Where To Study Spanish Abroad

By Anne-Marie Dingemans

I get this question a lot from prospective participants. They want to learn and/or improve their Spanish and ask which is the best place to go, in terms of accent and vocabulary. The reasons for this question are varied. Some of you use your Spanish mostly in contact with a specific population (for example: social workers working with a predominantly Mexican-descendant population, or someone who lives in a community with many Ecuadorian immigrants), others want to learn the "clearest" Spanish (easiest to understand by other Spanish speakers), and then there is the whole issue regarding Latin American Spanish versus Spanish from Spain. And I don't even want to get into the "Spanish or Castilian" dilemma! You know what I mean by Spanish language, right?

The truth of the matter is that the very vast majority of you will always speak with your own accent (American, German, Arabic, etc.), which will pretty much mask any local accent you may pick up. So you don't have to worry too much about which Spanish accent is "better" as there isn't an answer to that question anyway. Of course, studying in Spain will teach you to lissssp and use vosotros from the get-go, and studying in Argentina will give you vos and the unmistakable sing-songy accent. But this will not limit the amount and type of Spanish speakers who will understand you. Everyone in the Spanish speaking world understands each other. Every country has a vast amount of colloquialisms and expressions that other Spanish speakers don't know or don't use, or -very dangerous- have a completely different meaning! What I usually see is that Spanish speaker switch to a more "standard Spanish" when speaking to someone who is not from their home region, and that includes you.

So, unless it's really of great importance to you that you learn a specific accent, colloquialisms and expressions used in a particular region, I would just pick the location that suits your needs, interests and budget best. If you are a beach person, you'll be much happier in Samara Beach than in Cusco. You'll learn much more in an environment you enjoy! Exceptions to this rule could be people that will have to communicate on an advanced level with a limited group of Spanish speakers from the same background, and in that case not only the accent is important, but also the habits of that group. And in that situation the argument for taking a total immersion course that will not only teach you the language, but also the culture, cuisine and customs of that region, is only stronger!