Guides
Choosing a school and a destination
Comparing Language Study Destinations
Factors to weigh when choosing a country or city to study a language in: accent and variety, price currency, climate and season, entry rules, city size and daily life, without ranking any country.
Updated 17 October 2026
How to Choose a Language School Abroad
A practical framework for choosing a language school in another country: define your goal, match course type and level, check schedules and class size, and ask the right questions before paying.
Updated 17 October 2026
University-Affiliated Language Centres
What a university-affiliated language centre is, how its calendar and structure can differ from an independent language school, and what to check about accreditation, recognition and the limits of any link to admission.
Updated 17 October 2026
Courses, levels and hours
Intensive Versus General Language Courses
How to tell intensive and general language courses apart, why the labels vary between schools, and how to compare them by weekly teaching hours, class size and the time you have outside lessons.
Updated 17 October 2026
Lessons Versus Teaching Hours
Why '20 lessons per week' is not twenty hours of teaching, how lessons of 45, 50 or 60 minutes change the total, and how to calculate real weekly hours before comparing courses or prices.
Updated 17 October 2026
Online Versus In-Person Language Courses
Compare live online, self-paced and hybrid language courses with study in a classroom abroad: schedules, time zones, class size, interaction and what online study cannot replace, with questions to ask providers.
Updated 17 October 2026
Understanding Language Course Levels
What language school levels mean, how the CEFR labels A1 to C2 are used by exam providers, why schools label levels differently, and why no table can convert a school level into an exam result.
Updated 17 October 2026
Costs
Language School Tuition and Total Costs
How language school prices are built: weekly tiers, registration, materials and exam fees, compulsory and optional extras, and why prices in different currencies or billing bases cannot be compared directly.
Updated 17 October 2026
Accommodation
Homestay Versus Student Residence
Compare homestay, student residences, shared flats and other accommodation types for a language course abroad: meals, travel time, deposits, age rules and what to confirm in writing.
Updated 17 October 2026
Planning your course
Planning a Language Course Abroad
A timeline for planning a language course in another country: choosing dates, checking your passport and entry rules on official government sites, insurance, arrival, and what a directory can and cannot promise.
Updated 17 October 2026
Junior programmes
Choosing a Junior Language Programme
A parent and guardian guide to junior language programmes: age groups, supervision as published, residential versus day programmes, consent and travel arrangements, and the questions to put to a school.
Updated 17 October 2026
Exams
Choosing Exam Preparation
How to choose a language exam preparation course: the difference between preparing for an exam and being an authorised test centre, how to check the exam body's own centre list, and what to ask schools.
Updated 17 October 2026