Gap Year Courses

Are you taking a Gap Year?

Do you want to spend part, or all, of it improving or perfecting a language?

Check out the benefits of long term language course study with CESA …

Firstly, we can provide a wealth of advice and support to ensure that you pick the perfect programme to meet your needs. With years of experience to draw on, we can provide expert assistance to ensure that you realise your dreams and avoid any dramas, when planning your Gap Year.

The courses are hard work but offer plenty of rewards – discovering new places, tastes and interests and meeting new people from around the world.

Linguistically you make extraordinary progress on a longer programme, whether you learning from scratch or have previous language skills. A course abroad prior to going to University, or transferring to the world of work, can really build your confidence and self-reliance. A Gap Programme provides a wonderful contrast to UK schooling without representing a total break from the world of study.

Student Reviews

Spanish in Seville

I definitely want to return at some point.
Jo and Katherine at CESA Languages were so patient, answering endless questions before I booked. Possibly my best decision ever.
I guarantee the school in Sevilla will not disappoint.

Kate – 12 weeks

French in Montpellier

I was determined to improve my French before University and couldn’t decide where would be best for me.
Katherine talked through the options and I went for Montpellier. Loved the school, made so many friends and the city was great. Just do it!

Samantha – 16 weeks

Japanese in Fukuoka

I’ve always loved Japan. Wanted to spend some time there and experience the culture, but was nervous about going out on my own.
CESA staff really reassured me. I felt I had back up before and during the course. When you’re a long way from home, that matters.

John – 8 weeks

Personal Development

The experience of living away from your own environment develops a sense of independence, broadens your horizons and tests your communication skills. Past Gap Year students have discovered a greater sense of self-confidence and maturity as a direct result of their Gap Year experience.

These experiences will influence and inform,

your opinions

your tastes

your outlook on life … from now on.

 

Don’t believe us?

See what past students discovered having been on a Gap Year course abroad…

Student Reviews

 

Academic Advancement

Many Universities consider a Gap Year as a plus point for students (depending on the subject).

UCAS findings have shown that students who undergo a Gap Year are

> less likely to drop out &

> more likely to settle into University life

than those who take up their Degree, straight from school or college.

CESA Gap Year students who have lived away from home, studied abroad and developed a social circle amongst the international student body at their language college find the experience of going away to university less daunting as a result, whatever their degree subject.

Modern language undergraduates have the additional advantage of several months’ intense study of a language or two languages before they begin their degree, which can really help grades and boost confidence during that all important first year at University.

Language Competence

A Gap Year programme immerses you in a language, teaches you key language skills and provides you with the opportunities to put these skills into daily practise. The ebb and flow of each week at college will be at the heart of your world, as you interact with teachers and the other students and use the resources on offer. You will gain a wider and richer knowledge of the vocabulary, grammar and syntax of the language. You can assimilate this information and (most importantly) you will be able to practice, practise, practise. At a higher ability level you can add layers of understanding in the form of nuance and cultural reference critical to real language competence.

Students of European languages can see tangible results over an 8 to 16 week period, of course you are welcome to study for longer.

If studying Arabic or Russian we would recommend 8 to 20 weeks for serious linguistic improvement.

When studying Japanese or Chinese, students have to realise that whilst 12 weeks will provide a beginner with a solid grounding in the language, to see true results CESA would recommend a 24 week Gap Year course.

By the end of a Gap Year programme you should have a feeling of linguistic confidence and understanding which will stay with you for years to come.

International Awareness

Your Gap Programme enables you to spend several months not only studying the language but experiencing the culture and customs of a country.

You will in all probability come into contact with a set of attitudes, cultural norms and social values that will differ from your own.

You have to adapt to the mores of your host country and be sensitive to the differences between their culture and your own, even if you don’t necessarily agree with them.

Living in Rabat, Morocco will differ greatly on a day to day basis to living in a UK city, whether male or female you need to think before you act. You will drink mint tea by the gallon, but don’t expect a wild clubbing scene, Rabat dances to a different beat.

Taking your shoes off when you enter a home in Japan isn’t just polite, it’s essential. You will seriously offend your hosts if you forget this rule (and we hope you like karaoke, it’s something of an obsession in Fukuoka!).

You will also meet other Gap Year language students from across the globe and learn to appreciate the similarities that can bring us together, but also understand the differences which sometimes pull us apart.

 

girls in Cadiz on Teenage programme

Rachel Biarritz Teens

Cadiz: Studying

Cannes: Laserquest

Cannes: CESA Students

Paris: French Class

Palma de Mallorca: Reception

Nerja: Students

Madrid: Students

Madrid: Student

Salamanca: Laughing in class

Fukuoka: Chopsticks