There is no better way to learn Spanish than to live it. So rather than night classes, consider a week of pure indulgence.
TOTAL immersion is undoubtedly the quickest and most effective way to learn Spanish, as you are living the language at the same time — reading notices and billboards, hearing people speak all around you, having to deal with everyday situations.
Spain magazine reader Sarah Spencer couldn’t agree more. After her course in Marbella she says: A one-week course is a great way to have an indulgent week of language immersion, give yourself a refresher and a confidence boost and get un beso from the teacher as well as a certificate at the end of the course.
It’s also great value for money: A one or two-week course in Spain can cost the same as a term of evenings lessons in the UK, but you get so much more out of it, advises Sarah Gooding of Cactus Language.
But with so many courses available, what should you look for? You should choose a school which offers a variety of courses and can demonstrate professional qualifications of its teachers. Each school has its own affiliations that offer reassurance as to its standards of tuition and facilities. IALC is one of the main ones to look out for. Accommodation should be consistently monitored and feedback from students taken on board if a given host family or apartment does not live up to expectations, says Gooding.
And what can students expect when they get there? On the first morning you should be tested and placed in a group at the correct level. You will usually start classes straight after that, and classes then continue during the week each morning (although some schools run classes in the afternoons).
After class, schools usually organise a comprehensive programme of activities, excursions and cultural/social/ sporting events. You should expect to be taught entirely in Spanish, which is by far the quickest, most effective and most accurate way to learn.
Learning a language is fun but it isn’t always plain sailing, cautions Gooding. There can be moments of frustration as you struggle to find the right word, or when you understand what someone’s saying to you but don’t have sufficient vocabulary to reply, but this is completely natural and all part of the learning process. By practising as much as you can it will get easier and before long the words will be rolling off your tongue.
The first day’s written and oral level test left me thinking I would he spending the whole week just catching up to where I had left off, comments Spencer, but a couple of days later I was nattering away, finding creative ways round the words I didn’t know. Not knowing how to say something really teaches you the skill to explain things a million different ways.