Language Immersion Programs
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Language Immersion Programs
Intensive Language Programs for Adults
2001
I'd like to become fluent in Spanish and French. Can anyone recommend a
program that will help me accomplish this (something more accelerated and
effective than your typical junior college classroom course)?
To the person who is looking for foreign language
programs that are, "more accelerated and
effective than your typical junior college classroom
course?", on the contrary, I wholeheartedly suggest
that you try taking a course at a local junior
college. From personal experience (in French and
Spanish) I can tell you that these classes can be very
effective, fun, and, inexpensive, when compared to
private programs. Most community college instructors
teach only in the target language, thus coming as
close to the "immersion" method as one can other then
going to the country where the language is spoken.
Fall 2001 semester begins in August--Good luck
A while back, a friend of mine took a summer Latin Intensive program
through the UC extension. I think they also have a French Intensive, and
possibly other languages. It was 10 weeks, many hours a day, and quite
rigorous. (The Latin one was so difficult that they recommend that people
not hold down jobs at the same time.) If you have the time for it, this
might be a good choice.
UC Berkeley has summer intensive language courses in French, Spanish,
German (and probably others as well). You'll learn 2 years of college
language in 6 weeks. Of course, it's not really immersion, and what you get
out of it is mostly the bare bones of the language, much more grammar than
vocabulary. I did the intensive Spanish about 10 years ago, then went to
Guatemala for a few weeks (living in Antigua, where there are a thousand
language schools). The combination was excellent, and I quickly turned my
school Spanish into spoken Spanish. Judith
Immersion Language instruction is actually trademarked by Berlitz. My
brother has run Berlitz schools both in Pennsylvania and New York and in
the Far East. He contends that language instruction is fairly
straightforward, and
that given six or so weeks of direct instruction and the willingness to do
it nearly anyone can become capable in a language not their own. He thinks
the Berlitz method works, but that many others do, too. What you need to do
is work at it three hours a day, practice the language with a native
speaker and
listen to the language as much as possible. Myriam
this page was last updated: Mar 31, 2007
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