Anyone familiar with the Spanish-language program at the UCA?

Submitted by webtrainer on 13 April, 2005 - 16:43.

I'm looking to study for two or three months to be able to "dominate" Spanish (I'm somewhat "wimpy" at the moment) in Managua and found a couple of private schools, but the UCA sounds like the most inexpensive alternative, with a multimedia lab and opportunities for private tutoring in addition to small evening classes.

Anyone here attended any of the courses there or know of someone who has? I'd like to hear your opinions.

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Language Schools?

Submitted by Miskito Alan on 25 May, 2005 - 15:24.

I have yet to hear any positive comments on the "Nica Living" website concerning this language school except from Donald Lee. _________________________________________________________________

Central America Language Tours Your Vertical Portal to Travel, Trade and Language Study in all of Central America... www.centralamericalanguagetours.com info@centralamericalanguagetours.com __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

language school

Submitted by viva722 on 25 May, 2005 - 14:43.

If you are at all interested in San Salvador, I would recommend C.I.S. language school.

1-to-1

Submitted by cjtowerman on 14 April, 2005 - 12:32.

Sounds like you might have made your choice, but I know of some people who 2003-2004 used a one-to-one program (this, or a version of this, is the name of the school, there in Managua). In one case, the teacher came to the student (motorcycle). Was a very good program, and as the name implies it is private instruction. In this setting, it is usually as serious as you want it. I do not recall the price though. If you do shop around, and you already have a place to live there, just make sure you get the price quote for instruction only, or the secretary or whomever might assume you need to live with a local family, which adds to the cost on a weekly basis. $100 per week might be the going rate, but if true, seems a little high for the country, unless this is private instruction -- but that is just a "guess". In Queztaltenango (Guatemala) & San Pedro Sula (Honduras), you can get a private tutor who may or may not be working via a private-learning Spanish school, for 20-35 hours per week for $100. I realize you do not want to go elsewhere, I just offer the prices of two large cities as a comparison. I have a friend down in Granada now, and he receives 2 hours private grammar instruction every morning, and 2-3 hours of private "conversational work" every afternoon, 5 days a week, and pays maybe $45 or something really cheap, so it neednt cost a lot, but like you discovered, finding the right people isn`t easy, perhaps especially in a place as big as Managua.

Location?

Submitted by Adrian on 14 April, 2005 - 11:04.

Just to clarify, are you specifically looking for a school in Managua, or are you simply looking for a good and good-priced school somewhere in Nicaragua (and think this one in Managua might be the one for you)?

Language Schools

Submitted by jcollett on 25 April, 2005 - 16:27.

I too am planning a trip to Nicaragua and was wondering if you could recommend a language school in either Leon or Esteli? Or a great language school in general. I'm open to different locations aside from Managua.

List of some schools.

Submitted by fyl on 26 April, 2005 - 06:42.

The page http://www.nicaliving.com/book/view/47 offers some choices. Multiple people I know have recommended CENAC here in Estelí.

Recent Article: Transitions Abroad

Submitted by Adrian on 16 June, 2005 - 17:51.

There is also a recent article (May-June, 2005, pp. 54 & 57) in the magazine "Transitions Abroad"; title is "Language Study in Nicaragua" -- and a few schools and popular locales are discussed. I do not think the most recent issues are available online, but select back-issues are @ www.transitionsabroad.com , so maybe eventually it will be there for free. The article is written by Joshua Berman, who is co-author of the Nicaragua travel guide book in the Moon Handbooks series, printed by Avalon Publishing (a decent book, as good as Lonely Planet, or Rough Guides, or ... the others, etc.).

CENAC

Submitted by viva722 on 25 May, 2005 - 14:42.

I attended CENAC last fall in beautiful ESteli and highly recommend it!

oddly enough, I "want" to be in Managua . . .

Submitted by webtrainer on 14 April, 2005 - 11:15.

kind of like "New York, New York, if you can make there you can make it anywhere" (yeah I know here webtrainer goes with the show tunes LOL). My novia is there too, and that's not a minor consideration either.

Managua

Submitted by Adrian on 14 April, 2005 - 11:46.

I thought that was what you were asking (English is not my first language, so... I asked). I know two people who studied there in 2003. Both were quite satisfied with the program. They too, had reasons for being in Managua. If they did not have these reasons, they would have been in Esteli.

I suspect like most people, and like me whenever I studied a language, it is the private or very small class tutoring which is the big learning payoff for students (there is great software out there, but that you can use on your own, anytime if you have your own computer). Even though I am from Europe, I find it annoying to try to study a language conversationally, even in a group of 3-4 people, if one is from Germany, one from France, one from Asia, or wherever. When this happens, there are too many accents and difficulties. When the people I know who used UCA were there, their groups was arranged with other native French speakers, just to avoid the thing I am describing here. They considered this a "bonus".

They liked their individual teachers and the tutors, and used the program on more than one occasion during their 3 years in Nicaragua. Be forewarned though, that like all programs, for you, it is only as good as the teacher(s) assigned you. Most people judge a school, no matter how large, not by the administration or library, but more or less by the quality of their teachers there, so there is variation and subjectivity in any assessment.

I do not know anything of the costs there back then or now, but my friends considered it a good use of money (rare, as they are so incredibly cheap!). They did not have computers with them, and this helped them chose this program. Their language skills advanced quickly, but since their native language is French, and French and Spanish are remarkably similar, it is easier for them than for someone coming from Germany or Holland or the U.S. where there isn´t much overlap at all.

Not sure any of this helps, but there it is. If I can locate their email addresses, I will send you a private email. Not sure I can find them, but they would surely comment directly on the school - and since they later studied in Guatemala and Peru, they could make some sort of comparison. Many good programs are done or monitored via www.amerispan.com, but they do not have a approved school in Nicaragua, for whatever reason.

Thanks Adrian!

Submitted by webtrainer on 14 April, 2005 - 12:16.

Is nicaliving.com great or what!!! Thanks for sharing. The UCA program costs something like $100 for each six-week course, they test you to find out your starting level of Spanish, and then you progress through the levels. The private schools I found were closer to $100 per week. But really, the cost is not the most important factor, I want the best teacher(s) as you suggest is so important. I figured the UCA would have a more rigorous program than a private school, where I think it can sometimes devolve into basically a good excuse to come down and party, whereas I'm very serious about really becoming fluent.

Thanks again Adrian!

UCA Private Classes

Submitted by Lisa on 1 February, 2006 - 17:02.

UCA also has private Spanish classes available for $11 a class with a minimum of 10 classes. They test you to find your level. They are flexible with the hours and the number of times per week for classes. They also provide you with materials and design the class for your needs, such as topics of interest, tenses you need to work on, etc.

The group classes are held during the evenings, four times a week for two hours each class.