The Marlow Language Centre
This year, support a local business and gift your friends and family a language-learning experience. Our Christmas Gift Vouchers are available for both private and group classes online or at our centre in the heart of Marlow.
Are you looking into learning a Foreign Language this Autumn? Look no more! Come and learn a new language at the Marlow Language Centre!
Our Autumn Groups are now live on our website! Give us a call or drop us an email and we’ll sign you up for the trial session!
As one of the most visited countries in the world, France is a great choice of place to visit (and to retire in). It’s known for its amazing wines, food, and great sense of fashion but there is so much more to explore and learn about France. Whether you’re planning your next trip to France or buying a property, there are many things that you must bear in mind when travelling to the country of love or wine, depending on who you’re asking. We asked one of our native French-speaking teachers for advice on what you must know if you’re planning a trip to France. Here are their tips:
There is a common belief that language learning becomes impossible with age due to brain plasticity decreasing in the later years. In other words, adults learn slower.
However, if you look further into the subject you will find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Adult learners have strong advantages over children that put them in an excellent position to speak another language
Firstly, you already speak your mother tongue well in comparison to a child. In your adult life, you have encountered complex texts and have had to express yourself to a much higher standard. You have a better understanding of reading, speaking and understanding. This would serve as a foundation on which you can compare a foreign language to. When you learn a new word you would already know the English equivalent and when and where to use it. This prior knowledge means you are building your language rather than a first-time discovery.
If you want to learn how to drive, you need to have an instructor. The same applies to learning a foreign language.
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). To speak or not to speak a foreign language? It is entirely up to you!
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.
Unlike language learning app, the MLC specialists will make you speak as much as you possibly can and advise you of the best ways to make progress.
During your free of charge 30 minutes’ introduction lesson, you will have the opportunity to tell your trainer why you wish to learn your target language. Unlike language learning apps the MLC specialists will advise you of the best ways to study and make progress whilst following their effective technique that encourages motivation and enables you to develop your linguistic skills through personalised training and interaction.
Both Jean Michel and Brook are participating in Networking groups and events such as Reccobiz. This is an interesting interview between Jean Michel and Camilla, the co-founder of Reccobiz:
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
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.
As an existing client, you can get free lessons! Recommend us to a friend, colleague, family member or someone interested in learning a foreign language or in need of English language training and get rewarded.
Whether you are stuck for Christmas gift ideas, want to support a local small business or would like to give someone something a little different this year, our Gift Vouchers are the perfect choice this Christmas.
Vouchers are available for private and group tuition and can be taken face-to-face or online.
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.
The past two years have not been easy for students. Disruption to school life and an extended period of online learning has undoubtedly presented challenges for many students but we’re continuing to work hard reassuring and building the confidence of future GCSE and A-level candidates.
We offer bespoke coaching courses (1-to-1 or in groups) for students preparing for GCSE or A-level foreign language examinations in various languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian and others.
Below you’ll find some useful info about the courses and options on offer.
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.
Learning a language like Italian can be a bit more complicated than just reading a book…
Learning a language like French can be a bit more complicated than just reading a book…
Find our Health and Safety measures keeping you, the teachers and all other staff save when learning a language stated below.
Tough times for us all and we’re counting on your support now more than ever!
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.
In addition to our wide variety of bespoke private courses here at the Marlow Language Centre we also operate regular mini-group classes. Some students prefer to take tuition in a group format rather than one-to-one; there are many benefits to both kinds of tuition, and learning with other people presents a different style of language learning to private tuition. Here are our top five reasons why our group classes are so popular:
