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Do’s and dont’s when living with a host family during your Spanish course
Do’s and dont’s when living with a host family
Living with a local guest family during your Spanish course in Peru is an amazing experience and an important component of most study abroad programs. AMAUTA Spanish School also offers this home stay experience in Cusco and in Buenos Aires. AMAUTA works with a great group experienced guest families in both Peru and Argentina, carefully selected and monitored by our staff. We are happy to say that for 98% of the students the host family experience has been great; they mention it was a valuable complement to their Spanish studies.
However, living abroad in a new country with a new culture – especially when you do not speak the Spanish language – can also be daunting and it requires a good deal of flexibility from both you and your host. We think the following list of Do’s and Don’t will be helpful for you when you plan on living with a host family during your Spanish Course in Cusco . Check it out and let us know! (more…)
Learning Spanish for Adults: Four Foolproof Methods
Learning Spanish for Adults: Four Foolproof Methods
Learning Spanish is a rewarding challenge. It opens the doors to communication with 500 million speakers in 21 countries across the globe. Speaking another language is a hugely useful skill if you plan on traveling abroad, but studying Spanish also comes with a wide range of other unexpected benefits.
But if you’re looking at learning Spanish as an adult, you might feel that it’s more than an uphill battle. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right?
Well, not exactly. Not only is it possible to become fluent in Spanish as an adult, but there is a range of ways of doing so – with some far more effective than others. Let’s find out exactly what they are. (more…)
11 Must-Visit Sites & Things to Do in the Sacred Valley
11 Must-Visit Sites & Things to Do in the Sacred Valley
Just an hour’s drive from Cusco, the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Peru is named after its importance to the Inca, whose ruined citadels and former agricultural terraces are dotted along the valley’s course.
It’s an awe-inspiring place to visit, flanked by serrated mountains and lush with corn that grows beside the Río Urubamba that flows right along the valley floor. For any visitor to Cusco, the Sacred Valley of the Incas is an unmissable spot on your trip to Peru.
Avoid just passing through on the way to the epic Inca fortress of Machu Picchu and instead spend a few days exploring one of Peru’s largest and most dynamic artisan markets, pre-Colombian salt mines and even one-of-a-kind hotels installed high up on the valley sides. Join us as we rundown the eleven Must Visit Sites and best things to do in the Sacred Valley.
Spoiler: yes, AMAUTA Spanish School offers Spanish classes at this amazing location (see #11)!
Spanish for Travelers: 68 Essential Travel Phrases To Know
Spanish for Travelers: 68 Essential Travel Phrases To Know
Heading on a trip to South America this year and want to make sure you don’t make yourself and those around you completely confused? Having a toolkit of invaluable travel sayings at your disposal will ensure your plans don’t go awry and it’s for that purpose we’ve put together this Spanish for travelers guide.
The 68 travel phrases have a particular focus on South America, where expressions sometimes have a distinctly different character than in Spain.
We’ve broken down these Spanish travel phrases into topic areas to ensure that, regardless of the situation, you’ve got a phrase at your disposal. If you want to go even further into learning Spanish ahead of your trip to South America, head over to our study Spanish online guides or consider taking a Spanish language immersion course when you arrive in the continent. (more…)
The Six Most Unmissable Places to Learn Spanish in South America
The Six Most Unmissable Places to Learn Spanish in South America
One of the easiest ways to pick up a new language is by studying abroad, where you have every opportunity to put your new linguistic skills to the test. Although Spain might seem like the obvious choice, the best place to learn Spanish is actually South America.
Not only are Spanish language classes affordable, local accents are comprehensible and you also get the chance to explore a new continent. But it’s a big place to choose from, so that’s why we’ve put together this run down of the six most unmissable places to learn Spanish in South America.
From the Inca heartland of Cusco to the pampas of Argentina via the beaches of Colombia, there are plenty of places to immerse yourself in Spanish.
Know before you go: where to learn Spanish in South America
Comprising 12 distinct countries and covering 6.89 million square miles, South America has plenty of options when it comes to language study – and maybe even too many options. (more…)
7 Extraordinary Benefits of Learning Spanish If You Like to Travel
7 Extraordinary Benefits of Learning Spanish If You Like to Travel
Whether you’re looking to travel to Peru or other parts of South America or you’re just lining up your next challenge, studying a second language is a valuable thing to do. The benefits of learning Spanish, particularly if you have designs on travel, can’t be understated.
So, if you’re looking for inspiration for why you should learn Spanish, read on as we take you through the six main benefits of picking up this language up.
Studying Spanish makes travelling abroad a whole lot easier
If you’ve yet to embark upon a journey through South America, you probably don’t quite appreciate the difficulties that you come across as a monolinguist or solo English speaker in these parts.
Want to get to another city? You’ll be needing the colectivo, or possibly the micro. (more…)
The best way to learn Spanish: 8 scientifically-backed methods
The best way to learn Spanish: 8 scientifically-backed methods
Is Spanish easy to learn? What’s the quickest way to learn Spanish? What is the best way to learn Spanish?
These are just some of the questions that you asked yourself – and the internet – when you first started learning Spanish. There are plenty of ways that you can study Spanish – and plenty of debate around their effectiveness. But which are actually work?
Is it possible to learn Spanish in a month?
Before we begin, let’s put to bed a question that touches the lips of a lot of first-time language learners: is it possible learn Spanish (or any other language) in a month?
In a word, no. (more…)
Speed up your Spanish Conversations with locals in Peru
Speed up your Spanish Conversations with locals in Peru
Our Spanish teaches in Cusco made a list with words in Spanish with a double or even multiple meaning. Many people learning Spanish in Peru struggle with those words, especially in daily conversations. Multiple meaning words can be quite a challenge: there are spelled and pronounced exactly the same but………the meaning is totally different.
With our list of words in Spanish with a double meaning, you don’t have to worry anymore about your conversations with the local Peruvians, or with your host mum in Cusco! No more embarrassing (or funny) situations because you “missed’ a small detail…. Like for example not being sure if you were talking about animals or flames! 🙂
So let’s go to the animal/ flame case first. Here is our list of Words in Spanish with a multiple meaning so you can Speed Up your Conversations in Spanish with locals in Peru. (more…)
Spanish Lessons in Peru with fun fieldtrips
One of the things I enjoyed most during my Spanish lessons in Cusco (Peru), are the field trips. Learning Spanish in Peru is a great way to improve your Spanish quickly: during the four hours per day in small groups with my teacher, I spoken more Spanish than I’d ever done during my Spanish course home.
But the best opportunities to practice Spanish, to learn about Peruvian culture and to explore Cusco, were the field trips organized by AMAUTA. During one of those trips we went to the Qolwanpata Inca Park in Cusco. Here you can read my report of my Spanish lessons in Peru with fun field trips. (more…)
Spanish Immersion in Peru: exploring Cusco
Spanish Immersion in Peru: exploring Cusco
Reflections on a Field Trip to the Almudena Cemetery with our Spanish Teacher
A trip to a cemetery may not be everyone’s idea of an uplifting experience. I love cemeteries of all kinds, so when my the teacher of my Spanish Course in Cusco tells us that for our field trip today, we will be walking to the cemetery, I am curious, and, a little excited. I am imagining grey slabs of stones etched with dates and epitaphs, in rows, some new, some covered with moss. This would, itself, be interesting enough.
When we arrive, however, I can see why the Almudena Cemetery—Cementario General de Almudena—has been described as “the happiest place in Cusco.” Learning Spanish in Peru and living in Cusco, life surprises me every day. I never thought I would get so much out of this Spanish Immersion program in Peru. (more…)
