Learning Spanish in New Zealand

It is definitely a good idea to learn some Spanish before going on your trip to Argentina. Learning the basics isn't hard, especially if you've done some language learning before. Basic Spanish will help you to read signs, order food and ask for directions, but don't expect to actually understand anything spoken unless you spend a bit more effort and progress to the intermediate level.

You've got four main ways of learning Spanish in New Zealand:

• Private lessons
• Group lessons (through a language school, or adult education night classes)
• Learning by correspondence (e.g. NCEA or Massey University)
• Self study

If you can afford them, private lessons will allow you to cover the most ground in the shortest timeframe and will give you much more practice at actually speaking Spanish and listening to a real Spanish speaker.

Group lessons are more economical and can be quite fun as you get to meet other people who also want to learn, but you'll generally be going at the pace of the slowest learner and you'll get less practice at speaking and listening.

Correspondence courses will generally take longer (at least one school term) and you'll have to be fairly dedicated in order to get anywhere, but these courses generally offer a good grounding in grammer and vocabulary. If you live in the country or a small town then learning spanish by correspondence might be your only realistic option.

Self study is the least recommended option as it's hard to know whether you're actually learning correctly. Unless you've already done a basic Spanish course then you'll likely go a bit wrong on the pronunciation, but if you supplement your reading with some interactive exercises on the internet or by watching some Spanish movies then you should still be able to pick up some basics that will help you on your trip.

Take Spanish lessons in NZ with an Argentinian tutor

Learn in your own time with Rocket Spanish online/CD course

Spanish courses in Argentina