Which is better – a big school or a small one?
We must be honest here. Our school – Severnvale – is a small one, and we strongly believe that is best. But people’s needs are different, and some prefer big schools.
The advantages of a big school are very obvious: you have more of many important things – more courses to choose from, more teachers with specialisms to offer, more students to choose friends from, more facilities (bar, cafeteria, maybe even a cinema…), more equipment (computers, videos…), more books, cassettes and CDRoms, and (often, but not always) more specially prepared materials for learning. But note that a few big schools prefer to spend their money on making their courses cheaper rather than spending on extra equipment and facilities. (See Question 13)
With a small school one advantage is very clear: there will not be so many students of your nationality and/or language, speaking your language outside the classroom – in breaks, etc. – and it is easier for the school’s teachers to put pressure on students to speak English all the time.
Other advantages of small schools are not quite so clear to state, because they are more personal, but they are very real. It is much easier to know where you are and what you should do. You don’t have a long period at the beginning of your course where you feel strange and alone, because people – teachers and other staff and specially the other students – are friendly from the beginning. And after you have been there only a short time you find that you know all the teachers and many of the students. You know which person (teacher) is the best to ask for help on a particular problem.
Most of all, a small school can provide the relaxed and friendly atmosphere in which you feel more confident, and which we therefore think is such a basic condition for good progress in language learning (see Question 2).
Click on a question to go straight to the answer:
1. Why learn English?
2. What is the best way to learn English?
3. So how do I find the best way of learning English for me?
4. How can I describe my level of English now?
5. Does my native ( = first) language make any difference?
6. How long will it take me to learn English?
7. Is it necessary to go to an English-speaking country?
8. Which English-speaking country is the best to learn in?
9. What kind of place is it best to study in – city or countryside?
10. What kind of accommodation is best?
11. Which is better – a big school or a small one?
12. Do small classes matter?
13. How can I compare one English language school with another?
14. Do I need to study grammar?
15. How do I learn enough words?
16. Which is the best dictionary to get?
17. How important is pronunciation?
18. What about exams?
19. If I need to use English for my work, should I study Business English?
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