REVIEW FROM REPEAT CUSTOMER!

Why Spanish Abroad? 

My younger son (he's now 25) and I started immersion Spanish classes about 9 years ago and have now gone 4 times, for a total of 16 weeks. We used spanishabroad.com each time. We stumbled across spanishabroad.com the first time, and then continued to use them because they continued to give us a great experience each time. They have always placed us in good schools with good family stays. 

Locations Visited: Spain, Costa Rica, Panama

We've been to a variety of schools including Malaga in Spain, Quepos in Costa Rica, and schools in both Panama City and Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Every school and every city has its own pros and cons. The Spanish Abroad web page actually gives a pretty good idea of what you're getting into at each school, and their staff can refine the information if you ask.  

Personal Suggestions: 

In a small school I would suggest taking private lessons. They're not that much more expensive, and in a small school the group lessons may have to try to accomodate too diverse a set of Spanish levels in order to form a group. You'll be frustrated either way. Either the class is taught way over your head or you have to slow down too much. If you are going for group lessons, the larger schools seem to have enough students and instructors that they can be assured of setting a class where all the students are at your level.

I think the private lessons become more useful and interesting as you become more advanced, as you can focus in on your interests, personal needs, weaknesses, etc. In Bocas Del Toro for example (a small school), I did 4 hours a day, private, split between 3 different instructors, for 4 weeks, and it was an awesome learning experience. Beware though, private lessons are intense. 

You better come prepared to pay attention and to work if you want to get the most out of them. Also, for me at least, more than 4 hours of privates in a day is just too intense. A good compromise that we tried once previously was 4 hour group and 2 hours private daily. Home stays, for our money, are a huge part of the experience. 

A home stay is a way to connect with the people and culture of the country, make some new friends, eat the real people's food, etc. You're not living in the country long term, but it's still a very different experience than the normal "tourist" visit to a country. Much more meaningful and satisfying. We probably wouldn't do it without the home stay. If you go to a small, more "3rd world" area and do a home stay, you will also come away with a whole new understanding and appreciation for the way other people in the world live their lives, and for that matter, a whole new appreciation for life in the USA. 

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Best wishes y que le vaya bien.

Michael Z.