2. EIGHT THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSE

Of course, if you want to learn Spanish, you want the best instruction in Spanish. Finding the best Spanish language program that fits your skills and needs is a big step toward mastering the Spanish language.

1. Instruction from a Native Spanish Speaker

A native Spanish speaker has Spanish as a first language, learned at childhood and refined by years of practice within the native culture of the language. A Spanish language program that offers instruction from native speakers of Spanish gives you an edge in gaining competence and confidence in the language.

2. Listening Practice

You have to be able to hear real, live Spanish as used by native speakers of the language in order to develop your Spanish comprehension. It also helps to hear the language in everyday contexts rather than artificial situations.

3. Speaking Practice

Along with exercises that develop your ear for the language, a quality Spanish language program will develop your speaking skills as well. You should be drilled in pronunciation, with special attention given to stress and accent, and your performance evaluated by a qualified instructor.

4. Reading Practice

A good Spanish program does not neglect reading skills. Using reading materials found in the culture, a quality Spanish program pushes a student's comprehension of the written word and boosts reading speed.

5. Vocabulary Work

Reading is built on the foundation of vocabulary, and a Spanish program must give a student the opportunity to develop a strong vocabulary. The development of a good vocabulary requires more than just memorizing lists of words. Context and usage levels, along with shades of meaning, have to be accounted for when a student is learning Spanish vocabulary.

6. Constructive Feedback

No language program is effective in a vacuum. There has to be some way for the instructor to rate the student and provide understandable and clearly relevant feedback. Although some very self-motivated students may do well without feedback, most learners need criticism and guidance in order to reach their fullest potential.

7. Pace

How quickly does the course move along? Are you expected to keep up, like in a college-level language course, or do you have the option to move along at your own pace? If you are not comfortable being under pressure, avoid courses that are billed as accelerated. These courses pack a lot of work in each session, but are best suited to people who have a fair aptitude for learning languages.

An example of an extremely accelerated language learning program can be found at the Defense Language Institute, the school that trains America's military personnel to speak foreign languages. A basic course in Spanish at the DLI covers about 3 weeks worth of college level material in a single week. Of course, the students at the DLI are in classes several hours a day, so they can maintain that grueling pace and gain a mastery of a new language in a short time.

8. Time Commitment

Closely related to the pace of a Spanish program is time commitment. How much of your week is going to be devoted to learning Spanish? Most high-school and college level courses demand about an hour of classroom instruction time from their students every school day, with a suggested additional hour per day of self-study. That's 10 hours per week for basic level Spanish courses. The next time that you see an ad for a Spanish language program that promises fantastic results in days, keep this in mind: 10 hours a week for 15 weeks lets you count, ask directions to the bathroom and maybe order food at a restaurant with a patient waiter.