the Price of Spanish Lessons

I attended Spanish classes at the intermediate and advanced level with a program locally. I went to both group and private lessons at different times and also attended conversations groups, community activities and explored the local Spanish speaking community through this program.

The teacher I worked with was a Spanish speaker from Mexico who worked with me exclusively in Spanish, maximizing the amount of practice I got beyond just the class room activities. The group I studied with was small, always under 5 people besides myself, and most of the time we worked together before and after class at least once a week at the school. This space was provided for us along with suggestions for furthering our studies in other locations.

The homework was not overbearing but was useful and important for the class work to flow smoothly. When requested recommendations for books and other study material was always provided.

The school also hosted occasional parties, around Mexican holidays, and had food, dancing, performances and time for socializing. The events were mostly in Spanish and were an opportunity for more advanced students to mingle with beginning students, giving everyone an opportunity to have fun and learn together. These events were very helpful to stay motivated.

The level of quality provided was really superior, I felt that my education was the primary goal of the program and that I was able to express concerns about how things proceeded whenever I had them. When I felt that I wasn't being challenged appropriately by the reading materials I was given the opportunity to get more advanced reading materials even though I needed to remain in the same class.

Not all teachers are going to be wonderful, even at good programs, and since conversation practice requires so much one on one attention it's important to have at least some connection with the teacher. Being able to switch teachers periodically as needed really helps me to get over some of my stumbling blocks with conversational ability.

The one thing that was difficult is that this program often taught at the level of the least advanced student in the class, meaning that there was often more time spent on review than I felt was needed. However, the practice was always helpful even if at times it felt stunting.

The best part is that even after leaving that program many of the skills I developed there are helping me continue my studies now that I'm not a student.

A language school should provide you with a small group setting, a patient and skilled teacher, preferably someone who is a native speaker of the language you're pursuing. Look around for a setting that will also open up opportunities for language exchanges in your area, provide space or time to network conversation groups and other activities such as a cooking group, dances, plays, story telling, crafts and other art projects that are free or very low cost in addition to the class time.

I really believe that even at in a university school or larger class setting it's possible to form the smaller group discussions that are really needed to learn a language.

Figure out in advance what sort of classes work best for you, ones with more writing and reading or more activity based lessons and pursue a school with a focus on the type that works best for you, but remember that all languages require a strong base in the grammar that can only come from the written homework and study of grammatical structure. Seek a good mix of fun and culture to offset the sometimes tedious process and encourage you to stay dedicated to the hard and rewarding work.