First Time Students to the UK

When we first started out at LSSE in Leicester Square in 1992 we were all very young and conquering the world was as easy as waking up.

We were very enthusiastic about teaching and making the world a better place through communication. In those days the country was in the grip of a recession as it is now, but that really didn’t bother us that much.

We were learning about how to not only run a business but run a rather unique one in that we were in a very special service industry. The EFL market is what is know as a hidden import, it gets very little press and is not know as a major currency earner for the UK but is is. At any one time there is estimated to be over 1 billion students learning English somewhere in the world, this is from the British Council web site, they also say that it brings a revenue of over 1 billion pounds sterling per year, that is no mean feat.

However, in 1992 we were not really thinking about this we were enjoying the cut and thrust of building an English Language School and trying our level best to get into the British Council which takes two years of hard struggle.

We have learnt over the years that your school must be student centered, you must have a good system in place to look after the students especially when they arrive in the UK.

You really have to look at what you are doing as it is so easy to forget that we have lived in London now for nearly 20 years and the streets and sights are very normal. However, a new student entering the country with very little language needs a proper support system in place to ensure they have a smooth entry into their new chosen life.

The first couple of weeks for any student are very difficult we have ignored this in the past to our cost, now we pay serious attention to the first few weeks of a students time with us to ensure they have a trouble free entry into the new world of EFL. We have found over the years that if you look after your students and ensure they have as happy a time as possible in their new environment they will learn at a far greater pace than if they are left alone.

Learning a new language is all very good but if the student is unhappy or under stress due to their new surroundings this can cause a considerable amount of stress and lead to either an early course termination or them loosing the desire to learn the language and so spoiling the whole experience for them.

We believe that learning is a life long process that needs to be nutured and have found that the most important thing about an English language course is not the English language course but the whole package, especially the accommodation if the language course is the best in the world but the environment the student is put into is not conducive to that student then it can all go down hill very rapidly.

Leicester Square School of English
EFL School in Central London UK