Learn Languages :: Yago

As a discerning learning wanting to sign up for a good quality language class, you are saddled with a chicken-and-egg problem. Schools generally will ask you to pay in full before joining the class, but only by participating in a language class for a while can you know how good the school’s teaching really is.

There is a couple of things you can do to try and assure that you are signing up with a good school:

Check whether the school is CaseTrust accredited. CASE is the Consumer Association of Singapore and it runs a program that accredits educational institutions. In principle it is not difficult for schools to be accredited, but when you sign up with a CaseTrust certified institution, at least you are assured that the school has taken the commitment to be audited, has passed the audit, and has proper procedures in place should you ever need to complain.

Call the school, or come down personally and ask questions. While it has its limits, there are some questions that you can ask before signing up:

• What is emphasized most on during the course (verbal or written language)
• What is the class size?
• What are the qualifications of the teacher?
• Which materials are use for teaching? Can you see them?

This doesn’t protect you from schools that ‘talk nice but don’t deliver’ but still helps you get a feel for whether the particular school and course you plan to sign up with will be a good fit for you. Most of all, it can raise a ‘red flag’ when the school doesn’t provide professional answers to you questions. So  I would say this method is rather a way to disqualify bad schools than a way to find the best school.

Ask your friends. It’s no wonder that the majority of learners actually find their school through friends. If you know someone that is already taking the course, you can get a candid and useful perspective on how the classes are really being taught. You’d be amazed by how many replies you may get by just posting a simple message on Facebook, saying that you’re looking for a suitable school to learn Mandarin / Japanese / German – or whatever you want to learn.

How we can help

To make it easier for you to find suitable language schools in Singapore, I have earlier posted the Singapore language school map which plots Singapore’s most important language schools on a map. That’ll help you to locate a language school that’s close to your home or work place.

Soon we will provide you with another option to get an idea of language school’s quality. We are currently working on bringing more language schools on to our main website and include the possibility to leave feedback. That way you’ll be able to find out from a broader group of people whether the school you are considering is actually going to offer you good teaching.