Originally Posted by
skye1
I'm taking the plunge. After hearing airoli's good reviews of Latin Immersion in Buenos Aires, I'm in for a month this summer. I'm shooting for living with a host family, I'll likely throw in a few extra 1:1 lessons, I'll likely throw in some tango lessons, and I'll be popping the Spanish lesson CD's in my car until then. We'll see how this goes....
That's the city I'd choose and living with a family can't be beat. All the comments made on this thread are accurate. I have a lot of language learning experience and nothing beats immersion.
Good preparation is daily monitoring of Spanish language newscasts and other broadcasting- even including soap operas. Remember, it is not necessary (or even desirable) to try to understand everything that is said and speakers will seem to speak very quickly. Even so, the constant exposure will be good preparation.
Also, the main impediment to adults learing a foreign language is pride. One has to become like an infant again (well, not completely) and accept one's ignorance as a given. This is especially true if you are introverted.
Lastly, depending on your age, marital status, etc. a romantic interest in a native speaker really does the trick!