How to Learn Spanish in Ecuador in Quito

Not being able to communicate with locals in their mother tongue in countries like Laos and Vietnam was probably the biggest frustration of our trip! It’s hard to understand how China
if you can only ask many questions to English-speaking people. Then, the latter
are rare (only our Couchsurfing hosts or the staff of certain hotels) and don’t represent what the Chinese population really thinks… So, for South America, we decided to change the game by starting our trip with a 2-month language study vacation in Quito, Ecuador, to learn Spanish.

The great thing about Spanish is that it’s spoken (with a few variations) in all of South America except Brazil. What’s more, it’s a language relatively close to French, and therefore easy to learn if you put your mind to it. Well, even if the advantages of learning Spanish, why did you choose Quito in Ecuador? No, we didn’t choose at random…

We’ll tell you all the reasons why we chose this country! Ready to learn the basics of Cervantes’ language during your trip?

Why learn Spanish in Quito, Ecuador?

Ecuadorians speak Spanish slowly and with little accent

The first reason we decided to learn Spanish in Quito was the Spanish spoken there. We’ve read everywhere that Ecuadorians (and especially the inhabitants of the city of Quito) speak quietly and with an accent that’s easy to get used to, unlike countries further south like Chile or Argentina.

After a full immersion in the capital, we can assure you that this reputation is well-founded. The people of Quito are very friendly people who speak Spanish rather slowly and without an accent. After a month of Spanish lessons, we didn’t have too many problems to understand what was being said to us, and we managed to make ourselves understood! Yeah!

Ecuador’s location and climate

As you may have noticed, we were quite behind schedule on our original round-the-world itinerary. This wasn’t a problem in itself but in South American countries like Chile and Argentina, winter sets in from May to September. So it’s clearly not the ideal season of year to learn Spanish, especially as we were planning to do a lot of hiking in Patagonia and elsewhere.

But as you can imagine, Ecuador is well and truly on equator! So there are no seasons to speak of in this country, and it’s between 10 and 25 degrees all year round in Quito, which is 2800 m above sea level. After that, I prefer to warn you that the weather changes all the time in the Ecuadorian capital. In just 1 hour, it can go from a beautiful blue sky to torrential rain. But then, the weather is capricious everywhere, isn’t it? Personally, having pleasant temperatures all year round and low humidity is just a dream. (Humidity in Bangkok? A nightmare!) In short, another positive point for Quito!

One last thing: the fact that Ecuador is located in the north of the South American continent was also an advantage for us. It’s a lot easier to learn Spanish in the north, in Ecuador, and then go slowly down to Patagonia, don’t you think?

Ecuador’s diversity

My friends, Ecuador’s great strength is its diversity! Just imagine:

• trekking in the Andes;
• climbing some of the world’s most impressive volcanoes (nothing like the height of Indonesia’s);
• observing the flora and fauna of the Amazon rainforest;
• living among indigenous tribes;
• sunbathing and surfing on the coast;
• being blown away by Easter Island and Galápagos Islands!

In short, do you know of few places in the world that can claim such diversity? What’s more, Ecuador is a small country, so you don’t have to travel for days by bus to see it all. Isn’t that great? And then there’s the fact that Quito has the largest and best-preserved historic center in South America!

Prices of Spanish courses in Ecuador

I’m not telling you anything new if I tell you that in France, you’ll be charged at least between 15 and 20 euros an hour for Spanish lessons. And even then, that’s the group rate! Here, it’s 3 to 4 times cheaper! What’s more, you’ll find yourself totally immersed in a Spanish-speaking environment, which in my opinion is the only real way to learn.

Frankly, it’s worth stopping off to learn Spanish in Ecuador. If you decide to go on a language study vacation, you’ll probably get the most out of your trip in just a few weeks and certainly learn a lot more Spanish because you’ll have traveled to a country that’s 100% Spanish-speaking (well, 95%, there’s Quichua, the local dialect). And best of all, you’ll have discovered a new country, new landscapes, new cultures. For that reason, it is worth learning somewhere other than France or Switzerland, don’t you think? 😉

Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup

Now that’s a bonus! We have to admit that it would have been a bit expensive to go through Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. Prices have shot up in Brazil… So, as Switzerland played in the same group as Ecuador, we were quite happy to be able to experience the World Cup with our Ecuadorian friends, our opponents for a day during the competition. And we can assure you that people here think, eat, and live football, especially with the World Cup! Atmosphere guaranteed!

How to learn Spanish?

There are no 36 ways to learn a new language. But if you put your mind to it, learning Spanish is easy! (Just kidding) In my opinion, here are the essential points for learning a foreign language quickly.

Take a Spanish course

If, like us, you’re starting Spanish from scratch, taking a few classes to acquire the basics is essential. In our opinion, it’s the fastest way (not the cheapest, but still reasonable) way to learn important grammar and acquire a useful vocabulary that will help you get by in everyday situations. If you feel like learning Spanish in Quito, we recommend the Don Quijote school. We were extremely satisfied with the level of teaching and activities offered by the organization.

Immerse yourselves in a Spanish-speaking environment

In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of learning a foreign language. You’ll hear people speaking Spanish 24 hours a day, and subconsciously you’ll learn useful vocabulary and expressions. For example, in my case, I didn’t really start learning German until I moved to Vienna. Yet I’d taken 10 years of German lessons at school! Another example, in our group in Quito, we had an American who had 5 years of Spanish lessons. She was good at Spanish grammar, but after a month of classes in Ecuador, we were speaking 3 times better than her. That’s immersion!

Speak and speak and speak Spanish again

This is the factor that will make the difference between learning a little Spanish and speaking it fluently. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and be a chatterbox! That’s how you learn. It took me a long time to understand that and to laugh at the errors I made in German. I didn’t make the same mistake with Spanish! As a result, Fabienne and I became school gossips and took every opportunity to talk.

Learn Spanish in a different way

If you have a free evening or some time to kill, watch TV in Spanish. Fabienne and I watched Friends in Cervantes’ language, and we can assure you that between the first and last episode of season 1, there was no comparison…

Mobile applications are also very useful for practicing and learning Spanish on the move. Mosalingua is undoubtedly the application we used the most during our travels. By the way, by clicking on the link below, you can test Mosalingua for free for 15 days, and get 20% off your subscription if you’re convinced!

Another thing I like to do is play sports (soccer, volleyball…) with the locals. In general, people are more open when they’re relaxing, and it’s always easier to talk about things you enjoy, like sports. It’s also a great opportunity to make new friends! In Vienna, I joined a table tennis club, which enabled me to improve my German while practicing a sport.

And that was it! Now you know where to learn Spanish in total immersion: Quito, Ecuador! Come on chicos, we’ll see you in our first travel article from Ecuador: Baños, the capital of extreme sports! ¿Continúas la aventura con nosotros? 😉

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