Choosing a language course is not easy when faced with so many options. Alors, don't hesitate to contact us (email, telephone, website) if you need some advice and we will do our best to help you.
There are essentially two ways to choose a course:
You choose a course first and then pick the school/destination where the chosen course is offered
You choose a school/destination first and then pick a course offered at the chosen school
The courses on our site are organised into four main streams:
Social and Fun - This section includes a varied selection of original courses as well as more traditional language courses for 16+.
Professional - This section focuses on specialist professional courses as well examination preparation courses.
Junior and Family - This section is aimed at teenagers and families. It includes a wide selection of original and fun educational courses.
Student and Gapyear - This section is aimed at gap year students. It includes a selection of long term courses and internships.
Here are a few things to think about when choosing a course:
The duration of the course
While you can enrol on some courses for any duration from one week to a few months, some courses have fixed durations.
Your level
While some courses are available for all levels including beginners, some are restricted to students who have an intermediate level in the foreign language.
The length of each lesson
Most schools have 45 minutes lessons, a few have 60 minutes lessons.
The main purpose of your course
If you want to learn a foreign language and have a holiday, then we recommend a standard course or a course combined with an activity, such as French and Surf, French and Tennis, French and Cooking, etc.
If you want to learn as much as possible, then we recommend an intensive course or a combined or a total immersion course.
If you want to learn a foreign language for work, then we recommend a combined course or a specialist French course, such as French for Business, French for Law, etc.
We offer similar social and fun, professional and junior courses for learning French, Spanish and English
Here are a few things to think about when choosing a school:
The size of the school
Large schools often have more classes (more levels), more students to socialise with and better equipment (language lab,etc).
Smaller schools offer a more familiar setting, group sizes are often smaller so more attention to the individual's requirements.
Bank Holidays
All the schools are closed on bank holidays. If you are enrolling on a course for one week only, you may prefer to choose a school where the lessons missed are either rescheduled or refunded. In Spain and the UK, lessons missed are always lost. In France, a few schools operates differently:
Aix en Provence - Missed lessons are rescheduled to another day in the week.
Montpellier - Missed lessons are usually rescheduled to another day in the week.
Paris - Missed lessons are refunded.
The schedule on the first day
Once again, if you are enrolling on a course for one week only, you may want to check the schedule on the first day of the course.
In some schools, lessons only start on the second day. The first day is given over to the placement test and a guided tour of town.
In other schools, lessons start on the first day but either late in the morning or in the afternoon.
The activity programme
Most schools offer an activity programme in which students can take part on a pay as you go basis. Activities include excursions, wine tastings, cooking lessons, various sports and many more.
In some locations, there is a full and varied activity programme all year round.
In other schools, there is a full and varied activity programme in the summer. For the rest of the year, the schools propose a number of activities, subject to student numbers.
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