If you even think you might
want to come to central Mexico to study Spanish, you should definitely
sit down and plan exactly how long you want to be here. I've met
middle-aged adults, couples and singles, who come for as little as a
week to as long as an entire year. They are so determined to learn
Spanish that some will take time off work, with no pay, to come to
Mexico.
But, in that planning, keep in mind that even a year in
Mexico, if a rank beginner in Spanish, while it will be fun, while you
can see what it is like to live in this country, absorb a little
culture, I wouldn't bet the farm on becoming fluent in one year.
Fluency takes time.
These are a few suggestions to prepare for a
study abroad trip. These can work to make even a short study period of
a week or two toward your fluency goal in Spanish beneficial.
1.)
Do as much preparation as possible in the language before coming to
Mexico. Take advantage of the many home study courses commercially
available, like Pimsleur Spanish and Learning Spanish Like Crazy,
before embarking on your study vacation. These will teach you
vocabulary, grammar, and listening skills in much the same way you
learned your native language. Try to get through both of these home
study courses long before coming to Mexico.
2.) Realize that most
schools will test your proficiency level when you arrive for your first
class. Afterwards, you will be inserted into a class that approximates
your level of fluency. You will not necessarily be in a class where all
the students are at your exact level. Some may have a greater Spanish
proficiency than you; some may have a lower proficiency level. This is
because in the private schools, you probably will not arrive on the
exact day when your level begins a new cycle.
You could test as a
rank beginner and arrive at the school when the rank beginner class is
halfway through the class cycle. Rather than having semesters that
begin and end on certain set dates, the private schools cannot do this.
The University of Guanajuato does offer this. However, this is for
those who have months at their disposal for study.
We knew of a
woman who enrolled in probably the best school in Guanajuato as a rank
beginner. She arrived into the middle of the beginner class cycle and
was totally lost. The teacher had to keep the flow of the class going
at the point at which the others were at and could not very well stop
to catch this poor woman up with the rest of them. This school, the
best and most expensive, couldn't help her. I never knew what she did
or how it all turned out.
3.) Also know that not all schools have
the same curriculum and not all have the same style of teaching.
Imagine the poor woman I mentioned in the previous paragraph coming
into the class taught entirely in Spanish, not knowing any Spanish, and
trying to keep up. Most schools will teach the classes in Spanish even
if you have not a clue what is being said. That's why I strongly
suggest going through the home study courses first.
One woman
told me she and her husband were enjoying being in Guanajuato but they
were a bit confused at their Spanish instruction. All the classes were
in Spanish when neither she nor her husband had enough skill to
understand the instruction or ask a question. They were lost in Spanish
but enjoying the sights.
The false idea of what Total Immersion
is supposed to be is at play here. Total Immersion is not coming to
Mexico (or the country of the target language) and hearing instruction
totally in Spanish. Total Immersion is:
"Let me say here that the
term immersion is also ambiguous because some courses, as you also
experienced, claim to be immersion systems, but in fact are
grammar-translation courses taught in concentrated periods of time. The
term immersion, as it is used in second-language learning, refers to
massive amounts of input with meaning; similar to the way we are
exposed to and learn our first (native) language." (Learn How To Learn
Spanish)
4.) Don't hang out with other English speakers outside
of class. Hang out with native speakers only during the entire time you
are in Mexico studying. If you are married and both of you come to
study, this is virtually impossible. Frankly, other than coming to
separate cities in which to study I know not of how to solve this
problem. But, if solo, resolve to refuse to hang out with the other
English speaking students who will no doubt want to invite you to
social events.
5.) At the end of your week or year of studying in
Mexico, go right back to your home study courses and begin them afresh.
Watch Spanish television on cable. Join a church that has services in
Spanish. Go to Hispanic events in your city. Hire a tutor, a native
Spanish speaker in your community, with whom you can practice. Or, you
might work out an intercambio (exchange) where you practice Spanish and
your partner English.
This can work. These suggestions might even make your experience abroad work even better!
