Language schools- Advanced level

[fimac]

I have just completed my Bachelor of Arts with a major in Spanish and want to brush up before coming back to Australia to pursue further tertiary study in Spanish.

I have previously studied and traveled in Mexico for 8 months and have studied Spanish for 3 years.

I am just at the beginning of my research but I think Dominican Republic is the place I would like to go.

Does anyone have any personal reccommendations/ know of any language schools that offer more of an advanced level of Spanish? I am also interested in a homestay to practice my Spanish further. I have searched on the internet for hours with not much luck, some of the schools seem to charge phenomenal amounts for their courses. If anyone has any personal reccommendations of good quality schools I would much appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

Fi

[Hillbilly]

There are few, if any, "advanced" language training centers here. Oh there are some places that will offer home stay" environments, but as far as their capacity to teach advanced Spanish conversation, it is limited.
It is, however, a good business for them.
You would be just as well off if you came here, all innocent like, and went to one of the smaller provincial capitols--Moca, La Vega, San Francisco de Macoris, (all in the Cibao Valley) or El Seibo, or Hato Mayor in the East....

What i am saying is that away from the tourist areas, you can find a place to stay for a couple of months and basically "tune your ear" to conversational Spanish. And at a price that is less than anything formal....

If you are in a completely Spanish-speaking environment, you ear will become attuned rather quickly.

There are lots of possibilities.

Good luck,

HB

[Rocky]

I don't really know how good they are.
I've heard both good & bad reports.
Personally, I would find a private teacher in a town that appeals to me.
That is to say that I would go to the place that attracts me the most and find a tutor there.
Even if I didn't find the world's best teacher, as long as they were pleasant and knew more than I did, and that I was learning while having a good time, then I would be happy, but that's just my opinion.
There are only so many hours in a day that can be spent learning/studying, and I would like the rest of my day to be enjoyable too.

I know that I could find a decent tutor inside of one day, and seeing's believing.
I hate the idea of signing up/paying ahead of time for a service that might not turn out to be what I want.

[fimac]

Thanks both for the replies. Perhaps volunteering and homestay would be the go? I'm sure there are millions of opportunities for something like that. I love working with kids. Any pointers on where to start looking for something like that/ cost per day etc? My Spanish is definately good enough for that (I had a really good level of academic Spanish when I was in practice in Mexico) and I could just fine-tune my grammar with a tutor.

I just love the idea of the Dominican Republic. It's so different to Australia; I have always wanted to go and the culture there really sounds appealing to me.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. If you ever need to know anything about Australia you know where to ask!

Fi

[Chip]

You might also consider taking classes at one of the local universities here as well. There are many foreign student programs available and you would more than likely make some good friends and contacts for the future.