The right class for you

Students learn languages best by total immersion in small-group conversational contexts. At SLS we aim to place students in the most suitable class for their needs.

Assessment - needs & ability

At the outset of the course all students are assessed in order to ascertain their language level and personal needs. This is initially by a short assessment interview with our Director, and, if necessary, a written assessment test.

Following assessment we will have a clear idea of each student's abilities, individual needs and particular problems. They will then be placed in a small teaching group appropriate to their needs.

Class grouping. Small, Specific, Effective.

Business clients normally have two areas of need with their language learning: General English, and job-specific Business vocabulary. Hence, groups will be arranged according to two criteria:

Language level.

Students need to feel comfortable in their learning environment and thus confident to express themselves in front of their peers and their teacher. Our classes are held in small groups of students of a similar language level, with a maximum of 10 students per group. This allows maximum individual attention whilst allowing students to feel able to express themselves in English without fear of embarrassment.

It also ensures that more able students need not wait for others, and that lesson topics and level can be tailored to participants. Larger, more general classes of mixed levels serve only to hold back more advanced students and intimidate the less advanced, and are generally not an effective use of participants' time.

Business speciality.
Somerset Language Services tailor courses specifically to your needs.

We have extensive experience of both General and Business English teaching, and can, depending on class size and the needs of participants, often tailor classes to cover such specific topics as General Management, Marketing, Information Technology, Public Relations - in fact all the areas in which your workers are already specialists.

It is our aim to equip your workers with both effective communication skills and vocabulary specific to their area of expertise. Where tailored lessons are impractical, regular business English seminars can add language value.