reina Nacional de la Vendimia. Patagonia features the largest lake in Argentina, Lake Argentino, which lies within the Los Glaciares National Park.

7. RESUME - The benefits of adding the Spanish language to your resume or college transcript is endless. With the amount of business that is part of the international community today, the ability to put Spanish as a second language on your resume will make your more appealing to many companies worldwide. More and more companies today are hiring Spanish-speaking employees or setting up call centers with Spanish as an alternative option to English when asking for information. The US Census Bureau estimates that by July 1, 2007, there will be over 43 million people of Hispanic or Latino origin in the United States. With the growing population of Spanish speaking individuals in the US, the ability to be bilingual will put you ahead of monolingual career candidates.

With so many reasons to learn Spanish in Argentina why wait? Classes start each week with each school, check websites for specific information. The number of people learning Spanish is increasing every day, and you could be one of them.

What are you waiting for?