When you sign up for a language course, what you are likely to get is the following scenario. You are given a placement test, to assess your level, not against a standard level such as that produced by the Council of Europe (Common European Framework for Languages), but against the other learners in the school at the same time. This is in order to group similar-levelled learners in one group, irrespective of different wants, needs and learning styles. Having an intimate knowledge as to how language schools work, this process is adhered to in order to be able to employ less trainers, have fewer groups (i.e. rooms) and thus maximize on profit.
After your level (read group) is determined, you are ushered to join your group. Depending on which school you have chosen, you may be given a course book to follow, a pack of notes (which are a collection of different tasks from various books) or just the photocopy of the paper that you need for that particular session.
What I have described is an everyday occurrence in hundreds of language schools around the globe. After a while in the business, we tend to lose sight of the learner as an individual, but see them as numbers that we need to cater for, to keep them happy and ensure that they feel they have learned something.
However my question has always been the following: if we, as individuals, are so different from one another, how can we possibly find common ground with a group of strangers, based solely on the fact that we all want to improve/practise our English? At Elite Learning we really take this to heart. We never lose sight of the individual. Each learner is unique in their experience and needs. All our materials, although taken also from course books and resource books (carefully chosen with the particular learner in mind), are supplemented with authentic texts which are relevant to and stem from the everyday lives of our learners.
We are here to help people fulfil their linguistic potential. In order to do this, we must find out a learner’s true level (according the CEF, by means of our online pre-course assessment), a learner’s needs and wants, together with their learning style – what will work for this individual? Once this process is completed, the next step would be to find a trainer whose experience and teaching style fits the learner. This last point is very important. Although all our trainers are very highly qualified, they all have varying areas of expertise and their characters are all (naturally) different; this is to be considered when pairing a learner with a trainer.
So it has always been Elite Learning’s policy to offer tailor-made courses – that is courses that are built specifically with a particular learner in mind. We also promise a personalised service, meaning that we see each learner as a complex individual with needs and wants that are different from anyone else’s and we see it as our task to see to those needs, in order for success in the task at hand – that is focusing on English.
When learning English with Elite Learning you can rest assured that nothing is too much trouble, and we will do all that is in our power to make you feel at home – your only task will be to focus on improving your linguistic skills in a way that will ensure that you get the most out of your time (and money). If you are looking for language training specifically designed for you, then look no further. Contact Elite Learning!