Language learning

Spanish Language Immersion Travel Guide

Whether you are familiar, fluent, or anywhere in between; knowing a foreign language can greatly enhance your travel experience abroad. But in an increasingly global society, knowing a second language can also give you a valuable boost both in everyday life. This is especially true for Spanish. Now more than ever, Spanish language skills are considered to be significantly valuable in the United States and abroad. Students who experience cultural and language immersion in Spanish speaking countries are able to substantially enrich their Spanish speaking skills.

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Spanish Language Facts and Statistics

  • Today over 320 million people speak Spanish and it is a prominent language in many parts of the United States.
  • Out of all the Romance languages, Spanish is the most widely spoken.
  • Spanish is the official language of all South American countries except Brazil and Guyana.

Spanish Language History

    • The modern-day Spanish language is derived from a dialect of Latin that evolved in the Iberian Peninsula after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
    • Spanish became a written language in Toledo, Spain between the 13th and 16th centuries.
    • When the Spaniards colonized the Americas, the Spanish language was still undergoing change, and as a result, two forms of the language began to emerge – European Spanish and Latin American Spanish.

Useful Spanish Language Immersion Phrases:

Spanish

Phonetic Spelling

English

 Hola  Oh-la  Hello
 Gracias  Gra-see-as  Thank you
 Por favor  Poor fah-voor  Please
 ¿Habla inglés?  Ah-blah  in-glehs?  Do you speak English?
 ¿De dónde eres?  Deh done-deh eh-res  Where are you from?
 Adiós  Ah-dee-os  Goodbye
 No entiendo  No en-tien-dough  I don’t understand
 ¿Cuánto cuesta?  Cuan-toh cues-tah  How much is it?
 ¿Dónde está el baño?  Done-deh es-tah elle bah-nee-oh  Where is the bathroom
 Estoy buscando….  Es-toy booze-can-dough  I am looking for…
 Estoy perdida  Es-toy per-dee-dah  I am lost
 Yo soy de…  Yo soy deh  I am from…
 Me puede llevar a….  Meh poo-eh-deh jev-are ah  Can you take me to…
 Yo quiero…  Yo kieh-roh  I want…

Try out some Spanish slang!

Spanish

Phonetic Spelling

English

 Mala Pata  Mah-lah pah-tah  Bad luck
 Esta como una cabra  Es-tah co-moh un-ah cah-bra  To be absolutely crazy
 Tener buen rollo  The-ner boo-en roj-oh  To have good vibes

Rachel Waldmann

Rachel is a Marketing intern with EF Educational Tours and EF Explore America.

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