Clearly an important question and the answer very much depends on your linguistic goals. Most language immersion programs offer a 3 or 4 hour program on week days with some institutes extending classes with sessions of one or two additional hours daily. These extended programs are ideal for those students with specific objectives, whether those goals be personal or professional.
The size of your Spanish immersion class is an important determination when making the decision of which hourly schedule is best and it is little surprise that smaller class size translates to more personalized learning. In mini groups of no more than 5 or 6 students professors can detect and teach to learning styles & individualized needs. At CPI Spanish Immersion Costa Rica the majority of our students enroll in our 4 hour per day program which permits time to explore the local area and practice newly learned skills. Smaller class size facilitates a high level of participation on the part of the student, a key element of the CPI methodology with the aim of supporting students to develop confidence in speaking Spanish. During our 4 hour daily program the didactic plan also includes exercises focused on comprehension of both spoken language and written texts as well as cultural activities to increase cultural competency. Our highly skilled professors effectively assist students in learning to speak and understand Spanish.
With a super intensive program, professionals in the medical, social work, business and education fields benefit from taking our 5 ½ hour program providing the opportunity to polish competencies and deepen understanding of cultural subtleties within their field.
Another possibility with CPI Spanish Immersion Costa Rica is to hybrid the program by enrolling some weeks in a 4 hour program and other weeks in a 5 ½ hour program, providing the best of both worlds – super intensive language learning some weeks and other weeks a 20 hour week program with a higher concentration of Spanish practice within the community.
