How much Spanish required?

cali373 says on Jul 5, 2005, 09:18:

I am not sure but I do not think there is a shortage of Teachers in Colombia even at an international school. I would think you face serious competition in Big Cities especially Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla considering their are many Colombians there that are fluent in English and Spanish.

Smile if you are a thinker!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Jul 5, 2005, 09:57:

Just Reverse the Question... as I have done:

"I am seriously thinking of working as a teacher at an international school in NEW YORK CITY or ATLANTA once I graduate next Spring. My ENGLISH is currently limited to "TWO BEERS, PLEASE" and "THANK YOU, counting to 10, and not much else.

Can a person get by in NEW YORK CITY with little English? What about ATLANTA? Do you folks recommend as many English lessons as possible before coming over?"

Without fair Spanish language ability you are in BIG trouble.

At the very least you need to be able to tell the taxi driver:

"Más despacio, por favor. A altas velocidades, me mareo. Ver que le dije!"

Please, slow down. At high sppeds I get car sick. See, I told you.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Miguel says on Jul 5, 2005, 10:14:

Reality You should be "seriously thinking" about busting your ass studying the language. Search here for suggested methods. La práctica lo hace todo.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Jul 5, 2005, 10:56:

Easier to get by in Bogota than Medellin with no Spanish. That's not saying much however. The fastest way to learn Spanish is get hooked up with a woman who only speaks Spanish. Been there, done that.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jul 5, 2005, 11:16:

The best way to learn the language is going to the country, go there practice,practice and practice. hang with the locals and you would be fine.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

caslug says on Jul 5, 2005, 12:21:

You can get by w/ NO english in ANY major US city.. BUT try getting by with NO spanish in ANY major COL cities... Lot harder, in bigs cities you'll have ethnic store that people speak different langauge(chinese, spanish, vietnamese, etc.,) and restaurants run by immigrants. BUT you dont see too many "English" neighborhood shops in COL. Without Spanish, i think you'll be limited to teaching ENGLISH or maybe a visiting professor teaching one or two classes IN ENGLISH. We had visiting professor from other countries teach and my university, BUT they taught the class in ENGLISH, granted some of their english was pretty bad, but at least the textbook were in english.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Jul 5, 2005, 13:21:

I think if you were to get thrown in prison in Colombia, or possibly captured by the FARC you would soon learn Spanish. ;-)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Crazy Eagle says on Jul 5, 2005, 13:27:

gracias, amigos and amigas I would like to respond to several posts.

cali373: I have heard the reverse, especially that the international schools are looking for English speaking math teachers.

Senior Gator: English is the major international language, the language of industry and science. That is just the way it is, and yes, you can get by in many foreign cities with mostly English. I would expect to find many Colombians in the big cities that speak English at least a little, but hey, I could be a wrong gringo.

Senior Caslug: well, I would like to teach math and business at an international high school, in English. Or, maybe teach business and economics at the college level, in English.

At any rate, I plan to take at least a few private classes in Spanish, so at least I know some words and phrases. Scary, but also exciting. Dos cervesas por favor ... dos mas cervesas por favor ... dos mas cervesas andele ... por favor? ...

"Where races mix, there's the source of great cultures." Frederich Nietzsche

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Jul 5, 2005, 13:47:

You'll find posters here who say that they encounter English speakers in Colombia with great regularity. I'm not one of them. I've only encountered one person there (a Swiss living in Medellin) who could speak English with me. With the rest it's a few phrases from school and then we converse in Spanish.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

caslug says on Jul 5, 2005, 13:54:

you probably got a fair chance.. to teach in a international school those subjects. Do a google search for teaching fair in IOWA. Because that's where MANY int'l school hold their recruitment for US teachers, a few schools are from COL. I think Canada has some of those fair too.

As for english spoken in COL, the ONLY areas i've found english spoken by COL(incl BOGOTA & CTG) was either at high end hotel(usually the manager can speak english) OR in CASINOS, they'll be some managers and dealers that know basic english. OUTSIDE of those areas, i've never encounter anyone off the street know english, EVEN waiter/waitress in tourist frequent bars/clubs or a major tourist sites DONT know ENGLISH. ENGLISH is JUST NOT spoken by the regular workers. One trick i used if i want to meet engish-speakers in a new city is to go to the casino. I confess i love playing blackjack and generally win more than lose, so it's a not big deal for me to hit the casinos. You'll always see a few gringos playing cards. I've met many americans, canadians even english speaking COL that i later hang out w/ for beer or chase girls.

All you need to start is BASIC, TOURIST spanish before you arrive. Once you're in COL, you'll learn the rest by practice and immersion. I've found that even a week time, my spanish became better EACH day, because I was FORCE to use it.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Jul 5, 2005, 14:04:

The casinos and the high-end hotels! No wonder! Another mystery solved. Thanks, Caslug!

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

carter says on Jul 5, 2005, 15:44:

I arrived with no Spanish hell i survived with no Spanish for a long time mainly due to my travelling and illness I never had time for classes once I settled down I picked up a lot thanks to a two week private course.

But you can get by with little Spanish but the experience abviously improves the more you know. Many University students here speak very good English.

As far as finding work in an international college goes they are very interested in a native speaker over a Colombian who speaks English. Not just because they believe the English is better but there is more prestige to having native english speakers teaching.

Goodluck

I lived in Bogota for around 7 months so send me a private mail if you need more info

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Jul 5, 2005, 15:56:

Utopia I was surprised how many people I met in Bogotá who spoke very good English. Our travel agent was one, some of my wife's family (not many), a few shopkeepers in the better shops. Then when we got to Cartagena I even met street touts that spoke more English than I expected, far from fluent but able to hold somewhat of a conversation.

That said, I would say Colombia has far less people fluent in English than more popular tourist destinations in Latin America, but that is only logical.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dan says on Jul 5, 2005, 16:05:

First time to Bogota, I knew hardly any spanish at all. I got by, by asking taxi drivers to take me to where I wanted by showing them buisness cards. I ran into someone in a tourist area that spoke some english when I was shopping around. then when I was leaving, they asked where I was wanting to go and told the taxi drivers. Back to the hotel by showing a card.

The best way has got to be the women, or as the guys from work call, "Long Haired Dictionaries". I had a Colomian Girlfriend for a while and that got me interested in learning more Spanish, as I didn't want someone else translating what she or I was saying. Now, we're married and she's still helping me by telling me what I'm saying wrong. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

I would strongly suggest learning a language for what ever country you may visit. It shows the people that you're willing to learn their culture and shows more respect than being a foreigner who doesn't no anything at all.

God Bless America!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Crazy Eagle says on Jul 5, 2005, 18:16:

the right impression Don't get me wrong, folks. I most certainly intend to learn Spanish if I relocate. I like the language and agree that my experience will be much better with the language.

I was really asking how much I should learn before relocating. I guess most of you think that some basic tourist Spanish is enough, and then pick up the rest when I get down there.

So, I plan to get a few lessons under my belt before I fly, so that I know some basic words and phrases.

Here is a question: Would most university graduates down there speak English?

"Where races mix, there's the source of great cultures." Frederich Nietzsche

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

0 funny, 0 helpful.

caslug says on Jul 5, 2005, 18:35:

Crazy.. I've meet many Uni/College students in COL, and MOST(over 75%) of them DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. The ones that did, tend to come from well-to-do-family. i ran into several COL college grads that spoke VERY good english(in casino LOL!), in ALL cases they studied abroad in CAN, US or UK. It's very exp for COL to study abroad, so you can imagine they were wealthy than the average student. Imagine if you go to a college in the US, outside of latino students, how many students do you think know spanish? Very few.

I recommend buying a great "phrase book". I use two, one from Lonely planet(very good for tourist stuff) and now i use on called "HOT SPANISH- for guys & girls" by Davi Appell & PAul Balido. It's has more "people' interaction, talking to girl/guys, dating/love/sex stuff. It has the translation for everything from telling someone you want to be friends to where's the handcuff and whip? LOL!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

DCShoeCo says on Jul 6, 2005, 15:24:

No problem Been in Bogota for two months, don't speak Spanish, no problems. It's the same as traveling or living in any other non English speaking country like Korea or Japan.

If you have a teaching degree you will have no problem finding work. Many Colombian teachers that are 'fluent' in English?? Don't make me laugh. I have yet to meet a Colombian that spoke fluent English.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Jul 6, 2005, 16:20:

Instead of talking to teachers you should try talking to business people that have perhaps lived overseas. I find them to be quite fluent in English.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

misterB says on Jul 7, 2005, 00:30:

you need spanish How many spanish lessions recommended?

Until your conversational. Seriously, don't expect to get into a cab and expect any english to flow. It can happen, but it's certainly not the norm. The only time your going to hear english is if you turn on the tv and flip to the right station .. otherwise, if you can't hold a conversation in spanish, even if it's the equivalent of a 2 year old..then your going to feel isolated.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dolfi says on Jul 7, 2005, 00:49:

I understand that colombians may have an interest in learning english. But why should any colombian want to study mathematics or business administration in english? Bogotá is not Bangalore, is there really a demand for english speaking businessmen from Colombia?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

fosth says on Jul 7, 2005, 02:30:

Crazy Eagle A few months ago i saw a job advert in the Time Education Supplement for a teaching job at an International school in Bogota. They wanted native english speaking Science and Maths teachers. Didn't mention anything about speaking spanish.
Check
http://www.tes.co.uk/

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Crazy Eagle says on Jul 7, 2005, 06:41:

gracias Thanks Fosth! I will check it out. Many helpfull comments on this thread.

Dolfi, not having arrived yet, I can only make an educated guess (no pun intended). English is an international language, the lanuguage of much science, business, and entertainment. So it helps to know as much as possible. Also, some native Colombians may want to work or go to school overseas, in an English speaking country. It never hurts to know another language, especially popular ones like English and Spanish. And, I hear that there are ex-pats in Colombia that want to send their children to an English language school, for the above reasons.


"Where races mix, there's the source of great cultures." Frederich Nietzsche

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Crazy Eagle says on Jul 7, 2005, 06:45:

one more thing A student interested in studying math or business, as well as improving their English, as is obviously killing two birds with one stone by studying math or biz (or whatever) in English.

"Where races mix, there's the source of great cultures." Frederich Nietzsche

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

0 funny, 0 helpful.