Over 60 public servants were on Wednesday oriented into a five month course entitled “Spanish as a Foreign Language”, at the Foreign Service Institute in Georgetown.

Those being tutored include Foreign Service/Trade Officers, Immigration Officers and personnel from several ministries and state agencies.

This is the third teaching Spanish as a foreign language course being conducted with public servants here and forms part of an agreement signed between Columbia and Guyana.

Director of the Foreign Service Institute, Ambassador Ronald Austin declared the course open and urged those selected to take the course seriously.

He said Guyana is geographically part of the South American Continent but for the most part is culturally part of the English speaking Caribbean.

Ambassador Austin explained that it is important for public servants to understand the culture and language of Guyana’s continental neighbors.

The language barrier between Guyana as the only English speaking country in South America and the other South American nations could not be overemphasized.

As a consequence, this course is expected to help the state machinery communicate effectively on a bilateral level.

The tutor is Nelson Giraldo from Columbia who has been teaching Spanish at the tertiary  level for several years.

He also speaks and write fluent English.

During brief remarks, Giraldo said he expects to not only teach the language but the culture that accompanies the language.

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