Try to start the learning process before you travel. Watch films in English without subtitles (this is now a lot easier with DVDs), listen to the radio in English and read in English. If you live somewhere that has native English-speaking residents, you might want to advertise for a language exchange partner – someone who wants to swap conversation practice.
The best way to learn English is to immerse yourself in it as soon as you arrive in the UK. Try to mingle with the locals and start conversations whenever you can, with your neighbours, at the shop, or with the cab driver. It might sound like a painful exercise but it is worth it in the long run. The more of an effort you make at the beginning, the quicker you will learn and the sooner you will feel comfortable speaking to anyone about anything.
A common mistake foreigners make when arriving in the UK is to stick together with people from their same nationality and not mix with the locals. We recommend you try to make friends with native speakers, as this is the fastest way to master the language. Watching television can also be massively helpful; one of our readers commented how she got to understand accents from different regions by watching soap operas on TV.
Language courses
If you want to enrol on an English course, there are a wide variety of English language schools and courses in the UK. We recommend you choose a school that is a member of Arels-Felco Ltd, which is a non-profit organisation recognised by the British Council as efficient in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language. Its members are to follow a certain code of conduct and regulations that guarantee high academic standards.
You can find all sorts of courses catered to meet your needs, based on your knowledge of the language, the hours you have available for studying, how fast you want to learn and how much you are willing to spend. There are a variety of full-time and part-time courses, as well as residential courses (where they offer accommodation). You can also find intensive courses and specialised options for executives, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals. As you can see there is a wide range of choices available. We advise you to look around and compare prices, and remember that it is always better to learn a language over a long period rather than trying to take everything in too quickly. Overall make sure you choose the course that is most appropriate to you. You can find information on courses and accredited schools at www.educationuk.org/english .
There are also many universities which offer summer English courses for foreigners and most universities also offer English courses throughout the year at a reasonable price for overseas students.
You can also take private lessons which might be more effective but are also more expensive than a language course. You can search for a teacher by advertising in a local newspaper or putting up an ad on the notice boards of universities, schools, or supermarkets.