Spanish is the official language of most South American countries. The main exception is Brazil where Portuguese is spoken.

Some local services such as Airlines, Hotels, Restaurants and Tour Operators may employ staff that can speak fluent English. This is useful when encountered but should not be expected.

It is advisable to at least learn some basic Spanish before your trip. Obviously if your trip is focussed on Brazil, the better option is to learn basic Portuguese.

SPANISH LEARNING RESOURCES

Being able to speak some Spanish will make your trip a lot easier and a lot more fun! Buy a pocket phrase book to help you keep learning on your trip. A pocket dictionary is also worthwhile.

Spanish Classes

Check with your local education providers to see if they offer Spanish Classes. Preferably their teacher speaks 'Latin American' Spanish which varies slightly to the pronounciation spoken in Spain. Classes prior travel will be of benefit. But in my opinion I think it is better to do Spanish Classes on your immediate arrival in South America. I discuss this option in the next section titled Spanish Classes & Homestay.

Online Learning

To gain a speedy basic Spanish understanding I'd recommend internet online tuition. I joined a program run by this website and found their online course to be excellent. I liked the fact that this company offered an unconditional 6 month money back guarantee. But I'm sure you'll be speaking a very competent level of Spanish after 6 months!

Interactive Learning

Another option is to research Spanish Learning software packages and learn interactively. Check out this website which I think provide money for value. Their software has interactive conversational practice (undoubtedly the quickest way to learn). Your voice is recorded and you can listen to a playback of your conversation with a native speaker to fine tune your Spanish pronunciation.

SPANISH BOOK RESOURCES

Phrasebook

For your trip a Latin American Phrasebook is an essential purchase!

Lonely Planet - Latin American Spanish Phrasebook

Lonely Planet - Latin American Spanish Phrasebook.

If you can’t speak fluent Spanish at least you can quickly refer to your phrase book to get your point across. Even when you start speaking reasonable Spanish, a phrase book will still assist you and help improve your Spanish speaking ability.

I purchased my Phrasebook for $11.99 at Lonely Planet

Spanish Dictionary

A dictionary is invaluable if you want to learn Spanish to a more advanced level.

Harper - Pocket Spanish Dictionary.

I recommend the Harper – Pocket Spanish Dictionary. Its pocket size is very backpack friendly.

I purchased my Pocket Dictionary for $5.99 here. This web site is great for very cheap travel books.

In their search engine type the words ‘Pocket Spanish Dictionary’.

Spanish Tuition Textbooks & Audio CDs

6 months before my first trip I purchased a Spanish Tuition Textbook & Audio CD package. Textbook learning enables you to work through school-type exercises developing correct Spanish grammar and sentence structure. I think this is useful as Spanish sentence structure is more complex than English due to nouns and adjectives having either a masculine or feminine form. And there are numerous irregular exceptions to learn.

I recommend the Interactive Spanish Grammar Made Easy (Book & CD-Rom)
Author Mike Zollo.

I purchased this book cheaply for $8.99 here from Books Closeouts. They sell a large range of books online.

In their Book search engine just type the words ‘Spanish Grammar’. Try also typing the word 'Spanish' to see what other books they have in stock that may interest you.

Further Discussion

The more Spanish learning resources you have the better. You don't have to invest a lot of money to get a few cheap books & cds. Also check out online auction sites like eBay for new and used products. I recently purchased a Let’s Learn Spanish CD on ebay for only $2.00 brand new. Another benefit of joining ebay is that you can use their site to on-sell any Spanish tuition material you no longer need.

Have you used eBay before? I was a bit unsure about ebay before I joined – but rest assured it is a very simple way to safely buy & sell all kinds of quality travel products (especially bargain priced digital cameras!). I also find the ebay website particularly useful to research and compare latest travel products and prices.

2007 South America Travel Advice