A study abroad experience is one of the most worthwhile things you will ever do. Anyone who had such an experience will remember it as an influence in one way or another. No matter how long they studied abroad for three months or one year, the influence will be there.

 

To get the most of your abroad experience, you should consider carefully what country you wish to study in. This is very related to the cultural and social experience you are likely to have in your destination. Weigh up what you personally want from the country you are going to study in.

It is important that you identify your motivation. Ask yourself, "Why do I want to learn Spanish ? Why do I want to improve my Spanish ?" Some people want to learn Spanish to get a better job, or to be considered for a promotion. Other people may need to learn Spanish to attend university or school. Still other people may want to learn Spanish so they can enjoy life during holidays, by being able to understand movies and TV, and make friends with their Spaniards or Latin American neighbors. Each person is different, so their motivations will be different also. If you have identified your motivation, it will be easier for you to choose where to learn Spanish.

 

Once you have identified your motivation, you can set some goals for learning Spanish . Having goals will help you to remember what areas you want to work on, and it will help you to see your progress.

 

Then you should research your potential Spanish schools. You should take into account your personal preferences and interests so that the choice that you make is the right one for you. You should enquiry about the qualifications of the teachers, the social activities provided, the teaching method and the number of students per class.

 

The advantages of a big school are very obvious: you have more courses to choose from, more teachers, more students to choose friends from and facilities.
 

If you take up a course in a small school, there will not be so many students of your nationality speaking your language outside the classroom and it would be easier for the school's teachers to put pressure on students to speak Spanish all the time. The classes also tend to be more personal and it is much easier to know where you are and what you should do. You don't have a long period at the beginning of your course where you feel strange and alone, because people - teachers and other staff and specially the other students - are friendly from the beginning. And after you have been there only a short time you find that you know all the teachers and many of the students.

 

Most of all, a small school can provide the relaxed and friendly atmosphere in which you feel more confident, and which we therefore think is such a basic condition for good progress in language learning.

 

Finally, remember that learning a language is a skill that needs constant use; if you don’t use it, you will probably lose it! A language isn’t just something you can learn and forget about; another language helps you understand the world, different cultures and different perceptions of life.