StephanieZ Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Has anyone taken (or sent) the kids/teens to S. America or Central America to go to a spanish language school? I am tentatively planning on taking all 3 kids for a month or so at some point around ages 10, 14, 16 (or 11, 15, 17) . . . so, in two years or so. I've googled up some schools in Guatemala or El Salvador or Chile or . . . but I'd love some BTDT advice or any tips on schools that would be especially family friendly or are otherwise wonderful. I'd likely be travelling just me plus the three kids, so I'd imagine the older two kids rooming together in a family stay while I roomed with my youngest in another family stay. Alternately, we could stay in a hotel and just attend the school during the day, but I think they'd get a lot more out of it by staying with families for most if not all the stay. (We'd presumably vacation together in a hotel/resort for a week or so after the school is over.) My ideal place would be SAFE with an attractive natural setting. Obviously, modest cost would be needed for such an extended stay, but that seems a given in most of the schools. My kids should all have a basic level of fluency by the time we go. Olders will probably be at the 3rd+ year college level, while my youngest would be more like the 2nd-3rd year of high school level. I'm hoping to time this so that my olders could polish off their fluency and yet my youngest also be old enough to benefit from it. Thoughts????????? Ideas???? Places you've heard good or bad things about? Things I haven't considered? TIA!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I haven't done it, but I have heard that they are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Dh's cousin sent her 14 yo son to Costa Rica this summer. She's a native speaker, but her dh doesn't speak Spanish, so their son wasn't forced to rely on his Spanish. He came back finally fluent. She chose CR because it's a very safe country, with low crime and good infrastructure. She didn't choose Venezuela even though her son could have stayed with his grandmother and aunt because Caracas is too dangerous (even for a Venezuelan staying with family!) I'd avoid El Salvador due to a high crime rate. Even Salvadorans I know are leery of visiting. Guatemala is very pretty but not as safe as CR. Chile is very nice. Santiago has a very bad smog problem so it's not a good choice if you have asthma. Plane tickets are also going to be more expensive. On the plus side, it's lovely and it's fun to spend time in the Southern Hemisphere with the seasons reversed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I am just back from a vacation in Costa Rica and felt very safe. Probably the most safe I have ever felt outside the US, although I didn't spend any time in San Jose because I heard it wasn't that safe. My girlfriend and I had a great time and met wonderful people. My vote is for Costa Rica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 :bigear::bigear: I would really love to do this too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarymelon Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 San Christobal de las Casas in Mexico would be a good, fairly cheap place to stay and is beautiful. I have been to a spanish school in Dominical, Costa Rica that was good, but I didn't find the town very family friendly. I also love Sayulita, which is near Puerto Vallarta. I know that there are a number of Spanish language schools there. Most of the schools I have heard of or attended are not very vigorous. I would probably decide how off the beaten track you wanted to go. The more primitive, the cheaper it will be and the more chances you will have to speak spanish, but for a month long trip it is really nice to be closer to amenities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I would check the US State Dept. travel website for info on what visas, if any, are required and how to obtain them for the countries you're considering. Chile, for instance, requires an entrance fee of something like $150/person, as does Argentina. Not sure about the requirements for the rest of S. America or Central America. I see too that the State Dept. has very helpful links including one to a Students Abroad Website. Might be a good place to start. Definitely try for a family stay if you can, though I've no idea how that would work; you'll too easily fall into English in your time "at home" in a hotel if you are not staying with native speakers and forced to use the Spanish. Also realize that even college level "fluency" is not really that close to actual, in practice, speaking with native speakers all day every day kind of fluency. Idioms, local vernacular, structuring sentences so that they fit local normal speech patterns (this goes beyond just correct grammatical structure), and just the added stress of having no choice but using the 2nd language to communicate......it all adds a level of "my goodness I know so little..." I don't say this to discourage you, only to let you know to expect a steep learning curve in the first days (and honestly, a month seems too short to me, but maybe I"m underestimating the fluency level you say they'll have by then...). Whatever you decide to do, have fun and enjoy the experience whether or not your kids come back from it fluent or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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