A practical course for students who want to learn Spanish before traveling to a Spanish-speaking country.

Participants develop basic language skills to:

• Introduce themselves and exchange personal information.
• Express intentions and immediate needs.
• Describe places.
• Shop and ask about products and prices.
• Order food and drinks at restaurants.
• Ask for directions and understand instructions.
• Communicate in common travel situations.

Delivery format: Online
Duration: 30 hours
Estimated length: 3 to 6 weeks
Tuition: COP $1,291,900

An online program that provides broader preparation for communicating in Spanish while traveling or staying in a Spanish-speaking country.

The course integrates everyday expressions, vocabulary, grammar, and cultural information through practical activities related to real-life situations in hotels, restaurants, stores, transportation systems, and other travel settings.

Delivery format: Online
Duration: 60 hours, divided into two 30-hour modules
Tuition: COP $1,291,900 per module

Conversation and Culture – Intermediate

This course is designed for students who understand everyday Spanish and can express their ideas clearly but would like to improve their grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency.

The course combines communication practice with an exploration of Colombian culture, particularly the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Topics include:

• The history and culture of Barranquilla and the Caribbean.
• Characteristics of the Spanish spoken in Barranquilla.
• Caribbean Colombian cuisine.
• Tourism and ecotourism in Colombia.
• Music, soccer, festivals, and cultural life.
• Interviews, interaction with native speakers, and practical activities.

Conversation and Culture – Advanced

This course is intended for students with an advanced command of Spanish who want to participate in conversations with greater accuracy, fluency, and argumentative ability.

Topics include:

• Culture and everyday life in the Colombian Caribbean.
• Food, work, entertainment, and sports.
• Internationally recognized Colombian artists.
• Tourism and ecotourism throughout Colombia.
• National and religious celebrations.
• Colombian dance, music, and traditions.

Both conversation and culture courses strengthen communication skills and intercultural competence.

Spanish and Literature – Intermediate

This course combines a language component with the study of Colombian literature. It aims to strengthen students’ Spanish skills while deepening their understanding of the relationship between language, literature, and culture.

Topics include:

• Vocabulary related to work, education, travel, and current global issues.
• Narrating important events in a person’s life.
• Making predictions about the future.
• Tourism and cultural diversity.
• Literature from the Colombian Caribbean.
• Reading and analyzing works by Gabriel García Márquez, including Tuesday Siesta, One of These Days, Something Very Serious Is Going to Happen in This Town, and The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow.

Spanish and Literature – Advanced

This course is designed for students who want to perfect their Spanish through the advanced study of grammar and Colombian literature.

Topics include:

• Advanced uses of ser and estar.
• The prepositions por and para.
• Spanish past tenses.
• The present, present perfect, and past perfect subjunctive.
• Literature from the Colombian Caribbean.
• Authors such as Álvaro Cepeda Samudio, Ramón Illán Bacca, Meira Delmar, and Germán Espinosa.

This course strengthens speaking, writing, and reading skills while developing intercultural competence through the analysis of representative Latin American films.

Students explore:

• Film as a representation of culture.
• The relationship between film, history, and reality.
• The characteristics of cinematic language.
• Representations of identity and cultural worldviews.
• The difference between reality and its representation.
• Cultural, social, and historical interpretations in Latin American cinema.

This course develops the language skills needed to communicate in business and professional contexts across Latin America.

Participants study:

• Types of companies.
• Human resources.
• Intercultural communication.
• Trade and economics in Latin America.
• Specialized business vocabulary.
• Professional spoken and written communication.
• Real business materials and case studies.
• The geographic and cultural contexts of Spanish-speaking markets.

The course combines a theoretical component focused on vocabulary and communication skills with practical activities related to the business environment.

This course is designed for students who want to strengthen their advanced writing skills in Spanish.

Through cultural topics, current events, films, and literary works, participants develop different types of writing:

• Description.
• Narration.
• Exposition.
• Analysis.
• Classification.
• Comparison and contrast.
• Cause and effect.
• Argumentation.

The course also covers:

• Planning, drafting, and revising texts.
• Organizing and developing ideas.
• Purpose, appropriateness, style, and text structure.
• Discourse connectors and pragmatic markers.
• Journalistic narratives.
• Narrative, expository, and argumentative essays.
• Academic essays and literary criticism.

This course is intended for international students who wish to certify their Spanish proficiency through the DELE international examination, or Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera.

The course introduces students to the structure and format of the exam and develops strategies for successfully completing its different components:

• Reading comprehension.
• Written expression.
• Grammar and vocabulary.
• Listening comprehension.
• Spoken expression and interaction.
• Critical reasoning.

Classes include practice exercises, question analysis, and mock written and oral examinations.

Except for Spanish for Travelers and Spanish on the Go, the specialized courses have the following characteristics:

Delivery format: In person or online
Duration: 64 hours
Estimated length: 8 to 16 weeks, depending on the selected schedule
Tuition: COP $3,523,968 per course
Minimum group size: 4 students

The courses integrate Spanish-language learning with the study of Hispanic cultures through current communicative language-teaching methodologies.

Classes use authentic spoken, written, audiovisual, literary, and cultural materials. Activities are completed individually, in pairs, and in groups to maximize opportunities for interaction and practical use of Spanish.

Depending on the course, students may participate in debates, writing projects, film and literary analysis, case studies, mock examinations, interviews, cultural activities, and interaction with native speakers.

These courses are designed for international students who want to:

• Learn Spanish for travel.
• Improve their fluency and accuracy.
• Explore Colombian and Latin American culture.
• Strengthen their academic or professional writing.
• Use Spanish in business settings.
• Study Latin American literature or film.
• Prepare for the DELE examination.

Some courses require an intermediate or advanced level of Spanish. Placement will be determined according to each student’s prior knowledge and language skills.

1. Complete the registration form available on this webpage.
2. Upload the following documents in PDF format:
   • Identification document.
   • Visa or study permit, when applicable.
3. Wait for the official admission confirmation and payment instructions.

Submitting the registration form does not constitute automatic admission to the program. Applicants must wait for official confirmation.

International students taking in-person courses must hold a Permiso de Integración y Desarrollo (PID), valid for stays of up to 180 days, or a visa that allows them to study in Colombia.

This requirement does not apply to students participating from abroad in fully online courses.

At the end of the course, students receive a final numerical grade.

Assessment takes into account:

• Academic performance.
• Participation in course activities.
• Development of the specific skills addressed in each course.
• Completion of assignments established by the instructor.
• Attendance at a minimum of 80% of class sessions.

A certificate of attendance will be issued to students who complete the required academic activities and assignments and attend at least 80% of the course.

Tuition and Payment

• Spanish for Travelers, 30 hours: COP $1,291,900.
• Spanish on the Go, 60 hours: two 30-hour modules at COP $1,291,900 each.
• Specialized courses, 64 hours: COP $3,523,968 per course.

Once admitted, students will receive information by email regarding the available payment methods and channels.

The programs do not offer financing.

• A minimum of four students is required to open a group.
• The Language Institute at Universidad del Norte reserves the right to cancel or postpone the start of a course depending on enrollment numbers.
• The Institute may make changes to course content or teaching staff when necessary.
• No partial or full refunds will be issued to students who withdraw after the course has begun or who fail to meet the certification requirements.
• Enrollment may not be transferred or deferred to a future course offering.