When Choosing an English School: Accreditation Is More Important than You Think
Imagine taking English courses at a school with no books, overcrowded classrooms, unexpected expenses, and unqualified teachers that do not follow an established curriculum. Sound far-fetched? Unfortunately, it's not and such schools can be difficult to identify, especially when exploring options online. If you would like to avoid this situation, it is a good idea to pay careful attention to accreditation when choosing a language school in the United States.
To start, what is accreditation? Simply put, being accredited is like belonging to an exclusive club for schools. To be a member, the school must maintain professional standards determined by accrediting agencies. In the United States, schools do not receive their accreditation from a Ministry of Education. Instead, they rely on accrediting agencies to verify the quality of the school, curricula, instructors, and the methodologies they employ.
In order to become accredited, schools must undergo a thorough and voluntary evaluation process that can take months to complete. To receive accreditation, some agencies require schools to...
Read more
Part Two: Choosing an English School
Looking for the right school to study at can be an important and stressful decision. (If you haven't already, check out Josh's post on choosing a school.) One important thing that students should be looking out for is "Accreditation". But, what is this and why is it so important? We sat down with BridgeEnglish director and resident expert on accreditation, Richard Brown to ask him some of these nagging questions.
What are the different types of accreditation?
Currently in the U.S., language centers like BridgeEnglish can be accredited by either ACCET (The Accrediting Council of Continuing Education and Training) or CEA (The Commission on English Language Accreditation). BridgeEnglish is currently fully accredited by ACCET.
What does it mean to be an accredited institution?
To be an accredited institution means that individuals and organizations can be assured they are dealing with an institution that states exactly and clearly how it operates and that these statements have been examined and found to be true by an outside entity. In the U.S. for language schools or centers and IEPs, intensive English programs, it is critical that they be accredited as this will be a requirement in order for them to issue I-20's (student visas) by 2013.
Read more
How to Improve Your English: A Student's Perspective
One rainy Tuesday after class, I had the opportunity of interviewing Natalia Riquelme Correa from Chile. I found Natalia in her usual spot at that time of day, studying upstairs in our student lounge. I chose to interview Natalia because she has made tremendous progress with her English in only a few short months and I wanted to hear how she did it.
Hi Natalia. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I'm in my third year of university in Chile for civil engineering but now I'm here in Denver. I will finish my Bachelor's degree in 2014. I decided to come here because English is very important for my career. After university I want to study a Master's maybe here in the U.S. or in England. At home, I see my family almost every weekend. If they could come here it would be great because I love Denver.
Why is English important for your job?
In my country, if you are a civil engineer and you know English then you can make a lot of money. If you want to work in an international company you need to talk with people from other countries so you need to know English.
Why did you choose to study in the General English Program at BridgeEnglish? ...
Read more
|
