By 2050, Spanish will be the most widely spoken language after Mandarin.
Spanish in Colombia, a Government strategy that wants to make Colombia the first destination to learn Spanish, starts on July 31st.
Spanish teaching in Colombia is headed by the Caro y Cuervo Institute, a 70 year old entity that has received awards such as the Prince of Asturias in 1999 for the Spanish Rules and Construction Dictionary the Bartolomé de las Casas Award in 2001 and the Elio Antonio de Nebrija Award in 2002.
The project is supported by the Interinstitutional Articulation Board SFL (Spanish as a Foreign Language), formed by the Foreign Affairs, Education and Culture Ministries, Proexport, Fiducoldex, Brand Colombia, Icetex, APC and the Caro y Cuervo Institute.
To learn the most highly regarded Spanish in the world, Colombia has internationally known universities, five of which are among the 38 best universities according to QS Latin American University Rankings 2013.
According to SICELE (International Certification System for Spanish as a Foreign Language, for its acronym in Spanish), there are 77 institutions, well known for their traditional SFL regular and active courses, 34 of which are in Spain. The other 43 are in Latin America and 20 of them are in Colombia, almost 50%.
Colombian Spanish quality is seen in the fact that the country has 1.400 public libraries, over 800 museums, a Nobel Prize in Literature —Gabriel García Márquez—, grammar and literary experts and internationally known writers like Cervantes Award and International Neustadt Literature Award winner Álvaro Mutis Fernando Vallejo and William Ospina, both of whom have received the Rómulo Gallegos Award in 2003 and 2009, respectively and the Alfaguara Novel Award winners Laura Restrepo and Juan Gabriel Vásquez, among others.
Plus, one can practice what has been learned in Colombia’s many cultural, festive, joyful and partying scenes like art shows, concerts, book readings, conferences, congresses and symposiums, or by traveling around the country at the pace of more than 700 festivities carried out around the national territory and enjoying oneself in beautiful sunbathed beaches. This way, and with the help of communication strategies by Brand Colombia, foreigners can confirm and tell their friends what Colombians have known for a long time: that when it comes to learning the best Spanish in the world, the answer is Colombia!
Starting on August 1st 2013, foreigners who want more information about learning Spanish in Colombia can go to www.spanishincolombia.gpv.co or look for it in social media: on Twitter @SpanishinCO and on Facebook SpanishinColombia.
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