Q. What factors should someone consider when choosing a school to study Spanish?
A. The task can be daunting with so many choices. Class size is one of the most important considerations in choosing a language school along with the credentials of the teaching staff. A school that advertises "small classes" and doesn't place a limit on the number of students per class usually means that as new students arrive the classes grow larger, sometimes to an unwieldy number, limiting the individual attention to questions and explanations.
Q. What about private instruction?
A misconception is that many people think that private classes or one-on-one instruction would be better than small group classes. The opposite is true in most cases, especially for a beginning or an intermediate student.
Small groups (less than six) are superior to individual classes. One of the reasons is that when assimilating new information, repetition and reinforcement are imperative. When in a small group an individual student has the opportunity to think out each question or response presented to others in the group. As the other students respond to a question the students have the opportunity to answer the question to themselves, thereby having the opportunity to respond 4 or 5 times mentally before having to respond verbally. As the students hear the questions and responses they also hear the corrections to the other students, thereby reinforcing or correcting their own errors.
Q. But can you get enough individual attention that way?
A. Individual attention to students can still be maintained if the class size is small. Students can still ask any questions they have without interrupting the flow of the class and remain on subject.
Q. Are there some situations where a private class would be better?
A. Private classes definitely have their place and can be extremely effective in instances where a student has a particular problem understanding a certain aspect of structure, syntax or grammar. Also, private classes can be very effective for more advanced students that have a firm grasp of the basics of the language and wish to focus on a particular aspect. Professionals that need to learn vocabulary or the vernacular of a specific profession can benefit greatly from private classes.
Q. What is the difference between standard and intensive classes?
A. Often you'll find schools offering both standard and intensive courses. Both should follow the same syllabi. The standard class usually runs for 4 hours per day, and the intensive course for 6 hours. You don't learn anything different in the intensive class, you only receive more instruction.
If you do elect to take an intensive course consider limiting yourself to a few weeks at most. Six hours a day of new information is just too much to assimilate for a very long time. Be very wary of "burn-out."
A student that has a fresh and eager mind will acquire more information than one who's mind is still numb from weeks of six hours a day. Just as an athlete must rest to let their muscles grow and their skill level increase, so must a language student rest, contemplate and digest new information so that a solid base will form on which to build further learning.
Q. From your perspective, what is a good reason to pick a school in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica is known as the "Switzerland" of Central America — a democracy with free elections every four years. The people are peace loving and the friendliest people in the world. The Spanish spoken in Costa Rica is known as one of the purest forms of Spanish. Costa Rica is a very safe country with 25% of its land area protected as national parks or reserves and this gives us a chance to take our students to visit some of the most beautiful and interesting places on the planet such as volcanoes, beaches, rain forests, cloud forests, butterfly farms, coffee plantations, and more.
