Studying Spanish or any other language on your own is fine, and you can often get some pretty good results. But there comes a time when you simply need some other people to practice with or you have a question you just can’t find the answer to. This is when a real, live teacher really comes in handy. Someone you can go to to get a concrete answer about something you haven’t been able to answer yourself.

Perhaps it’s an obscure grammar point that you can’t understand, a practical vocabulary usage question that the dictionary doesn’t elaborate on, or you simply need help with pronunciation. In my list of 11 things you can do to learn Spanish, signing up for a course is number one.

So where can you go to track down a good (and hopefully cheap) Spanish course?

Community college

In most metropolitan areas there are several community (junior) colleges. You can usually sign up for courses without being officially accepted as a student, and even to be accepted, there are not many requirements. A semester of Spanish will probably run you between $100 and $200 dollars (in the US), and will net you some good practice with other students, good exemplary pronunciation from the prof and probably some fun as well. A distinct advantage to taking a community college class, is that they often offer night classes and even beginning “conversational” classes. For example, if you’re in Scottsdale, AZ, you might try getting into one of these Spanish courses at Scottsdale Community College.

Tutors

There are specialized companies that offer personal tutoring services and language courses. These can range from one-on-one tutoring if you’re already advanced and need help in a specific area, to very personal (one to five students) classes. You can begin with the basics and move on quickly to more advanced material. A disadvantage to these classes is the cost. They will probably be more expensive than all the above options. However, you can look at this as a disadvantage or an advantage. Since you’re paying good money for these classes, you will probably be more motivated, and as a consequence learn more.

These courses are often charged by the hour with hourly rates of $50 and up, and can be tailored to what you need to learn. You can also usually set up these classes to work around your already busy schedule, as opposed to community or university classes.

How can you find a tutor or one of these specialized classes? Just search on the net. There are literally hundreds of companies that offer these services. For example, the company I linked to above offers courses (from Italian classes to one-on-one German tutoring) in most major cites in the US and Europe.

University

If you have a university nearby, you might be able to sign up for a course without being an admitted student. Ask the admissions office about it, and go for a class. You’ll probably find that it’s a bit higher quality teaching than in a community college, but they might not offer night classes. If you like studying Spanish, after some of the 101 courses, you might go on to study phonology, history, literature and other aspects of Spanish.

Adult centers

Many cities and communities have an adult center with stimulating activities such as bingo for our senior citizens. In addition to bingo, they just might have a Spanish class available once a week. Run on down to your local adult center and look for bulletin boards in the foyer where you can glean the relevant information. Even if you aren’t a “senior citizen”, try talking to the instructor. If the class is not full, she’ll probably welcome you to help stimulate conversation and learning among all the pupils.

The class might move slowly, but you’ll get a chance to help others, which apart from being a rewarding activity, can also help you learn. For example, if you’re in Philadelphia, why don’t you check out the Juanita Park Adult Center’s Spanish course?

Community courses

In many areas there are community classes sponsored by churches, charitable organizations and other non-profits. These have the advantage of being free or very low-cost. They are also usually low-pressure meaning you won’t have to learn unless you really want to. But of course you, gentle reader, are a highly motivated individual who will take advantage of every opportunity to learn Spanish and become fluent in it.

Conclusion

With all these options for finding a Spanish course, remember that the internet is your friend. Do a search for your local city, community college and look through the results. It’s likely you can find a course to sign up for right now within 10 minutes. So in conclusion, if you’re not in a Spanish course as of now, you are hereby challenged, with the Tomisimo challenge, to go out and find one. Sign up and let me know how it goes.

20 February 2007 2:44 pm
Cats: Language Learning
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