<p>I'm planning on studying abroad next spring semester and I'm looking for a good program in Latin America. I'd like to be immersed in the culture and learn a great deal of spanish, but I'd prefer to take classes in English. Anybody know of any good programs? Also has anyone studied at/heard of Veritas University in San Jose, Costa Rica?</p>
<p>I think I’ve heard of the school but know nothing about it.
I would <em>strongly</em> recommend taking all your classes in the host language (i.e., Spanish) as holding onto English while there will drastically slow down your language acquisition. If a course is too in-depth for you to take in Spanish, I’d wait on it. The best thing you can do is to take some basic classes (esp. in your discipline – such as an intro course to your discipline) in the host language as you’ll learn the terms most important to you in that language and, therefore, be able to use the language much more effectively once out of college.</p>
<p>For example, I became (fully) fluent in Spanish while abroad (had taken a few yrs of HS Spanish and used it very, very occasionally over the past 5 years but hadn’t really kept it up until I went abroad) and now work with at-risk adolescents and did behavior therapy with Spanish-speakers. In both positions, I my ability to speak Spanish fluently was extremely helpful in gaining competitive positions and has been helpful with these populations as I am able to work with clients my coworkers simply cannot help. Additionally, even when a client speaks English as well, there is an instant connection for many of them when their therapist/counselor is able to speak their native tongue – it simply lets them feel more comfortable with you – which would be helpful in any profession!
…However, you’re not going to learn a wide enough vocabulary in a few months to be able to talk about all subjects, so I think it is best to focus on essential day-to-day vocab and the vocab of your own profession, so for psychology, that includes words used to describe emotions, feelings, symptoms, and people as well as words commonly used in story-telling, various healthcare terms (or relevant to a given subfield if not clinical), and so forth.</p>
<p>I was in your shoes when I went to study abroad. I knew very little Spanish but wanted to study in Latin America. I found the perfect program: Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires. Many different U.S. college study abroad programs work with that university and they have (or had) a great program where you could arrive, take a month or six weeks of intensive Spanish for six hours per day, and then attend classes in Spanish for non-native speakers. It made the transition really easy and allowed me to become just about fluent in a short time.</p>
<p>I would also highly recommend studying for a year rather than a semester. One semester is just too short of a time to effectively learn a language.</p>