Is Taking an INTENSIVE English Course Abroad Worth the Money?

(upbeat music)

(logo whooshing) - Hello this is Jack

from ToFluency.com and welcome to this lesson

where we're going to talk about intensive courses

and going abroad or to an English speaking country

to take one of these courses

in order to improve your English.

So I'm going to tell you a story

about a student I used to have

because this is going to help you understand

if taking an intensive course is worth it

and what to do if you do take a course

to make the most out of it,

to get the most out of this experience.

So I had a student, let's call her Sara,

and Sara is from France, okay.

So Sara's from France.

She is studying English and she

took a lesson with me once a week

for about six months, okay.

So she was a good student in that

she always came to the lesson on time

and she was focused during the lesson.

But she didn't do anything outside of that class.

I always talked about, okay, listen to things in English,

follow the method, I gave her audio

so that she could repeat it,

but she never really did this outside of class.

And the one day she said, okay, I can't take a lesson

for the next three weeks because

I'm gonna take a course in London.

I'm going to London to study, to take this intensive course.

And I thought, great, she's gonna get a lot out of it

if she does the right things.

So she went to London.

She came back and we had our next lesson.

I asked her how the whole experience was.

Like did she enjoy it?

Did she get a lot out of it?

Did she improve?

And she started to speak

and I didn't notice any improvement.

I mean, it was only a two-week course

but sometimes you think, okay,

you're going to London, you're practicing all the time,

you're taking a course, maybe we'll see some improvement.

But there was nothing.

And she told me that the course was terrible.

That it wasn't what she wanted it to be.

Because it was all based on a coursebook.

It was like one of those typical language courses

where there's a teacher, 10, 20 students in the class,

and you go through a coursebook

by going through grammar, vocabulary,

doing some exercises, listening to something,

writing in your notebook, doing a little bit of homework

here and there, but there was no real speaking practice

and no feedback on speaking.

But she also told me that while she was there

she lived in an apartment

with people from France.

So I think there were about three of them

in this apartment in London

and all of them were from France.

So I asked her, did you meet anybody from London.

And she said, not really.

And I said, did you use your English outside

of the course, and she said, not really.

So she didn't immerse herself in any kind of way.

She went to London to learn English,

but she could have taken the same course

either online or in the city where she was from.

She could have found probably the exact same course

where she was from.

So we can learn a few things from this.

Firstly, if you're going to make the most out of a course,

you want to take one that is gonna suit you

and what you want to do.

So if you want to work on your speaking,

then find a course that's going to do that.

If you want to learn something for the IELTS exam,

then take a course for the IELTs.

So find something that is specific to you.

But also, if you are going to go

to an English speaking country,

immerse yourself in the best way you can.

So do things like live with

an English speaking family

or somebody who can help you learn English.

So a lot of these courses offer that.

They'll say, okay, you can stay with this family

while you are here and therefore,

you're using your English in a real way

outside of the lessons.

Additionally, meet people.

Go out there and meet people.

It can be scary at first, but it's the best way

for you to really gain context about the language,

to use your English in a natural way, in a real way.

So go out there and meet as many people as possible.

But also, don't rely on a course

if that's the only thing you're going to do.

Because two or three weeks is not enough.

Learning English is all about doing the right things

consistently over the long term.

So it's better to do something like the To Fluency Method

and I'll have full details of the method in the description,

to do the To Fluency Method 15 minutes a day

every day for six months, than to go

on an intensive course for two weeks.

Because you think, okay, two weeks.

I can learn English every day.

I can do so much in that time.

I can just really focus and get to a higher level.

But it's very rare that that happens.

You'll need to do the right things before you leave

and the right things after you leave.

And also, when it comes to an English course,

an intensive course, think about whether it is worth it

for the time and the price.

Because I know Sara, from France,

spent a lot of money on this intensive course.

Now from what I know, she could afford it,

but she spent a lot of money on this course

and the value she got from it wasn't worth it

because she, it made no difference to her level.

Now there might have been some things that she learned,

some grammar term, or you know, a few new words and phrases

but over the long term it made no difference.

That's why it's important that if you do this

and if you're not going to do it,

is to do the right things before and after you leave.

So the To Fluency Method, use this method

where you are taking English audio phrases,

you're repeating the, you are getting feedback

on your version, and then you're

getting long term repetition.

Do things like listening to podcasts that you enjoy.

Now I got an email today from somebody

saying I don't understand podcasts.

And if you don't understand podcasts,

listen to graded readers or watch YouTube videos

like this one from English teachers.

But the key is to listen as much as possible.

So To Fluency Method, listen as much as possible,

do some writing, practice your writing,

use Grammarly to get feedback on your grammar

in an automatic way, then also read,

read as much as you can, read things that you enjoy,

and watch TV, you can also find speaking partners, too.

And what you'll notice here, a lot of these methods

are like immersing yourself in English

from anywhere in the world.

So to immerse yourself, you don't have to go

to an English speaking country.

Yes, the experience is richer.

It's more real, in a way.

But not everyone can go to an English speaking country

for a week, two weeks, or more.

There are time limits, money limits,

Visa limits in some cases.

So immerse yourself no matter where you are right now.

Do these things that actually make a difference.

Do them on a daily basis.

That is much better than just doing nothing

or very little, going to the UK for two weeks,

immersing yourself, coming back home,

and then doing nothing again for six months.

But this is the key, this is the key.

Immerse yourself no matter where you live

and do the right things on a daily basis.

So I want to know if you have ever been

to an English speaking country

to take an intensive course.

Let me know how it went for you.

Did you take a course that helped you?

What tips do you have for other people

who are going to take a similar course?

And then, if you have enjoyed this lesson,

then please like it and share it with your friends.

Send it on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger,

whatever you use.

Okay, so while you're here why not watch another video

and learn more about the To Fluency Method?

And leave a comment below.

Don't forget to do that.

Okay, thank you for being here

and I'll speak to you soon, bye-bye.