When it comes to choosing a language course abroad, it can sometimes be difficult to decipher what the different course ‘types’ actually mean.

Most people assume that the only decisions you have to make when it comes to booking a language course abroad are where you want to go, and how long you want to go for. In actual fact, there is another consideration on top of those - what type of course you want to do.

Amongst the options to choose from are ‘general’ courses, ‘intensive’ courses, ‘combined’ courses and ‘mini- group’ courses …whilst some of these are fairly self-explanatory, it is difficult to understand exactly what others mean!

Here is a run down of what the different course classifications normally denote.

‘General’ course :

This is the most common type of course, and tends to involve around 15-20 hours of study per week, depending on the school. The lessons will normally just take place in the morning - they won’t be spread over an entire day. Larger, busier schools can sometimes offer students the choice as to whether they want their lessons in either morning or afternoon ‘slots’.

‘Intensive’ course

Intensive courses are designed for students who are only able to go abroad for a short amount of time and therefore may want more intensive language tuition each week. This type of course tends to involve all-day study, although morning and afternoon sessions may focus on different skills, and are normally taught by different teachers.

‘Combined’ course

If a language school abroad offers a ‘combined’ course, this is most likely to be a course that involves both individual tuition and group sessions. The group classes normally take place in the morning and encourage student interaction and practical communication skills. The individual classes are usually in the afternoon, and are designed to allow you to work on areas you need to practise, or which are of particular interest to you.

‘Mini group’ course

‘Mini group’ courses are available as both ‘general’ and ‘intensive’ courses. As you would expect, the term just describes courses that are made up of smaller groups. The reduced number of students means that students can have more direct contact with the teacher as well as more personal attention within class.

‘Individual’ course

This type of course is another with a fairly obvious meaning. Anyone who takes an ‘individual’ course will have one-to-one tuition with a teacher for the duration. These courses obviously give students the opportunity to focus specifically on the areas they want to work on, and often result in swift progress.

‘Exam preparation’ course

Exam preparation courses are designed for people who want to study a language for a certain amount of time with the aim of gaining a specific qualification to prove their ability at the end. In terms of European languages like French and German this will usually be a GCSE or A Level course. Exam preparation courses tend to be much more popular amongst students of English though, who have a range of exams available to them, including the Cambridge exams, IELTS and TOEFL.