Press Articles

Getting educated en español
Spanish-language schools provide learning options

By Elliott Hester
Houston Chronicle
Universal Press Syndicate

 

Sitting in a private classroom on the lower slope of the Pichincha volcano, more than 9,000 feet abo

 

ve sea level in the Ecuadorian Andes, I am unaffected by the thin air. But the conjugation is driving me insane. Zayra Ibujes, one of several language instructors at the Amazonas Spanish School, has just asked me to conjugate the verb aullar (to howl).
"Yo aullo. Tu aullas. El aulla ..."After correctly rattling off, "1 howl, you howl, he howls," I mispronounce the "we howl" conjugation.
"No, no, no, senor," says, Senorita Ibujes, correcting me in Spanish for the l5th time this morning. "Nosotros aullamos."
1 stifle the urge to lean back in my chair and aullo!
Amazonas is one of more than 60 Spanish-language schools in Quito, Ecuador. A mild year-round climate, relatively safe surroundings, a clearly spoken Spanish dialect and low prices make Ecuador's capital the place to be for Spanish-language learning.
Depending on which school you choose, you'll pay from $6 to $10 per hour for private, one-on-one classes with an instructor certified by the Ministry of Education. Most students remain in class four hours per day, but schools are willing to cater to all schedules.
As is the case with mi profesora, Senorita Ibujes, most teachers speak little or no English. This worried me initially. But after one week of Spanish language immersion, 1 began understanding at an accelerated rate.
Since opening its doors in 1989, the Amazonas School averages approximately 500 foreign students per year. Most come from Europe (England, Germany and Holland are prime markets), although Spanish-speaking wannabes pop in regularly from the United States, Canada, and as far away as South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic. According to general manager Gustavo Guzman, the average student is about 24 years old. "But we've had students as young as 8," he says. "And as old as 76."
The school provides three language learning options. The "Super Dynamic" curriculum is recommended for those with only one or two weeks to spare. Classes generally run four to five hours per day. Lessons deal with real-life situations like ordering food at a restaurant or checking into a hotel. Eighty percent of the class involves conversation. The remaining time is devoted to reading, writing, grammar and punctuation.
The "Dynamic" program is best suited for those with three to four weeks in which to study. Again, classes run four to five hours, five days per week. With more days in which to learn, however, students receive a more comprehensive approach Education begins with the Spanish alphabet and moves on to numbers, colors, days of the week, and one of the most important (and sometimes most difficult) aspects of language learning: verb conjugation.
Travelers with a few months on their hands will no doubt benefit from the "Regular" program, which allows for a thoroughly detailed approach to language learning. "We have great success," says Senior Guzman. "Our students know we are here to help them."
Help is available at all levels, from beginner to advanced. The school prides itself on having taught American Airlines pilots and flight attendants, as well as corporate executives like the general manager of Heineken in Ecuador.
To enhance the language-learning experience, many schools offer a "Home Stay" program. This allows students to live with a carefully screened, middle-class Ecuadorian family in a comfortable environment. The families speak no English. Students are thus provided with the impetus to reinforce lessons learned in class.
Seventy-five percent of students at the Amazonas Spanish School, myself included, take advantage of the Home Stay program.
I live in the sprawling three-story home of Dr. Jaime Yepez Castro and his wife, Ines Maria Darquea de Yepez. During their six-year affiliation with Amazonas, the retired couple has hosted 98 students from ah over the world. After I signed their dog-eared guest register, Senora Yepez wrote "99" below my name.
My stay includes three scrumptious home-cooked meals per day, laundry service, a large private bedroom with a color TV, and a private bathroom. At a cost of $20 per day, it's cheaper and more carefree than living at home. Which brings me to a bilingual revelation. I pay $8 per hour for private classes that would cost $20 or more in the United States. If you're serious about learning Spanish, it may be cheaper and far more interesting to fly to Quito, enroll in a Spanish language course and live with an Ecuadorian family.
Check airline prices. Do the math. You might find yourself saying caramba!
Elliott Hester, aka the Continental Drifter, is
undertaking his second around- the-world adventure. Hester's
reports appear periodically in this section. Contact him at
megoglobal@hotmail.com.
Access www.elliotthester.com

 

 

From dumb gringo to able traveller thanks to language school

27.01.06
By James Frankham
New Zealand Herald

 

My world is mute. Conversations, signs and words cannot find their way into my simple, Spanish-less existence. I decide to embark on Spanish lessons.
I know a smattering of German, a handful of French, enough Farsi to get me into trouble, and Papua New Guinea Pidgin as a party trick. But Spanish is the first foreign language I have attempted with any sense of commitment to the long haul.

I'm a writer, I try to convince myself, a professional wordsmith, so surely another language will come naturally. But the New Zealand education system does not require an understanding of the ins and outs of grammar. I learned about apostrophes at school. I'm quite good at them, but that, sadly, is the full extent of my grammatical repertoire.

So to understand the structure of another language I must first learn the basis of English properly. It will be no easy ride.

Of all the places to learn Spanish in South America, Quito is reputably the best. The locals speak a slow, clear, clean form, free of the heavy dialects prevalent on the Ecuadorian coast and elsewhere in Chile and Argentina, where even a Spaniard could suffer comprehensive confusion.
It has world-class schools, with very reasonable rates, and although the President did a runner, Ecuador is one of the more stable Latin American democracies.
For the fainthearted and superficial traveller, learning Spanish is not an essential. If you are comfortable living in a world of your own, then you can get by looking blank for a few weeks - the illusion isn't robust but it's generally effective.

But a working knowledge of Spanish is imperative, for anyone prepared to scratch the surface of a culture by engaging with local people in any form whatsoever, and for those planning to spend more than a week or two in Latin America or venture out of their hotel for any excursion more extensive than a couple of beers at the gringo bar.
Because Spanish is common throughout Latin America, few people outside the tourist industry speak more than a few words of English.
But for anyone on a linguistic journey, a word of warning. Brace yourself for a devastating bout of self doubt. Prepare to be consumed by the unforeseen depths of your own stupidity.

That is precisely the problem for me. I hate feeling stupid. I hate being unable to communicate, yet here I am on a sidewalk unable to pronounce a street sign written in an alphabet I have known all my life.
I can't talk to a child, let alone a bus driver in a hurry. I am deaf and mute, and I don't like it.
Manuel is my first teacher. He's a vivacious type, an unshakable enthusiast, music lover and passionate protagonist of the language. He also loves Supertramp and the Eagles. The first week of lessons is good. We stick to the basics.

"Hello. My name is James. I'm from New Zealand. And I like bananas. Thank you."
It's not a profound conversation, but it's polite. Now I have a name, a nationality, and my Ecuadorian teacher knows what to feed me.
In week two things go bad Very bad. No longer is it acceptable to tiptoe around the language, picking out the nice bits and avoiding those that leave a sour, confusing taste in my mouth. Now it's all on, I'm conjugating - a difficult process involving phenomenal feats of memory and immense mental strain.

"Es necesario," I'm told

Suddenly, all the happy, polite chats are gone. The room is spinning. My world is awash in imperfect and irregular verbs. I'm engulfed in a cacophony of words I understand, but sentences I don't.
It's as if Quito has suddenly become a great ocean of confusion, a jungle of complexity. Before I didn't understand, now I have enough knowledge of the language to be completely vexed. Buying a piece of bread used to involve pointing and smiling. Now I'm bound to identify, conjugate and construct.
I'm tangled in reflexive verbs - a confusing aspect of Latin languages without any equivalent in English.

They are maliciously devised to confuse tourists and throw aspiring Spanish students off the track. I'm sure it's part of some grand conspiracy to identify any gringo in an instant, merely by the blank expression left on their face after uttering "pararse".
Then, one fine day, the penny drops like a million tonnes of Inca gold. The reflexive dangles before me in all its conjugated glory - naked, simple, efficient. And one small corner of my confused bilingual world snaps into sharp focus.

"Yo entiendo."

I wonder why I was so oblivious to the obvious.
I skip down the street, gleefully reading signs, identifying shops, skimming the headlines of newspapers and asking for bread like the lady next to me.
The accent isn't perfect - I think one of the verbs is conjugated slightly wrong - but I get my enpanada, I get my change and I'm skipping down the street again.
This is the moment where I go from dumb gringo to able traveller. It's the greatest intellectual adventure one can embark on. It opens nations to discovery, unlocks the simple mysteries of foreign cultures, and creates the most precious opportunity of all - speaking to locals in their native tongue.

There is no better tool for travel. South America will never be the same.

Staying there
Amazonas Travel and Education offers superb Spanish tuition from experienced teachers. The family owned operation, which has competitive rates, is located in the centre of Quito's new town. Excursions to places of interest around Quito, as well as a weekly evening salsa lesson, are included in the tuition fees. Package deals with accommodation are offered and many opt for the popular home-stays with an Ecuadorian family. It's certainly the best method for rapid learning. Tuition is the equivalent of $11.50 an hour or $230 a week for the standard 20-hour course. If you want to stay with a family, the accommodation is $29 a night with three meals included. Groups get reduced rates.
Check out www.eduamazonas.com (link provided below) or contact Gustavo Guzman on +593 2 2504654, info@eduamazonas.com He's a nice guy and speaks good English if you get stuck after "hola".

 

 

Top Spanish class just a flight away

By Efflott Hester
Denver Post

 

Sitting in a private classroom on the lower siope of the Pichincha volcano, more than 9,000 feet aboye sea level in the Ecuadorian Andes, 1 am unaifected by the thin air. But the conjugation is driving me insane. Zayra ¡bujes, one of several language instructors at the Amazonas Spanish School, has just asked me to conjugate the verb aullar (to howl).

"Yo aullo. Tu aullas. El aulla ..." After correctly rattling off, "1 howi, you howl, he howls," 1 mispronounce the "we howl" conjugation.
"No, no, no, senor," says, Senorita ¡bujes, coitecting me in Spanish for the l5th time this morning. "Nosotros aullamos."
1 stifle the urge to lean back in my chair and aullo!

Amazonas is one of more than 6o Spanish-language schools in Quito, Ecuador. A mild year-round climate, relatively safe surroundings, a clearly spoken Spanish dialect and low prices make Ecuador's capital the place to be for Spanish-language learning.
Depending on which school you choose, you'll pay froni $6 to sio per hour for private, one-on-one classes with an instructor certified by the Ministry of Education. Most students remain in class four hours per day, but schools are wiLling to cater to all schedules.
As is the case with mi profesora, Senorita flujes, most teachers speak little or no English. This worried me initially. But after one week of Spanish language immersion, 1 began understanding at an accelerated rate.

Since opening its doors in 1989, the Amazonas School averages approximately 500 foreign students per year. Most come from Europe (England, Germany and Holland are prime markets), although Spanish-speaking wannabes pop in reguiarly from the United States, Canada, and as far away as South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic. According to general manager Gustavo Guzman, the average student is about 24 years old. "But we've had students as young as 8," he says. "And as oid as 76."
The school provides three language learning options. The "Super Dynamic" curricuium is recommended for those with only one or twG weeks to spare. Classes generally run four to five hours per day. Lessons deal with real-lfe situations like ordering food at a restaurant or checking into a hoteL Eighty percent of the class involves conversation. The remaining tirie is devoted to reading, writing, grammar and punctuation.

The "Dynamic" program is best suited for those with three to four weeks in which to study. Again, classes run four to five hours, five days per week. With more days in which to learn, however, students receive á more comprehensive approach Education begins with the Spanish alphabet and moves on to numbers, colors, days of the week, and one of the most inlportant (and sometimes most difficult) aspects of language learning: verb conjugation.
Travelers with a few months on their hands wilI no doubt benefit from the "Regular" program, which allows for a thoroughly detailed approach to language learning. "We have great success," says Seriar Guzrnan. "Our students know wé are here to help them."
Help is availabie at ah lévels, from beginner to advanced. The school prides itseif on having taught AmericanAirlines piots and flight attendants, as well as corporate executives like the general manager of Heineken iii Ecuador.

To enhance the language-learning experience, many schools offer a "Home Stay" program. This allows students to live with a carefully screened, middle-class Ecuadorian family in a comfortabie environment. The families speak no English. Students are thus provided with the impetus to reinforce lessons learned in class.

Seventy-five percent of students at the Amazonas Spanish School, myself included, take advantage of the Home Stay program.
1 uve in the sprawling three-story home of Dr. Jaime Yepez Castro and his wife, loes Maria Darquea de Yepez. During their six-year afftliation with Amazonas, the retired couple has hosted 98 students from ah over the world. After 1 signed their dog-eared guest register, Senora Yepez wrote "99" below my name.

My stay includes three scrumptious home-cooked meals per day, iaundry service, a large private bedroom with a color TV, and a private bathroom. At a cost of $20 per day, it's cheaper and more carefree than living at home.
Which brings me to a bilingual revelation. ¡ pay $8 per hour for private ciasses that would cost $20 or more in the United States. If you're serious about iearning Spanish, it may be cheaper and far more interesting to fly to Quito, enroil iii a Spanish language course and uve with an Ecuadorian family.
Check airline prices. Do the math. You might find yourself saying caramba!

 

 

Going to Great Heights for Spanish

By Helga Trim
Article published at Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
Sunday July 9th, 2006

 

Quito is the second highest capital city in the world. And living that high above sea level can be a heady experience. But if you prefer a cool climate, look no further. Although it's located 25 kilometres from the equator, it rarely climbs above 24ºC on any given day and averages a refreshing 15ºC all year round. This is what drew me to Quito initially, but it was the Spanish school Amazonas Education and Travel and what it offered its students that sealed the deal.

After searching the web for a place to study, I found Amazonas by sheer luck or was it destiny. I wrote to them for more information, and the information they sent was tailor-made to me at a price I couldn't resist. Amazonas offered me one to one classes, the use of the Hilton gym, spa and heated swimming pool, home stay with meals, airport transfer, excursions and the opportunity to do voluntary work with the street children in Quito for what tuition alone would cost in Spain. Talk about Best Buys, this was definitely one of them!

I learned in 3 months much more than I ever learned in all 5 years of secondary school. The professors know their material and the calibre of students also add to the experience. I met journalists, teachers, lawyers, engineers, doctors and even met a group of teachers and students from New Mexico who were studying Spanish and travelling around Ecuador as part of a school trip. I thought how progressive. Maybe some of our secondary schools could offer a programme like that - a summer in Ecuador to learn Spanish, travel and volunteer. Just a thought.

The school offers group classes as well and can tailor classes to suit each group's requirements. The school is accredited by the Ministry of Education and Culture and has attracted diplomats, businessmen and pilots who need Spanish for their jobs. For me, I've conducted several interviews in Spanish now and would not have been able to do so had I not taken 3 months of Spanish. Knowing the language allows me to learn about situations and events I would not otherwise be a party to. I've been able to enjoy my travels even more because I can mix and mingle with the locals and often they take me to places where you wouldn't find other tourists, and I really enjoy that.

Throughout South America they offer Spanish immersion programmes, but Ecuador seems to be the most organised and the Spanish spoken in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia is closer to the Spanish spoken in Spain. However, schools in Ecuador seem to offer a lot more than just Spanish at truly irresistible prices. And I can't forget to mention the incredible landscape that surrounds you in Quito. There's the snow-capped Cotopaxi in one corner, Pichincha in another and Cayambe. At sunset the light and shadows on the hilltops almost look surreal. Quito's old city is a UNESCO, world cultural heritage site and you really can picture what it must have been like when the Spanish ruled. Another plus for Quito is that they use US currency which makes it quite easy. The cost of living is way less and you can enjoy American style malls with the brand names we all know. As I said before, it's at half the price.

If you're looking for a cool city from which to begin Spanish immersion and if you want to add a little Inca and Spanish Colonial history to that along with say maybe some extreme sports or shopping, Quito has it all.

 

 

Spanish language immersion in Quito, Ecuador

By Efflott Hester
Article published at InfoHub Specialty Travel Guide

 

Hello dear "students"! Anyone prepearing for taking some Spanich classes? So, here you are! A splendid article written about Amazonas Spanish School was contributed by Elliott Hester, syndicated columnist and bestselling author of Plane Insanity Adventures of a Continental Drifter. Enjoy the reading!

Sitting in a private classroom on the lower slope of the Pichincha volcano, more than 9,000 feet above sea level in the Ecuadorian Andes, the thin air doesnít bother me. But the conjugation is driving me insane.
Zayra Ibujés, one of several language instructors at the Amazonas Spanish School, has just asked me to conjugate the verb aullar (to howl).
"Yo a'llo. Tu a'llas. El a'lla ..." After correctly rattling off, "I howl, you howl, and he howls," I mispronounce the "we howl" conjugation.
"No, no, no, señor," says, Señorita Ibujés, correcting me in Spanish for the fifteenth time this morning. "Nosotros aullamos."
I stifle the urge to lean back in my chair and a'llo!

Amazonas is one of more than 60 Spanish language schools in Quito, Ecuador. A mild year-round climate, relatively safe surroundings, a clearly-spoken Spanish dialect and low prices make Ecuador's capital the place to be for Spanish language learning.
Depending on which school you choose, you'll pay from $6.00 to $10.00 per hour for private, one-on-one classes with an instructor certified by the Ministry of Education. Most students remain in class 4 hours per day, but schools are willing to cater to all schedules.
As is the case with mi profesora, Señorita Ibujés, most teachers speak little or no English. This worried me initially. But after one week of Spanish language immersion, I began understanding at an accellerated rate.

Since opening its doors in 1989, the Amazonas School averages approximately 500 foreign students per year. Most come from Europe (England, Germany and Holland are prime markets), although Spanish-speaking wannabes pop in regularly from the United States, Canada, and as far away as South Africa, South Korea, and the Czech Republic.
According to general manager Gustavo Guzm·n, the average student is about 24 years old. "But we've had students as young as 8," he says. "And as old as 76."

The school provides three language learning options. The "Super Dynamic" curriculum is recommended for those with only 1 or 2 weeks to spare. Classes generally run 4 to 5 hours per day. Lessons deal with real-life situations like ordering food at a restaurant or checking into a hotel. Eighty percent of the class involves conversation. The remaining time is devoted to reading, writing, grammar and punctuation.

The "Dynamic" program is best suited for those with 3 to 4 weeks in which to study. Again, classes run 4 to 5 hours, five days per week. With more days in which to learn, however, students receive a more comprehensive approach. Education begins with the Spanish alphabet and moves on to numbers, colors, days of the week, and one of the most important (and sometimes most difficult) aspects of language learning: verb conjugation.

Travelers with a few months on their hands will no doubt benefit from the "Regular" program, which allows for a thoroughly detailed approach to language learning. "We have great success," says Señor Guzman. "Our students know we are here to help them."

Help is available at all levels, from beginner to advanced. The school prides itself on having taught American Airlines pilots and flight attendants, as well as corporate executives like the general manager of Heiniken in Ecuador.

To enhance the language-learning experience, many schools offer a "Home Stay" program. This allows students to live with a carefully screened, middle-class Ecuadorian family in a comfortable environment. The families speak no English. Students are thus provided with the impetus to reinforce lessons learned in class.

Seventy-five percent of students at the Amazonas Spanish School, myself included, take advantage of the Home Stay program.

I live in the sprawling 3-story home of Dr. Jaime Yépez Castro and his wife Inés María Darquea de Yépez. During their 6-year affiliation with Amazonas, the retired couple has hosted exactly 98 students from all over the world. After I signed their dog-eared guest register, Señora Yépez wrote "99" below my name.
My stay includes three scrumptious home-cooked meals per day, laundry service, a large private bedroom with a color TV, and a private bathroom. At a cost of $20.00 per day, it's cheaper and more carefree than living at home.
Which brings me to a bilingual revelation. I pay $8.00 per hour for private classes that would cost $20.00 or more in the United States. If you're serious about learning Spanish, it may be cheaper and far more interesting to fly to Quito, enroll in a Spanish language course and live with an Ecuadorian family.

Check airline prices. Do the math. You might find yourself saying caramba!

 

 

Learn more Spanish for less dinero

By Efflott Hester
Article published at The Herald

 

Sitting in a private classroom on the lower siope of the Pichincha volcano, more than 9,000 feet above sea level in the Ecuadorian Andes, 1 am unaffected by the thin air. But the conjugation is driving me insane.
Zayra Ibujes, one of severa! language instructors at the Amazonas Spanish School, has just asked me to conjugate the verb aullar (to howl).
"Yo aullo. Tu aullas. El aulla ..." After correctly rattling off, "1 howl, you howl, he howls," 1 mispronounce the "we howl" conjugation.
"No, no, no, señor," says, Señorita Ibujes, correcting me in Spanish for the l5th time this morning. "Nosotros aullamos."
1 stifle the urge to lean back in my chair and aullo!
Amazonas is one of more than 60 Spanish-language schools in Quito, Ecuador. A mild year-round climate, relativeiy safe surroundings, a clearly spoken Spanish dialect and low prices make Ecua- dor's capital the place tp be for Spanish-language learning.

SCHOOLS FLEXIBLE

Depending on which school you choose, you'll pay ftom $6 to $10 per hour for private, one-on-one classes with an instructor certified by the Ministry of Education. Most students remain in class four hours per day, but schools are wiliing to cater to al! schedules.
As is the case with mi profesora, Señorita Ibujes, most teachers speak little or no English. This worried me initiafly. But after one week of Spanishlanguage immersion, 1 began understanding at an accelerated rate.
Since opening its doors in 1989, the Amazonas School has averaged approximately 500 foreign students per year. Most come from Europe (Eng- land, Germany and Holiand are prime markets), although Spanish-speaking wannabes pop in regularly from the United States, Canada, and as far away as South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic. According to general man-.. ager Gustavo Guzman, the average student is about 24 years oid. "But we've had stu- dents as young as 8," he says. "And as old as 76." The school provides three language-learning options. The Super Dynamic curricu- lum is recommended for tho with only one or two weeks to-., spare. Classes generally run four to five hours per day. Les- Sons deal with real-life situa- tions like ordering food at a restaurant o checking into a hotel. Eighty percent of the class involves conversation. The remaining time is devoted to reading, writing, grammar and punctuation.

GREAT SUCCESS

Travelers with a few months on their hands wiil no doubt benefit from the Regular program, which ahlows for a thoroughly detailed approach to language learning. "We have great success," says Senor Guzman. "Our students know we are here to heip them."
Help is avaiiable at ah levels, from beginner to advanced. The scho1prides itseif on having taught American Airlines piiots and flight attendants, as well as corporate .executives like the general manager of Heineken in Ecuador.
To enhance the languageléarning experience, many schools offer a "Home Stay." program. This aflows studens to uve with a carefully screened, middle-class Ecuadorian family in a comfortable environment. The families speak no English. Students are thus provided with the impetus to reinforce lessons learned in class.
Seventy-five percent of students at the Amazonas Spanish School, myself included, take advantage of the Home Stay program.
1 Iisre in the sprawling three-story home of Dr. Jaime Yepez Castro and his wife, mes Maria Darquea de 'epez. During their six-year affiliation with Amazonas, the retired coupie has hosted exactly 98 students from alI over the world. After 1 signed their dog-eared guest register, Senora Yepez wrote ",99" below.myname.
My stay includes three scrumptious bome-cooked meals per day, iaundry service, a large private bedroom with a color TV, and a private bathroom. At a cost of $20 per day,. it's cheaper and more carefree than living at home.

Which brings me to a bilingual revelation. I pay $8 hour for private classes ti wouldcost $20 or more in United States. If you're serios about learning Spanish, it may be cheaper and far more interesting to fly to Quito, enroll in a Spanish language course and live with an Ecuadorian family.

Check airline prices. Do the math. You might fmd yourself saying caramba!