How to study at a summer language school in Europe or the USA

I wrote the other day about staying out of China long-term to learn as much as possible about classical opera.  If any of you have ideas to attend a summer language school in Europe or in the USA, I have a recommendation on how to handle the situation:

While I was the Head of Vocal Studies in Hong Kong I was able to find scholarships and sent several students to Italy to study Italian.  The first year was of course, finding out what really works.  Five Hong Kong students went to the University in Perugia, Italy to study Italian.  They lived together.  

Another two students went to a language school in Florence.  They lived together but were not really friends so they found other people to do activities with.  

Who learned the most Italian?  Yes, the two who went their own way and did not associate so much with other Hong Kong students.  

The five HK students had a great time but came home after classes and spoke Cantonese.  They came back to HK and their progress in many was was negligible.  The two students in Florence who were more independent ended up studying in Paris and London, respectively, and have become better performers and better at languages.  

Over time I have found a great language school in Verona, Italy.  I sent several students there and they have returned having learned a great deal of Italian.  The key is there was only one student in the school each year.  They lived with an Italian family and were forced to speak Italian every day, a great deal of the day.  My top student studied there, returned to HK and we performed an Italian opera.  She arrived at the first rehearsal with the complete opera memorized and translated.  The next summer she returned to Italy and studied Italian again.  After just those two months she spoke excellent Italian.  

This is the solitary path that you must follow if you want to progress and be cost effective.