How to Get the Most Out of Studying a Language Abroad

Because I'm an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher, I have taught in good schools and bad schools. I have seen students travel to Malta--where I live and teach--and spend a great deal of money on their tuition. Some get good language instruction while others, paying the same amount, leave feeling cheated.

If you sign up for a language school abroad and are told you must buy the textbook or you find that a certain textbook is included in your fee, try to get your money back; don't go to this school. Here's why:

1. For the particular language you are learning, there are many excellent textbooks available. If, for example, you want to learn French abroad, there are many French- language books on the market. And a good language school should make at least two of those available--as an option--for you in its bookshop. Textbooks differ in style and content. Before spending a lot of money on a paper-covered textbook--which can be anywhere from 30 Euros upward, take a look at the textbook and see if you really want it. If you do, you can mostly likely get a used one or a new one online a lot cheaper than from the school. If you buy it from the school, the school is making money on it--believe me.

2. If a school insists that you buy a certain book, that's how you will be taught--from the book--and probably only from the book. Do you remember how it was learning any subject from just a textbook? If the word "boring" comes to mind, you have a good memory. You will do the same thing over and over: read a passage on a certain subject, answer questions on it, maybe have a discussion on the main points and do grammar exercises--lots of them (multiple choice, matching, filling-in-the-blanks). That doesn't leave much time for impromptu conversation among students--which is what most students want when they go away to learn a language. To be honest, you can use a textbook on your own if you get the answer key.

3. If you've been to another class somewhere else and that school has used the same textbook as your current school, you're in serious boredom trouble.

4. A language school that insists on using a textbook is an indication that its teachers are less creative than other teachers who don't rely solely on a textbook. Teachers who don't use a textbook all the time more often teach their students--not the lesson in the book. These teachers bring in authentic material--newspapers, brochures, You-Tube videos--that show the language of real life. Rather than turning to a page in the textbook, these teachers often turn to their students to find out what they would like to talk about.

5. Teachers who must use a textbook in the school are usually less qualified than teachers who make up their own material or use authentic material in addition to a textbook. Teachers who rely on textbooks can be lazy teachers--they go through the same lessons over and over. They may get scared when a student asks them something that's not in the textbook. They may balk at leaving the textbook and doing something else that the students propose.

6. So if you want to have a good language-learning experience abroad, check out what the textbook situation is before you send in the tuition. Find out if the textbook is required. Find out if the teachers can or are encouraged to use authentic material. If not, you might as well order the teacher's version of the textbook with the answers--and stay home.

Ilene Springer teaches EFL in Malta and is author of An-American-in-Malta.com.