<p>My d. did a State Department sponsored Arabic program in Cairo when she was 16. It was fantastic. I created one from myself (at age 61) in Tamil Nadu to learn Tamil last summer, also very fruitful. Living with other language learners will reduce the value of the experience, both culturally and in terms of language learning.</p>
<p>think you really need at least 6 weeks and an ongoing study of the language thereafter. Immersion in the foreign country itself is a terrific experience, and does serve as a great adjunct to undergraduate study of the language. You want an experienced program and plenty of supervision and even some classwork while in the program abroad. Kids get the great benefit of all the local color as well, but should always travel as a group if it is their initial experience and first time in the country. JMO.</p>
<p>Also agree, if learning the language is truly the goal, you want her to be away from other English speakers.</p>
<p>Staying in a dorm with American students will not be cultural immersion, aside from their eating and drinking trips to town. But it will provide an introduction to the culture to spark further interest in language study. Home stays are the way to go if you want cultural immersion. As an international host mom, I’m always teaching language. As one student said, “How will you ever learn what a spatula is unless you are in a homestay?” Of course there are all sorts of homestay situations. My kids have done more than their share, and most have been great, and very useful for language learning. </p>
<p>I’d actually suggest S. America or Central America for such a program, as they are both cheaper and there is probably less English spoken in general. </p>
<p>Concordia Language villages is great, and they know how to teach language and make it fun. As a HS graduate, she could do a college credit course, if the programs haven’t changed. I haven’t looked at their programming for a few years. The regular programming is pre HS graduation. </p>
<p>From what I hear, Middlebury is the way to go, if you really want to learn a language.</p>
<p>My son did a Rotary sponsored program for one month last summer. He stayed with a family and really learned a lot. Then the family’s son returned with him for a month in our country. Other than airfare, the cost was $350, which was very reasonable compared to other programs. [Multi-District</a> Rotary Summer Youth Exchange](<a href=“http://www.summerexchange.org/]Multi-District”>http://www.summerexchange.org/)</p>
<p>We also had a friend that lived in a dorm and took Spanish classes. He admitted that they spoke English, once back in the dorm.</p>
<p>One other important note on Spain; The country is split into at least 4 sections and they speak completely different dialects in each area. Castillion (sp?) is what we call Spanish, but it is only spoken in Madrid and the area south of Madrid. My son was in SE Spain, where they spoke Vallencian. His family also spoke Castillion and used it while he was there. His Spanish improved greatly in the month he was there, but he’d also taken it for 3 years at school prior to his trip.</p>
<p>I have worked at Middlebury College and its language immersion program for high schoolers and to answer the questions here about the program (including why it may be more beneficial than an abroad experience), I would read the program’s FAQ page. [FAQs</a> | Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy | Language immersion program on college campuses](<a href=“http://mmla.middlebury.edu/faqs/]FAQs”>http://mmla.middlebury.edu/faqs/)</p>