Is it worth and useful to study in a language school?
When we talk about the topic of learning language, especially English, a question always comes to mind - Is it better to live in a foreign country for learning their language? Some students state they prefer to study foreign languages in their own country because the tuition fee is more affordable and in modern times it is easy to access resources about learning foreign languages without studying abroad such as cram school, the Internet, and other linguistic materials. However, proponents of learning a foreign language in a foreign country think if a person wants to improve a foreign language, living in a foreign country and studying in a language school will be the best choice because students can completely immerse in the all-encompassing foreign language environment. In the following, as a Taiwanese student who had ever studied English in Taiwan and Canada, I’ll take my experience of learning English for example and compare the pros and cons about learning English in both Taiwan and Canada.
cheaper tuition fee / stronger grammar, reading, and writing / easier to comprehend
communicate in Chinese / oral expression / English thinking / pronunciation
Learning English in Taiwan can easily improve your grammar, reading, and writing because some native speakers do not really understand the grammar rule, they may not exactly teach students in a more comprehensive way. But Taiwanese teachers can educate in Chinese and let students comprehend easily. In the writing aspect, Taiwanese teachers usually give students writing modules and formulation. Students just memorize the modules and follow the formulation step by step, then they can organize a good essay. Further, in order to improve student’s lexical range, Taiwanese teachers usually give students a list of vocabulary every week, so students can advance their lexical range as well as improve their reading ability.
Moreover, the tuition fee for learning English in Taiwan is quite affordable. students usually learn English in a cram school 7.5 hours a week, and tuition fee only approximately $130NT dollars per hour ($5.55 CAD). However, studying English in a language school in Canada usually costs students $300 NT dollars per hour ($12.8 CAD).
Speaking / Listening / making foreign friends and learn different cultures / more courageous to speak English / oral expression / English thinking / pronunciation
costly tuition fee / sometimes can’t understand the meaning
To me, learning English in Canada can really improve my listening because I study in language school every day and teachers always educate me in English. So I get used to listening to English. Moreover, there is a rule in my language school, which is ENGLISH ONLY. All students in language school have to speak in English even though students may come from the same country they still have to communicate in English. If a student who does not follow the regulation, he/she will be punished or even be dropped out. Thus, I think I also improve my speak a little, especially pronunciation and oral expression.
Another advantage of learning English in language school is making foreign friends. In my class, students are from Taiwan, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Columbia, Switzerland, and Germany. So I can interact with them as well as understand their cultures. I think I can also train my English thinking by speaking with foreign friends because I sometimes cannot easily express or describe something in English. In that situation, I should change the way of English expression. This process can really help me to stop Chinese thinking.
Most importantly, I become more courageous to speak English. In Canada, I have to cope with many kinds of miscellaneous tasks in English such as official document, telephone bill. Hence, in my opinion, living or studying in a foreign country can cultivate the characteristic of bravery. I am more courageous to tackle many things or even speaking English.
Actually, before I studied in Canada, I had ever set a goal which is to take an IELTS test again. But when I got to Vancouver, I changed my mind because I realized speaking and pronunciation are more important ones that I have to struggle. So I spent more time practicing speaking and pronunciation in Vancouver.
I think it is worth and useful to study in a language school because I acquired a lot such as listening, speaking, pronunciation, and even knowing different cultures.
And you? Are you still wondering whether studying English in a language school is worth and useful? But before thinking about this point, I want you to ask yourself a question - how do you define worth and useful for learning English in a language school?
