I have tried many methods to learn languages over the years, college classes, CD’s, videos, apps, flash cards, language exchanges, travel and immersion (and even won the award for best Japanese speaker at my college). I now speak Japanese and Spanish, two very different languages, so I have a lot of experience in the methods for becoming proficient in a language.
Can you learn a language by doing 5 minutes a day on an app? No.
Do I need to move to a foreign country for years to become proficient? No.
But a little mix is needed.
Immersion is of course the best. Going to a country and living there and using the language while you learn is the most effective. However most people don’t have the time or opportunity to do that so what I suggest is a blended version that everyone can do. First you need the ‘preliminary base’ so get a book or an app and learn the basics; grammar, some vocabulary and phrases. Next is the short term immersion, ‘the base’, there are some schools which are geared for tourists so you can learn and enjoy your vacation at the same time. Here you can actually use the language in the environment while you are learning and get your ear down. These schools are very flexible so you can do it for a week or a month or whatever time you have. After you come home many of these schools offer classes over the internet (usually on Skype) so you can keep up at a flexible schedule (and for cheap). Now you can also supplement this with books, flashcards, apps, videos and other sources to push yourself forward to fluency.
My number one best place to learn Spanish is Antigua, Guatemala and specifically the Antigua Spanish Academy. Here you can do classes on a very flexible schedule, do a homestay if you like, the courses are very good and they have internet classes to keep up when you get back home. This is the best place to learn Spanish due to a number of factors; the school course, the type of Spanish, the cost, the city and the tourist sites.
I did the homestay which as you can see was a very basic room. You can of course stay at a nice hotel if you prefer. Each morning I would have a breakfast with my homestay family and the other four students staying at the same house. So we would have a little opportunity to practice our Spanish. After breakfast we would walk to school, a large pretty hacienda about 5 minute walk from the center and do our four hour one on one classes with our teacher.
One of the great things about this school is that it is one on one with your teacher. So there is nowhere to hide. You are speaking with your teacher for four hours each morning. They also adjust for your level and give your individualized lessons.
For information on the Antigua Spanish Academy see: Antiguana Spanish Academy
For this school the cost was $125 for the week (4 hour classes each day for 4 days). Homestay for a week was $130 (private room with 3 meals a day).
Latin American Spanish is the most spoken type of Spanish and the Spanish spoken in Guatemala is understood throughout Latin American.
After the class I go back to my homestay for lunch so I had the chance to use the words and grammar I just learned. There is also homework each night so I stop into a nice coffee shop and do my homework before seeing the sites.
Since you are finished with your class at noon each day, you have the whole rest of the day for tourist activities, visit a coffee farm, hike or explore the city.
Once reason I recommend Antigua is that it is a very calm small city so you can actually concentrate on your studies without too many distractions. Its cute, easy to manage, safe and has good restaurants.
Lake Atitlan, a beautiful tourist destination is about three hours away so good for a weekend getaway.
Now that you have your language base and enjoyed visiting a nice country you won’t forget because you can follow up with their classes over the internet. Again they are very flexible, once a week or every day, flexible with time and what you want to learn (I did an hour once a week, and split the lesson into half grammar and half conversation). There are different packages but generally it costs $200 for 20 hours ($10 per hour).
So for someone who really wants to learn a language and doesn’t have the opportunity to live in a foreign country for a long time, from my experience this is the best way.
I wish you luck on your studies and enjoy, Let me know if you have questions, comments or tips and good luck (” buena suerte para usted”)
I am definitely interested. More people should know about this.