You may have contemplated learning a language for business purposes before – as many of us have. But if you’re the same as most people, you’ve probably put it off as being “non priority”. Certainly, with English being known as “the world’s lingua franca”, you may have decided there’s no real point learning another language as everyone you come into contact with will speak English anyway. Well here’s some thoughts and facts that might make you think again, if you’re wondering what the business case might be for learning a new l...

Like many of you, I had to learn French in school. Just like me, you probably started learning French when you went to secondary school, studied for five years, and then left feeling like you couldn't speak a word. But is that really true? Sure, the usual Salut ! Ça va ? probably rolls of the tongue still today. But is there perhaps more hiding deep down in your memory than what you might expect? Using old phrases Today I went into a coffee shop and ordered an Americano. The barista was clearly a Frenchman - based on his accent - so I decided to...

Dedicating your time to language learning can be tough. As with any other part of your life that you find difficult to dedicate your precious time to. After all - you have to deal with the responsibilities and priorities in your life. On top of managing your career, a family, perhaps kids and the challenges you face on a day to day basis. So it makes sense to feel a little overwhelmed when you’re strapped for time. Keeping that in mind, I’ve come up with a list of ways to dedicate your time to language learning, which will help you stay product...

The notion of learning vocabulary is far from foreign to any language learner. Vocabulary is not only important for communicating, it is essential to it! Students who have been through our Spanish courses in Manchester, as well as all the other courses we run, will attest to that. “Without grammar you can say little, without lexis you can say nothing.” However, what makes for effective vocabulary learning in Spanish, in fact, in any language, is a totally different kettle of fish. This blog post will explore precisely that: effective and well-o...

Very often in the language classroom speaking is misinterpreted for saying or pronouncing... Not in our classrooms though! Our flagship Spanish courses in Birmingham, UK focus on encouraging students to speak from lesson 1. But let's just say for example, in a not so up to date language school!: many teachers ask their learners to read aloud sentences, paragraphs and even whole texts with the aim of ‘practising speaking.’ Many learners are even convinced that this kind of activity is not only good but should be encouraged. However, practising pro...