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Language Agencies
Like most American adults, Christine Coté never gave much thought to the idea of studying abroad. She assumed that "study abroad" programs were for high-school and college students. Then she heard about a language school in Mexico where adults could learn Spanish while on vacation. She headed south to Cuernavaca. After that course, she attended a school in San José, Costa Rica. Her next language vacation was in Madrid, Spain. And when the language agency that had arranged her trips was up for sale, she did the sensible thing: She bought it. Today, Chris describes herself as an "evangelist" for adult language learning--and she puts her money where her mouth is, touring the world to find language schools that meet the standards of her agency, Language Studies Abroad, Inc. What a "language agency" is Agencies like Language Studies Abroad serve as matchmakers for students and language schools. Although they aren't very well-known in North America, such agencies are very popular in Europe. In fact, Germany alone has more than 300 private language-study agencies. Over dinner in Florence, Italy, Christine Coté told me that the European "language tourism" movement began after World War II when homestays in cities, resorts, and rural villages were promoted as inexpensive vacations. As travelers felt the need to communicate with their hosts, language schools were created to meet that need--and it wasn't long until homestays became an adjunct to language education, instead of the other way around. With hundreds of language schools and programs to choose from, how does a student pick the right one? That's where language agencies come in. Like a good travel or cruise agency, a language-study agency can help a traveler find a suitable "language vacation" package, handle the business details, and provide any additional services that may be needed. Next Page > What an agency does > Page 1, 2, 3 |
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