Should I take a one week spanish immersion program?

[kanewai]

I love Mexico - which town are you looking at?

I've never done an immersion program, but I'm with the majority in thinking that one week wouldn't be enough for me. It takes me about that long for my brain to settle in and to make the switch to a new language, no matter how well I think I know it. One other risk of immersion programs is that there will probably be other students, and you'll probably want to hang out with them, and then find yourself in an English-dominant environment.

Going solo can be lonelier at times, but it can also be much, much more culturally and linguistically rewarding.

[Lisa]

thanks for the diverse replies and experience reports! Sounds like there are a lot of different sorts of classes and different programs.

While I'm not sure I expect a lot from the classes themselves, being in a class seems like it would focus my mind on my goals and apply some structure and organization for the day, and force me to learn grammar can only help. How they sort me is hard to guess, but it's hard to believe they'd put me in a total beginner class. And then it's also more than two months away. I suppose one way to look at it is that the class itself is not very expensive and only a week is not a huge investment and I'd have the other 8 or so non-class hours to practice on locals. After spending 4 hours a day with the other students I'm not sure I'd want to spend more time with them... I'm used to having a lot of time alone.

There are two places I'm looking at, one in Puebla and one in Merida.

[mentecuerpo]

... The Russian girl was super-fast but had a horrible accent for sure...

It is quite impossible for a young Russian woman to have a horrible accent whether speaking Russian, English, French, Chinese, Hindustani, Arabic, Malay or any other language. That goes for any other young woman.

I fixed it, thanks for the heads up.

[Speakeasy]

I fixed it, thanks for the heads up.

mentecuerpo, please accept my apologies! Your post was both informative and entertaining. There was nothing wrong with your characterisation of the Russian girl's accent if that is the way that you perceived it, your post did not require correcting. My comment was clearly an awkward attempt at humour based on the notion that women are capable of so much charm that, were I to stop to notice their accents, I would tend to consider these as part and parcel of a barely resistible package. I apologise for the confusion. And, now that I have explained myself, I will likely be accused of sexism if not more serious thought crimes.

EDITED:
Typos, tinkering.

[Lisa]

@Speakeasy, I thought I recognized that sense of humor...
you got me last time.

[aokoye]

I know you said you're not sure where to start in terms of finding an in-person instructor where you live and then I noticed that you're in Oregon If you're in the Portland metro area, finding a teacher/tutor or a speaking group shouldn't be difficult. I would assume the same is somewhat true in Eugene and perhaps Corvallis as well.

[Cavesa]

thanks for the diverse replies and experience reports! Sounds like there are a lot of different sorts of classes and different programs.

While I'm not sure I expect a lot from the classes themselves, being in a class seems like it would focus my mind on my goals and apply some structure and organization for the day, and force me to learn grammar can only help. How they sort me is hard to guess, but it's hard to believe they'd put me in a total beginner class. And then it's also more than two months away. I suppose one way to look at it is that the class itself is not very expensive and only a week is not a huge investment and I'd have the other 8 or so non-class hours to practice on locals. After spending 4 hours a day with the other students I'm not sure I'd want to spend more time with them... I'm used to having a lot of time alone.

There are two places I'm looking at, one in Puebla and one in Merida.

If classes work like that for you and force you work harder, great (for me, it is usually the opposite. They demotivate me, as the slow pace makes any real effort just counterproductive). They won't put you in a total beginner class, but the same situation happens in the classes on the first few levels even a bit later. When I joined the class in Germany, it wasn't a class just starting out either. Unfortunately, they were at the same level only in grammar and majority of the class was really not too good exactly at the things people go to a foreign country for (bad pronunciation, heavily affected by them sharing mistakes instead of focusing mostly on native input, passive approach, not too high will to speak, no open writing practice at all,...). If you want guidance, than one on one lessons could certainly be awesome. When it comes to groups, I really think vast majority of people in the language classes up to (at least) B1 are a huge obstacle.

There have been some suggestions on just going there and spending time with the locals. Well, that sounds great, doesn't it? But based on my experience in a few countries (including the reverse situation in my own city), it is not that easy. The natives are not just idly sitting around, waiting for a foreigner to come by and be their free student. Sure, a beginner can profit from the basic interactions, that are part of their jobs. But those get old and not too useful rather fast (and you've said yourself that you're not a complete beginner). But beyond that, you need much richer practice opportunities and you are simply unlikely to just find them lying around. The more complex shopping related interactions people have mentioned in this thread (such as long discussions about properties of the good, their origin,...) are surely possible, if you spend enough money in those shops. But that's it. It's not that easy to create some real connections to the natives even during longer stays, we are just temporary elements in their lives, not worth investing in. I don't feel like spending time with random tourists suggesting it either (even if we put aside their probable real intentions).

Unless you actively try to seek out the valuable opportunities (the fastest and easiest way is to just arrange paid conversations with someone), you won't just find 8 hours of valuable practice with the natives lying around every day.

I think you are definitely likely to have a great holiday. And no language learning effort is completely useless or bad, you are surely likely to find a bit of practice, a motivation boost, and profit from the local bookstores and similar resources. But don't expect too much.

[Kat]

I agree with the others, a week probably won't be enough to make a huge difference with your Spanish but it should be fun and boost your motivation. Someone mentioned Guatemala and I would definitely suggest to look at schools there as well - unless you have your heart set on Mexico already.

Once upon a time, when people were still using traveler's cheques, I spend two weeks at a Spanish immersion school in Guatemala. A Spanish-speaking friend and I had made travel plans together and then he stood me up at the last minute. This left me with the choice to cancel the trip or to go on my own. I really didn't want to cancel, I had been looking forward to it for months, but I didn't feel comfortable on my own because I spoke zero Spanish. So I decided to change the itinerary and spend the first two weeks at a language school to pick up some basic practical Spanish skills.

When I looked at different offers, prices were more or less the same in Mexico and in Guatemala, only in Mexico that price was for group classes while you got 1:1 lessons in Guatemala.

I really enjoyed my time there. The country is beautiful and the lessons took place in a small, colorful patio. Since you had your own teacher, you could also ask them to accompany you into town or to the market and do some activities in Spanish instead, as long as you were willing to cover the extra costs (nothing major, just the bus fare, maybe a coffee). The school also organized small excursions in the afternoons which were very useful to learn how things worked in Guatemala, for example, how to navigate the informal bus system.

A lot will depend on your teacher. Many schools, including my old school, offer video lessons in addition to their regular classes nowadays. This might be a good way of finding a teacher you like before you go.

[golyplot]

One other risk of immersion programs is that there will probably be other students, and you'll probably want to hang out with them, and then find yourself in an English-dominant environment.

It might depend on where the students are coming from, but I am astonished that people would fly to another country specifically for an immersion program and then ignore it. You'd think that would self select for students who actually care.

[Cavesa]

One other risk of immersion programs is that there will probably be other students, and you'll probably want to hang out with them, and then find yourself in an English-dominant environment.

It might depend on where the students are coming from, but I am astonished that people would fly to another country specifically for an immersion program and then ignore it. You'd think that would self select for students who actually care.

It is actually the norm in many places (as an exception, people mention the famous Middlebury often, but I've read some reviews pointing out huge differences between the various language programs, so perhaps the language pledge is weakening even there). It is less common among the more advanced students (because sticking with learning up to B2 or so is already a selection process), both due to their attitude and abilities. But the lower level classes are full of people, who somehow forget about the language outside the class all the time. It might not be English, though. I got tons of French practice during my intensive classes in Berlin It was either that (and I profited from it, even though for a different language) or being totally lonely. The Spanish or Italian natives tend to stick together and stay in their native languages too. But the usual mixed group is likely to use English. It's really sad.

The language schools select the students by only one criterium. Did they pay for the classes? If yes, that's all the care demanded. Supposedly, taking as much from the classes as possible is every student's responsibility. But it is really hard to do, when the other students are sabotaging it by their attitude and laziness.