How to find the perfect language course

Learning with Joy

A great teacher

Learn a new language!

We all remember the time we spent at school and I am convinced that we all have a favorite teacher in our hearts. A long time ago, as a young, eager student, we might all have said that a great teacher is someone who provides entertainment in the classroom and does very little homework. After many years of experience as a primary school teacher and hundreds of hours of language teaching for adults, I can say that my perspective has changed. And my current position gives me the opportunity to convey what I have learned with current and future teachers about what it means to be a great teacher.
Teaching is hard work and some teachers never grow to be anything better than mediocre. They do the bare minimum required and very little more. The great teachers, however, work tirelessly to create a challenging, nurturing environment for their students. Great teaching seems to have less to do with our knowledge and skills than with our attitude toward our students, our subject, and our work. Although this list is certainly not all-inclusive, I have narrowed down the many characteristics of a great teacher to those I have found to be the most essential, regardless of the age of the learner:

1. A great teacher respects students. In a great teacher’s classroom, each person’s ideas and opinions are valued. Students feel safe to express their feelings and learn to respect and listen to others. This teacher creates a welcoming learning environment for all students.

2. A great teacher creates a sense of community and belonging in the classroom. The mutual respect in this teacher’s classroom provides a supportive, collaborative environment. In this small community, there are rules to follow and jobs to be done and each student is aware that he or she is an important, integral part of the group. A great teacher lets students know that they can depend not only on her, but also on the entire class. This teacher shows that teamwork is very important and faster than doing everything alone. Plus when the students have learned the concept of teamwork, there will most likely be no bullying.

3. A great teacher is warm, accessible, enthusiastic and caring. This person is approachable, not only to students, but to everyone on campus. This is the teacher to whom students know they can go with any problems or concerns or even to share a funny story. He tries to be a person who you can trust, he knows every single student as an individual. Great teachers possess good listening skills and take time out of their way-too-busy schedules for anyone who needs them. If this teacher is having a bad day, no one ever knows—the teacher leaves personal baggage outside the school doors.

4. A great teacher sets high expectations for all students. This teacher realizes that the expectations she has for her students greatly affect their achievement; she knows that students generally give to teachers as much or as little as is expected of them. In classes with these kind of teachers, there are no students that are no students that are either under challenged or overwhelmed.

5. A great teacher has his own love of learning and inspires students with his passion for education and for the course material. He constantly renews himself as a professional on his quest to provide students with the highest quality of education possible. This teacher has no fear of learning new teaching strategies or incorporating new technologies into lessons, and always seems to be the one who is willing to share what he’s learned with colleagues.

6. A great teacher is a skilled leader. Different from administrative leaders, effective teachers focus on shared decision-making and teamwork, as well as on community building. This great teacher conveys this sense of leadership to students by providing opportunities for each of them to assume leadership roles. And if the teacher is the leader, everybody respects and obeys him, so there will not be any students that don't listen to him and do whatever they like.

7. A great teacher can “shift-gears” and is flexible when a lesson isn’t working. This teacher assesses his teaching throughout the lessons and finds new ways to present material to make sure that every student understands the key concepts. Also when the class sees very different perspectives of the same thing, you will find it more interesting.

8. A great teacher collaborates with colleagues on an ongoing basis. Rather than thinking of herself as weak because she asks for suggestions or help, this teacher views collaboration as a way to learn from a fellow professional. A great teacher uses constructive criticism and advice as an opportunity to grow as an educator. He always does the best, he can.

9. A great teacher maintains professionalism in all areas—from personal appearance to organizational skills and preparedness for each day. Her communication skills are exemplary, whether she is speaking with an administrator, one of her students or a colleague. The respect that the great teacher receives because of her professional manner is obvious to those around her.

While teaching is a gift that comes quite naturally for some, others have to work overtime to achieve great teacher status. Yet the pay-off is enormous — for both you and your students. Imagine students thinking of you when they remember that great teacher they had!

This strikes me as a list of necessary but not sufficient conditions for being a great teacher. What makes a teacher great is reaching to present difficult content, ideas, debates, issues in a lucid, compelling way, time after time. A great teacher works hard to prepare, to think freshly about the material he's teaching, and to find current examples that will grab her students' interest. A great teacher makes the classroom magic happen, regularly. She or he elicits her students' best efforts and engages their minds, so that they leave class still alive with ideas and comments, and they talk about what went on in class with their friends, room-mates, family when they get home too.


A teacher is human and one of the best role modelling strategies we can impart on our students is to learn from our mistakes. If you, as a great teacher, are wrong - 'fess up and fix it! We expect nothing less from our students. I think this is a subset of high expectations and accountability, yes? And nobody is perfect, so we can always get better by learning from our mistakes.

A proven way to learn your new language without struggling!

It's never too late to learn a new language

When is it too late to learn a new language?

Many of my readers write that they are afraid being too old to learn a new language. And I can understand this fear, at some point everything has become routine and you do not have the habit of learning anything anymore.

The first good news: learning can be learned.

And here are some more things I've noticed over the years :

There is not the perfect age to learn a new language

Adults and language learning fits

At worst, language education at school looks like this:

Overcrowded classrooms, many written exercises, sometimes mechanical conversational drills, little or badly educated teacher with little to no experience, courses once a week, which is far too little to be efficient ...

Nevertheless, some students may still be able to pack their "language suitcases" full of grammar, important verbs and vocabulary under these circumstances.

The other students will often say that they have always been bad at languages anyway, until the end of their lives. What a pity!

Although there may be one or the other more appropriate time to learn languages, one thing is true:

There is no age limit to learn a new language! That means: It is never too late.

So if you're wondering you may be too old to learn Luxembourgish, German or French, the answer is: NO, you're never too old to learn Luxembourgish, German or French as your new language!

If you are ready to learn Luxembourgish, German or French, or any other new language then nothing stands in your way!

There is not THE perfect age to learn a new language.

It is very often wrongly believed that learning a foreign language has to be done at a young age so that you can speak fluently and without accentuation.

That is not quite true. Nothing prevents adults from learning new foreign languages - provided they use the right methods.

Practical tips to learn a language as an adult

When you learn a foreign language from early age, the brain distinguishes the mother tongue and the second language right from the beginning. Distinguishing languages one from the other does not change the fact that both languages can be spoken fluently!

Unfortunately, simply memorizing lists strengthen word power or conjugation tables will not take you one step further if you want to be ready to eventually speak fluent Luxembourgish, German or French as your new language.

To speak and to use a language it is absolutely indispensable to use it. Nothing works without language practice, as well as you may know by heart the irregular verbs or any other grammar rule.

Because otherwise it takes much longer to really speak Luxembourgish or French.

But it does not always have to be dry grammar. You can read books that are on your level of skills in that language, and you can watch TV-shows with the subtitles or where they speak the language you're learning. You definitely should assure that the Material fits your respective level. But really make sure that you do it on your level, you could otherwise get very fustrated or annoyed.

However, every once in a while a little "homework" has to be, in order to consolidate the corresponding automatism in grammar and conjugation.

Finally, you should work on your accent, so that more and more disappears.

In any case, it has nothing to do with your age, 
whether you speak successfully Luxembourgish or French, 
but rather with your motivation and your personal commitment.

A proven way to learn your new language withaout struggling!

How to properly choose your language course

The 10 steps of choosing your language course

You always wanted to learn a new language? Searched the Internet for offers and looked through leaflets. You may have already have attended a beginner's course and now you want to take the next step to finally develop your competences in Luxembourgish, German or French. This all takes a lot of time and sometimes feels overhelming. So take a deep breath, you are not alone.
A lot of people have been there and done that. And so am I. To help you go further, here are 10 steps of choosing the language course fitting your needs best.

Communication

Make sure that you can communicate with your new language school in your new language school in your mother tongue, or at least in a language that allows you to clearly express your wishes and needs. Optimal preparation is an important step in reaching the best-possible result.

Preparation

You already possess some language skills or basic vocabulary, that you wish to improve? Then the first step should be an assessment of your language skills. Make sure that this will be done with the necessary care. The assessment test should include a written and an oral part. This is your guarantee for a great start to learning or improving your language

Sustainable Learning

Two things are certain: there is no perfect method of learning, and learning a new language takes both time and patience. The school you choose should be using a specific pedagogical method, that is continually adapted to the client's needs.

Trust your gut feeling: How is the initial contact? Is it right? Are your individual wishes considered? Don't rush into a course you are not sure about.

Balance

The smaller the groups, the faster you will reach your educational goals and the more your effort will be rewarded. It is also an advantage to learn the new language with other students from the same linguistic background.

To find the right group, you could ask the following questions: how big is the group? Who are my fellow students? Will other students be joining the group later on? What happens if the group does not develop gradually?
And if you don't have any doubts, you found the group that suits you the best.

The road map

Make sure that you receive a clear description of the competences that will be reached in your course. Since 2001, language courses are determined by the Common European Frame of Reference. This document, published by the European Council, describes the skills and competences of a foreign language in six levels – A1/A2/B1/B2/C1/C2 – and is your reference when learning a foreign language.

The Compass

In order to always find your way and be able to practice at home as well as in the course, you should have a range of learning material at your disposal. You should be able to keep the contact to your new language even on holiday or on a business trip. If you don't go to the course for over 2 weeks without your own practice, you will forget a lot of things and have difficulties going back again.

Support

Constantly changing teachers are not the best prerequisite for long-lasting and successful learning. If the same teacher supports you for as long as possible, nothing will stand in the way of your success.

Evaluations along the way

At the end of each course module, you will receive a detailed description of the competences you have attained. This way, you will always know which level you are at, and can continually develop and adapt your language skills. It is very important to speak the language your learning, so find a group that will let you do that. Otherwise you will need to do that on your own. 

The Price is right

Be sure that the course fee does not contain any hidden costs. Nothing is more aggravating than realizing too late that the course is more expensive than initially planned. But beware: a cheap language course can cost you a lot. Currently there are many courses at very low prices on the market. You may find yourself in classes with 20 to 25 other learners supervised by an inexperienced teacher. It is clear that under such conditions it will be very difficult for you to build the lasting and solid foundations of your new language. What you seem to be saving from the attractive entry price you may pay in time as it will take you longer to reach your educational goal. Also, you will save money by finding a class close to your home.

Comfort

You learn best when you are undisturbed. Your language school should be situated in a quiet and convenient location. For your comfort, the classrooms should be sound insulated and comfortably furnished.




A proven way to learn your new language without struggling!