Being a busy entrepreneur meant I couldn’t commit to going to a language academy twice a week, so I looked at online language courses.Īt first, I was apprehensive.

However, a few years ago, wanting to keep up with my German and Chinese and not being able to move abroad again, I was faced with the dilemma of having to return to the classroom setting. The average language classroom just cannot replicate that level of exposure and, to me, the classroom has always felt detached from what language is about: communicating with others and authentic exposure to language and culture. Throughout my life I have loved learning languages.Įnglish and Spanish I learnt growing up with a mother from Ireland and a dad from Spain French in the classroom, copying out conjugation tables German at university and an Erasmus year in Cologne and Chinese whilst living in Shanghai.Įach experience presented different learning challenges, but I am in no doubt that the best way to learn was being in the target country, learning from integrating with locals and communicating on a daily basis.

English online skype