To YOU - It may concern:

  • Bắt đầu Wolfy
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(Wolfy)

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Students learning English are recently very concerned about how to find a good language center which is worth your time and your money. I want to share with you some of my experience in choosing a language center. Hope it'll be of some use to you guys.

#1 Cost – Tuition fee:
Obviously this is the most important factor when considering a place to study, especially when almost every center is seemingly the same. A high price doesn’t ensure good results. Likewise, a low one doesn’t at all mean it’s bad. Of course, the higher the price, the more likely it is that the center will provide you with better facilities and teaching staff. However, it’s you who have to decide whether the money spent is really worth it. There are other factors to consider before making the decision. So HOW?
 
To YOU - It may concern: (continued)

#2 Teaching Staff:
It’s the most important factor I have to say. Who teach you and how they teach you will determine to a large extent how much progress you can make after the course. Don’t be fooled by those colored and pompous ads displayed everywhere, telling you how experienced the teaching staff might be. Some might not be the same as what you are told. So this is what you can do to find out the TRUTH:
- Ask to sit for a trial class, (some centers might offer trial classes if they are confident enough of their qualities. If they do not, try to persuade them to sit on a real class).
- Search for information from those who are taking courses at the center.

What to ask for:
- Are the teachers really helpful? are they friendly?
- Do they care about how you react? will they ever notice your improvement and give some compliments and encouragements to you?
- Are they trained to teach English as a second language? You know, we are all Vietnamese but not all of us can teach Vietnamese to foreigners, do we? That is the same case for English speakers. Some of them can speak beautifully but they cannot teach you how to speak English just properly. Teaching method counts here, and not everyone is born with it.
 
#3: Facilities:
What they claim themselve to have doesn't mean what they are actually going to use. Look around to see how modern the center maybe. Pay attention to the class. Is there anything other than a radio cassette? I have to admit that most of us decide to go to a language center because that's where we can speak to foreigners. You might think that facilities play a minor role in this case. That's true, to some extent, only. A good center should maximize the opportunities their students may have in practicing the language. A movie can enhance our listening skill, especially to conversational English, rather than the slowly-and-carefully-pronounced English.
 
To YOU - It may concern: (Continued)

#4: Extracurricular activities:

We learn a language by practicing it. In these extracurricular activities, we get to use English in a practical way. These activities also help students within a class and a center build up a mutual bond which helps them feel like a family. This is very important because after you are going to spend about 3 days a week, 4 weeks a month and most of the time 3 months totally. Many centers have advertised that they frequently organize such events, blah blah blah. But, in fact, very rarely. I once asked a friend of mine who attended an X center what extracurricular activity was the most memorable to her. Surprisingly, she told me it was one time when all her friends went out to eat ice-cream after class. That's all she remembered about the center.
 
To YOU - It may concern: (Continued)

#5 Atmosphere:

You can make incredible progress in a perfect atmosphere for English. If you class for spoken English makes you feel sleepy. If the topics discussed are either above your head or have nothing to do with your interest, maybe you've made a bad decision. Atmosphere is one important factor in considering what center to go for. If the center is study-oriented rather than fun-oriented, which means people there take English seriously, it is the right one. You don't want to spend half your time speaking Vietnamese in an English center, do you?

Now comes the most important part:
#6: Your Attitude - How you should act in order to make the most of your time and your money

- Be demanding of yourself. Make full use of every opportunity offered: talking to teachers, always talking to your classmates in English, even when you are chit-chating.
- Be pro-active: Many Vietnamese students are a bit shy. We tend to keep silent and do not make the first move. If you find yourself in the same situation, better form this habbit right in your class because you're there to learn.

Choosing a course of English takes you some time to think about as the cost is so high recently. I hope you can get something helpful from my posts, and make wise decisions.

Happy learning,
 
Re: To YOU - It may concern: (Continued)

Wolfy đã viết:
Choosing a course of English takes you some time to think about as the cost is so high recently. I hope you can get something helpful from my posts, and make wise decisions.

Happy learning,

Wolfy, so which course do you recommend to someone who is going abroad soon at the end of this year like me?

Hai Ha
 
Congratulations to you Hai Ha

So you're leaving soon. You must be very excited by now.

Concerning your question, I want to know your current level of English, as well as your strong and weak points in English. I believe more information would be helpful in deciding which course to take.

Best,
 
Hi you two !
I see that in english centres there have many kinds of english, including english for study abroad as Hai Ha said about.
Actually I also care about study abroad but now I'm finding full sholarship.
So what kind of english course you think is the best and worth to study in centres ?
Thankss
 
Can you be more specific, Tien? So that we can be of some help to you.
 
Sis Tien ;-) and Hai Ha
I think you two should take some classes that will help you to be ready for TOEFL and SAT (if you want to study in the US), and (IELTS if you want to study in the UK) ANyschool will ask for these certificate.
Beside taking classes, you should practice listening to the news on TV, cable TV or radio. Also, you should go to website and read the news online such as the New York Times, Times,.... It will help to improve your vocabulary.
Good luck,
rr@
 
To older sister Hong Ha : Thankss a lot for your tips, I listened to radio, news on TV, find news on web, yes, I did it all, except studying English in a centre. Really I want to be you, can study abroad by sholarship to US like you !
And I just want to ask Wolfy that what kind of english course worth best to study, because in an eng centre there have many kinds, such as TOEFL, SAT ( as sis Ha said ), General, listening and conversation, advance level...etc. For example, if I study TOEFL or SAT there, I think it's not necessary becoz I can study by myself at IIE, or should I study them in a centre ?
 
Good luck to you. :)
I have not been around for a couple years so I can't help you with that. Maybe Wolfy knows better. However, you can try Mr. Manh at Le Thanh Tong, he is famous for teaching TOEFL, but he is tough also. It's not easy to sign up for his class. Give it a try.
:)
rr@
 
Maybe none would listen to my English-learing experience :p. Personally, English is toil :(, so I avoided it whenever I could, putting away homework until ten minutes before class :p often skipping doing them if my fear for teachers could be subdued and spending a week cramming to face important exams. :((

English centers are either good or cheap:D (in my opinion) so only register for one course after careful consideration. Home- study is much more economic and relaxing but... difficult.


Long time no posts. I am afraid my English's rusty :)

PS: I intended to dump this topic for it's merely spam :D. It turned out to be useful.
 
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