You want to go on an adventure but aren’t the most adventurous person on the planet? You like things to have a reason and a purpose? Choosing a General English course in an English-speaking country was the best decision you could have made.
Now, some people might suggest that learning a language by immersing oneself fully into that language environment is the best way. Of course, this might apply to some people but not to everyone.
Some people on the other hand, prefer guidance and structure in a new, unknown environment. And this is exactly where General English courses come in.
Enrolling into a GE course means much more than just learning grammar and new vocabulary.
When you arrive at your school, the staff will evaluate your skills and place you in the correct level. This will ensure that you are not overwhelmed with grammar concepts which are too hard for you and might frustrate you. Evaluating yourself is not a good idea as we tend to over- or underestimate ourselves.
The school and the class, in particular, are the first point of reference when meeting new people. Your classmates and the staff become more than just people you see every day- they form your community. This wonderful community provides much needed support- academically and personally! If you have troubles finding a job or a flat, people here can and want to help you! After all, if you are happy and not stressed, the learning process will be much more efficient and you will be able to 100% focus on your studies.
Once you have become friends with all your classmates, study groups will be formed and you can discuss any problems you have amongst each other. This will also help you to strengthen your understanding of the topics and grammar concepts. Also you want to share and spread the knowledge that you have acquired (to show off a little bit, too).
Having a qualified teacher also means that he or she will be able to exactly tell you which areas you need to work on. The classroom delivery is one part of being a teacher, the other part is to support and help your students. The gained experience of the teachers will aide in improving small issues which you might not be aware of. They also know which approach to take when trying to ‘tackle’ individual problems as students all learn in a different way and at a different pace. Therefore, the teacher can choose from a wide range of resources to select the best suited material.
This leads to the next advantage of GE courses. The teachers can provide a more structured learning environment. They know when to teach what and how to connect the already taught concepts. When you study by yourself, you might not know what to study at what time or how to connect and use the knowledge. This is the teacher’s job.
Imagine the following situation: You have been in Australia for 2 weeks and have found a job. At the end of one shift, a colleague tells you that you should quickly wrap up here and then you are free to go. Wrap up? You think: oh my. What does he want? Wrapping presents? For my boss? Where are they or do I need to buy some?
Well, this the perfect example where a GE course can help you so that you are prepared for a scenario like this. In our English classes, we cover the wonderful phrasal verbs, idioms and colloquialisms that might throw you off at first. Whenever you have a question, there is always somebody there to support and help you.
Here at Explore English, we like to call us and our wonderful students the Explore English Family. If you would like to experience the advantages of our ‘family’ learning environment, get in touch with one of our marketing staff. They would love to welcome you into our family!
