There are many different options available to learn Spanish once you come to Ecuador.

You can get help through a private teacher, private or public schools, audio tapes or just go out and start talking to people. We have tried several of these. Right now we are using tapes at home and just talking to people and learning as we go. We did use a private teacher at our home for 3 months and it was very helpful but it was difficult for us as none of us had any knowledge of the spanish language before we came to Ecuador, aside from a few words that most people know (like 'gracias' for 'thank you').

It will be easier for someone who has taken Spanish in school or have some general knowledge of spanish. And like they say, learning a second language is easier when you're a child. Being 44 years old, it is difficult for me to learn as quickly as I would like.

In the bigger cities like Cuenca, many people speak Spanish and English (as English is their second language). Here, most of the people who do speak English, have either taken or are taking English classes in school, or have been to the US for a time. Some natives are shy to speak English (especially the ones who have learned it in school) but they do very well once you can get them going. The people here are very nice and if you get into a pickle, they will help you out.

In the country, away from the bigger cities it's a bit different, there are not as many people like in the city and many people in the country don't speak English very well, if any. But again, you can do the private school, tutor, public school, audios or just go out and learn. Sometimes the natives here will come talk to you to get practice on their English skills.

We had a girl get off at the bus stop which was not even her stop just to practice her English with us. Her goal in life was to go America and so we sent her to the orphanage down the road where there were some young ladies from the US come for 3 to 6 months and help out with the children there. This girl was able to get help with her English through others who knew how to speak English.

So, there are lots of ways to learn spanish and we can help you out. We have some good CD's that we copy and just hand out to people when they are here. They are free and if you do not think that will be enough or you learn better with a teacher in person, you can hook up with a Spanish teacher. That's a good idea for a little while and then use the tapes and go out on your own to learn.

Also, you can live here without speaking Spanish, if you wanted to. Some people don't want to learn Spanish as it's harder when you get older. I do plan on learning it but in the meantime, I can still get along without knowing it.

It's not absolutely necessary but at times it is difficult to understand or be understood, but in the big cities like Cuenca, it's set up with both Spanish and English. Many of the kids speak very good English. There is a little 3 year old at the park that speaks English better then my son who is a US native. But again, many children, teens and adults speak very good English here as they learned it when they were young.

For a private teacher in our home, we payed her about $6 an hour (for 3 people) and then she moved it up to $8 per hour later, but if you were to go to the private schools, it could cost up to $6-$8 per person an hour.

We, also have a couple of English speaking taxi drivers, so we ask them lots of questions on how to say this or that, which helps out a lot.