If you want to sign up for a quality language class, you face a chicken-and-egg problem. Schools often require you to pay in full before joining the class szkola-koliber.pl, while you can only find out the quality after you have joined.

In this article I offer 4 methods to help assuring you are signing up with a good school.

Method 1: Check if the language school is accredited

There are numerous accreditations for language schools worldwide and they vary by country and by languages taught. It is really beyond the scope of this article to cover all of them, but accreditations by government associated institutions are generally a good sign.

Most major countries have a cultural institute to stimulate the learning of their language abroad, for example: the British Council for English, the Goethe institute for German, Instituto Cervantes for Spanish, Alliance Francaise for French and Confucius institute for Mandarin Chinese. Besides that, language schools can be accredited by the Ministry of Education of the country in which they are based.

Accreditations by associations of language schools are also a good sign, but do find out who is behind the association, because some associations are more established than others.

An accreditation is not a 100% guarantee that nothing can go wrong at your selected language school. But should anything go wrong, it at least gives you the option to raise the matter to the accrediting organization, which gives you a way to pressure the school to resolve your problem or refund your fees. If the school is not accredited, you have nowhere to escalate your concerns to.

Method 2: Call the language school and ask questions

Another way to ensure you are signing up for a good language course is to call or e-mail the school and ask questions. Here are some questions you can ask:

  • What is emphasized most during the course (verbal or written language, everyday or business usage)
  • What is the class size?
  • What are the qualifications of the teachers?
  • Which materials are used for teaching? Can you see them?
  • What is the school’s teaching philosophy?

Obviously, there may be schools that answer these questions impeccably, but do not deliver on their promises later on. Still, asking questions helps you get a feel for whether the particular school and course will be a good fit for you. Most of all, it can raise a “red flag” when the school does not provide professional answers to your questions. So this method is better suited for disqualifying bad schools than as a way to find the best language school.

Method 3: Ask others’ opinions

The majority of learners find their language school through friends’ recommendations. If you know someone that is already taking the course, you can get a candid and useful perspective on what it is really like to study at the school.

Method 4: Do an online background check

People are discussing about language courses online. So Google your school and see what others are saying about it in discussion forums and dedicated websites. Do take into account that if there are a lot of comments, there are bound to be some negative ones even for the best schools. People are simply more likely to share their views when they are upset. But if these negatives are the common thread for a certain language school, you better avoid it.