Booking a Language Study Trip
You probably know by now that one of my personal passions
is languages. I truly love the mental challenge of learning
foreign languages and I think even a tiny amount of local
language knowledge makes a stay in a foreign country so much
more pleasant. It allows us to communicate with the locals
in their language, and even if we don't speak their language
well, as long as we make an effort, they really appreciate
it.
My favourite language of all is Spanish, so I am planning
to go on a language study trip myself. As it looks right now
I will be spending the first 2 weeks of April at the University
of Havana, studying Spanish and immersing myself in the local
culture.
I did a fair bit of research before deciding on this particular
language study program. I located quite a few websites out
there for individual language schools, and in addition to
that, there are language course-booking websites, many of
which allow you to search by language and/or country. The
most popular languages offered by these booking websites include
English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, but Chinese, Greek,
Polish, Russian and Turkish and others more are also available.
There are a few basic things to keep in mind when booking
a language study trip:
Duration:
How long do you want to stay? One week, one month,
a year or anything in between?
Format:
Most language schools offer a standard program, which
usually consists of 3 or 4 hours of instruction in the morning
where the student has the afternoon off. Intensive programs
are also offered where 1 to 3 additional lectures are added
on in the afternoon. Examination preparation courses as well
as one-on-one courses round out the course program and sometimes
schools offer special purpose language courses, e.g. business
language etc.
Class size:
The smaller the better. Obviously you will get a
better learning experience and more attention from the teacher
with less people. A lot of schools offer a standard class
size of 8 to 12 students.
Accommodation:
A popular type of accommodation for language study
programs abroad is staying with a host family, often referred
to as "homestay". Language students stay in a private room
in the home of a local family and often participate in family
activities, dinners and excursions. This approach offers the
advantage of full immersion in the culture, from a linguistic
and social point of view. Other accommodation options include
shared student apartments or hotels.
Excursions and social events:
Schools generally offer excursions and social events
to the foreign language students, some of which may be included
in the package prices, others may cost extra. This is a chance
to go beyond language learning and to get to know the local
culture.
Included services:
When looking at prices, be careful to compare apples
to apples. Some programs have inscription fees over and above
tuition fees. Check whether airport transfers, meals or study
materials are included in the package.
Here are some links to a number of the language class booking
sites so you can do your research:
www.123teachme.com
www.abroadlanguages.com
www.abuks.com
www.cactuslanguage.com
www.firststepworld.com
www.language-schools-directory.com
www.languagecourse.net
www.languageschoolsguide.com
www.mylanguageexchange.com
www.orbislingua.com
www.spanishabroad.com
www.transitionsabroad.com
Have fun booking your next language study trip!
Related articles:
A severe case of Hispanophilia
Cuba is calling:
guess where I am going to study Spanish...