Language Schools

Language schools are interesting places. They can provide you with an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Under the pretext of learning a language you find yourself with new people to meet and with whom to share experiences, knowledge and skills. The chance to incorporate all these elements into your life and enrich it is seldom so readily available in other spaces.

I have had the fortune of being on both ends of the room at language schools. As a language teacher, it is always desirable to count with motivated students. And as a student, there's nothing more motivating than participating in a dynamic class in which learning is both fun and interesting.

Take Responsibility for Your Own Learning

As students, we tend to forget that we also have a voice in deciding what the class can be. Teachers are, for the most part, open to-–and even eager to receive--suggestions, proposals and ideas from their students. If it is something that will keep students motivated and focused on their own learning, teachers will probably gain more from accepting a proposal and looking for ways to implement it than from dismissing it.

My advice for students is precisely that: keep yourself alert to all possible resources and situations which can enhance your learning experience. Propose, suggest, bring forth your ideas and listen to others. Taking responsibility for your own language learning is perhaps the best way to face the challenge. After all, learning a language is a process which takes time and energy. There's no reason for this process to be dull.