Spanish Courses in South America - Learn Spanish in Colombia

Colombia is a large and physically diverse nation. It is the fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area seven times greater than that of New England and more than twice that of France. Its vast territory is one of great physical contrasts, ranging from the towering, snowcapped peaks of the Andes to the hot, humid plains of the Amazon River Basin. Not only is Colombia large in area, but it also has a large population (official language, Spanish), containing more people than any other South American country except Brazil. The nation's population is not evenly distributed, however: most people live in the mountainous western third of the country, where the capital city of Bogotá, as well as most of Colombia's other large cities, are located. Join us on our Spanish Courses in Colombia.

Colombia - History

The land that is now Colombia has been inhabited for about 11,000 years. A great majority of Colombia's population is based in both the valleys and mountain basins of the Andes, or on the Caribbean coast. The llanos and Amazonian rainforest take up two-thirds of Colombian territory, but only 2 percent of the population lives there.

In 1525, the first Spanish settlement was founded on the Caribbean coast. Bogotá was founded in 1538 by a company of Spanish soldiers looking for El Dorado. Colombia, or “New Grenada,” as it was then called, became Spain's principal source of gold.

Colombia achieves independence from Spain in 1819 with General Simón Bolívar's victory at the battle of Boyacá. A few decades later, two contending parties formed. They continue to dominate Colombian politics today: the Conservative party, which favored strong central government and strong ties with the Catholic Church, and the Liberal party, which favored states rights and separation of church and state.

Colombia has had a violent past. A civil war and political unrest left hundreds of thousands of people dead. A shift from agriculture to industrial production resulted in a quick migration from country to city coincided. This has intensified the concentration of wealth and led to more political instability. Four separate guerrilla groups fought the government for years. With the exception of the largest group, M-19, which put down its arms in 1991 and joined the political process, they all carry on their efforts to front a revolution. Even more destabilization stems from the considerable economic power of a few drug czars who control worldwide distribution of cocaine.

Learn Spanish in Colombia - Geography

Located in the northwest corner of the South American continent, Colombia encompasses an area of more than 1.1 million square kilometers. It is the only South American country with both Caribbean and Pacific Coastlines. Colombia also borders Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador. There are no major outstanding international boundary problems between Colombia and its neighbors. All of the borders have long been delineated, and most have been demarcated by surveys and the placement of markers, although tropical jungle terrain and hostile Indians had impeded survey operations in some areas along the borders with Venezuela and Brazil. Colombia and Venezuela did, however, dispute sovereignty over the seabed in the Golfo de Venezuela, an area of potential petroleum wealth.

In addition to its mainland territory, Colombia possesses a number of small islands in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The combined areas of all these islands do not exceed sixty-five square kilometers.

In the Caribbean, off the coast of Nicaragua and 640 kilometers from the Colombian coast, Colombian territory includes an archipelago of thirteen small cays grouped around the Isla de San Andrés and the Isla de Providencia. Other small islands, cays, and banks in the same area--which belong to Colombia but also are claimed by Nicaragua --are Isla de Santa Catalina, Cayos de Roncador, Banco de Quita Sueño, Banco de Serrana, and Banco de Serranilla. Several small islands also lie off Colombia's Caribbean coast south of Cartagena. These include the Isla del Rosario, Islas de San Bernardo, and Isla Fuerte.

In the Pacific, Colombian territory encompasses Isla de Malpelo, which lies about 430 kilometers west of Buenaventura. Nearer the coast, a prison colony is located on Isla Gorgona. Isla Gorgonilla lies off the southern shore of Isla Gorgona.

Spanish Schools Colombia - Economy

In 2006 Colombia had the fifth-largest economy in Latin America, a status that is expected to continue through 2010. Since the liberalization of the economy under the new constitution of 1991, the government has sought to facilitate the gradual transition from a highly regulated economy to a free-market economy through measures such as tariff reductions, financial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and adoption of a more liberal foreign-exchange rate. Although the economy became mired in a recession in 1998-99 as a result of external shocks and monetary tightening to curb inflation, it has rebounded since 2003 as a result of confidence in the political and economic policies of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. The recovery of growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005 and an overall reduction in criminal and political violence contributed to the favorable conditions that enabled President Uribe to be reelected in May 2006 with a strengthened popular mandate. The economy is expected to remain steady despite continuing weak domestic and foreign demand, slow GDP growth, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflict.

Spanish Courses Colombia - Food

The first meal of the day is, you guessed it, breakfast and is eaten upon rising. The main meal of a Colombian's day is lunch, usually eaten between 12:30 and 2:30 pm. The meal may consist of three courses: a soup followed by a main course followed by a drink, but due to lack of time, it is usually just the main dish and the soup. Between lunch and dinner people; mostly kids eat a light snack. The dinner is eaten usually around 7 to 9 pm. After dinner, before going to bed, many people eat a "merienda". This consists of a pastry, bread, or croissant with chocolate or coffee.

Many varieties of fruit virtually unknown to the western world are enjoyed in Colombia, such as the zapote, lulo, curuba (banana passion fruit), mamoncillo, uchuva (gooseberry), feijoa, sweet granadilla, mamey, guama, tree tomato, borojó, arasá (in the Amazon region), pomarrosa, anón, chirimoya, guanábana, maracuyá (passion fruit), chontaduro, mora (blackberry), cocota, carambolo, coroso, guayabamanzana (hybrid between guava and apple), sweet small bananas (about 8 cm), níspero and pitahaya. Banana leaves are also very widely used in Colombian cuisine with foods such as quesillos (cheese wrapped in banana leaves) and tamales making heavy use of them.

Typical Colombia dishes include;

The "bandeja paisa" ("Paisa platter") is always a national favorite. It consists of white rice, red beans, ground beef, sausage, plantain, morcilla, chicharron, arepa, avocado and a fried egg.

The "ajiaco", an elaborate stew, is one of the national dishes along with the bandeja paisa.

The "sancocho", a soup combining vegetables and meat or fish, is very popular also, with recipes differing from one region to the other

The "cuchuco", made up of wheat, habas, potatoes, ribs, peas, is a very nice thick soup from Boyacá

Learn Spanish in Colombia - Climate

Mainly as a result of differences in elevation, Colombia has a striking variety in temperatures, with little seasonal variation. The areas fit for human habitation are divided into three climatic zones: hot ( tierra caliente ; below 900 meters in elevation), temperate ( tierra temblada ; 900-2,000 meters), and cold ( tierra fría ; 2,000 meters to about 3,500 meters). The hottest month of the year is March. The coldest months are July and August. Precipitation is generally moderate to heavy, with the highest levels in the Pacific Lowlands and in parts of eastern Colombia. Considerable year-to-year variations are recorded, but generally most of the country has two main wet seasons with heavy daily rainfall (March to May and September to November) and one or two dry seasons with little or no rainfall (December to February and June to August), except in the northern plains, where there is only one long wet season from May through October. The wettest month of the year is October, and the driest month is February. Average annual precipitation is 3,000 millimeters. Average temperature ranges in Bogotá, which has an elevation of 2,560 meters, vary little, for example, 10° C-18° C in July and 9° C-20° C in February.

Spanish Schools Colombia - Advice

At our Spanish courses in Colombia and throughout South America our advice can really be summed up with one simple word - practice! What kind of study materials you use is not quite as important as how or how often you use them. Your determination and perseverance will go very far indeed.

Spanish Courses in Colombia - Advice

At our Spanish schools and courses in Colombia and throughout South America our advice can really be summed up with one simple word - practice! What kind of study materials you use is not quite as important as how or how often you use them. Your hard work and determination will be one of the biggest factors in successful language learning.

The Spanish school and course you choose in South America is going to be the core of your Spanish study, so make sure you choose a Spanish language course that gives you structured lessons and lots of opportunity to practice your new language skills. Our Spanish courses at our Spanish schools in Colombia and throughout South America, will give you the perfect opportunity to study, learn, and practice Spanish in a supportive, well planned and friendly environments.

You must work at your new Spanish language skills every day. Ideally, you should study Spanish an extra hour or more every day. If you can get at least an extra half-hour of study time, that's pretty good too. Try to at least get a little review and study, learn and practice Spanish every single day.

If you attend one of our Spanish courses in Colombia and you learn Spanish everyday, you will have a good basic knowledge of the Spanish language in a reasonable amount of time. Your knowledge and ability will increase and improve depending upon what other tools you use and what kind of experiences you have using the Spanish language.

Grammar book. A good old-fashioned grammar book may be boring but they are a great way to really get to grips with the details of the language.

Phrase Book

These are extremely helpful books that you can carry with you. They can be useful for practicing pronunciation, or for quickly finding a lot of more commonly used phrases, words and idioms. Phrase books are always a nice supplement to learn Spanish and they are convenient and cheap.

Dictionary. Absolutely necessary in the long run. You must have a dictionary if you wish to expand your vocabulary, and you will need one in order to take full advantage of many of the Spanish language learning tips set out here. Make sure you get one that translates both ways e.g. English to Spanish AND Spanish to English. It is also helpful to find a dictionary that contains idioms - the phrases particular to the language which you are studying - as well as phrases that are commonly used in the Spanish language, but may be difficult to translate. As an example in English - 'to give the cold shoulder' or 'it's a piece of cake!'

Flashcards

A simple Spanish language learning tip, but a very effective way to review, refresh your memory and expand your vocabulary. There are pre-made flashcards that can be purchased, or for extra help, you can create your own. Keep them with you at all times, in your pocket or in your car, and look at them for a quick review or language lesson at every opportunity. They are very convenient.

Talk to yourself

It may be obvious, but the best way to learn Spanish in South America is to speak Spanish in South America ! This convenient method can be use at all times, as you can even talk to yourself. Even if you are in public and don't feel comfortable talking to yourself out loud, you can make it your habit to practice Spanish by thinking Spanish. Throughout the day, think of the Spanish words for everything you pass - objects in your house, things you pass when you are traveling, things you use at work or school, etc. Learn basic Spanish phrases like - ‘it is cold today' or ‘it is sunny today' and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out the window. By putting this tip into use on a regular basis, the vocabulary and phrases will become more routine and automatic.

Practice with friends

Taking it even further than talking to yourself, you can practice with your friends. Even if they don't speak Spanish, talk to the people you know by using your new language. Warn them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they'll know what's coming. Even a simple 'good morning' or 'see you later' in Spanish will make those phrases more natural to you. Your friends may even begin to learn a few words and join in the fun too!

Listen to Spanish music. You'll hear the Spanish language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and pronunciation even better. This method will also give you a further understanding of, and appreciation for, the culture and customs of the people. Music in Spanish might be easier to find than others, but Amazon or eBay and many other global websites will enable you to find music in Spanish and many different languages.