My son wants to do a Spanish immersion in Spain between his sophomore and junior years of high school this summer. He will have finished Spanish 3 in his schools accelerated track (which he says is not really much different from the normal track). His main goal is to develop Spanish language skills (more so than cultural immersion or seeing lots of well known places).
Based on what we have seen, we are considering two programs: 1) SPI study abroad - their program in San Sebastian 2) School Year Abroad - which has a summer only program in Zaragoza. Any experiences or thoughts on the two programs would be much appreciated. We have come to this late, so we are scrambling.
By the way, I am a new poster. I have always been able to find information on already existing threads in the past. I searched for discussions on this topic, but the limited ones seem dated. If I missed one, please point me in that direction.
My son spent a year in Zaragoza & learned Spanish well enough to earn a top score of 5 on his AP Spanish test. Will your son live in a dorm or with a family ?
Another option to consider is Middlebury College’s summer intensive language school. Located in Middlebury, Vermont & very well respected, this program may trigger an interest in another language or two while exposing him to one of America’s best LACs.
His plan is for a family stay as we understand that enhances language skills. But we are open to thoughts on the tradeoffs. Did your son do his program with SYA or is there a different program in Zaragoza?
SYA. He spent a full academic year there. Lived with a family as did all students. It was the family’s first time hosting a student.
I know you probably want something international; but just fyi, I saw something today about Language immersion summer programs (including Spanish) at Middlebury College, VT.
Yes, I mentioned Middlebury’s intensive language programs in post #1 in this thread.
The advantage of Middlebury’s program is that all students taking a particular foreign language, such as Spanish, live together & sign a pledge not to speak any other language during their stay. The disadvantage is that the cultural influences of studying in Spain are not present.
Thanks. For our older we would like the international exposure, particularly to native speakers. He has an ear for accents (according to a couple of his teachers, I am tone deaf). I do wish we had known about the Middlebury and similar programs earlier. We are considering it next year for a younger brother with the idea that it would set him up even better for an international trip in the future (assuming he has the interest at that point).
Here’s another program to consider – son of friends did it, and liked it – CIEE is a well known name in the field… and Guanajuato is a jewel, BTW
https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/high-school-study-abroad/summer/mexico/guanajuato/spanish-language-mexican-culture