We are language enthusiasts with a passion for learning and using foreign languages. Language for Living came about because, after years of searching for the right kind of language course for ourselves, we finally realised that they didn’t exist and decided to run them ourselves.

There are many valid reasons for learning a language. It may be needed so that commercial transactions can be conducted more effectively. It is far easier to sell a product when you speak the buyer’s language. Many people need competence in a foreign language to complete their CV and follow the career of their choice. Others simply want to be able to have some understanding of the conversation around them when they are on holiday. The common element in all these, is the desire to be able to communicate; the ability to use the language for living in a country.

When we learn a language, it is necessary to get to grips with its structure; to learn how the language fits together. We learn grammar, vocabulary, tenses, cases and all the other multiple things that allow us to form meaningful sentences. Eventually after a few years we begin to feel that we have mastered the basics. We can probably pick up a newspaper and make a fair stab at understanding most of the articles. Maybe we can watch a television programme with some degree of understanding.

At this point it is a familiar experience for us as language learners, to visit the country and be confronted by a situation where we are simply out of our depth. Maybe a supermarket check-out operator has asked us whether we have a loyalty card, but not recognising one tiny piece of vocabulary we are thrown into a state of panic and can only stand in blank incomprehension! The issue is confidence. A confident speaker will ask the checkout operator to explain, maybe defusing the situation by apologising for how stupid he is and saying something funny.

How can we achieve that level of confidence? It is not acquired by sitting in a classroom learning yet more verb forms and ever more subtle uses of the subjunctive! The only way to acquire the confidence to communicate is by using the language in real situations. Obviously the best way of doing this is to live in the country for an extended period but this clearly isn’t an option for most people. Next best, is a course of immersion learning.

That is what we provide on Language for Living events! We do not say that you will not learn any grammar on a Language for Living event, but that grammar learning will be directed at improving communication. We do not put anyone on a path to an examination and we don’t test the learning outcomes of the course. The sole aim of all the work during a Language for Living event is to improve the ability to communicate with native speakers.

The events consist of some classroom work, always with the intention of improving fluency and confidence in language production, and secondly in the longer duration events, of getting out into the real world and experiencing the culture of the country we are in, in the company of native speakers.

In short the events are solely directed at improving communication in the target language.