Let's Go2Mexico - Articles

Language Immersion School in Mexico
The Best Way to Study Spanish
By Linda and Eric Langner - The Language Immersion School, Veracruz - July 2007

Language Immersion School sounds overpowering, but it isn’t. The good schools offer you the easiest, fastest, and most success-driven way to learn a language. Language immersion schools are exciting and fascinating. They take you out into the culture because that lets them teach you language in context. Language in context is more fun to speak, easier to remember, and immediately useful.

Language immersion schools (LIS’s) move you through course content far, far faster than happens during a regular college semester or high school year. They teach the same grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure found in regular classes. But unlike the typical classroom, LIS curriculum includes a lot of spoken language and living culture.

LIS stays of two and three weeks are the most common, but stays can range from a week to many months.  An incredible amount of progress can be made in only two or three weeks. 

How can you learn so much Spanish in so little time? Three of the biggest reasons are that in good LIS’s [1] instruction is nontraditional, [2] group size is small, [3] and study plans are individualized. Importantly there’s always an emphasis upon using what you’re learning. You’ll work with a number of different staff members, and so you’ll hear and practice with lots of voices.    

Outings are common, often daily, and lots of time is spent, practicing with Spanish-speaking staff, in museums, markets, el Centro, the city square, and elsewhere around town in traditional, cultural locations. A good LIS has you participating actively in Mexico’s culture while learning Spanish.

You’ll find schools throughout Mexico. Most are inland and usually near Mexico City, but some are as far away as Chiapas. A few are on the ocean. Many can be reached directly by plane while some require a several hour bus ride after you fly into Mexico.

Whether you’re already an advanced speaker or a very beginner, your skills will grow greatly. If you’re an advanced student you’ll most likely gain great fluidity in speaking and integrate more complicated constructions into your Spanish. You’ll move more comfortably into colloquial conversation. Your Spanish will sound much more natural.   

For beginners, in three weeks (or just two working hard) you’ll have surpassed survival Spanish and be carrying on conversations. Sure, you’ll be speaking slowly, and your vocabulary will be limited, but even so to be carrying on conversation is this short a time is incredible.  It’s the magic of language immersion.

Schools that include outings and fieldtrips often teach you how to travel in Mexico. The amount of language you learn in so little time combined with learning how to use the bus system is enough to make you an independent traveler. No longer will you see Mexico through tour-bus windows. You’ll be able to go where you want and do what you want.

Some schools offer several areas of emphasis, or even better, they individualize to best make Spanish work for you. Business people have differing need from those of teachers and healthcare has yet another set. The highly flexible schools address the common material needed by all language learners and yet also take you in directions best fitting your goals and needs. This makes the schools’ job more complex, but they do it because they know how much more useful your Spanish will be to you.

Language immersion schools often have a “method”. In Mexico everyone wants to have his or her own method—it’s cultural. If you choose a method-based school, you’ll want to be sure it’s a method that fits you well. Methods are usually strictly followed.  Some schools have approaches to language acquisition. These school tend to be far more flexible and individualized.

There’s always the question of should I take a couple of courses in my community college first or should I jump right into immersion. It’s more and more a hot topic of conversation among Spanish teachers. One hears longtime teachers becoming frustrated with the traditional curriculum and deciding that good immersion schools have the right approach. 

Traditional classroom successfully teaches lots of grammar, vocabulary, and structure, and all of that is great. Immersion schools also teach grammar, vocabulary, and structure. In addition, the good LIS’s have you talking, using what your learning almost immediately. If speaking is your goal, then starting right out with immersion is the better way to go.

Is immersion school even better than an accelerated course taken in summer school?  This is another often asked question. Some immersion schools, in fact, are just summer school in another country. The results of summer school in the US or in Mexico are generally equal but one takes place in a much more fun location.

Even though you can learn a lot in a short time in standard summer school (in the US or in Mexico), the time crunch hurts. All of the grammar, vocabulary, and structure must be covered, and so there’s even less time for trying to talk than there is in a regular semester. In good LIS’s it’s assured that you have plenty of time to practice talking.

Housing while you’re attending an LIS usually occurs in one of three ways. Least common is staying at a hotel.  It works okay, but can offer the least chance to practice.  Most common is the homestay. Homestay is a great idea in theory, and in practice some are great. By and large, sadly, homestays fall short of students’ hopes and expectations.  Least common, but usually offering the most practice time and cultural experience, is living-in. Few schools have living-in facilities.

Pricing for schools can be deceptive, and you’ll need to take a careful look. Some schools are completely up front about costs and include everything in the weekly price.  Others list things separately--tuition, room and board, texts and materials, outings and fieldtrips, registration fees, and etc. A little bit of time on your part will allow you to pull separated pricing together, and then you can compare apples to apples.

Picking a school requires careful thought, but it also can be a lot of fun. The adventure begins as soon as you begin to search the Internet. Searching SPANISH IMMERSION SCHOOLS and IMMERSION SCHOOL MEXICO are very good beginnings.  Unfortunately it’s easy to end up on a site that is only a directory, and these are of little help. To learn about schools and get a feel for them, you’ll want to be directly on school sites. 

The good LIS’s have websites full of information about the school. Their websites are designed to give you the feel of the school. If what you read and see sounds good and feels good, the LIS is worth investigating. An email asking for additional information is the best second step. In your email it’s fine to say what you’re looking for.  From the very beginning you’ll see if the school can and wants to meet your individual needs.

LIS’s are for more than just language. They are also for culture, adventure, and fun.  Look for a school that will let you participate in Mexico as you’re learning Spanish. LIS can be one of your best vacations ever. Good schools use the happiness of Mexico as a teaching tool, and it’s a teaching tool that assures you’ll learn the most Spanish you possibly can. 

© Linda and Eric Langner, 2007

• Linda and Eric Langner own and operate The Language Immersion School, Veracruz, Mexico.  They’re always happy to answer questions.  You can email them at info@veracruzspanish.com and visit them at www.veracruzspanish.com.

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