Yanapuma Spanish School in Quito, Ecuador

Yanapuma Spanish School, Quito:
Yanapuma Spanish School is a unique, not-for-profit, cooperatively managed Spanish school offering professional Spanish language instruction in Quito, Ecuador at reasonable prices. The Spanish School is oriented towards socially and ecologically aware students, backpackers, and professionals motivated to learn Spanish and to experience Ecuador in the fullest way possible.

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Our highly qualified and experienced Spanish teachers are actively involved in the development and management of both our School and Yanapuma Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization whose aims are to facilitate sustainable practices in urban and rural communities throughout Ecuador, and to encourage intercultural exchange that fosters mutual benefit and learning in our globalizing world.

In Quito, we offer a café-style setting in a large, divided open room with plenty of natural light and a nice view. The space is quiet, with sound absorbing materials, but the class areas have an open feel. Outdoor classes are also possible at our school. Students are encouraged to explore Quito’s markets, museums, parks and tourist areas with their teacher during classes.

Our Name: "Yanapuma" means "black puma" in Kichwa, the traditional guardian of the forests and the animal that maintains balance between the human and natural worlds. Thus Yanapuma is the perfect symbol for our foundation, which is dedicated to environmental, social, and economic sustainability in rural and urban indigenous communities.

- Basic Spanish Program: Our basic Spanish program includes 20 hours per week, 4 hours per day, of one-to-one Spanish instruction. Teaching is balanced between the areas of grammar, writing, reading, audio comprehension with video, and most importantly, conversation skills. Our focus is not only on learning Spanish from a textbook, but on learning based on real world experiences and Ecuadorian life and culture.

- Quito Cultural Package: This program offers 4 hours per day, 20 hours per week of Spanish study and four excursions each week in or around Quito. This is a set 2-week program, which can be combined with additional weeks of Spanish study.

- Homestay Program: For students wanting to make the most of their Spanish study, we suggest a homestay for your accommodation here in Quito. Staying with a family gives you the chance to practice Spanish and to interact with a local family, learning more about daily life in Ecuador.

- Intensive Spanish Course - Quito Volunteer Package: For those wishing to really focus on learning and practicing their Spanish while offering their time to help others, we offer our Quito Volunteer Package that combines four hours of classroom study with three hours per day of volunteer work, giving you an opportunity to practice your Spanish while helping others.

- Intensive Spanish Study in Ecuadorian Communities: We offer options to study Spanish outside of Quito in small communities at the coast, in the Sierra, and in the Amazon.

- Volunteer Opportunities in Ecuador: Study Spanish and Volunteer through Yanapuma Foundation in Ecuadorian communities in the Andes, in the Amazon rainforests and cloud forests, and at the coast. Our aim is to encourage the development of sustainable practices in social, environmental and economic terms. Volunteering opportunities include; teaching English, computing, and other subjects to children and adults in small communities, basic health, nutrition, hygiene education and contributing other specific skills. Short-term group projects include; reforestation, construction, agricultural/land development projects.

- Courses in Kichua, the indigenous language of the descendants of the Inca peoples at our school in Quito, and can arrange classes in other languages such as Shuar and Tsa’fiki for students wishing to learn those and other languages.

We organize weekly trips to areas in or around Quito to explore the richness of the local area while offering additional opportunities to learn Spanish. Every weekend, we offer the option of a one or two night trip to a number of different places in Ecuador. These trips can include hikes, traditional celebrations, or trips to explore different regions and communities in the country. We also provide booking services for travel across Ecuador, including trips to the Galapagos Islands, climbing the Cotopaxi volcano, exploring the Amazon, and other exotic destinations.

With a population of 13 million people, Ecuador located on the Pacific Coast in the northeast of South America, and shares its northern boundary with Colombia and the eastern and southern boundaries with Peru. Ecuador is a remarkable country, for its natural riches, its cultural diversity and history, and its peoples and traditions.

Ecuador is not only a beautiful country with great people, but the Spanish spoken in Quito is considered to be one of the clearest forms of Spanish in Latin America. Ecuador contains a stunning wealth of biodiversity as well as immense cultural diversity, particularly for such a small country. Located near the Panama Canal, Ecuador is within easy reach of the USA, Canada and Japan, as well as Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina.

Quito:
Located high in the Ecuadorian Andes, is the capital city and one of the most beautiful, richest, and oldest cities in South America. Quito is often described as "The City of Eternal Spring.", due to its climate. It is situated 35 km (22 miles) from the Equator.

Fought over by the Incas and conquered by the Spanish in 1534, the downtown historical district has been declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Today, Quito, with a population is 1.4 million, offers a great variety of cultural activities and night life for the inquisitive and fun-loving tourist. It is a place where indigenous women in traditional clothing share the sidewalk with dark-suited businesspeople, bohemian students, and tourists. The old colonial heart is still intact, its narrow streets abuzz with activity as vendors from the highlands ply their goods in traditional markets.

Homestay, hostel and hotel accommodation in single room and shared rooms to its students and volunteers, both short-term and long-term.