What’s an intensive language course and how to get the most from them
Intensive language courses are where you spend a week or more studying a language, usually in the country itself. Packages start at 20 hours of classes per week but there are normally activities like walking tours or cooking classes in the afternoon, or you can top-up your group classes with some one to one tuition in a specific area. The week starts on Monday morning with a level test – a short written test and conversation with a teacher so they can decide which group to put you in. Normal routine is then 4 hours of classes in the mornings with a break in the middle where you can go and grab a coffee. Lunch break, then on to your afternoon activity for more immersion in the language. At the end of the week your brain will be exhausted but your confidence and ability will have improved massively. There really is no better way to see a noticeable improvement in a short space of time.
I’ve done it twice – at Enforex in Alicante and Scuola Italiano in Palermo. Three times actually if you count Covid when I did a week of intensive study remotely with International House Rome! I met lots of great people who I kept in touch with, I decided to call one of them for a chat about our classes together and thoughts on intensive courses in general. Bettina and I met in Alicante, I was just there for a week but she was 3 weeks into a 4 week stay before returning to her home in Germany. It was wonderful to reminisce about our shared hatred of the imperative tense and our sneaky runs to the cafe next door between classes, but in terms of the experience itself we agreed on a few fundamental differences between our evening classes back home and the ones we did in Alicante.
First of all, everyone in the class is super motivated! With evening classes at home you often find that not everyone is learning for the same reason or with the same dedication as you are. I always remember one of my first Italian classes being full of retired people – that’s fine in itself but they didn’t want to speak in Italian – they wanted to talk about Italy…in English! Part way through we somehow ended up speaking in English and it just wasn’t a right fit for me. When you do intensive classes everyone has chosen to do it specifically because they want to study hard and improve.
The second interesting thing and something I didn’t really appreciate until I got there is that the target language is sometimes the only shared one. In both my Spanish and Italian classes there were people of various nationalities – German, Polish, English, Dutch, Latvian. Of course we don’t all speak each other’s language so the one you’re learning is the only common one. That itself brings with it a sense of community that I didn’t expect – Bettina and I helping each other with our homework, grabbing lunch or escaping to the cafe was all in Spanish because it’s the only language we shared. It brings a whole new dimension and a whole new challenge – if I didn’t know how to find a way around a word I didn’t know in Spanish I learned by the end of that week! That’s an important skill and one I maybe wouldn’t have learned had English been the common language.
How to get the best out of intensive classes – some tips
Go on your own (or together with someone else who is also learning the language). Some of the times I’ve done it, I went with my husband and combined it with a holiday, he sunbathed in the mornings while I was at school then we spent the afternoons and evenings together. There are pros and cons to doing it this way – you split the cost of the accommodation and of course you enjoy some nice time away with your other half or your friends, but it means that you don’t get the 100% immersion experience. You switch back to your native language after the class and miss out on the afternoon activities and shared dinners, which are also in the target language of course. If your real purpose for going is to improve your language level you will get the best from the experience if you fully immerse yourself.
Consider smaller or less touristy locations . Lecce instead of Rome, Lyon instead of Paris, Zaragoza instead of Madrid. Smaller cities tend to have cheaper accommodation, will give you a more authentic experience and more chances to use the language outside of class, but also you won’t be tempted to spend all of the time outside of class sightseeing instead of studying. Rather than rushing to pack things in and surrounding yourself with tourists you can slow down, talk to the locals and get to know the place. The journey to get there might involve planes, trains and automobiles but that just adds to the adventure!
Look for an apartment or host family instead of a hotel. If you’re arranging your own accommodation, think about an apartment instead of a hotel. It usually works out cheaper, you have more space, and you will get to use your target language more. Most language schools can help to organise your accommodation and some have the option of homestays where you stay with a local family for a week.
Keep in touch with your classmates. It’s a good way to keep practising when you get home, and you might just call them to laugh about your mistakes in a few years time – in Spanish of course!
Ready for my first day of school in Alicante!
