English courses

Communicate with the world…

Would you like to improve your fluency in English? 
Then a short course could help to give you more confidence in using the language productively.

Would you like to improve your accuracy in English? 
In this case, we would normally recommend a longer, more intensive course so that you can start to use the language with greater precision.

International Contacts offers a wide range of English language courses, from standard programmes (usually 20 lessons = 15 hours per week) to very intensive, custom-built and highly specialized courses for professional people.

If you cannot find the kind of course that you would like to follow on our website, please contact David or Yurie with your requirements because we have not shown all of the possible options that are available.  It is also possible to create a tailor-made programme of study for you or your staff.

Neutral, unbiased advice
International Contacts provides you with unbiased information and advice about our partner schools and the courses on offer. We can give you our views on the advantages of one school over another and we will never recommend a particular solution if we do not think that it will meet your needs or match your interests.

Wherever you are, we will be happy to help you – either by phone, by email or by Skype video chat.

We will be happy to talk you through the different options available (and the benefits of each), as well as tell you about the feedback received from people who have studied at the school or college that you are interested in.

We will also be happy  to show you photos of the schools, accommodation and locations that you have in mind.

We are pretty happy people!

Different ways to study a language:
Short, intensive courses – ideally suited to busy professional people. These can be arranged either in Britain or in the country where the target language is spoken. You should have a pre-intermediate level at least for these courses.  Whether you would like to book a course in your own area (we can send a trainer out to you!) or you would like to arrange a super-intensive, full-immersion programme in another area or country, International Contacts has a staff member to help you.

General language courses are available for adults of any nationality who are aged at least 18. These courses are intended to help you to develop your everyday language skills and will focus on the skills (eg. speaking, listening, reading and writing) and systems (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, discourse) of the language.

Specialist courses
Special purposes courses are available for adults who would like to develop their command of a particular language as appropriate to their chosen profession or field of study.  Students taking a course of Business English, for example, might study the following skills:
・Business English writing skills.
・Socialising with clients in English.
・Using the telephone.
・Running a meeting in English.
・Giving presentations in English.
・Negotiating a business deal in English.

Before you start a specialist course of English, we will ask you to complete a Needs Analysis so that we can decide with you what your main learning goals will be during your course programme.

Your level
Courses are available at all levels and mapped against the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference), which means that when you complete a course, the certificate and / or report that you receive will be recognised throughout Europe – and more and more, around the world.  Students are normally tested before they arrive at the school so that they can be placed in a suitable class.

Beginners
Please note that we need to know in advance if you are an absolute beginner, because some of our partner schools have a limited number of start dates for beginners.

We speak your language
The staff at International Contacts can speak English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese.  You will find that it is much faster and easier to book a course with the help of someone who speaks your language.

Emergency Telephone Number
We are always at the end of a phone line.  International Contacts can be contacted on (+44 7966) 578999 at any time of the day or night if you have a serious problem while you taking part in one of our course programmes.

Tourism – we are your guides to the local attractions and sports / social / cultural activities
The language course is only one part of your study holiday.  International Contacts is also here to give you some ideas about some exciting ways to spend your free time, from watching live music to surfing and eating out.

Important info about our course programmes:
The minimum duration for our course programmes is one week, although we would recommend that you follow a course of at least four weeks in order to maximise your learning potential.  In some cases, such as exam preparation courses or university foundation programmes, you can only book the full course.  Some exam courses are 12 weeks in duration, for example, wherease university foundation programmes are normally 36 weeks long.