Step to the head of the class.

When I took my first trip to Latin America, Costa Rica to be exact, I didn’t know a lick of Spanish (or very few licks at least). I didn’t think much of it at the time; I was going with a group of people who were helping to build a house, and knowing Spanish was not a prerequisite for going. But once I got there, how I wish I knew it. I wanted to talk to the great local people we met and understand what they were saying. I wanted to speak with our bus driver, the local workers, and the cute guy painting our hotel. But alas, I hadn’t a clue. I was, however, inspired. I was going to learn Spanish by golly! I was going to return to Latin America, and volunteer somewhere, and learn the language. Somehow, someway, I was going to become fluent.

If you have ever felt this need to learn Spanish-- and I have said this before (see here) -- I highly recommend enrolling in a total immersion language school in another country. There are a number of reasons why they are a great option for getting a grip on a widely spoken and valued language. Here are a few:

-       In Latin America at least, they are very inexpensive, even with the homestay option (which includes room and 2-3 meals a day).

-       You will have a ready-made social network of people you can hang out with and travel with in your free time. Other travelers will make your experience abroad even more memorable, and you will often be learning about more cultures in the process if they are from different countries.

-       You will usually get to participate in cultural activities and field trips that will further your understanding of the language, culture, and the people who are teaching you and hosting you in their home. There are often also cooking, dance, and handicraft classes, as well as presentations on the country’s history.

-       You are going to learn a lot of Spanish! The nature of these programs makes it virtually impossible to leave them-- even after just a week-- without having improved your Spanish skills.

Here I am at a cooking class at my Spanish school in Granada, Nicaragua.
We were learning to make empanadas de platanos maduros
(that is my friend Pascale in the orange shirt). 

I highly recommend the schools that offer one-on-one tutoring. I have been in a classroom setting (multiple students in one class) in two schools, and it was one extreme or the other. The first total immersion school I participated in was in Costa Rica, which had a classroom setting, and I was a beginner. But I was more of a beginner than most of my classmates, so I never fully comprehended what was being taught. I was lost a lot of the time and it was frustrating. I did learn, but it wasn’t as fun as the future one-on-one situations I would later experience. Then, a few years later when my language skills were greatly improved, I was in a classroom in Mexico with other students who were at a less advanced level than I. That class was as frustrating as the beginner class. It was more of a review session for me. But with a one-on-one situation, you go at your own pace. If you are stuck on the difference between the pretérito and imperfecto tenses, then you are going to work on it until you understand. If you cannot master the pronunciation of definitivamente, then you work on it until you do. It’s all about you.

I have had some great one-on-one Spanish instructors. Not one of them spoke English, or enough English, to translate anything for me. If I didn’t understand something, then they would explain it in another way ... but still in Spanish. I was forced to think and figure things out. And the teachers were also able to identify my strengths and weaknesses, and help create more strengths. A typical day in class would involve some lessons from the instructor, some written exercises, some conversation, mixing it up, keeping it interesting, breaking up the monotony. 

There was a point when I knew my basic, very beginner Spanish was improving while I lived in Panama. When I arrived there, I knew hardly a thing. High school Spanish didn’t have any personal application in my life at the time, and I didn’t retain much of that. So I was really clueless with the español when I decided to go to Panama for several months. I worked with Spanish speakers (most spoke only Spanish), I lived with a Spanish-only-speaker, I read children’s books in Spanish, I watched movies with Spanish subtitles, I talked to people, I took classes from local teachers. And one day, a real test came when I was coming back home from the Isla Taboga ferry launch in a taxi. I had taken that trip a dozen times before; I knew how much the taxi fare was (there were no meters in Panama City taxis and rates were based on the “zones” you crossed). But this guy decided he could pull one over on the fula (Panamanian word for a blonde), and charge more because what the heck does she know? I wasn’t having any of that. And before I knew it, I was in a full-fledged argument with a taxi driver. In Spanish! How exciting! I knew enough Spanish to raise some hell, and to let that guy know that I had been there for months and I had taken taxis before, so I knew the fares. I think I may have even sworn at the guy. It was a proud moment.

Totally immersing myself (maybe not totally, but pretty thoroughly at least) was the best way for me to learn Spanish as an adult. If you already know Spanish but want to brush up on some things, heading off to another country for a while is the way to go. If you just want to learn some basics because you’re planning on traveling through Central or South America for a few months, I highly recommend it be the first part of your travels. If you want to build upon what you know, and learn as much as you can, spending a few weeks or months in an immersion setting is going to do wonders for your abilities. You can find such schools all over Latin America. I have studied in Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Or pick another language and/or another region. I would love to take Portuguese classes in Brazil or French in Martinique (or France for that matter!). As I’ve said before, taking classes in a total immersion language school is a great way to travel and meet people. And it’s also a fun way to learn.