I know people are saying forget about group classes but for me personally they are much better. I studied Russian in Bishkek,did the 4 hours a day thing in a one to one with a teacher for a couple of months but I was utterly lazy and half arsed about it. I spent most of my classes hitting on my teachers and asking to watch movies instead. I had too much power over my lessons in other words and took the piss. If I had been in a group class I'd have behaved more and been inspired to study harder because of the competition between the other students in the class. It also depends how you learn best. I like to be in a group and bounce ideas around,have some banter. Solo classes for me were boring in the end.
I'm thinking of going to do a couple of months of Ukrainian in Ukraine somewhere and I'll definitely go for group classes. You get a better social scene that way too as you are in contact with other students. That is half the fun of studying languages abroad: the 'apres' class scene. In Kyrgyzstan there was a great bunch of foreigners studying in the same school as me who were a debauched bunch too. Made for poor studies but awesome memories with some cool people.
I recommend signing up for a short group class at a school as this is the cheapest option. Then if you like the school and want to continue you can sign up for longer and switch to one on one classes. Don't sign up for a 2 month course till you've visited the school and seen the lay of the land. There are lots of fly by night operators out there.
It all comes down to what you want to get out of it.
I'm thinking of going to do a couple of months of Ukrainian in Ukraine somewhere and I'll definitely go for group classes. You get a better social scene that way too as you are in contact with other students. That is half the fun of studying languages abroad: the 'apres' class scene. In Kyrgyzstan there was a great bunch of foreigners studying in the same school as me who were a debauched bunch too. Made for poor studies but awesome memories with some cool people.
I recommend signing up for a short group class at a school as this is the cheapest option. Then if you like the school and want to continue you can sign up for longer and switch to one on one classes. Don't sign up for a 2 month course till you've visited the school and seen the lay of the land. There are lots of fly by night operators out there.
It all comes down to what you want to get out of it.