One of your penfriends wants to improve their English at a language school. They have never studied at a language school before and have asked for your advice on how to choose a good one. Write a letter to your penfriend. Advise them about the following: the teaching method, the number of students in a class and the number of hours a week

Dear Niyi, Thanks for your letter. I think going to a language

school

is a great way to improve your English. As you know, I’ve done quite a few English courses, so you've come to the right person for advice. There are definitely a few points you should consider before you enrol in a course. The

first

thing I’d do if I were you is asking about the methodology. Some schools have you sitting in rows doing lots of written exercises. I don'

t

think you should enrol at

this

type of

school

because lessons can be boring, and you don'

t

get much oral practice. I'd suggest you choose a

school

that encourages lots of group work and speaking practice. You should check the

school

's brochure and talk to the staff and students if you can.

Also

, you ought to find out what the maximum class size is. If I were you, I wouldn'

t

enrol in a class with more than 20 students because you won'

t

get enough attention from the teacher. What's more, big classes tend to be mixed ability, so you may find the pace is too slow or too fast for you. I think between 10 and 15 students is a good number. And another thing you'd better think about is the intensity of the course. You could do an intensive 100-hour course in a month, but I wouldn'

t

advise you to do

this

. If you've got the time, I think you should study over a longer period and allow yourself time to understand everything. Anyway, I hope

this

is useful. If you need any more information, just drop me a line. All the best, Osa