5 Tips for Picking a Language School

Learning a language can be great to boost your qualifications as well as open you to different perspectives. It is also key for some jobs in the security field. While there are many options to take, from online courses to evening classes, immersing yourself in a country where that language is spoken is tough to beat. But when looking at language schools abroad, how do you go about choosing the right one for you. Below are five tips that could help.

1)   Know What Type Of Learning You Want – Do you want a full immersive experience where there are few distractions, but lots of opportunity to work on your language learning? Or do you want a partial immersion where you go to classes for a few hours a day, but not compromise on some of your familiar lifestyles? Neither choice is bad, but knowing this can help you choose your language school. For example in Beirut you can quite easily continue a familiar European lifestyle alongside your Arabic learning, while in Oman, such a culture is less common.

2)   Set Goals – Language learning is a long process and you are unlikely to become fluent in a language in a couple of months. Therefore have in mind what you want to get out of it. Are you wanting achieve a certain level over a certain time or do you just want to experience language learning as a whole? Do you want to concentrate on just speaking or do you want to read and write as well? Knowing this can help you pick a places to study as many have specialised classes concentrating on these areas. This can help streamline your learning as well as potentially make efficient use of your time and money.

3)   Look At What is Included – When choosing a language school it is important to see is included on a course. This can range from how long classes are in the day (note that breaks are often included in this total), class sizes (15 maximum if you want to make the most our of it), if accommodation or food is provided, if there are opportunities for extra classes / language partners or if you can go on weekend excursions. For example a quick look at prices of Arabic schools in Lebanon and Oman, Lebanon seems the most attractive option on price. However, when looking at the extra details of courses in the two countries, although marginally more expensive, language schools in Oman often offer accommodation, lunch, language partners and weekend excursions in the price. Also look at language schools websites in detail as many often also offer volunteer or internship opportunities with local organisations.

4)   Bargain – Often overlooked, many language schools will offer unofficial discounts for multiple bookings or even prolonged stays if you ask. While this may not always mean money off the course, it could translate into extra benefits. For example, if you book six months of courses at a language school, you could ask to get one extra month free? Alternatively you could ask if a weekend excursion or language partner could be included in the price? More often than not, you are able to get something.

5)   Use Graduates in Security – Stuck on where to look for language courses? See our Language Schools Page for a extensive list of Arabic, Chinese Mandarin and Russian schools to help you get started.

While the above list is not exhaustive, following these tips can go some way in helping you wget the most from your language learning.

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