Article from July/August 2006 issue of Transitions Abroad magazine 

 

 

Choosing a Family-friendly Spanish School

Language learning can be an exciting part of any family vacation.  By the age of ten, my son Christopher has attended Spanish lessons in five different Latin American countries, located in exotic places ranging from sandy beaches to historic colonial towns to verdant rainforests.  Latin America is becoming increasingly popular for family travel due to its proximity to the United States and reasonable prices.  Hundreds of interesting language courses can be found via the internet or in guidebooks, so how does one go about selecting the best option?  Through our journeys together we have amassed tips that will help you find the right Spanish school for your family.

     Most importantly, make sure your Spanish school is in a location that you will all enjoy.  Are you looking forward to a relaxing vacation spot on the sunny Caribbean coastline, or is your active family searching for adventure in the jungle?  The Sundown Inn near the Ecuadorian coastal town of Canoa provides individual classes on a clean, private beach where kids can safely play in the waves all day.  In contrast, CPI offers courses for children, teens, and adults in the Costa Rican rainforest of Monteverde, an area rich with exciting outdoors activities, like the exhilarating zip lines through the forest canopy.  At this stage of planning it is important to discuss everyone’s interests and goals, and plan your trip based on appropriate expectations of your children’s abilities and limitations.  Carefully consider the weather too.  If you are all looking forward to hanging out by the pool, you probably should not go to the Caribbean during hurricane season!  

Spanish classes can ease the transition into a foreign country.  You can learn about the local culture and obtain valuable information about kid-friendly sights and activities from your teacher, host family, and other students.  Your ear can grow accustomed to the local dialect and you can pick up on the local slang phrases.  After a long flight, we usually take advantage of the school’s convenient airport pickup service.  I learned this lesson the hard way.  Traveling overland from San Jose, Costa Rica, to our Spanish school in Bocas del Toro, Panama, Christopher and I had to traverse a rickety bridge on foot over raging water separating the two countries.  I would NOT recommend this route to families with children!  

     When it comes to accommodations, think carefully about the type of experience you want.  Be realistic.  Are you the type of person who enjoys a lot of social interaction, or is down time important to you?  Home stays can be an inexpensive option that provides immediate social support and cultural immersion to its guests.  In colonial Sucre, Bolivia, the very welcoming Mama Vicky Hernaiz arranged in-home Spanish lessons for me and my husband, leaving Christopher free to join us or play with the other children there.  In Panama, I gained valuable professional insights from my delightful host mother, who also works in the field of education.  Even so, I find it essential to build in some quiet time alone with my son every day.  Therefore, I chose to stay in a “casita” at San Jose el Viejo in Antigua, Guatemala.  After a challenging day of Spanish lessons, we were able to prepare our meals and relax in our own apartment located directly on the school grounds.

For kids, Spanish lessons must be fun.  Christopher prefers structured activities for groups of children as opposed to one-on-one instruction.  If the classes aren’t enjoyable for your children, they may not be worth the investment.  Check out other child care options.  Perhaps your children would prefer staying home and playing with the host family kids.  The Spanish by the Sea language school in Bocas del Toro assisted me in enrolling Christopher in classes at a nearby private school.  You may want to inquire about the curriculum ahead of time.  Christopher brought home a notebook full of French words and Spanish female body parts!

Ask a lot of questions about your own classes.  How do you learn best?  Do you want some structured tutoring on basic grammar, or conversational practice?  Communicate your needs to the school and/or your teacher in advance.  If possible, you might want to look at the materials.  Talk to former students and find out what their classes were like.  The school should be able to provide a list of references to you upon request.  We often receive emails about the Canoa Spanish School from prospective students, and can answer any of their questions about logistics ranging from course content to transportation options to the facility.  

Consider the time of day your family would like to take classes.  Morning classes are most popular, which frees up the rest of the day to explore the town.  Schools often offer discounts on afternoon classes, which may be very appealing if your family likes sleeping in.  Make sure to align your class time with your children’s schedule, and avoid conflicts with the school’s extracurricular activities.  

Many schools now offer a variety of activities in addition to the Spanish classes.  I am a huge fan of these options.  Often they are much cheaper than one could arrange on her own, and give you more language practice in addition to a fun experience.  Investigate the school’s extracurricular offerings.  Some schools may list a lot of activities, but, upon further scrutiny, most of them are just social events designed for young singles, not substantial outings for families.  If you are staying with a family, there will be naturally occurring times to socialize already built into your day.  Some schools provide opportunities for volunteering.  Before committing to such a project, bear in mind that your children might not understand the full implications of unfamiliar volunteer opportunities, and you may have to pick up the slack for them if they opt out.  Most importantly, give yourself and your family lots of time for rest and recreation.  This is your vacation!  Make the most of it!   

 

Spanish Schools	Location/ Airport Pickup	Accommodations	Class size/type	Children’s Program	Recommended  Activities
Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI)  P.O. Box 68  Monteverde  Puntarenas, Costa Rica  www.cpi-edu.com  info@cpi-edu.com  Has 3 locations:  Monteverde, Heredia, and Flamingo.	Monteverde is a tiny town in the rainforest.  Transportation available to all sites.	Home stay.  Other options available at other sites.	Small group.	Excellent small group classes for children and teens.  Pool table and ping pong available at the school.	Offers lots of fun family activities.  Zip lines through forest canopy.  Monteverde Cheese Factory Tour.  Frog museum.  Snake museum.  Cooking class.
San Jose el Viejo   5a Avenida Sur 34  Antigua, Guatemala  Tel:  (502) 7832-3028  www.sanjoseelviejo.com  spanish@sanjoseelviejo.com	Beautiful colonial town, small enough to walk everywhere.  Airport transport available from capital (San Jose).	“Casitas,” private apartments on lovely grounds with gardens, game room, pool, and tennis court (bring your own rackets).  Home stay options.	Private lessons include outing to nearby weaving cooperative in San Antonio Aguas Calientes.	Private lessons for kids include playing ping pong and foosball	Can help you organize activities.  Weekend day hike to see active volcano Pacaya.  Tour of nearby coffee plantation, Finca Filadelfia.  Paseo de los Museos at the Casa Santo Domingo.
Spanish by the Sea  Isla Colón        Bocas del Toro, Panama  Tel/fax: (00507)-7579518  www.spanishbythesea.com  spanishbythesea@hotmail.com	Tiny town on  Caribbean island with beaches (not within walking distance), and rainforest.  Can walk to airport.	Home stay options.  Dorm beds at the school.	Small group classes and private lessons.	Private lessons and/or enrollment at local private school (mornings only).	Jungle hike organized by the school.  Weekend full day boat trip around the islands, including Coral Caye.

      

 

 

Spanish Schools	Location/ Airport Pickup	Accommodations	Class size/type	Children’s Program	Recommended  Activities
Vicky Hernaiz and family   Nataniel Aguirre 209  Sucre, Bolivia  Cell:  70320339  vincentehernaiz@yahoo.com  josehernaiz@yahoo.com	Beautiful colonial city with local bus transportation around town.  Family can arrange airport transport.	Big comfortable rooms in large family home set around a courtyard, use of kitchen facilities.	Family will arrange private in-home tutoring.	Private lessons.  Very easy for children to play near parent’s lessons and join if they like, or child care can be arranged.	Can help organize activities.    Dinotruck to huge dinosaur tracks.    Recoletta Children’s Museum.  Asur Museo de Arte Indigena has music and weaving demonstrations.
Canoa Spanish School Sundown Inn  Canoa, Ecuador  www.ecuadorbeach.com  sundown_inn@hotmail.com	Private, safe beach with nearby rainforest and island wildlife reserves.  No airport transport.	Comfortable hotel rooms with private bath, some with an ocean view.	Private lessons.	Private lessons. Very easy for children to play near parent’s lessons and join if they like, or child care can be arranged.	Can help organize activities.    Boogie boarding.  Whale watching.  Day trip to Isla Corazón.  Overnight trip to Isla de la Plata.