How to Choose the Right Course? It sounds easy especially if you’ve got an idea of your intended career. However there’s some basic questions you should ask yourself ad your intended colleges before you commit to anything binding.
When is the best time of year to start a course?
If possible, consider planning your trip for sometime other than the summer season (July & August). The summer is the peak time for student-travel, and you’ll need to make sure that you register well in advance, as courses often fill-up early. Things like tuition, accommodation, and travel may also be cheaper and easier to obtain during the off-season. Of course, countries which are popular during the summer are often so for good reasons – there may be a wide variety of leisure opportunities and activities that are only available during the peak-season.
Seasonal information on both schools and cities can be found online, if you get blocked it’s worth using a proxy server temporarily – preferably one with a residential IP.
How long should my course be?
Keep in mind that it often takes up to 2 weeks to adapt to a new country and learning-environment. This is also the minimum length of most language courses. If you have never traveled before, or you are going to destination that is very-foreign to you, consider doing a course of at least 3 or 4 weeks in length, or longer if possible. You will see the best improvement in your language-skills this way, as well as having a pleasanter and less-stressful trip!
But is it possible to go to a school for only one or two weeks?
Yes, it is possible. Almost every school will discount tuition for a shortened-course, if they do not already offer a course of that length.
Does the quality or content of the lesson depend on the price of tuition?
Answer Every school provides opportunities to learn language, and each school has their own curriculum. Differences in the cost of tuition are probably not because of the actual quality of the lessons. More likely you’re paying extra for a school in a wealthier neighborhood, or with more expensive facilities.
Is it possible to enter a language institute even if I cannot speak the language at all?
Every school has lessons for different levels: Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced. Before starting lessons, you’ll need to write a placement test; that way you know that you will be placed in an appropriate program for your skill-level. However, since course start-dates may be different, depending on skill-level (especially for total-beginner level courses), you should let them know before hand so that they can verify the starting-date for you. Nowadays it’s not quite as big an issue but it often depends on the types of course. Some art based courses may be more flexible than traditional academic courses. You can often do a lot online as well so it may be worth seeing if you can start online and switch later in the term. If in another country you may need to use a proxy server to steady your connections. These are often used by photographers to upload their photos to restricted sharing sites – best proxies for instagram.
I would like to go to a university, vocational school, or another “higher-education” institute after finishing my study at the language-school.
First, you must check the language-requirements of the institute you want to attend. Secondly, a different visa may also be required to continue your studies, and you may need a certain level of language proficiency to obtain it. If your language-level is already high enough, you may be able to apply for the visa immediately. Also, there are some universities and vocational schools that offer ESL and second-language courses themselves.
The cost of tuition for the course I want to take is given for 4 weeks of study, but is it possible to take the course for 7 weeks?
Yes, it is possible. If you are enrolling in a general language course there should be no problem. The cost of the 4-week course gives you the base rate, and adding extra weeks is usually quite simple. However, some specialized courses do have fixed schedules or lengths, and they may not be flexible. If you have any questions about course length or costs, please ask us.