A very high proportion of our students come to us on personal recommendation from friends and colleagues who have attended our courses in the past.

Our aim has always been to put our students first, and our reputation is founded on two things: the highest standards of teaching and the blend of hard work with a friendly relaxed atmosphere..

How we organise our courses
Andover language training programmes are carefully planned to meet the learning needs of each client. People have a variety of reasons for wanting to learn a language: communicating effectively with colleagues or clients, writing letters, obtaining information, listening to others or conversing socially. They start with differing levels of competence in the language and have differing targets for achievement.

How do we ensure that our courses are designed and managed effectively?
• Detailed notes are taken to identify precise training needs.
• Current language level is assessed and analysed according to the Andover Competence Levels Chart.

• The targets for the course are agreed - both the language levels and the skills to be acquired.

• A course is designed to meet the training objectives set.

• A team of trained teachers, all with an excellent command of the language, implement the training programme.

• A constant review of the relevance and effectiveness of the programme is carried out.
• The final report gives the individual and the company a detailed profile of the progress made together with suggestions for continuing language acquisition.

Setting targets
Planning the contents of a course and setting realistic targets for learning are a crucial part of the Andover service. We establish the structure for a course by considering the existing language level of the individual and the reasons for needing to learn more.

Initial Assessment
The current language level of the individual is assessed in a comprehensive test. As a starting point, we need to know just how much or how little of the language each person knows.

Needs Analysis
An interview is then held to establish exactly the needs to learn the language, how it will be used and what standard of competence is required. The current level in the language and the target level are compared. Language competence levels are graded, from Level 0 to Level 5 (in steps of 0.25), for each different language skill, e.g., for writing, understanding, speaking socially, speaking in business meetings and so on.

The Course Programme
A course programme is then designed using the Andover Core Syllabus. This enables the individual to progress in stages towards the agreed target level of competence. The course is delivered by a team of trainers, all of whom are native speakers.

Course Report
At the end of the course, a final report is prepared for each individual. This records what has been achieved, and advises on future language development. Individuals and organisations can therefore measure the effectiveness of their investment in training with Andover and the need for further progress, if any, to carry out their job effectively.