Language Courses
A language course will keep you at it! The discipline of the timetable assures steady progress, and your teacher can give you personal attention. But make sure it's the right course for you - otherwise you'll start making excuses!
Attending courses
One of the key advantages of attending classroom-based language courses (for instance at an adult education centre) is the enforced discipline. Sign up, and you'll feel under obligation to turn up at the appointed time, regularly - and to do the homework that is necessary to keep up. Classmates also provide healthy competition. And, of course, you will have the advantage of a teacher who can guide you, give you feedback, answer your questions, help you with pronunciation, and so on. Equivalents are also available online, this is never quite the same as real classroom experience.
Types of courses
A massive range of courses is available, from intermediate and advanced courses for travellers, to specialist language courses for people requiring languages for work. Some are spread out over the academic year; others are intensive or even super-intensive (packed into a short space of time, with small classes, often requiring full-time attendance). Here are some of the kinds of courses available:
Levels
- Beginners
- Refresher (reviving your knowledge of say, school-taught language)
- Intermediate (moving on from beginner level)
- Advanced (concentrating on oral and written accuracy)
- Mastery (eliminating errors that undermine fluency)
Specialist courses
- Business language
- Tourism
- Translating
- Law
- Medicine
- Banking and finance
- Journalism
- Culture
- Public sector administration
Choosing a course
Be careful to choose the course that is appropriate for you, and delivers the right level and content. All kinds of other considerations also come into play: price, location, timetable, class size. The most reliable recommendations come from friends who have done the same or a similar course. Failing that, visit the institution that runs the course, talk to teachers and staff, and - if you can - students. Good language schools will be happy to help, to ensure that you find the course that is best for you.