The Ecuadorian capital boasts a long history of education. Three universities have been teaching here since the 17th century. It has always been one of Latin America’s most important centres of learning, whether for residents or foreigners. It’s no surprise then to learn that this captivating Andean city, with its huge range of universities, institutes and schools, has one of the widest and most competitive offers for teaching Spanish in the world.

Quito’s well-deserved reputation is due in part to the clarity with which the language is spoken here – it’s an easy dialect to understand, making learning for students that much faster.

Quito, at the heart of the small but mega-diverse Ecuador, also makes an incomparable base for exploring. From the capital, students can quickly, easily and cheaply head off to the country’s four regions – the coast, Amazon, Sierra and Galapagos Islands – with their myriad tourist attractions.

Spanish schools are the main conduit for foreign students coming to Quito. There are well over 100 of them in the capital alone. However, some of the larger universities, such as the Catholic University or the San Francisco University, also offer courses.

Most teaching in Quito is done in small groups or one-on-one. This system is the most common since it gives teachers a chance to adapt to an individual or a group’s needs.

There really is no set limit to the time one can spend in Quito learning Spanish. Some students stay for a few weeks just wanting to learn enough to get by on their travels, others will spend four to seven hours a day in classes over the course of several months with an eye to perfecting their Spanish for professional application.

A popular combination offered by nearly all the schools is Spanish classes along with work in an organisation dedicated to social work – whether humanitarian or ecological. Volunteering is a great way to enrich a student’s time in Ecuador, and means they will get to know the reality of life in the country with all its problems, as well as be part of the solution.

The majority of the Spanish schools in Quito are authorized to award Spanish language study certificates since they are recognised by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education.

For those seeking to acquire a certificate of language proficiency recognised internationally, since 2004 it’s been possible to sit the DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera, Spanish as a Foreign Language Diploma) exams in Quito, which are sponsored by the Spanish Cervantes Institute in collaboration with the University of Salamanca in Spain. There are a number of schools in Quito which prepare students for the DELE exams.

Given the wide variety of interests expressed by students, Spanish-language schools in Quito have developed a whole range of course especially adapted to students’ needs. These tend to focus on certain professional areas such as business, health, environment, law and so on.

For more information, see the Quito Visitors’ Bureau dedicated site:

http://www.quito.com.ec/escuelas/index_eng.html