I spent years being asked to recommend a place in the UK to go and study English and I have also spent an equal amount of time listening to people's stories of their experiences studying; some were very good but I also heard a lot of bad stories, so I decided to make a survey from all this experience and students that I have about what they want and need from a language school. What problems they have had and things that they would like to see improved. It was quite an extensive list; so off I went to the UK to check out various schools in various areas to find out what was on offer and how they were run. The schools that I am an agent for are the ones that I feel I can personally vouch for. Put it simply, they ticked all the boxes and in some of the cases far exceeded my expectations.
I decided on the city of Portsmouth and the surrounding area for many reasons. The first was the most practical of all. The convenience of getting there. By car, it is an hour and a half from London. There is a direct train from Gatwick which takes an hour. It's an hour by bus from Heathrow and you can even go directly by ferry from France and Spain. It's in a beautiful area, surrounded by lush rolling hills and little villages, there are beaches, a lively city with good bars, restaurants and nightlife. It's close to London, as I have said, Brighton, Southampton, Chichester, Winchester, the New Forest and Salisbury so there is a lot of tourism you can do in the area.
Importantly for language learning, there are not many schools which mean there are not as many students as in other places which means that Homestay accomodation can be controlled. Homestay accomodation was the main area of complaint in the UK, of course it's very difficult to please everyone as each person has a different idea and expectation and some are more realistic than others. A problem which I was told about by language schools is that many potential students do not clearly state their expectations of what type of homestay they are hoping for, which means that it can be difficult placing the right person with the right type of family.
However despite this, it still seems that there is a lot of dissatisfaction and I feel that this is probably deserving. Somer of the most popular places to study languages are so inundated with students at certain times of the year, particularly in summer, that they do not have enough families to house all the students, so end up having to rely on people who are only interested in making money and are not interested in giving the student a good experience while they are staying with them in the UK. This is very unfortunate. The reason why Portsmouth is good is the proportionally low number of students in comparison with the population of the area which is very high, language schools can pick and choose who provides accomodation to the students and there are a lot of very strict conditions which the homestays must abide by, meaning that only families which really want to help give the student a complete experience are welcomed.
Another reason is the very high standards of the schools on offer there.
We highly recommend the following schools:
LSI is undoubtable one of the best business training languages in the country. LSI are experts in the field of English Language and Professional Communication Training and one of the top UK Business Language school with over 25 years of experience in the business field, which is accredited by the British Council, IALC and Business English UK. They provide short, intensive courses preparing for a specific area of professional communication, such as:
Meetings, Negotiations & Presentations
English for Report Writing & Commercial Correspondence
English for Senior Banking & Insurance Personnel
English Language & Computer Applications
English for Professionals in Industrial Psychology.
They have a variety of programmes available with excellent, professional and qualified teachers, all with business backgrounds. A professional English and Golf programme is also available which is an increasingly popular way to approach a balance between language learning and enjoying your time. As one student Exuperio Diez, Head of Department of Neurology, La Paz Hospital in Madrid says "Excellent. The approach is very practical and the trainers are thorough professionals who adapt the training perfectly to the student"
The homestay for LSI is purely executive class.
Chichester is a small city just outside Portsmouth, it's just ten minutes away by train on the Gatwick line and is a beautiful, small and historic city founded by the Romans, with many places of interest to visit: Fishbourne Palace, Goodwood, an 11th Century Cathedral, a music and theatre festival surrounded by beautiful countryside, close to the sea and the cities of Portsmouth and Brighton. There are many good restaurants, a lively night life, beaches and marine and sports activities. It is a great place to study and the college has many varied facilities for the student to enjoy.
There are 2 main courses: The year long General English course and the Summer Programme.
There are up to 1000 foreign students at the school throughout the year and they have a huge range of fantastic facilities and the college organises activities to help the students get to know each other.
The General English course is 15 hours per week delivered in the morning. You will learn English through a balance of activities aimed at improving your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Throughout your programme there will be a strong emphasis on English for Communication. There are options to study extra courses.The programme has been designed to ensure that every student follows a course of study suitable for their level of competence in English. The courses are available to EU citizens of 16 and up and the English Summer School Course is available throughout July and August. Homestay is also provided with careful attention to the suitability of the families but there is also accomodation provided by the college.
There are up to 1000 foreign students at the school throughout the year and they have a huge range of fantastic facilities and the college organises activities to help the students get to know each other.
The General English course is 15 hours per week delivered in the morning. You will learn English through a balance of activities aimed at improving your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Throughout your programme there will be a strong emphasis on English for Communication. There are options to study extra courses.The programme has been designed to ensure that every student follows a course of study suitable for their level of competence in English. The courses are available to EU citizens of 16 and up and the English Summer School Course is available throughout July and August. Homestay is also provided with careful attention to the suitability of the families but there is also accomodation provided by the college.
If you are interested or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact us via the webpage.
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