Spanish immersion class/programs ?

[pianoheat]

Does anyone have any info on a good Spanish language immersion class appropriate for an 18 year old girl for four weeks or a time that is recommended.

Thanks

[McMurphy_RP]

Depends. What are her primary goals?

[pianoheat]

She would like to minor in college in Spanish essentially become bilingual she has studied through Junior year in Highschool

[mcontreras]

I can enthusiastically recommend the classes at the Spanish Institute of Puebla (www.sipuebla.com ), although it's not in Guanajuato, and could be a bit more expensive than some schools, they do an EXCELLENT job testing your Spanish level and I believe the classes are 2-4 weeks long. It would depend on her actual level how long it would take her to finish, but if she goes through the highest level, she will be as close to fluent as is possible only in a classroom setting. The rest of true fluency comes with everyday life and usage. They connect you with good host families. She should be specific in host family requests, however, especially if she wants to have internet at the home.

[KenMacD]

I highly recommend checking-out the various offerings at the University of Guanajuato. Their instructors are first rate, the classes are serious and comprehensive with a number of options other than the full semester option which I took two years ago. The cost is very reasonable compared to some other language schools.

Ken MacDonald

[McMurphy_RP]

I had good experiences with a school called Adelita, but it's a newer school and is still building a reputation (I think they were highlighted in the most recent edition of Lonely Planet), so there are fewer students and she might have to look for other ways to make friends outside of school if that were a concern.

Another popular private school (with which I have no personal experience) is Escuela Mexicana. It has a reputation for having lots of students around, so it might be good in terms of socialization. I've heard mixed things about the quality of the Spanish instruction there.

I was seriously underwhelmed by the Spanish program at the university here. There are teachers who are quite good and others who are awful, and some of the curriculum is not designed with language acquisition as a priority. On the other hand, it's tough to make significant progress in a month in any case, and the university setting might be good for an 18-year-old because she'd have lots of opportunity for socialization with other young people. Financially, the semester-long option compares very favorably with private schools. I believe there's also a monthly option, more intensive and with few students in each class, in which the costs are similar to those of private schools.

[roberb7]

Escuela Falcon worked for me. Lots of individual attention, mostly young instructors, and they encourage students to take advantage of the many cultural opportunities GTO offers.