Learn Spanish in Medellin with the “I Speak Paisa” Course

Editor’s Note: As of 2015, this program is no longer available.

“Where’s the best place to learn Spanish in Medellin?”

It’s a common question for those planning to spend any length of time in the city, from a few weeks, to a few months or even years.

I Speak Paisa is a new three-month course created by Vince Robson, an American expat with 20-year military background, and experience visiting over 40 countries around the world.

Together with Monica Davila, a bilingual paisa Spanish Professor, their goal is to put their students on the fast-track to conversational fluency in the paisa dialect.

This is exactly the kind of course I would’ve jumped on back in 2009, when I was a new arrival in the city.

Without any money to spare on formal Spanish classes, I took the long and slow road to learning enough Spanish to get by in everyday situations.

One of the biggest discoveries I made back then was that learning the local paisa dialect was a fast track toward establishing rapport with Colombians here.

If I said certain Spanish words more commonly used in Medellin by paisas, they immediately began to speak back as though I was fluent, even though I was nowhere close to it!

What’s genius about the approach taken by I Speak Paisa is the expediency.

The course is designed to cut the BS grammatical formalities and vocab, and get you talking to people on the street and in the bars and discotecas as soon as possible.

Trust me on this, no taxi driver is going to stop and correct you on your mistaken tenses. They only care that they can understand you.

Perfection is the antagonist of language learning. You’re better off becoming comfortable with “good enough.”

What’s Included

• 12 weekly lessons in Paisa Spanish, including related topics like travel advice, flirting, dating, and staying safe.
• Live weekly webinars to get your questions answered (plus MP3 recordings if you can’t make it).
• Private Facebook group for further discussions and Q&A.
• Regular meetups to interact with the instructors and their paisa friends in person.
• 100% money back guarantee.

I wanted to get to know Vince a little better, to make sure him and his course are legit. We spoke via Skype, and as a result I’m completely comfortable recommending I Speak Paisa to Medellin Living’s readers.

The regular price for the course is $299, which is a great deal when you consider the same amount only buys you a three-week course at EAFIT University.

But to make joining his course a real no-brainer, he’s set it up so subscribers to his blog, Pura Medellin, get a huge 67 percent discount off the regular price.

The subscriber price is only $99.

That’s a crazy good deal for a 12-week Spanish course. And as far as I know, his is the only course specifically designed around learning paisa Spanish.

Editor’s Note: As of 2015, this program is no longer available.

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