Learn Spanish in Mexico - How to choose a Spanish Immersion Program

If you do not want your trip to study Spanish in Mexico or Latin America turn into an adventure instead of a Spanish learning trip you should take your precautions before your start. You should not only look at the attractiveness of the city you are going to be at but also at the school or Institute itself.

Here are a few tips you should consider when you are planning a Spanish learning trip as noted by the Spanish Institute of Puebla (www.sipuebla.com):

1- The best guarantee for a good Spanish learning experience is to ask the schools you are considering for many references with phone numbers (e-mails can be answered by anyone… in many cases by the language schools themselves).

2- Choose a city in which you will be able to use the Spanish you are learning. There are many cities that have become so touristy that everyone will speak English so you will not be able to practice Spanish very much.

3- Make sure the Spanish Language School specifies how many minutes the hour of class has… some language schools offer hours of 40 minutes so when they advertise 4 hours it could actually only be 3 hours of class.

4- Ask about the qualifications of the teachers… many Spanish Language Schools believe that just because someone speaks English and Spanish they can be a Spanish teacher. To be a good Spanish as a Second language teacher you have a college degree in Linguistics or Teaching Spanish as a Second Language and stay up to date with the latest teaching techniques and practices, as well as, being familiar with the culture of the Second Language learner.

5- If the program includes host family make sure you know if they only place one student per host family or if they place more than one… up to how many students per host family they place. The ideal is to just place one student per host family so you will get the most out of the host family experience.

6- Ask as many questions as you can to the Spanish language school or Institute you decide to attend… the school should not have anything to hide so they should answer all your questions quickly and sincere, if at any time you feel they are dancing around your questions think again about your decision.

7- Call the language school and ask the questions and then ask them to send you the answers by e-mail so you will have everything in writing. This way you will already be familiar with someone at the language school before your arrival.

8- Choose a language school that does not require you to pay more than $100.00 USD before you arrive, if they ask you to pay more than $100 USD they probably will not provide everything they promised and that is why they want money upfront so you will not have the opportunity to back out if you feel uncomfortable upon your arrival.

9- Make sure the language school or Institute you are considering is a legal registered school. Ask for their tax ID number or Federal Registration number so you will not find yourself in a very uncomfortable situation if the school or Institute gets caught during your stay there. Another good way is to choose a language school that has been around for at least 15 years so you can be assured that they are stable and will not disappear from the time you pay you deposit to the time you show up.

Enjoy your trip to learn Spanish abroad and if you have any questions or want other tips on what to consider when looking at language schools just e-mail us at: info@sipuebla.com

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