Category: Language learning

The Marlow Language Centre has collected tips from students and teachers and compiled these into a guide that will hopefully serve as a tool for you to implement some daily habits that can help you improve your language studies, which can be long and sometimes frustrating.

Most students often get discouraged and give up. We all know that practising our languages every day is essential and beneficial to all levels of language learners. In reality, we often fall into a routine of doing the same thing every day without even thinking about improving our language abilities. We are all busy but also have gaps in our schedules.
How to improve your language learning?


Listen to podcasts
Instead of watching silly videos or scrolling on social media, listen to language learning podcasts. Listening to podcasts in and about the target language can help to improve your listening skills as well as give you a better insight into grammatical aspects. While eating breakfast or doing the dishes, allow yourself time to listen to language lessons. Podcasts are a great learning tool because they have been specifically designed to make the learning process easier for you.
– BBC Sound Podcasts
– Google Podcasts
– Apple Podcasts

A few words will take you a long way!

At the Marlow Language Centre, we often hear from prospective students about the difficulties they’ve encountered trying to learn a foreign language via self-study methods. Language learning apps have their use but limitations as well. If you want to learn how to drive, you need to have an instructor. The same applies to learning a foreign language, especially to Business Language Courses. A trainer can prepare you for the real thing like communicating with native speakers and portraying the business culture. Ultimately, when you travel abroad on holiday or for business you want to make yourself understood and most importantly understand what the locals say to you.

It is so rewarding to have great feedback from our students and we would like to pay tribute to our German colleague Marion. Amar, one of her students, was particularly looking for an effective technique that enabled him to develop his linguistic skills through personalised training and interaction. He opted for 1:1 tuition and he has been coming to our centre for 6 months, twice a week to learn German. Marion, his teacher, splits each lesson by first teaching core grammatical concepts and then reinforcing these concepts with the use of the language in a business context.

You may recall your school years when everyone would study the same subject in mixed-ability classes. Unfortunately, everybody learns in different ways and one particular method of learning will not suit every student. Our teachers realise these differences and alter their teaching accordingly. They aim to break away from the traditional classroom experience and to make your lessons as personalised, enjoyable and comfortable as possible.

The popular assumption about learning a new skill is that when you are younger it comes very naturally. Although age should not be a barrier, as we grow older our brain takes longer to absorb and retain new information. However, neuroscientists have shown that it is extremely healthy and beneficial to learn a language at any point in your life. The most important thing is to work out what the best study methods are for you as an individual.

This statement is so meaningless! We can all make time for the things we like doing or want to do. And being committed and motivated to learn a language is your choice after all. Our courses are flexible and our lessons can be booked according to your daily routine.

Indeed, English is widely spoken in the world but it is not the only international language. Over 400 million people speak Spanish, not just in Europe but also in Latin America. Spanish is considered to be one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers. It is also a language spoken widely on the internet and in business.

French is also an international language, being an official language of organisations such as UNESCO, the United Nations, NATO and more. It is spoken in many European countries (France, Belgium, Switzerland), in Canada and in many North-African countries.

Chinese is also an official language of the United Nations. It is spoken by over 1 billion people i.e. one-fifth of the world’s total population.

Language learning apps will not enable you to speak your target language. Their true value is to develop your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. If you want to learn how to drive, you need to have an instructor. The same applies to learning a foreign language. Ultimately, when you travel abroad on holiday or for business purposes you want to make yourself understood and most importantly understand what the locals say to you. 

Think about the money that you may spend on other non-essential activities to entertain yourself. It will certainly cost you more than a language learning app but you will progress far more quickly. We offer very small groups so you can spread the cost but still learn efficiently and effectively.

Regrettably, this is wrong. The more students there are in the class, the less you will be able to speak. In private classes, you will have the opportunity to converse in the language that you are learning with your teacher who is a native speaker. The sounds and phrases you will hear are authentic!

Your school days may have put you off speaking a foreign language in front of your classmates. As an adult now you have made the decision to learn a language and attend a course. If you feel embarrassed about making mistakes in a group, you can have one-to-one tuition! The most important thing to remember is that practice makes perfect! 

Revision is an important part of the learning process so homework should not be seen as a negative process of language learning. On the contrary, it gives you the opportunity to practise what you have covered in class. Homework should help you learn. 

It is true that we all began to speak our native language without studying grammar by the time we were about two or three years old. As we grow older, unfortunately, this does not quite apply to learning another language as a total beginner. Grammar is a set of structural rules composed of words. If you want to communicate in a foreign language effectively, you will need to memorise basic words. You may not necessarily want to learn the grammatical terms such as verbs, prepositions and pronouns, but you will need to memorise these words, to hear and reproduce the different sounds they make if you want to communicate effectively in a foreign language. Basic knowledge of grammar will help you develop your vocabulary.

Learning a foreign language is a little like driving; you can study the grammar and vocabulary (or the highway code) telling you how to write (or understand road signs) for months, but nothing can prepare you for the real thing like communicating with native speakers (or getting behind the wheel).

At the MLC, we show you why language learning apps don’t work when it comes to expressing yourself effectively in your target language. Their true value is to reinforce your existing knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. If you want to learn how to drive, you need to have an instructor. The same applies to learning a foreign language. Ultimately, when you travel abroad on holiday or for business you want to make yourself understood and most importantly understand what the locals say to you.

WHAT IS OUR METHOD?

How proficient are you in a foreign language? The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) offers a handy measure.

The CEFR operates a scale of 1 to 6: proficiency levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.

• Level group A = basic user – divided into A1 (lower) and A2 (upper)
• Level group B = independent user – divided into B1 (lower) and B2 (upper)
• Level group C = proficient user – divided into C1 (lower) and C2 (upper)