Spanish Immersion Program

[menaughty]

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here ever taken any Spanish language learning program in a Spanish speaking country? Which one do you recommended?

 

[Stormy]

I recommend Costa Rica.  It’s relatively safe and I do know of a man who learned Spanish in Costa Rica 

[BSR]

I learned Spanish in Salamanca Spain, showing up at my first day of class with zero knowledge of Spanish.  It was a great experience that changed my life, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to do it.  But as much as I enjoyed it, I don't necessarily recommend Salamanca, or even Spain.  With 20 Spanish-speaking countries, good language schools can be found all over.

I suggest that you figure out where you want to go because learning Spanish will be only half the experience.  The other half will be getting to know the place and hopefully some of the local people.  If you want to hit the beach after spending all morning in class, Puerto Vallarta and Cancún have language schools.  If you want the big city experience, Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City await.  For smokin' hot rentboys, go to Medellín.  If you want something really different, head to Havana (might be problematic for US citizens).

After you pick a spot, finding a good language school is actually the easy part because most decent-sized cities have at least one if not several.  If you do go to Spain, make sure the school is DELE-certified (even if you're not taking a DELE course) and Instituto de Cervantes accredited.

If you've studied Spanish some, then I suggest watching as much Spanish-language TV and movies as you can before going because classroom Spanish doesn't really prepare you for real-world Spanish.  Activate the Spanish subtitles if you can't quite keep up, but absolutely do not resort to English subtitles. You'll never learn the language that way.

Even if you're starting from scratch, try to watch Spanish programming for children (Netflix has a bunch of movies for kids) as you're learning the language.  Beginners tend to translate from their native tongue word-for-word to Spanish, which comes off really awkward and stilted.  The more TV/movies you watch, the more you'll learn to speak real Spanish, not English badly translated.

When are you going?  For how long?  Is your motivation for learning Spanish work-related, or just something you've always wanted to do?  Whatever you end up doing, please tell us all about it.

Edited April 4, 2023 by BSR
Typo

[Guest]

If you learn a language in the country with the greatest number of speakers of that language, you are more likely to be understood in more places. For example, it's easier for an Englishman to understand an American, than for an American to understand an Englishman. So if you're going to learn Portuguese, go to Brazil. For French, go to France. For Arabic, go to Egypt. And for Spanish, go to Mexico. Mexico is the country with the greatest number of Spanish-speakers (#2 is the US, and #3 is Colombia). 

[MassageAdam]

9 hours ago, BSR said:

I learned Spanish in Salamanca Spain, showing up at my first day of class with zero knowledge of Spanish.  It was a great experience that changed my life, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to do it.  But as much as I enjoyed it, I don't necessarily recommend Salamanca, or even Spain.  With 20 Spanish-speaking countries, good language schools can be found all over.

I suggest that you figure out where you want to go because learning Spanish will be only half the experience.  The other half will be getting to know the place and hopefully some of the local people.  If you want to hit the beach after spending all morning in class, Puerto Vallarta and Cancún have language schools.  If you want the big city experience, Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City await.  For smokin' hot rentboys, go to Medellín.  If you want something really different, head to Havana (might be problematic for US citizens).

After you pick a spot, finding a good language school is actually the easy part because most decent-sized cities have at least one if not several.  If you do go to Spain, make sure the school is DELE-certified (even if you're not taking a DELE course) and Instituto de Cervantes accredited.

If you've studied Spanish some, then I suggest watching as much Spanish-language TV and movies as you can before going because classroom Spanish doesn't really prepare you for real-world Spanish.  Activate the Spanish subtitles if you can't quite keep up, but absolutely do not resort to English subtitles. You'll never learn the language that way.

Even if you're starting from scratch, try to watch Spanish programming for children (Netflix has a bunch of movies for kids) as you're learning the language.  Beginners tend to translate from their native tongue word-for-word to Spanish, which comes off really awkward and stilted.  The more TV/movies you watch, the more you'll learn to speak real Spanish, not English badly translated.

When are you going?  For how long?  Is your motivation for learning Spanish work-related, or just something you've always wanted to do?  Whatever you end up doing, please tell us all about it.

I had the chance to study in Salamanca as well and it was life changing.  I highly recommend it.  I will eventually retire in Spain so that's why I wanted to learn Castilian Spanish.  It was very inexpensive and included room and half board.   A couple friends went with me but did an Air B&B.  I will disagree with BSR about Salamanca, it was a very charming, beautiful college town.  I went with my friends every night to the Plaza Mayor where many in the community go.  Then there were bars and clubs to go to afterwards.  No gay bars, but I did meet a handful of gays while I was there.  If you have any further questions about it, please feel free to DM me.  

[EZEtoGRU]

In 1984, I did an 8-week Spanish immersion course in Medellin Colombia at EAFIT University.  This was part of a Masters in International Business program that I was enrolled in at a US University.  Whilst in Medellin, I lived with a local family.  Overall a great experience.   I fully endorse the immersion option of learning a language...ideally in a country where said language is spoken.  

[+ José Soplanucas]

Any Spanish-speaking country with a working educational system is a good option. Spain (Madrid, Valencia, Salamanca, Sevilla, Zaragoza), Colombia (Bogotá, Medellín), and Argentina (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, La Plata) are usually the most respected destinations, but Uruguay, Chile, and Mexico are great options. 

Some think you should choose the program's quality and disregard the destination. I can't entirely agree as I believe the best part of a language immersion experience occurs outside the classroom. I would first choose which is the most appealing destination in general and then research the best learning program available in that one city.

[BSR]

15 hours ago, Unicorn said:

If you learn a language in the country with the greatest number of speakers of that language, you are more likely to be understood in more places. For example, it's easier for an Englishman to understand an American, than for an American to understand an Englishman. So if you're going to learn Portuguese, go to Brazil. For French, go to France. For Arabic, go to Egypt. And for Spanish, go to Mexico. Mexico is the country with the greatest number of Spanish-speakers (#2 is the US, and #3 is Colombia). 

Gotta disagree, people will be able to understand you no matter where you study.  Because I started as a total beginner and because the teachers in Salamanca were quite strict, I learned Castilian Spanish with all the proper lisps and rasps.  Once back stateside, I never bothered to learn Latino pronunciations and use vosotros (when appropriate, of course) instead of ustedes. I've had extended conversations with people from almost every single Spanish-speaking country since, and everyone understands me perfectly.

Where you study will have some impact on your listening comprehension.  Americans who had studied Spanish for 6 years really struggled to understand the teachers in Salamanca whereas I, who had studied for all of 1 month, understood them just fine.  If you want to go to Buenos Aires for the experience, don't hesitate, absolutely go!  (I shall be green with envy.)  Just expect most Spanish speakers when you get back to the US to sound verrrrrrrrrry different from your porteño teachers.

But that can be easily remedied by watching TV/movies.  Get hooked on a Mexican telenovela if you live in Phoenix or start watching La casa de papel if you plan to travel to Spain, and you'll get used to the different accent & pronunciation pretty quickly.

[+ sync]

I'm hopelessly monolingual, you all make me sick...with envy.  👍

[menaughty]

Thank you so much everyone for an amazing and informative input.

I am thinking to do Mexico or Colombia but now I gotta choose the city and the program.

I really love Barcelona and would love to learn their but I dont want to learn Spain's spanish 😂. I prefer Latin American Spanish. Idk if it's because I live in Texas and I am so accustomed to Mexican spanish or it's my love for latin american music since childhood. I am not a complete beginner. I can do small convos in Spanish.

Edited April 5, 2023 by menaughty

[+ José Soplanucas]

52 minutes ago, menaughty said:

Thank you so much everyone for an amazing and informative input.

I am thinking to do Mexico or Colombia but now I gotta choose the city and the program.

I really love Barcelona and would love to learn their but I dont want to learn Spain's spanish 😂. I prefer Latin American Spanish. Idk if it's because I live in Texas and I am so accustomed to Mexican spanish or it's my love for latin american music since childhood. I am not a complete beginner. I can do small convos in Spanish.

Colombia has two pluses over Mexico:

• The entire country is right now one of the most affordable destinations in the world and THE most affordable one in the Spanish-speaking universe
• In general, Colombian men are significatively more attractive than Mexicans. Perhaps this is a very subjective opinion? Hell no, Colombians are way hotter. 😇

Besides that, both cultures are unique, with strong local identities, and are gay-friendly in urban areas. Mexican educative system is more prestigious than the Colombian one, but the difference is probably nonexistent for language schools for foreigners. 

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, menaughty said:

I really love Barcelona and would love to learn their but I dont want to learn Spain's spanish

Well, then considering they speak Catalan in Barcelona, you'd not likely be learning the Castilian accent.

[pubic_assistance]

15 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

In general, Colombian men are significatively more attractive than Mexicans. Perhaps this is a very subjective opinion?

Subjective and pretty racist, considering Columbians tend to look more White/ European in their heritage, while Mexicans often look more obviously mixed with indigenous peoples.

Edited April 5, 2023 by pubic_assistance
grammar

[Guest]

3 hours ago, menaughty said:

Thank you so much everyone for an amazing and informative input.

I am thinking to do Mexico or Colombia but now I gotta choose the city and the program.

I really love Barcelona...

No, no, no. Don't go to Barcelona. The people there speak Catalan. From the moment you land, you'll see the signs are in Catalan first, English second, Spanish third.

I do agree with a prior poster than I find Colombians super-hot. The latest escort I hired was (unbeknownst to me until we actually met) Colombian. I only knew he was Latino when I hired him, but I keep finding myself attracted to Colombians. He insisted that Colombians spoke the best Spanish. Indeed, their Spanish is very easy to understand. In Mexico and Colombia, you'll also avoid a lot of regionalisms which can be offensive in other parts of the Spanish-speaking world. Although not present in southern Spain, such as Andalusia, the Spanish lisp sounds awful to most Latin Americans. When I was at UCLA, my best friend of the time (since passed away with AIDS) told me the story of a Spaniard who came to his high school, which had a Chicano majority. When he started speaking the Castilian (non-Andalusian Spanish) way, he got beaten up pretty badly. It didn't take him long to learn the lingo. 

Spaniards also use "vosotros" which isn't said anywhere else. In some South American and Central American countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua), they use a hyper-familiar form of you called "voseo," which can be considered offensive elsewhere (vos is different vosotros. I suspect it may have something to do with the proximity of Brazil to many of the "voseo" countries, since in Brazil they say você for you). 

The Spanish lisp is in the dark blue areas:

Dark blue areas use "vos":

Edited April 5, 2023 by Unicorn

[Marc in Calif]

1 hour ago, Unicorn said:

No, no, no. Don't go to Barcelona. The people there speak Catalan. From the moment you land, you'll see the signs are in Catalan first, English second, Spanish third.

 

Barcelona is a city where plenty of people speak Castellano as their first language. It's cosmopolitan in that so many residents come from elsewhere in Spain. Granted, you'll hear and read a lot of spoken and written Català. But Castellano is still the universal lingua franca there.

Formally studying Castellano in Barcelona is an excellent choice. Professionally educated and training language professors and instructors teach Castellano because it's their native language, whether they were born in Barcelona or elsewhere. You don't seem to understand the concept of a person having two "mother tongues" (i.e., two first languages): Català and Castellano. It's becoming more and more common. 

And the photo you posted belies your claim. The text in Castellano is in bright YELLOW like the important universal symbols: numbers, bags, departures, landings, parking, local transport, and so on. Català and English are merely in white.

So Castellano is universal in the airports too. The top-to-bottom order is merely to satisfy and calm the locals. 🥰

Edited April 5, 2023 by Marc in Calif

[Guest]

Sure, one can learn Spanish in Barcelona. However, be prepared for some hostility over your choice of places to learn Spanish. Most people will probably be cool about it, but some won't. 

[+ José Soplanucas]

7 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Subjective and pretty racist, considering Columbians tend to be more White/ European in their heritage, while Mexicans are more often mixed with indigenous peoples.

I see you are missing the Politics forum to share your bitterness. Poor thing.

[+ José Soplanucas]

I agree with @Unicorn. I would not go to Barcelona to learn Spanish. The city is an excellent tourist destination but not the best place for a Spanish immersion experience. Whoever visited knows the feelings of the local nationalists, which often limits your chances to practice your target language. 

Something similar happens with Bilbao, although the city is less appealing than Mediterranean Barcelona. The Vasc country also has a solid nationalist culture around the local language.

[+ Pensant]

3 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

I agree with @Unicorn. I would not go to Barcelona to learn Spanish. The city is an excellent tourist destination but not the best place for a Spanish immersion experience. Whoever visited knows the feelings of the local nationalists, which often limits your chances to practice your target language. 

Something similar happens with Bilbao, although the city is less appealing than Mediterranean Barcelona. The Vasc country also has a solid nationalist culture around the local language.

Don’t forget the use of Gallego in Galicia!

[+ Pensant]

I too love Salamanca. When I was in Spain I consciously picked up the Castellano accent, since I learned Spanish from Cuban professors. I love using it in Mexico, to the amusement of its citizens. While not fluent in other languages, I’ve always been a mimic, so I pick up the pronunciation quickly. For instance, when I spent a month in Portugal last fall, I mastered the Portuguese pronunciation in a day or two, although not the grammar!

[pubic_assistance]

3 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

I see you are missing the Politics forum to share your bitterness. Poor thing.

Yes,

I do miss the politics forum.

BUT my comment was more sociological ( which politicians tend to use as a political tool ) but not truly political.

I was a little shocked that anyone feels comfortable these days to declare that the country full of white people are far better looking than the country full of indigenous people.

Not even discussing  whether there's a truth in the matter.

More curious how this is socially acceptable, in today's woke society trends.

Back to the topic...I agree that Columbians tend to speak Spanish in a clear and easy to understand version that suits a Latin American take on the language. Castillian always sounds grandiose and pretensious in comparison.

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by pubic_assistance

[pubic_assistance]

3 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

I agree with @Unicorn. I would not go to Barcelona to learn Spanish. The city is an excellent tourist destination but not the best place for a Spanish immersion experience. Whoever visited knows the feelings of the local nationalists, which often limits your chances to practice your target language. 

"Immersion" being the key word.

You'd be more immersed in Spanish speaking if you were downtown in LA, than Barcelona.

[+ Pensant]

Speaking of the Colombian accent, the last time I was with one he mentioned that he was from Medellin, pronouncing it med-a-jean.

[+ azdr0710]

2 hours ago, Pensant said:

Speaking of the Colombian accent, the last time I was with one he mentioned that he was from Medellin, pronouncing it med-a-jean.

that's very interesting......I'm curious if that pronunciation is considered to be a more-educated/upper-class way of saying the word......or is the conventional local pronunciation......or???........typically, of course, the traditional 'y'-sound for 'll' would be correct......

[Guest]

3 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

...I was a little shocked that anyone feels comfortable these days to declare that the country full of white people are far better looking than the country full of indigenous people.

...

Ignoring the fact that preferring certain skin tones in a sexual partner isn't racist, you're simply factually wrong in stating that most Colombians are or look European. A solid majority of Colombians (such as the last man I hired) are mestizo, or mixed-race, as are the majority of Latin Americans in general:

CIA - The World Factbook -- Colombia

USER.IIASA.AC.AT

Ethnic groups:

mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%