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The Importance of Language Schools

Language schools are an important part of an au pairs experience of living in the UK.

There are many reasons why people want to come to the UK to be an au pair, but virtually all au pairs share one common goal, to improve their language skills and to meet new friends.. Au pairs come with varying levels of English language ability, some are fluent, some intermediate. However, whatever their language level, attending a language school whilst in the UK can bring with it many benefits for both the au pair and also the family.

When an au pair joins a family, part of the settling in process is for them to meet other people of the same age and interests. We must remember that they are young people who like to get out and about on their days off, whether it is meeting up with a friend for a coffee, visiting UK attractions or going shopping. All of these things are far better experienced with friends and so it is very important that they start to make friends outside of the family as soon as possible.

At Spoonsful of Sugar, we endeavour to put au pairs in contact with other au pairs in their local area if we know of any however, with the best will in the world, this is not always possible. One of the best ways for the au pairs to meet other young people is to join a local language school. Most of the au pairs will want to improve their English language skills and perhaps gain some form of qualification/certificate from a UK language school. The great off shoot of this is that they will meet other young people doing the same thing, some may even be au pairs themselves, and they can start to forge friendships.

Most towns/cities will have a language school, some have more than one and they are easy to find. If you go into Google and tap in 'Language school' and your local area, it will bring up a list of schools. It is a good idea to have a look before the au pair arrives with you so that they can contact the language school as soon as possible and get things moving.  

Other websites which offer valuable language school information are:

  • English UK:  this is one of the world's leading language teaching associations and is accredited by the British Council.  
  • Bizwiki -  this is another good resource and allows you to search for language schools by county and by town.