Spanish Language Immersion Class

Last week, I wrote that Spanish language classes suck and are a waste of money, advocating instead that you spend your money on a quality self-study course such as Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur.  While I fully stand behind that advice, it was mostly tailored towards the group class format found in high schools, colleges, and most language learning schools.  There is one form of Spanish class I whole-heartedly recommend, however, and that is the immersion class format.

Spanish Language Immersion Class

Spanish immersion classes are among the very best, and most expensive, methods of learning Spanish.  A good immersion class forces you to learn to actually think and converse in the language rather than just memorize vocabulary and grammar rules.  Immersion classes are generally small and led by an instructor who communicates in only the target language, in this case Spanish.  While grammar is of course covered, the focus of the program is on verbal communication.  At first, you will probably find yourself struggling to understand what’s going on, but you will quickly acclimate to the fast-paced learning environment and make huge advances in less time than you thought possible.

What To Look For In An Immersion Class

Since immersion classes are so expensive (often $100-200 per week, plus airfare and accommodations), it is important to shop around.  The only school I have direct experience with is Enforex, which I can highly recommend and has many schools scattered throughout Spain and Latin America, but there are literally dozens of reputable schools in almost any Spanish-speaking city you’d care to visit.  It’s really up to you and exactly what you really want out of the program, but there are a few characteristics you should look for to make sure you get the most for your money.

1. A maximum of 4-6 students per class – The smaller the class size, the more individual attention you’ll get.  While one-on-one tutoring is best, it’s also prohibitively expensive.  Classes of 2-3 students represent the best value for your money with 6 students being the upper limit.  Any more than that and the instruction starts to suffer.
2. At least 4 hours of class per day – Since you’re going to spend all this money to travel to a foreign country to learn Spanish, you should commit a serious chunk of your time to the task.  Four hours per day of intensive immersion classes will be enough to dramatically improve your Spanish language skills in just one or two weeks’ time whereas two hours per day probably won’t be.  In fact, if you are already at a relatively advanced level, four hours per day for two weeks is probably enough to get you at or at least very close to fluency.
3. Located in a Spanish-speaking city – It’s probably possible to find a good Spanish language immersion class in the U.S., but you will get so much more out of the experience if you study overseas since it will give you practically unlimited practice time after class to solidify what you’ve learned.  Obviously, it’s better to leave class for a Spanish-speaking bar than an English-speaking one if the goal is to learn Spanish.  Besides, a vacation never hurt anyone!
4. Multiple locations with references listed – This may just be me being paranoid, but I feel more comfortable sticking to the larger, more-reputable companies like Enforex.  I’m certain there are plenty of quality mom-and-pop schools out there, but there are probably also plenty of rip-offs.  A good rule of thumb is if they don’t have any former students listed as references (with contact information), it’s probably best to give it a pass.  Most of the more reputable schools will be happy to provide references, so there’s no point skipping this step.