If you are coming to the UK to learn English you can either make your own accommodation arrangements, or you can take advantage of the many residential English schools that offer courses throughout the country.

Residential English schools can be a really fun experience for anyone thinking of spending some time here because you get to make new friends and socialise whilst studying. Make sure the school you are using adheres to the Association of British Language School standards and thoroughly checks all its accommodation each year.

Locations

The wide variety of schools available gives you a fantastic choice of location. You can chose to stay outside of a major town and experience the beautiful English countryside, a particularly good choice in summertime when the whole place turns into a green paradise full of wildlife and flowers.

But if it is thrills you are after then why not head to London, one of the greatest cities on earth and full of art galleries, parks, markets, free museums and some of the best nightlife in Europe.

Alternatively you will find lots of residential English schools located around the coastal towns of the UK, all of which thrive in the summer season. So why not combine learning English with building an impressive sun-tan (if it isn’t raining that is). 

Accomodation Options

There are 2 choices to make when booking a residential English course, do you want to stay in a guest house or would you prefer boarding with a local host family.

If you choose a guest house you will probably be sharing a room with other students, as most of them offer either twin, triple or quadruple rooms. All of them will provide you with a desk to work from, a communal room (known as a common room) where you can socialise with other students, watch TV or use the internet portals and snack machines.

The major advantage of staying in a guest house, over a host family, is that it is more sociable and you are likely to be with a large group of people, all of whom will be in the same position as you.

Staying with a host family has an arguably much bigger advantage in that you get to live with local English people on whom you can practice your English and learn about their culture. You will still make lots of friends at the English school but having that chance to immerse yourself in English culture will really give you a much greater overall experience of the country you are staying in.

The disadvantage is that you will not know which level of English culture you will about to experience until you arrive: Excellent local food, intelligent conversation and trips to the theatre or weak tea, conversations about people’s pets and TV game shows.

If you decide to stay with a host family you can chose whether you want all of your meals cooked for you by the family, just breakfast, or none of them at all, and you should make sure that the school is aware of any special requirements, such as allergies, special diets or a dislike of pets.

For accomodation information and opportunities, see our "Find a..." section. 

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USEFUL WORDS

location
distance from the school
transport links
homestay / host family = living with an English family in their house
student residence = a building for students to live in
hostel = a building that provides cheap accommodation & food to students
hotel
bed & breakfast (B&B)
full-board = bed, breakfast, lunch & dinner
half-board = bed, breakfast & dinner
single room = one single bed in the room
twin room = two single beds in the room
double room = one double bed in the room
ensuite = a private bathroom in the room

GRAMMAR SPOT

Verbs of Perception

To talk about perception (seeing, hearing etc.), use can (present) or could (past) rather than a present or past tense:

I can see the school from my hotel room window
We could hear music coming from the house next door
I can smell the flowers in the Reception
Tom could feel the wind on his face as he walked to the train station

Use the Past Simple when what you saw, heard or felt was a completed action:

We saw a fox as we were walking home
Sue heard the whole story when she got home
They felt tired after a day's sightseeing

See & Look

See (= meet) is an action verb:

I'm seeing the doctor this afternoon

See (= understand) is a stative verb:

You put the CD in here, like this.  Oh, I see, thank you

Look (at something), watch andlisten are action verbs:

We looked at / We were looking at another hotel

Smell, taste and feel as action verbs mean a deliberate action:

I picked up the bottle and smelled the wine
When we arrived, people were already tasting the food
Jack was feeling his way in the dark