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Good afternoon-
I'm looking into a spanish immersion course in Spain for about 12 weeks. I've found a few schools including don quijote, Escuela internacional, and cervantes. Does anyone have any recommendation?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations about where I should go... Madrid, Salamanca, Marbella etc.?

Thanks!
Gina

Gina, you're in Florida. Spanish immersion is but a few blocks away in any direction. Immerse yourself here, then spend the 12 weeks in Spain using your newly-acquired Spanish conversing with interesting people (and getting used to their lisped C's.)

Am I missing something, or are you dead set on learning castellano?

Geez, if the girl wants to go to Spain, let her go to Spain!

I (from a Hispanic family where I could have found Spanish just a couple of blocks away, too) went to Sevilla to a school called CLIC. I cannot for the life of me remember what that stood for (I think...centro de lenguas y intercambio cultural). I had studied Spanish as a minor in college but needed to get out of the states to really speak it.

Andalucian Spanish is supposedly the closest you'll get to Latin American Spanish in Spain. Other than them speaking really quickly, I didn't see a lot of similarities, but whatever. I think for "pure" Spanish, head to Madrid...but for a more purely Spanish experience, head south. Salamanca is supposed to be great, but lots of American students there, too... (they are everywhere, but when you get away from hubs, the easier time you'll have getting immersed).

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Annie:
Hey - it's ok everyone has their own opinion. BTW, I took all spanish in high school and that didn't work, I guess if you don't use it you lose it. Plus, It's just more fun to learn a language and culture by actually living there instead of reading about it Anyways, I heard Salamanca has the purest Spanish and I've found out about the University of Salamanca and their language program - I can definitely see it being an American/International student saturated town, but it would be up to me to stay away from those hangouts, people, etc.
What are your thoughts about CLIC? Did you travel anywhere else in Spain...?

The best way to learn is to really get immersed, where pretty much everything is in the other language and you can't always fall back on English. That's been my experience and what I learned in college linguistics, too.

I liked CLIC, in large part because there weren't that many native English speakers in my class, and some didn't speak English at all, so we had to speak Spanish a little more than I would have at home in classes. Plus, the classes were only like 4 hours/day, so then we had time to really be immersed, go to cafes, see things, etc. And I loved Sevilla...It is a very Spanish city to me, in that, at least when I was there, there weren't too many English speakers, it had a student population, still took siestas, etc.

I also went to Granada, Rhonda, Madrid, and Barcelona while I was there...several of those on arranged trips by CLIC. Of the places I went, Madrid had the purest Spanish. It was SO easy to understand. But, I am glad I didn't live there. It just wasn't the city for me.

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Originally posted by VivaCenres4evr:
Hey - it's ok everyone has their own opinion.

Actually, I don't have an opinion at all. That's why I asked if you want to learn Castellano specifically.

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Anyways, I heard Salamanca has the purest Spanish.

Well, there's no such thing as "pure" Spanish. Salamanca has the purest Castellano in that it is the Castellano most like that found in 15th century Castille. So, if your aim is to speak like Ferdinand and Isabella, then that would indeed be the best place to study.

Historically speaking, however, Asturian, Andalucian, Galician, and Aragonese, not to mention the Spanish dialects of Latin America, are just as Spanish as Castellano. I only mention this so that you don't make the mistake of calling Castellano "the purest Spanish" in front of any folks who speak other dialects. Otherwise, long arguments may ensue.

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Andalucian Spanish is supposedly the closest you'll get to Latin American Spanish in Spain.

Well, it depends. Cuban, for instance, probably has as much or more Galego and Catalan influence as anything else. (It's a source of many silly and spirited arguments here in Florida. ) That said, Sevilla is a great place to do anything for 12 weeks, so AB's CLIC idea sounds like an excellent one.

Of course, Salamanca is a beautiful city as well, so you really can't go wrong either way. You might also consider Valladolid, another university town somewhat less touristed by international students than Salamanca and Sevilla.

I am now studying Spanish in Salamanca. It is chock full of young foriegners, most of whom seem to be women for some reason.

They run around in gangs looking for fresh meat and innocent good times, so the town is chock full of good energy.

The schools here are good, the city gorgeous, the people hospitable.

If you want to be immersed more, try a smaller city with fewer schools. Either way, if you WEANT to speak spanish here, you can. Just don't party too much with other foriegners and clan about speaking English.

Hey there,
I recently spent some time in Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia. I went to Giralda Center, which is the oldest language school in the city. If you do choose to study Spanish in Spain, I would suggest enrolling in one of the smaller, independently owned places, as you are directly supporting local business. I have no experience with Don Quijote and the other language school franchises, but I imagine the personalization is a bit underplayed. I would also seriously consider researching which barrio (neighborhood) you would most like to be in, as you will be spending a considerable amount of time there.

Good luck and enjoy España!