Is going back to school worth it?
What are your thoughts on spanish classes provided by colleges or night schools? I would continue with independent study anyway but does having the support of a class/teacher help much?
Any input from any of you who have taken classes and found them helpful (or unhelpful) or anyone who didnt take classes and managed to teach themselves would be great. Anyone really! Lol.
5 Answers
I guess it depends on the situation , but for me, the three semesters of college spanish courses I took were almost a complete waste of time. Unforunately I didn't have a very good teacher and the main focus of the class was grammer only, which I know is important but I think without learning how to actually SPEAK the language learning grammer is pointless. Anyway I decided to get a job at a mexican restraunt to help with college cost and I figured I might actually learn something in the process. Honestly I have learned ALOT more in one year working and speaking to spanish speaking people on a regular basis than I could ever learn in a classroom.
I think that the best thing is ideally a spanish immersion course. I did a two week course in Spain last year and it was unbelievably good! I learned more in two weeks than I had in 6 years of studying Spanish in school.
But it's really important to research them first, I went to one the year before last in Spain in a different school and it was absolute rubbish and was very expensive. Whereas the one I did last summer was very very reasonable.
I was accommodated with a Spanish couple who kept 3 other students (of very different ages 48,25,18 years and of different nationalities so for the most part spanish was the only common language which forces you to speak it a bit more 
(this is optional, you can also stay in an apartment or hotel etc.)
I did an evening course once but I found that the college tended to group the levels badly( ie. say they had enough students for 3 classes so had beginner, intermediate, advanced, if you were between intermediate and advanced they shoved you in to the lower one so you learned very little but where I was in Spain they had so many different levels you could be put wherever you needed to be.
Reading novels in Spanish (try ones you have read in English also), using "busuu", the videos on this site, "news in slow Spanish" and watching Spanish movies I find to be the best thing you can do to learn Spanish otherwise.
I'm a student who takes Spanish classes, and honestly, learning in the classroom is the best way to learn (for me).
I really enjoy the classroom atmosphere. Also, interacting with other students is extremely important, especially when trying to learn a language.
Feel free to take a look at this thread regarding the topic of learning independently vs. classroom.
For me, its quite simple. If you want to study to pass an exam, then its the classroom every time. If you want to learn and get a feel for conversational spanish, then this forum (complimented with other learning materials - web, books, cds, tv, radio etc) is far better than a formal classroom.
It really depends on the person and their situation. I took a 1 month immersion class that consisted of 4 hours per day of 1 on 1 tutoring, but have learned most of what I know without classes. However, I now live in a Spanish speaking country, so my situation isn't typical.
