I think if someone is at a beginner or intermediate level, attending a language academy in a Spanish-speaking country, can be very beneficial. But for people at an advanced level, it can be hit or miss. A lot of language academies really aren’t prepared to deal with students with a high level in the language.

One school I attended put me in their Spanish for Teachers of Spanish course, which was fine for the two weeks I was there, but it was clear to me that if you have a high level of Spanish and want to go to one of these places to work on the finer points of the language, they really don’t know what to do with you if you’re NOT a teacher, because they’re not accustomed to having a significant number of students at a high level.

But that said, in my opinion, just having the change of scenery from one’s home country can sometimes be enough of a kick in the pants one needs to crank up his/her Spanish a bit. So I think if people can afford to do it, they should at least try it once in their life, especially if they can go for a few weeks. Perhaps for Advanced speakers, a better bet would be to find a gig doing volunteer week working with some organization for a few weeks.

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