Frequently Asked Questions

Courses are open to beginners in all languages, subject to demand, and the classes are friendly and welcoming. There is no need to worry if you have not studied languages before.

Beginners cover subjects like saying who they are, where they live, what their job is, and everyday situations like ordering food in a restaurant and buying clothes. They cover grammar such as singular and plural, masculine and feminine, and present and past tenses.

These are aimed at people who have a grounding in the language, like GCSE and want to build on that knowledge or have studied beginners with Languages2000 and would like more detailed study. We do not actually sit the exam. We will be chatting about subjects like shopping, spare time interests, and holidays in some depth. As far as the grammar is concerned we'll revise the present tense, and masculine and feminine, singular and plural, and then look at the past and possibly future tenses in detail. We will also have a go at reading magazine excerpts and writing short essays.

These are suitable for people who have A-level or possibly degree level In the language, and/or have spent some time in a country where the language is spoken. The class will be entirely in the target language. We will revise all grammar right through from the present tense to the subjunctive. We will look at current articles from the news, for example items about education or housing, learn how to absorb the information, and use it as a basis for discussion. We will also watch television programmes at home on YouTube and in the lesson, and use them as a way of improving colloquial language.

Many of the lessons have similar levels on a different day, so you are welcome to attend a class on a different day if you wish. Details of the homework, chapter of the book, or articles covered in classes can be given to you if you find you do miss a lesson.

Exercises from the textbooks and news articles are given every week, but we go over them in class the following week, so do not worry if you have not had time to do them.

It is ideal to do ten minutes or so a day, or about an hour or so per week, but please do not worry if you do not have time.

Text books used mention major variations in a language, so that they have different words and recordings of, for example different accents from Latin America and Spain, and Portugal and Brazil. The differences between these languages are similar to the differences between say American English, and English English, so that you can be understood.

The classes tend to be about eight or ten, and there is a limit of fifteen people per class for most classes.