Junior courses for teenagers, particularly during the summer, attract a large number of the English language students to Ireland each year. Many schools offer a complete package for junior students including host family accommodation, airport transfers, a social and cultural programme as well as excellent English language classes.
For adults, there is a wide range of schools and courses to choose from. Many approved schools offer pathway programmes to Irish third-level courses and can support students with academic English options and foundation courses. Your school will also assist you in the application process for your chosen university.
But the language learning experience in Ireland isn’t just about the schools. Ireland offers a unique and exciting experience for English language students of all ages. Did you know that Ireland tops the list of Lonely Planet’s most friendly countries and the Frommers’ Guide 2011 voted Ireland its favourite holiday destination? Not only that, the Lonely Planet voted the bustling city of Cork on Ireland’s south coast one of its top 10 cities in the world to visit.
2011 also saw Dublin, Ireland’s capital, being awarded the status of UNESCO City of Literature, only the fourth such city in the world. Considering that Ireland has produced some of the world’s greatest authors and poets (among them 4 Nobel Prize winners – Beckett, Shaw, Heaney and Yeats) that should come as no surprise. Ireland’s great literary tradition has always been a huge attraction for foreign students of English.