How To Choose The Best ESL School For You
If your friends think that you are a walking version of Wikipedia and keep asking you for definitions, tips, and counseling on all kinds of stuff, here’s a good way to surprise them with some very useful information.
Or, on the contrary, if you are the one planning to study English abroad and are looking for the right information so you don’t feel so lost, you will find below a set of tips that will make your day.
Here’s a list of tips on how to choose the best ESL school for you. There are hundreds of such programs being offered everwhere and for everyone. How can you know if the program suits your needs, or if they will fulfill the contract and not leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere? Just a few steps to follow and no big worries afterwards:
-Define your goals: This is the key issue here. You must be very clear about your objectives, what level of English you want to acquire, how long you are planning to take for that, where you want to go and why. Choosing the right ESL program has nothing to do with the nice colors of the website or the great name the Institute or University has. You are staying in a foreign country where they speak a language you don’t master, and with obvious cultural differences, so you’d better choose a place where you think you’ll feel comfortable.
-Search for local agencies (using your mother tongue): This may sound a bit too logical, but believe me, there are many people who make the mistake of contacting agencies in the “target” language and they can’t understand all the implications of the trip, stay, or contract. A source of bad times is when you don’t understand all the rules of the game.
-Ask all the important questions: Wherever you go they will give you lots of information, flyers, pamphlets, catalogs, and testimonies telling you how wonderful job they do. Just concentrate on the vital things for your trip and life in the foreign country:
• Costs: How much the total program is, how much you need to carry with you; find out if there are extra costs.
• Housing: Is it included in the program? If so, where, and under what conditions?
• Meals: How many meals does the program include a day? (if any) For the whole period?
• Cost of living in general: General information about the cost of things there, just in case you have to stay on your own means for some time.
• Activities and support provided: Will you be alone or become part of a group? Can you do other things apart from studying? Do you have to pay extra for that?
• Extent of health insurance and others: What if you have an accident or need to be admitted into hospital? What if you need an urgent visit to the dentist?
-Establish direct contact here with the person who’s receiving you there at the agency (get all details): Don’t accept a “we’ll contact you there” for an answer. You need to know who to resort to in case of trouble. He/she is going to be the only contact with your mother country at the beginning, so you’d better feel confident about him/her.
-Contact people who have been there: Look for real, live testimonies, not the typical “I went there and my life changed forever” sentence. Find two or three people who have undergone this experience. They are the ones who can give you the best advice on what to do, what to avoid, and what to expect.
There. A few tips to get a nice ESL school and not die in the process. They will be of much use to you as they have been for many people. Now, you can show off among your friends about how clever and well-informed you are, and your popularity will increase for sure.
Now, if you’re preparing that trip to an English-speaking country to learn, you probably feel less insecure about all the aspects to consider. So, follow the tips and good luck there! By the way, remember to check your passport before leaving!
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