Spanish Language Program for a Teen in Argentina

This latest reply made me remember I wanted to post here a summary of my research as a thank you for all the great suggestions.

(I have copied and pasted the email I sent to the teenager.)

Dear ____,

It appears there are at least five different ways to have a Spanish experience in Argentina.

1. Private language schools. You would find a large number of these schools, like Berlitz, which all they do is teach Spanish language. They typically include 20 or so hours each week of small group or private language instruction and organized activities such as museums, theater or other cultural events. You would stay with a family or they also often have dorms or student apartments as an alternative. Participants could include all ages, children, teens and adults, but some schools offer special teen programs. The programs are typically on a weekly basis but you can usually register for as few or as many weeks as you like. See the following examples of organizations with programs especially for teens:

http://www.langlink.com/buenos-aires-ecela-course-info (this ECELA organization was specifically recommended to my request in the travel chat room on fodors.com, see the explanation at the end, if you are interested I can ask if you could phone or email the colleague or the daughter directly to discuss further)

http://www.coined.com.ar/web-argentina/spanish-school/spanish-courses.asp?xCurId=109&xAnio=2009&xUid=1&xLoc=Cordoba (this organization offers programs in both Buenos Aires and Cordoba, and as they are weekly you could consider doing a combination of both for different weeks)

http://yfuusa.org/countries/argentina-1-programs.php (the description at the end of the summer program)

2. Exchange program to a "regular" high school. The academic year in Argentina is March to November so U.S. summer is in the middle. But, a few schools seen to offer programs where you could go for say just one month. You would be in "regular" high school with other Argentine high school students. At least one school which offers this program is a bi-lingual school where half the day is Spanish and the other half is English. You would live with a family, likely with other teens. This would take some more work to find a specific program that fits your schedule, but to see if you are interested, see for example

http://yfuusa.org/countries/argentina-1-programs.php (the description at the beginning of how high school works in Argentina)

http://www.bishops.org.za/academic/exchange/2007reports/Gustav%20Loubser.pdf (a student's report of his time at the bilingual Spanish/English school)

3. Travel. Another type of program is more of a travel program, where you would be with other teens in a group but travel through Argentina, having some language, cultural and volunteer opportunities. See, for example:

http://www.globalworkstravel.com/ssa_li_Argentina.php

4. Volunteer. Many programs combine language study with volunteer opportunities but all that I found that were principally for the purpose of volunteering require that you be at least 18 years old. But, it appears to be possible through the private language schools or travel programs to also have some volunteer opportunities.


5. Homestay. A final type of program that at least one organization runs is a simple homestay, no organized activities and you aren't in a group with other teens or other students. But, this program wouldn't include any specific language or cultural education. See for example:

http://www.cci-exchange.com/travelabroad/program.aspx?id=854

Have fun planning!

Auntie Laurie Ann