What makes a good language school?

A good language school has a decent website. What does ‘decent’ mean? ‘Decent’ means that it should have a logo and a slogan. It should use a consistent colour scheme and font, and the information should be presented comprehensively.

A good language school always includes a legal notice on its website. Why? In Germany, there is what is known as the ‘legal notice requirement’. This is enshrined in law. This means that all commercial providers must include a legal notice on their website. This is also known as ‘provider identification’. It contains the company’s name, address, contact details, managing directors and other legal information.

A good language school must be contactable via all the contact methods it provides. As a rule, the following contact methods should be available: a contact form, a telephone number and an email address. Language schools often also have additional social media channels through which they can be contacted.

Bear in mind: if you contact a language school and receive no reply, or if there is no way at all to get in touch with them, this may be a sign that the provider is not reputable. Why? The language school naturally wants you to book language courses with them, or to be able to get in touch should any issues arise whilst you are attending a course. That is why the language school should be available to answer questions or handle any complaints. Furthermore, the fact that the language school can be contacted also gives the impression that it actually exists and is not just an online website.

To obtain a telc licence, a language school must meet certain conditions. This licence is necessary because the language certificate is an official document and the administration of the examination must also comply with certain requirements. The conditions for obtaining a licence include, amongst other things, an extract from the commercial register proving that the language school is a legally registered company; the language school must have been offering face-to-face language courses for at least one year; and the language school must meet certain requirements regarding premises, technical facilities and staffing. This means that the language school’s integrity and quality have already been assessed by an external body.

To find a good language school, you should look for reviews online: both on the language school’s own website and on independent review sites. Well-known, independent and reputable review sites include Google Reviews and Trustpilot. Make sure there are both positive and negative reviews, and check whether the language school responds to them.

A good language school should list all its costs transparently. This is the only way you can decide whether you can afford the language course. Hidden charges are always a sign of an untrustworthy provider.

A good language school should offer flexible course formats. What are flexible course formats? These are different types of courses: face-to-face courses, online courses, intensive courses, one-to-one courses and evening courses. This gives you the widest possible choice and allows you to choose a language course that best suits your daily routine.

• Face-to-face courses: The language course takes place in the traditional face-to-face format.
• Online course: An online course is a language course that takes place partly or entirely online. You can therefore take part in an online course from anywhere.
• Intensive course: In an intensive course, many sessions take place within a very short period of time, so that you can reach your desired language level more quickly or plan your time more effectively if you’re pressed for time.
• One-to-one course: One-to-one courses are private lessons. This means you are taught one-to-one by a teacher. If you enrol on a one-to-one course, everything is tailored to you and your individual learning goals.
• Evening course: The evening course takes place in the evenings. Consequently, an evening course is particularly suitable for working people. With an evening course, you can perfectly balance your working life with learning German.

Bear in mind: Does the language school offer a language course that fits in well with my everyday life?

The training of the teaching staff is a key indicator of a good language school. You should therefore pay close attention to the qualifications stated for the teachers: Is the teacher a native speaker? Are they perhaps studying the language in question, or are they even a qualified teacher or university lecturer?

Why is the teachers’ training important? Trained teachers and lecturers possess considerable pedagogical expertise, as they have been specifically trained to teach. This means they are experts in their field who can impart knowledge and are familiar with specialised methods to explain grammar to you as effectively as possible and provide targeted support when you encounter difficulties.

Bear in mind: the better the teachers’ training, the better the language school. If you can’t find any information about the teachers at all, that’s usually a bad sign.

Language courses at a good language school should all be targeted and well-structured. Each language course should prepare you for a specific language level in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. If this information is not provided, it is usually a sign of an unreliable provider, with whom you would be better off not booking a language course.

A good language school should offer you at least one free taster lesson. This is the only way you can get a feel for the course content, how the course is structured and the quality of the course.