Spanish for speaking?

[Amy loves Bud]

Hi all,

We are in the process of planning a move to Latin America in the next two years. We want to begin the process of formally learning to speak Spanish as a family.

I've read some not so stellar reviews on Rosetta Stone here. What I'm wondering is, since we are looking at learning this mainly for speaking, secondarily for reading and even less for writing, will it do the job? When the kids are a bit older we can do a program that focuses on grammar and writing.

We will most likely spend a period of time in language school at the outset of our move, to cement what we've done on our own.

Thoughts?

Thanks a ton!

[strider]

I cannot rave enough about our online tutor, based in Antigua, Guatemala. We spent a week down there (though you do not have to go there in order to enroll in their program--it can all be handled via internet) and enjoyed great language lessons. We meet with our tutors twice a week via Skype for $10/hr. The lessons are top-notch. I also tried SpanishLuna but found 121Speech to be far, far better.

Here's a link:

http://www.121speech.com/

[jld]

No suggestions, but just wanted to offer best wishes on planning, and making, your move! How exciting!:)

[cshell]

Check out Visual Link Spanish!
I haven not used it yet.... but, I have heard & read reviews that it is GREAT for learning to speak conversational Spanish.
Check it out....http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/
Let me know what you think!!!:001_smile:

[Jane in NC]

No ideas, but how exciting, Amy! I want to wish you well on this endeavor.

Jane

[Amy loves Bud]

Thank you all for your help! Bud and I are very excited about the Skype tutoring via 121Speech.com - thanks Strider! We were actually spurred on to plan a fact-finding trip to Antigua for this summer, where we'll spend a week in the language school. This is exactly what we're looking for.

Thanks everyone for the resources and the well wishes. It is pretty exciting!

[strider]

Thank you all for your help! Bud and I are very excited about the Skype tutoring via 121Speech.com - thanks Strider! We were actually spurred on to plan a fact-finding trip to Antigua for this summer, where we'll spend a week in the language school. This is exactly what we're looking for.

Thanks everyone for the resources and the well wishes. It is pretty exciting!

How cool!!! I am sure you will enjoy Antigua. If you would like more details about Antigua I would love to tell you more about our trip. We enjoyed the language school, as well as volunteer opportunities with a few organizations, as well as nifty tourist opportunities like climbing a live volcano.

I'm also certain you'll like 121Speech. Best wishes!

:party:

[Amy loves Bud]

Yes! We would love any information you can give us. Particularly the volunteer info. Thanks, Strider!

[strider]

Yes! We would love any information you can give us. Particularly the volunteer info. Thanks, Strider!

Our volunteer opportunities were with three organizations:

Hope Haven International
http://www.hopehaveninternationalministries.org/HopeHavenGuatemala/
This organization distributes pediatric wheelchairs to the poor. We enjoyed helping pack finished wheelchairs for shipping for a day. They do have a team of disabled people who make the wheelchairs, but they are always in need of able-bodied volunteers to help. Ds absolutely loved our time there. The staff were just lovely to us, and we felt good about helping (rather than just touring).

Casa Jackson
http://www.casajackson.com/home.html
This is a malnutrition center for children. Social workers identify malnourished children and infants in the community, who are then offered the opportunity to participate in the program. The child stays at the malnutrition center receiving medical care and being fed every two hours. (When we were there one young mother was also there because she did not feel comfortable turning her child over to strangers, so the center supported her parenting by making a place for her to stay with him.) While the child is being helped in this way the family is also receiving training and services so that future problems can be prevented. There are some cases wherein the child was criminally abused or neglected, so the malnutrition center is an interim placement prior to foster care placement. However, many of the children are expected to be placed back in their families--once that has happened there is follow-up for several months with the families as well. Volunteers spend their time feeding children, playing and cuddling with them, giving baths, changing bedding, or running laundry. My dd loved it here, so we went twice to volunteer. We were quite impressed.

One Hope Ministries
www.Onehopeministries.com
904 South Roselle Road
Suite 107
Schaumburg, Illinois 60193

The website appears to be down when I just checked, but this is a legitimate organization. Dayle in Guatemala hooked us up with them and has known them quite some time. This is a transitional home for girls, transitioning from orphanages to adult life. The girls finish their education here, train for a profession of some sort (they enroll in outside programs based on aptitude and interest), learn English, and learn a variety of life skills. I was really, really impressed with the couple who direct the home and with the comprehensiveness of the program.

Other thoughts on Antigua:

McDonald's--You really must take your kids to the local McDonald's, no matter what your opinion of the food. It's the most gorgeous McD's you've ever seen, with a large garden and incredible service. It's fun to compare to US McD's.

Carriage ride--We enjoyed a carriage tour of Antigua. With the cobblestone streets it's quite bumpy! But it's a nice way to see the city. We found a half hour tour was plenty.

Tour guide named Roberto--We had the most wonderful tour guide ever, named Roberto. He took us to see Olmec heads. He was wonderfully knowledgeable and great with the kids too. If you actually are going and want to set up a tour we can try to work with Dayle in Guatemala to find him (she set us up with him), and I can even give you his picture. We've traveled a fair amount, and Roberto was one of the best guides we've ever had.

Volcano--Everyone must go climb a real, active volcano. You'll see ads for tours all over Antigua. The volcano we climbed doesn't really explode so much as "seep" lava. I highly recommend renting horses and bring marshmallows and sticks for roasting. My dh and the kids absolutely LOVED this tour. I, on the other hand, really struggled with it. The climb was grueling, and made more so by the altitude which makes it harder to breathe. I actually didn't make it all the way to the lava--between bad knees, asthma, and a paralyzing fear of heights, this is one I should have skipped. BUT dh and the kids were sooooooo thrilled, and I am glad they had this unique experience. Also if you do this make sure your bring work gloves (like gardening gloves) as the rock at the top is sharp. Also plan to wear sturdy shoes (NO SANDALS) and long pants.

Ruins--There are ruins all over Antigua that are fun to explore. There is even a hotel in Antigua that has built its hotel complex around ruins, part of which are an active archaeological dig. I don't remember the name, but once you're there anyone can tell you which hotel this is. You can buy a tour during the day or go for free at night. It's really pretty at night as they light up the ruins and the pretty garden walks.

Zipline/Coffee plantation--This was somewhat overpriced. We did not do a formal coffee plantation tour. Dh and the kids instead chose to do the zipline, which is fairly elaborate down the side of the mountain. As we drove up to the beginning of the zipline course they told us quite a bit about coffee production. I did not do the zipline because of my fear of heights, but dh and the kids found it thrilling and exhilerating. It was the most expensive activity of our trip, but dh and the kids say it was worth the money.

Market--There are several small markets in and around Antigua, but make sure you go to the big one on the weekend. It's unbelievable. If you go, have only one of you carry your money and make sure you keep it secure--theft is a real issue throughout Antigua.

Restaurants--Unfortunately I don't remember the name of our favorite, but Dayle in Guatemala would certainly know. There is one place in particular that has a band on weekend evenings. They play homemade instruments, usually more than one at a time (like pipes + a guitar). The band was really, really cool, fun for the kids, and the food was incredible. When you're ready to go to Antigua check back with me or contact Dayle and we'll figure out the name of the place.