About Us
About Speak Learn Spanish
Speak Learn Spanish is a web site designed to help those individuals determine the best online or computer based method to learn Spanish.
Since everyone’s need is different we have tried to introduce the best Spanish language programs available in different categories.
Our site visitors range from students that need some extra help to the engineering manager working on a new refinery project in Peru. A high school student needs a program that is oriented to his coursework, see Powerspeak12-Review here while the engineering manager needs something to rocket her Spanish in a short few months, see the reviews on the left hand menu. Consequently, we have reviewed and have chosen to become affiliates of what we consider the best Spanish online language software programs available to you.
About Me, Charles Taylor
Hola! Living in Houston Texas I have been surrounded by the Latin American culture either by way of friends or the general proximity to Latin America. Even though Spanish was all around me in one form or another I never really needed to learn Spanish until I began to travel to South America for business.
People that do business with U.S. companies and most recent collage graduates speak English, but the majority of the rest of the people do not. The people I deal with during my trips know enough English for business purposes. The times that I really need to know Spanish is when I step out of the controlled business environment and into the streets, something I look forward to on every trip, by the way.
The countries, cultures, and people are all beautiful and I regret not having learned Spanish earlier. Don’t make the mistake I made, if there is even the smallest possibility that you will go to South or Central America or Spain then start your journey today by learning Spanish, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain.
I wish I had learned Spanish earlier, especially when you consider that it only takes 20-30 minutes a night. Not only would I have eased my anxiety about being in a country where I don’t speak the language but more importantly had a totally different experience all together.Consequently, I began my search for the most efficient and effective method for me to learn Spanish.
This web site is a continuation of my efforts in hope that the information I gained can help others that are in the predicament that I was in.
Touristic knowledge gained from a couple of trips to South America.
The below information is not necessarily about this website or me. It is some knowledge gathered that I would like to share with you from my trips to South America. These are the same recommendations I give to my family and friends.
If you get a chance to go to South America; Definitely go to Colombia and Argentina. I enjoyed Bogota even though it seemed to always be cold and wet every time I went. A Colombian friend says they only have two seasons either wet or dry so make sure you go prepared. Because Bogota is high in the mountains it is always cool at night, take something warm to wear when you go out. The food is great and the people are very friendly even if they are a little on the formal side and I mean that in a good way.
One thing that I couldn’t help noticing is the difference in the Spanish accent from what I am used to hearing here in Texas. In Bogota they speak impeccable Spanish or at least that is the way it sounds to me, I never realized Spanish could sound so beautiful and I have been to 6 countries where Spanish is the mother language, including Spain.
If your trip is for touristic purposes Bogota is a nice place to visit but not really the touristic hot spot. Go instead to one of the sea side cities where you can swim in the sea to cool off in the summer. Also, do not presume that your hotel in Bogota will have a heater or the hotel on the coast will have an air conditioner. Last but not least check with the U.S. Department of State information about Colombia regarding travel requirements and more.
A must destination further south is Argentina, and Buenos Aries in particular. Buenos Aries is like a little piece of Europe in South America. In fact they pride themselves on their European ancestry. In Argentina the percentage of English speakers seemed to go down compared to Colombia where English speakers were more fluent. This makes total sense since since Argentinians, or at least the ones I met, consider themselves more European than South American and I also found that their chosen second language to be Italian instead of English. Of course there is a not so friendly history between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands which may be a reason for their aversion from learning English.
Once you are there if you like soccer make sure you buy yourself an Argentina soccer T-shirt either to give as an awesome gift or better yet impress your soccer buddies. Visit a Tango restaurant where you can be entertained by professional Tango dancers while having an exquisite steak dinner.
In Buenos Aries go to Puerto Madero this area is one of the most beautiful man made places I have seen. It is a newly planned urban community with the latest architectural designs on one side of the port with a row of warehouses across from them. In fact, if I could have a choice of places to live this would be in the top 10. I recommend learning your Spanish and then make plans to go, you may not want to return so go prepared.
The warehouses have been renovated and are now home to some of the best bars and restaurants in the city with some very nice sailboats and yachts in between the two sides. My pictures really don’t do it justice. You can have some of the best wines on earth with quite possibly the best steak you will ever eat. Just don’t expect to have dinner before 10pm, unless you want to eat in an empty restaurant! The restaurants there don’t really open until eight p.m.
The other point of interest in Buenos Aries and relatively close to Puerto Madero is La Boca known in the travel circles as Argentina’s little Italy and better know as the birthplace of the Tango.
As always, make sure you do a lot of research before you go anywhere in South America or anywhere else for that matter.
Last but not least, make sure you start using one of the Spanish language programs that suits you best from the left hand menu or at least take advantage of the free 6 part mini Spanish language course.
I hope that you found this web site useful. If you have any question please feel free to contact me by using the contact us link below. Also, I would love to hear any criticism or praise about this site.
Thank you for stopping by our web site.
Charlie,