Once you’re past the beginner stage in Spanish, it’s time to start looking for more real-world experiences to start using what you’ve learned. Language exchanges and structured events are all well and good, but there’s a limit to the benefit you’ll get working from a script.
Immersive learning allows you to go just a bit outside your fluency comfort zone, stretching your vocabulary while meeting new people and engaging in local activities. These kinds of experiences are the best way to reach an advanced level of comprehension in less than half the time of rote memorization. Rather than repeating the same introductory conversation about who we are and where we’re from, we focus on learning through doing enjoyable things.
At Primed, we host a variety of immersion experiences to help foreigners and locals alike take part in a bilingual dialogue. Some of our events are 100% in Spanish while others invite native speakers of any language to share their voices.
Here are a few of the events we’ve hosted in the past. We’d love to see you at our next one. Keep in touch via Facebook and Instagram or send us an email at to stay up to date.
1. Bailemos
Dance is vital to the culture of Colombia. You shouldn’t leave Medellin without having found your favorite style of dance.
We partner with native teachers to host free classes in Laureles every week. Every week at Primed, you’ll not only learn the basic steps and rhythms, but also hear more about the history and influences behind each engaging style. And it’s all done in an inclusive setting.
September was our month for Chirimía, one of Colombia’s endemic styles of dance, having been developed centuries ago in the Chocó region. Though highly popular among the Afro-Caribbean population in the northern departments, our classes were one of the only places to learn this style here in Medellin.
We’re looking forward to hosting salsa choke, cuban salsa, and more in the future. If you’d like to come learn a new skill, be sure to drop by – and bring your best dancing shoes!
2. Parcharte
Maybe you’re a better singer, poet, or speaker than you are a dancer. In that case, why not share your skills with our audience at Pacharte?
A Latin American take on the classic open-mic, Pacharte allows anyone with a story to tell the chance to stand up and deliver. We’ve hosted everyone from dancers, artists, musicians, and performance artists at our Laureles location. Performances are delivered in both English and Spanish for a full immersive mix of languages.
You don’t have to perform to join, and many of our primed.community members prefer to relax with a cafè tinto while enjoying the creative performances before them. Our Parcharte events are among our most popular, and offer a fantastic chance to both speak and listen in Spanish.
3. Conversemos
Every other month, we host community leaders and activists from throughout Antioquia to come and speak on their most pressing topics. Last month we heard from local student leaders as well as comunity leaders from outer Antioquia lead discussion on vital issue of plastic waste.
The conversemos sessions are largely led by the workshop hosts, leading to a wide variety of both topics and styles. Rest assured, however, that these sessions are always engaging. If you’re looking for a place to practice your Spanish in a conversational and mainly native-speaking environment, Conversemos is the place to be.
You don’t have to be near-fluent in Spanish to take part in Conversemos. While the pace and vocabulary of these talks are high-level, even our intermediate-level learners report a huge boost in their vocabulary and comprehension after taking part. Plus it’s a great way to get connected with what’s going on in the Antioquian community. Overall, a win-win.
4. Aprendemos
Bailemos, Pacharte, and Conversemos account for our current line-up of ongoing events. We also have various special and one-off events that are open to all. We post the announcements ahead of time on our Facebook and Instagram page, so be sure to follow to stay up to date on the most exciting events.
Our past events have included:
*Coffee Workshops
* Medellin Tours
* Urban Gardens
* Tejo Matches
* And more!
Are you interested in taking part in immersive learning but don’t quite have the confidence in Spanish yet? We’re offering 10% off any of our Spanish learning packages here at Primed throughout the month of October. Check out what package works best for you – your first level test is completely free!
Michael Power
volunteer, student