Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
More than 1,500 students of different nationalities and ages have passed through the doors of Lingo-Ease, a vibrant and welcoming language centre that caters to young learners and adults in Bahrain, in under four-and-a-half years.
The institution specialises in the study of English and Arabic, with French and German currently as a private study option.
Qualified language teachers of native-speaking fluency prepare students to successfully take international and professional examinations. School children, mums and language lovers studying for pleasure and embassy officials and professionals desiring to upgrade skills for the workplace, are among those approaching the centre, which offers courses from morning to evening to accommodate families and their commitments.
In addition to being a Tamkeen training service provider, it works with international schools to offer students an extra-curricular literacy boost. In association with the Cambridge Examinations Board it also enables young learners and adults to prepare for and gain international qualifications.
Director Sophie Man-Cheung believes that with its exceptional staff the centre continues to achieve its purpose as ‘a place where people come to find a warm welcome Ö an answer to their language needs, whether it be in study, work, at home or that which is used when out and about’.
An example of practical skills gained from Lingo-Ease’s courses comes from Rebecca, a journalist, who said she "found the Arabic conversation great fun and confidence-building". She liked "the fact that every class teaches you words and sentences that you can immediately put into practice. In a very short time you can develop local knowledge and fluency that wouldn’t be possible with home study alone".
Ms Man-Cheung feels that in most language-learning situations, there is little to properly replace live language teaching. "This applies not only to conversational skills, but also where more emphasis on reading and writing is needed, for people who have both general and specific language needs. People with hectic lifestyles often find it difficult to set aside self-study time and with the essence of language being in communication, it is only natural to need to share with others the enjoyment and interaction that good, live teaching provides."
