Help convincing parents
Does anyone have any reasons why it's suitable to go to another country to study? I'm really interested in studying in a spanish speaking country and need some reasons to convince my parents to let me go.
7 Answers
There's simply no substitution for immersion when learning a foreign language. You can study all day long, but unless you are forced to actually use that language you'll never become even close to fluent.
I'd suggest going to Mexico and attending a total immersion program at one of the schools. Tell your parents that just like there are safe (upstate New York, Vermont) and dangerous (Detroit, Compton California) parts of the U.S., there are dangerous (Cuidad de Juarez, Tijuana) and safe (Oaxaca, Puebla, Zacotecas, Merida) parts of Mexico.
I lived in Caracas for the last two years of high school. It was a great experience. But that was in the 1970's. The father of two of my friends was kidnapped and held for several years before being released. I wouldn't go back to Venezuela now for a million dollars. Times have changed, and not for the better. Ditto Mexico. I went there in the '80's and loved it. Now the U.S. state department has issued warnings not to travel there.
Both my daughters took trips to Costa Rica and Argentina in high school (recently). There were no problems, but they were carefully chaperoned, and the trips were short. I've been to Puerto Rico a couple of times, and wouldn't hesitate to go back.
14 is pretty young to be living out of country more or less on your own. I would have had a hard time letting my kids do it. Late high school or college, maybe, and then only under very carefully investigated conditions. Not all of Latin America is dangerous, but a lot of it is. While I have lived there and enjoyed the benefits of it, I can't give a blanket recommendation for all young people to repeat it in this day and age without extremely careful consideration.
Well, you could thoroughly immerse yourself in the language which is difficult to do anywhere but a spanish-speaking country. Are you interested in pursuing a career in spanish? If so then you will be reasonably fluent in the language and you could get a large variety of jobs. Going to a different country will give you a chance to become independant and experience something difficult that really only you can help yourself with, which is an important life lesson. It will also open your eyes to become more informed about the world and other cultures. All in all it would be an amazing experience for you and I envy you so much if you get to go. I tried :( Too expensive :(
The best way to learn a new language is to practice speaking in spanish and to try listening to native speakers talk. Visiting a spanish speaking country would help you with both. Visiting spanish speaking countries is one of the fastest ways to help you learn spanish and you will learn more about their culture as well. 
It's always a great experience to visit other countries and to see how the rest of the world lives. I'm not sure how old you are, but if you are young, maybe one of them (or both) could go with you as a chaperone. 
How long are you wanting to visit? You can learn a lot in 2 weeks!! I went to Spain for 2 weeks when I was in high school and visited many places where English was not spoken. I've also been all over Italy the last 2 years, 2 weeks at a time and learned a lot.
Good luck!!
Why don't YOU do some research about exchange student programs. Once you are ready to present your case, show them the links you have saved, include this thread on this site. Simply visiting other countries open up your eyes to other civilizations, ways of living, doing business, etc. It gives you an edge over others that keep looking at their bellybutton thinking it's the center of the world. I personally visited more than 10 foreign countries. If I were you I would probably try to go to Spain, Mexico might not teach you the exact roots of Spanish. In Spain you would learn the formal that you could later adapt to other hispanic countries. If you are a teen you might also approach your parents as "Mom, Dad, I know you love me and want to keep me near to protect me but I am xx years old and I need to expand my horizons and undertake some challenges to move on to adulthood." At 16 I was going from France to U.K. with my buddy only hitchhiking (autostop in French.)
Immersion is great for learning and experiencing a new culture is nice, but I think you should wait until you're a bit older, if you really are only 14.
