If you stumbled upon this post, you’re are probably considering to study English in Dublin.
First of all, good choice! Ireland’s capital is absolutely the best option for you to learn English and have some serious fun at the same time. And we’re not only referring to Guiness and Irish Whiskey. Dublin is a charming city that is becoming increasingly popular among students from all over the world. If you need some more convincing, here’s a list of valid reasons why you should spend your summer in Dublin.
According to a recent research, more than 100,000 international students flow into Dublin every year to attend one of the many language schools that populate the city centre. With so much choice and so much competition, how can you pick the best English language school in Dublin? If you have a couple of minutes, read on the few tips we have pulled together to ease up your life.
Find The Best English Course In Dublin
The first question you should pose yourself before even starting a query on Google is what are you trying to achieve? Would you like to improve your General English or your Business English? Are you wondering how to pass IELTS certification or a First Certificate?
Cambridge English Exam
According to your final goal, you might want to consider different organizations. For instance, if you want to pass the Cambridge Exam, The English Academy School of English could be the best option because it’s the only official Cambridge Examination Centre in Dublin and they will prepare you exactly for that purpose.
In case you are about to step into working life and you’re in need to master some Business English to get a better job, you probably want to go for the Business English courses at Dublin City University, which will prepare you for the international business environment.
Whether you just want to improve your General English, you desperately desire to find out if leprechauns really exist or you want to challenge a Dubliner at Jameson’s shots, you should consider all the aspects listed below.
Choose An ACELS Accredited School
The first thing you should look for when visiting an English language centre website is the ACELS certification: “Recognised by ACELS, a service of Quality and Qualifications Ireland, for English language teaching (ELT).”
ACELS (Accreditation and Coordination of English Language Services) is the national body created by the Irish Department of Education & Science in charge of inspecting the qualitative standards offered by the institutes teaching English on Irish soil.
If a school has not been accredited by ACELS, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not up to its task, but the certification released could not be officially recognized and the teachers could not be mother tongue. Thus, if you want to be sure to invest your money on something valuable, it’s preferable to attend an accredited institute. You can find the updated list of recognized schools right here.
Quality Of Teaching Vs Price Of The Course
The only way to find the best value for money for your summer English course is to create an excel file and patiently compare price, services and training offered by each school. A long and tedious job that we have spared you the effort of doing. Because the love is real.
Delfin Language School, situated in Dublin City Centre, is a pretty big institute, with over ten years of teaching history. It offers a few free afternoon activities and paid weekend excursions. The price of a 4 week English Course of 60 hours is €456 for morning classes and €364 for afternoon classes.
Everest Language School is a new, small training centre proving high teaching standards and focusing on small classes to provide help and attention to every student. A four week course costs €620 (for a total of 80 hours) in the morning and €360 (60 hours) in the afternoon.
Located in a very posh area, Atlas Language School offers excellent teachers and facilities and a comprehensive and fun social program. However, the prices are, consequently, a bit higher. The most basic English course costs €250 / week for a total of 60 hours.
ULearn english School is one of Dublin’s historic English training centres. It has really good ratings on Google and it has a good nationality mix, meaning that you won’t risk to find yourself alone with 10 Germans or 15 Brazilians and feel like you’re the last of the Mohicans. The price for a weekly 15 hour course is €150 in the morning and €120 in the afternoon.
On our humble opinion, these are the top English training centres you can find in Dublin. Before you make your decision, remember our unwise but sincere words: cheap does not always mean poor quality. You could pick the cheapest English course and find amazing staff, professional teachers and unlimited free snacks. However, let’s be honest. You usually get what you paid for.
Think it this way. There are hundreds of inexpensive spreadable chocolate jars in the world, but there’s only one capable of elevating your soul to tastebuds paradise. Nutella. The question is, does your palate deserve this sublimation of taste? Do you deserve a better English training program? We think you do and we suggest you to go for the course that will help you meet the goals you wanted to achieve by the end of your stay.
Short-Term Summer Accommodation In Dublin
Let’s touch this raw nerve and tackle the problem once and for all. Summer Accommodation in Ireland is competitive. We don’t want to bring you down, but make sure you know how to face the intergalactical accommodation monster.
There are three simple ways to defeat this atrocious beast. First, you need a formidable weapon. Our article on how to find an affordable accommodation in Dublin could be your laser sword. Second, you might use a Jedi’s help: our tips on how to get a job in Dublin could reveal to be your Luke Skywalker. Third, you might want a spaceship. Hazelwood Student Village is an inexpensive, high-quality accommodation located in Dublin 9 offering short-term summer accommodation at affordable price.
Now that you have all the equipment set, you’re ready to start this new adventure. Don’t let fear of the unknown be a deterrent. Keep straight in your head what you want to achieve and strive to get there. If it’s learning English that you want, row in that direction. Watching TV series and playing on Duolingo are good habits, but they won’t get you very far. The most effective way to learn a foreign language is to practice it. You can study as much as you want, but languages were born to be spoken and speak you must.
I highly recommend the best English courses offered by this Spoken English Institute. The classes are interactive and engaging, making learning English a fun and enriching experience.