Is Spending Money on English Language Courses a Waste of Money?

Are you wasting money on English courses that don’t deliver the results you want?

I am sure you know that there are thousands of resources and lots of courses available in English for you to spend money on. The problem is not all of them will help you to become more confident when speaking English or help you perform better in the workplace.

I’m Wasting Money on English Courses

“I’m afraid I’m going to waste money on expensive English courses and not improve as I hoped.”

This is a common concern that I hear often from lawyers aiming to be fluent in the English Language. Especially from lawyers who work in an international market and need to have excellent English skills and be able to use English as a tool of communication.

Many bilingual lawyers started to take language lessons in school but didn’t place too much importance on studying English. In addition, language teachers in busy over crowded schools were not always able to dedicate large amounts of time for speaking practice. Instead, they placed a lot of emphasis on grammar textbooks and beginner vocabulary.

It’s not surprising that many lawyers hated English language classes and decided language classes weren’t for them.

Twenty years ago, no one could have predicted how globalised the world would become or how necessary it would be to learn a new language or to speak English. As a result, many lawyers put little emphasis on English as a second language.

Things are different now and many legal professionals have realised they need to start learning English and the rules of language as applied to legal and business situations.

Finding The Right Resources

Some lawyers read books as a way to learn English. However, whilst this is a really great way to develop a good English habit, it doesn’t help you learn how to use English as a tool of communication.

Many language learners check out the free resources and free materials, but the problem with this approach is there is just so much free stuff available that it becomes time-consuming trying to find the right materials to improve proficiency.

When presented with the option of an expensive English course with an already established programme and language teaching methodology, it seems like the best way to learn. But, like many things in life, they are often not as good as expected.

The teaching experience may be pleasant, but because the learning process is generic and designed to improve revenue and not English skills, many lawyers find themselves still struggling to speak English fluently and confidently.

Wasting Money on Expensive English Courses?

English courses, especially legal English courses that take place on a campus over a week, can be very expensive and cost thousands.

At the end of the week, you probably will have;

• Learnt a few legal words that apply to your area of law and lots that don’t.
• Practised speaking in a group setting for 10% of your time and remained silent for 90%.
• Feel good that you have tried to improve
• Met like-minded students who helped to encourage and motivate you

When you’re back in the real world, things are different.

You’re no longer in a safe environment surrounded by fellow students all making mistakes. You’re back in the shark tank and feeling vulnerable.

Deep down, you may feel like you still don’t have the confidence to speak in business settings or  at the level of English needed to make yourself understood. So you search for more courses. This time you look for a cheaper option.

 Wasting Money On English Courses With Group Classes

Some of you may have gone for cheaper options and tried the generic group English classes. The problem with group classes is that they lack personal feedback. Everything has to be standardised, but more importantly, you don’t get a lot of speaking time. This is definitely a problem if your aim is to focus on improving confidence and speaking fluently.

For example, if you book a 1 hour class and there are 6 people in your group, if you are lucky, you will get approx 6 mins of talk time. By the time you deduct the teacher’s introduction to the class, outline of the lesson structure, closing and wrap up your left with 35 mins of active talk time. That’s almost 6 minutes each but only if everyone plays fair and doesn’t monopolise the conversation.

The Pros and cons of group classes

Pros

• Price, they are often very affordable
• You are in a group with other like-minded students who want to improve

Cons

• Fixed time and schedule
• Fixed materials which may not be relevant or interesting.
• Little talk time.

What seems like a good cheap alternative often ends up being a complete waste of time and money.

Is there an alternative to this?

Yes! English coaching is the fastest and most efficient way to gain confidence and fluency. It’s a more efficient use of your money and time.

English Coaching

Coaching with Caryn gives you:

• Flexibility over your schedule.
• 1 to 1 classes, so you always get plenty of talk time, the right materials and individual feedback.
• Personalised programmes to keep you motivated, engaged and moving forward.
• online language sessions

When you choose the intensive coaching programme, you will focus on personal growth and development so you can cultivate a growth mindset and develop confidence when speaking. With confidence, you are better able to use communication tools and techniques so you perform better in your job.

You can keep wasting your money on generic programmes or you can work on what’s important – YOU!

Go beyond the normal generic classes and master communication, so you become the great lawyer you were meant to be in your native language and in English.

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