To assess your level and to make sure we place you in the most suitable class we have found the best way is to talk to you personally. We are always happy to meet you face to face (we are open from 10am to 8pm) or to talk on the phone.
We have found using standardised tests does not always give us a clear idea of the best class since they cannot take account of factors such as confidence, the reason for learning or passive knowledge gained for example by spending time in the country where the language is spoken.
If you have never studied the language before you need to go into a beginners class.
Beyond this the questions we will ask are:
Have you ever studied the language before?
Did you study at school?
Did you take or pass any formal exams in the language (GSCE, A level etc)
Are you confident speaking the language?
Have you lived in the country where the language is spoken?
Do you have any opportunity to regularly practise the language?
Why do you want to learn the language? (holiday, work, interest and so on)
In addition
If you want to join a Japanese class we will also ask you if you have learned Hiragana or Katakana and for more advanced students how many Kanji you know
And for a Chinese class how many characters you know
After we have spoken to you we will suggest a class and this is almost always at the right level. If it proves to be wrong we will be able to move you to a more appropriate class.
You are always welcome to take a trial lesson and see what happens in the classes or see how you might compare with the levels if you are not certain.
You can contact us on 02070793334 (between 10am and 8pm) or by email to Javier Zamudio, Head of Foreign languages javierz@uiclondon.com
