Pros and cons of language learning face-to-face v by app

Will it suit you more to learn one-to-one with your tutor or will the convenience of an app be the right choice? It’s up to you. In this blog, we’ll take a quick look at both learning methods.

It’s fair to say there is no ‘correct’ answer. Everyone’s different and we all prefer to learn in our own way. Some like the convenience of webinars so they can wear their pyjamas, and no-one will see! Others like the atmosphere of a classroom, working with others, and having like-minded people travelling on the same journey.

Face-to-face learning is certainly more sociable. With The Language Guru, your tutor will be bilingual or a native speaker of your chosen language. She/he will give you a warm welcome, help you overcome any nerves, introduce you to others in the same boat, and support you to learn at your own pace.

Learning by app is perhaps more flexible in that you can switch it on and off as you please. But along with this flexibility comes discipline. You’ll need the discipline and wherewithal to make sure you carry on learning after the first flush of excitement at having purchased the app. What do you do when ‘life happens’ around you? Will you be able to regroup and motivate yourself to carry on? There’ll possibly be a support facility but you won’t necessarily get to speak to the same person every time and so there’ll be a lack of continuity of a tutor who understands you and the way in which you learn.

You’ll learn in the comfort of your own home, office, park or wherever you choose, and you won’t have to venture out on a cold, rainy evening, or straight after work when your colleagues are going to the pub.

If you have a young family, though, you might not be able to get enough peace and quiet at home to study via app and you might like the idea of a once- or twice-a-week class in which you can get forget all the other problems going on at the time. You might appreciate getting out and meeting people, along with the social elements that group learning brings. Along with group dynamics comes colleague support and camaraderie. You’ll likely feel that you want to turn up and achieve every week through your course, not only for yourself but to support the others too.

Tutors can, of course, recognise if you’re having problems and immediately rectify them. This could be about the pace of learning, your accent or your grip of grammar – something which an app might not pick up.

Which method do you feel will work for you?

If you like the idea of face-to-face language learning, give us a call on 01273 222900 for a no-obligation chat.

If you like the idea of distance learning, then choose an app via your Play Store or App Store, or call us to find out more about our distance learning, which we offer via Skype. Language learning with The Language Guru covers all the bases!

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