Jakob Gibbons Last updated: December 28, 2022

7 Immersion Programs That All Adult Language Learners Should Consider

Remember all the fun you had at summer camp?

Well, now you can relive that while reaching fluency in a foreign language.

If you thought that language immersion programs were for kids and college students, you’re living in the past. Now there are immersion programs available for all ages.

So why should you partake in one? Turns out, hardworking adults are among those who stand to reap the most benefits of learning a second language.

In a job market that’s globalizing all around us, added language skills can make you not only an asset to your company, but also a better participant in your own community.

Fitting Language Immersion into Your Adult Life: It’s Not as Hard as You Thought
- Creating an Online Immersion Environment
- Language Immersion by Working Abroad
7 Language Immersion Programs Perfect for Busy Adults

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Fitting Language Immersion into Your Adult Life: It’s Not as Hard as You Thought

A gap year before or after university is a great time to take a language immersion trip, but mid-career or between careers can work just as well for many.

On the list of things that get in the way of adult language learning, a career is usually number one. But it doesn’t have to be.

Nowadays, foreign language training is registering on corporate agendas. In some parts of the world, companies even fund in-house or independent language training as part of employee professional development.

If your employer hasn’t jumped on the language learning bandwagon yet, maybe they’re following the trend of flexible and even unlimited vacation policies that’s spreading across tech startups and other innovative businesses. Under many of these arrangements, three months off for a language immersion program that’ll make you even more of a company asset can be an easy sell to your boss.

And, if all else fails, it’s not really so drastic or bohemian to quit your job and go learn a language these days. In the era of career-hopping, what better reason is there to end job number three than to spend a year at home or abroad learning a language that makes you a competitive candidate for job number four?

Even if you don’t see a practical opening in your adult life for a language immersion program now, don’t be surprised if you see it come next year. You might find that a newer and more disruptive program will extend you the chance to immerse yourself in a language. Take any opportunities that come your way!

Before we get into some immersion programs you can consider, let’s first look at a couple of alternate options you can use for immersion if you’re lacking the time or the funds right now.

Creating an Online Immersion Environment

In the digital age, immersion exists in spectrum.

Sure, you’re more thoroughly immersed while navigating the chaotic Tokyo metro, but you can still immerse yourself in Japanese at home. For those times before, after, between and even during traditional immersion programs, technological tools can help make sure you keep your target language on your mind.

One way to create a home immersion environment is with your favorite language learning apps and immersion software programs. You can use these digitally-enhanced approaches to add some extra practice during your immersion trip, or to fill your every waking hour with the language you want to hear without even leaving your home.

For example, FluentU is a program that focuses on making authentic videos approachable for learners of all levels. It features videos intended for native speakers of your target language like music videos, movie clips, news segments, inspirational talks and many more.

If you’ve ever tried to use authentic content to study your language, you may realize how difficult it can be to tackle on your own. You never quite know what level of language to expect, how colloquial the content will be, or how accurate the subtitles are (if there even are any).

FluentU was designed to address all these issues. Each video comes with accurate subtitles that offer on-demand definitions, the ability to add any word to a flashcard deck without leaving the video player and a contextual dictionary, so you never have to wonder which definition of a word is being applied at a particular moment.

You can also study vocabulary with personalized quizzes that let you select, type or speak your answer. And if you download the iOS or Android app, you can take your studies on the go with you.

FluentU currently offers programs in 10 different languages, all of which can be accessed with one account. You can even take the app on your study abroad adventure and brush up on the language during downtime.

Language Immersion by Working Abroad

As we mentioned before, employers are more and more willing to foot the bill for your language learning, but the opportunities for work immersion abroad go much further.

If you’re already working for a multinational company with offices overseas, explore your options for transfers and see if those options include free or subsidized immersion language courses on the ground.

If you’re not too committed to your current job, then the world really is your oyster and the immersion opportunities are endless. Sites like Idealist and Overseasjobs.com offer listings of jobs overseas; if you’re lucky, bigger employers may include language training programs in your employment package, but if you’re not, you’re still living abroad, one of the best ways of getting the total authentic immersion experience.

For those focused on building their professional profile abroad, skills-intensive volunteer trips can do just that while giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in a language. Many of the projects on sites like Workaway and HelpX are more like informal internships than traditional volunteer projects, including roles in everything from marketing and business development to construction and community development, and their terms are often flexible. Twenty hours a week in exchange for room and board still leaves you a lot of time for language exchanges and chatting up strangers during the off hours.

7 Language Immersion Programs Perfect for Busy Adults

The constantly increasing demand for language skills and multilingual people means more options and, over time, more affordability, leaving the modern adult language learner with an overwhelming number of options.

Depending on your goals and constraints, you can choose from both domestic and foreign immersion programs, and within these traditional categories there’s a slew of traditional and non-traditional programs available.

Here’s a sample of nine highly recommended ones. This will give you an idea of what the world of adult language immersion looks like and where your next language learning trip might take you.

Concordia Language Villages

Concordia Language Villages is a language immersion program in Bemidji, Minnesota focused on “building globally minded communities” through language and cultural immersion trips.

Concordia’s adult immersion programs are all designed for adults, whether you’re looking for professional advancement or personal enrichment, including courses designed specifically for educators and companies. The “villages” are offered year-round in nine different languages, perfect for the busy adult to squeeze into a hectic work and family schedule.

Lingua Service Worldwide

Lingua Service’s language immersion programs are, as the company’s name suggests, available all over the world. This agency works with schools and programs worldwide in a variety of languages, offering maximum flexibility for even the choosiest learners among us.

The agency primarily works with programs that are designed for maximal language learning in minimal time, which will be appealing especially to business professionals looking for a quick jump-start or brush-up on a language before heading back to the office.

Lingua Service offers courses for adults, professionals and programs for seniors and older adults.

The Dallas International School Adult Language Education Programs

This Texas K-12 private school has a knack for educating today’s youth for a global tomorrow, but their resources aren’t just limited to youngsters.

The school also offers adult language education classes both online and in-person. Language options currently include Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, English and French. You can sign up for private classes, join a small group of fellow students for a six-week course, or enlist at least three other pals for closed group learning.

Road Scholar

A newer name in language immersion, Road Scholar has drawn headlines for its success in particular with older adult learners. On the Road Scholar website you can browse and book various “immersion experiences” that fit when, where and how you want to learn your language.

Road Scholar describes its typical customers as solo travelers or couples who are “passionate lifelong learners, usually over the age of 50,” which may be part of why their all-inclusive model works so well. With lodging, meals, transportation, expert lectures and field trips included in the price tag, all you’ve got to worry about is speaking and listening.

Berlitz Total Immersion

If you’re more of an independent learner or you can’t get out of town any time soon, private immersion classes under Berlitz’s Total Immersion program might work for you.

Berlitz is one of the largest companies offering private language classes in the US and the world at large, and its Total Immersion program pairs you one-on-one with a language coach for about 40 hours a week. It’s personalized, conversation-driven and available in a variety of languages in 36 locations across the US and even more abroad.

FLSAS: Foreign Language Study Abroad Service

FLSAS is an organization that arranges foreign immersion programs and homestays for adults, teachers and professors.

FLSAS brings a couple of benefits to the table that other organizations miss out on, like its specific programs developed for different groups of language learners, such as its programs for solo female travelers, family immersion trips and executive language immersion for business professionals. Add these custom courses to its emphasis on less commonly taught languages and you’ve got an organization that’s filling in a lot of the holes left by others in the industry.

Anders Languages

Alongside the global giants in language immersion programs, you have providers like Anders Languages, a smaller company offering four languages in the US and three more locations abroad.

Anders caters to, as they put it, “a more mature public.” The average age of their clients is 45, and about half of their customers are from the US and Canada, making for culturally diverse experiences that adult professionals might not otherwise have.

Anders prides itself on offering a personal touch. Promising personal attention from the company’s owners in developing your language immersion program, Anders offers an experience that many may find warmer and more intimate than those offered by other immersion companies.

Age is just a number.

It often says a lot about what your professional, personal and family life looks like, but as far as your ability to learn a language is concerned, it’s got nothing useful to say.

Now more than ever, adult language learners are in a position to reap the benefits, both personally and economically, of their linguistic efforts, and one of the most efficient ways to put in that effort is through immersion.

With growing flexibility in the workplace and growing necessity in the world, we’ll only see more and more adults taking the time to immerse themselves in a language.

Whether you’re setting out to find the perfect Spanish immersion course, take a language learning trip to Germany or tide yourself over with an online oasis of French immersion, take a look at the programs we’ve listed here and bookmark them, because the future is looking more multilingual for folks of all ages.