Cultural Immersion

A Primer on Language Study Vacations

By Deborah Gaines

Imagine yourself at a bustling outdoor market in Mexico City, in front of a sizzling pan of spiced meats. You’re pretty sure anything you choose will taste amazing. As Anthony Bourdain said, “Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.”

Except—it would be nice to know what you’re about to put in your mouth.

Better dining is one of many reasons to take a language study vacation. Meeting new people, gaining an understanding of other cultures, and improving your memory and problem-solving abilities are others.?

While you could rely on Duolingo or Google Translate, it’s a lot more satisfying to hold a conversation. And, if you've studied a language but have become rusty over the years, you’ll be surprised at how quickly it comes back to you.

Combining passions

Erin Lanahan found a program that combined surfing lessons and language study at the Nosara Spanish Institute in Costa Rica. “I spent mornings in class and afternoons at the beach. I could not recommend it more,” she says.??

Rachel Goldstein’s husband is Cuban-American, but neither she nor their three children, then aged 10, 15, and 18, spoke fluent Spanish. She chose the ASLI Spanish Language Institute in Cuernavaca, an hour from Mexico City, for a two-week summer trip.?

“We each had separate teachers, and the classes were tiny because it was the off season,” she recalls. “One of my favorite memories is taking a salsa class with my ten-year-old son. The kids also enjoyed tennis lessons with a local pro.?

“For me, language immersion is a true vacation. It is an opportunity to treat myself to learning without the encumbrances of being at home. And what could be better than sharing it with my kids?”?

At least one of Goldstein’s children caught the Spanish language bug. “My middle daughter has done a couple of language programs on her own, including two weeks in Málaga,?Spain. She had such a great time that she returned for her junior year of high school, living with a host family in Zaragoza through School Year Abroad.”?

La bonne vie en France

For Sarah Maxim, early retirement was the catalyst for a three-week language study trip to France. “I had been taking lessons once a week at my local Alliance Fran?aise, and heard about a school called C?ur de France in the tiny, wine-producing town of Sancerre. I took an online placement test, chose my dates, and headed out without really knowing what to expect.

“The trip exceeded my expectations,” Maxim says. “I stayed at an apartment near the 17th-century mansion where classes were held. The first week, my group had five people, although the number grew as we headed into the summer.

“The classes were a lot of fun, mostly Aussies and Brits with a few Americans thrown in. I had to shop for groceries, buy wine, and get directions in French. Afterwards, I went to Paris for a few days, and really felt like I could understand and relate to the environment."

To Trisha Craig, a learning vacation in Paris became much more than an opportunity to improve her French. She chose Lutece Langue, which offered half-day classes that left plenty of time for "walking around Paris (routinely clocking 15,000 steps a day), frequenting cafés, having fabulous meals, shopping at local markets, and cooking whatever I wanted with the most amazingly fresh local produce and cheeses.

"My time in Paris was like personal retreat, away from the daily responsibilities of work and family," Craig says. "I feel like I reclaimed a little bit of joy that the pandemic had tamped down."

Who should go?

There are language study programs geared to high school and college students, adults, families, and seniors, with accommodations ranging from home stays to AirBnbs and luxury hotels. Be sure to choose the right option for your age and resource level. Better known companies include EF (Education First), StudyTravel, Road Scholar (50+), Fluenz (Spanish), and Hutong (Chinese). You can also use a travel agent that specializes in language study trips, such as Lingua Service Worldwide.

Another important question is, how hard do you want to work? Classes range from 1-2 hours daily to 24-hour language immersion. Many programs also offer excursions and activities like museum visits, cooking classes, wine tours, yoga, surfing, and more.

The Great Travel Experiment is a monthly newsletter, free to LinkedIn members, that explores new ways to see the world: from wellness journeys to sustainable retreats, heritage tours, language immersion, digital nomading, volunteer vacations, retirement research, and more. For more information, contact @deborahgaines or [email protected].