Learn English - Schools and Courses in England

Attend one of our English Courses in England, and pamper yourself in a country with a famous knack for nostalgia. The tales of King Arthur; the works of Shakespeare; the exploits of Drake; the innovation of Brunel; the leadership of Churchill; the love of Diana - all are continually appreciated in England. Come and join us at our English schools in England and discover the cultural setting of an unmatched range of remarkable buildings, monuments and landscapes. Don't miss the opportunity to learn English in England, the land that invented the language, and in a place filled with so much history. With a new adventure around every corner, attend one of our English courses in England, enjoy, learn, delight your senses and invigorate your mind.

England - History

There are archaeological evidences that indicate that southern England was colonised by humans long before the rest of the British Isles this period is referred as the prehistory.

Bones and flint tools found in Norfolk and Suffolk show that Homo erectus lived in what is now England around 700,000 years ago. At this time, England was connected to mainland Europe by a large land bridge. The current position of the English Channel was a large river flowing westwards and fed by tributaries that would later become the Thames and the Seine.

The evidence shows that the first people to arrive in England were hunter-gatherers, who arrived from mainland Europe around 8,000 BC. It was not until about 4000 BC that farmers arrived from southern Europe.

Following the farmers, other visitors from Europe came; The Celts, the Gauls, and the Belgae. This arrival started the trend for the multi-cultural Britain of today.

When the Romans invaded in AD 43, they stumbled upon a highly developed, tribal-based island culture in Britain, but they had to abandon the land to protect its empire. The Anglo-Saxons were the next group to claim the land, followed later by the Vikings. The Norman Conquest, in 1066, brought great transformations to England.

During the middle ages there were complex times - the war with France, political and religious revolts, and frequent bouts of the Black Plague took their toll on the people. Toward the end of the middle Ages, the Tudor family gained control of the monarchy and began a dynasty that included the much-married Henry VIII and ended with the 45-year reign of Elizabeth I. The Elizabethan period was a golden age. Over the years, England continued to expand its reach around the globe, reaching its height of power during the reign of another great queen, Victoria, who ruled for 64 prosperous years in the 19th century.

The 20th century was a troubled time for the British: Two costly wars and the loss of empire took their toll on the economy and the national psyche. Many Britons still cling to their relationship with the U.S., despite powerful social and economic trends that lead toward closer integration with continental Europe. Increased autonomy for Scotland and Wales are inspiring still further changes. While no one is predicting the complete dissolution of the U.K., the coming years will bring a sea of change in how the U.K. governs itself and how it shows itself to the world.

English Courses England - Geography

England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to Continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 21-mile (34-km) sea gap.

Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use.

The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in British English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. London is by far the largest English city. Manchester and Birmingham vie for second place. A number of other cities, mainly in the north of England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol, Sheffield, Bradford and Leicester. Using the standard U.S. city limits definition of a city the top six are: Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester. Note that London is not on this list (Greater London is a region and the City of London is tiny), and that one of the two candidates for the status of England's "second city", Manchester, is down in sixth. In the UK, this method of ranking cities is generally used only by people whose own city is promoted by it.

The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, links England to the European mainland. The English/ French border is halfway along the tunnel.

The highest temperature ever recorded in England was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F ) on August 10, 2003 in Kent.

English Schools England - Economy

The Economy of England is the largest of the four economies of the United Kingdom.

England is a highly industrialized country. Although automobiles, locomotives, and aircraft are among England's other important industrial products, the bulk of the country's income comes from the City.

Since the 1980s the financial services sector has played an increasingly greater role in the English economy and the City of London is amongst the world's largest financial centres. Banks, insurance companies, commodity and futures exchanges are heavily concentrated in the City.

The service sector of the economy as a whole is now the largest sector in England, with manufacturing and primary industries in decline. The only major secondary industry that is growing is the construction industry, fueled by economic growth provided mainly by the growing services, administrative and financial sector.

The British Pound Sterling is the official currency of England and the central bank of the United Kingdom, the Bank of England, is located in London.

In medieval times (c. 11th Century-15th Century) the wool trade was the major industry of England and the country exported wool to Europe. But a poor infrastructure hampered the development of large scale industry. This changed when the canals and railways began to be built, in the late 18th Century and early 19th Century.

England became the world's first industrialised nation, with the industrial revolution taking place in the late 18th Century. This was also the age of British overseas expansion, where England relied upon colonies (such as America, Canada, or Australia ) to bring in resources such as cotton and tobacco. English factories then processed the goods and sold them on in both the quickly growing domestic market or abroad. Cities grew and large industrial centres were established, especially in the Midlands and North England.

Heavy industries, such as coal mining, steel production and ship building, declined in England during the second half of the 20th Century and were replaced by service industries and hi-tech industries, such as the computer and pharmaceutical industries.

Today England is one of Europe's, as well as the world's, wealthiest nations and is the wealthiest of the four nations that make up the UK.

English Courses England - Food

Yorkshire Pudding

This dish is not usually eaten as a dessert like other puddings but instead as part of the main course or at a starter. Made of flour, eggs and milk, Yorkshire pudding is a sort of batter baked in the oven and usually moistened with gravy. The traditional way to enjoy a Yorkshire pudding is to have a large, flat one stuffed with gravy and vegetables as a first course of the meal. Once the meal is finished, any unused puddings cab be served with jam or ice cream for dessert.

Toad-in-the-Hole

Toad-in-the-Hole are sausages that are covered in batter and roasted. They are similar to Yorkshire Pudding but with sausages placed in the batter before cooking

Roast Meats (cooked in the oven for about two hours)

Typical meats for roasting are joints of beef, pork, lamb or a whole chicken. More rarely duck goose, gammon, turkey or games are eaten. Beef is enjoyed with warm white horseradish sauce, pork with sweet apple sauce, and lamb with green mint sauce.

Steak and Kidney Pie with chips and salad

Cornish Pastie with chips, baked beans and Chicken Salad

Fish and chips

Fish (cod, haddock, huss, plaice) deep fried in flour batter with chips (fried potatoes) dressed in malt vinegar. This is England's traditional take-away food or as Americans would say, "to go". Fish and chips are not normally home cooked but bought at a fish and chip shop ("chippie”) to eat on premises or as a "take away"

Ploughman's Lunch (a piece of cheese, a bit of pickle and pickled onion, and a chunk of bread) this dish is served in Pubs

Shepherds Pie (made with minced lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potato and grated cheese.)

Cottage Pie is prepared with minced beef and vegetables and then topped with mashed potato and grated cheese.

Gammon Steak with egg (Gammon is ham)

Lancashire Hotpot

A casserole of meat and vegetables topped with sliced potatoes.

Pie and Mash with parsley liquor

This is a very traditional East End London meal. Until about fifty years ago, the pies were made with eels because this was much cheaper than beef. Mince beef pies have since replaced the eels and have now become the traditional pie and mash that people know and love.

Jellied eels are also an East End delicacy often sold with pie and mash

Bubble & Squeak (typically made from cold vegetables that have been left over from a previous meal, often the Sunday roast) The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussel sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. The cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potato until the mixture is well cooked and brown on the sides. The name is a description of the action and sound made during the cooking process.

English breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms, baked beans)

Bangers and Mash (mashed potatoes and sausages).

Bangers are sausages in England. Sausages were known as bangers during the war years. This was because they had a high water content and as a result they often exploded when they were fried.

Black Pudding (Blood Pudding) (Looks like a black sausage. It is made from dried pigs blood and fat). Eaten at breakfast time

Black pudding recipes vary from region to region, some are more peppery and some are fattier than others.

Bacon Roly-Poly (made with a suet pastry)

Cumberland sausage

This famous pork sausage is usually presented coiled up like a long rope

You may already have several ideas about typical British food, but the most popular dish in England now is… curry!

Learn English in England - Climate

England's weather is highly changeable on a day-to-day basis, but has a quite small difference between average conditions on a seasonal level.

Northern and Western parts are usually wetter and colder than the rest of England, and the sunniest and warmest areas are in the far south and southeast.

Fall and winter are usually the wettest seasons. English weather is changeable and can be quite windy in the north and west of the country. Summer is warm in the south with temperatures typically ranging from 20-25C. Be prepared for unsettled weather at any time of the year. Quite frequently now, long, hot spells of weather can occur from May to September (especially in the south and east) with temperatures comparable to those found in the south of France or Spain. Central Europe has very hot summers and very cold winters, but England is both less extreme (surrounded by water) and milder in the winter (influenced by the Gulf Stream ). If it were not for the Gulf Stream, England would be much colder (it is on the same latitudes as Alaska, hence very long days from May to July, and very short ones from November to January).

Below-zero (Celsius) temperatures are common in the coldest months; but prolonged snow is rare. About every other year there will be a few days of snow falls after a prolonged spell of frosty days. Severe weather conditions are rare, but do occur and can cause major problems even though remedial action is usually taken. Flooding or droughts are the usual problems, while small tornadoes and (non-life threatening) earthquakes are uncommon, but not unheard of.

English people have a passion for debating the weather: it is actually quite frequently just an opening gambit to start a conversation with a stranger. Most discussions that do involve weather usually includes criticisms of it - including (though perhaps not at the same time) both that it's "too cold" and it's "too hot". Well-known conversational gambits: "It's too cold for snow"; "It's that fine rain that soaks you through".

England - Interesting Facts

As part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the UK ”), England is a parliamentary democracy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. Its traditional industries - fishing, farming, mining, engineering, shipbuilding - are all in decline and business today is dominated by banking and finance, the media and technology, steel production, oil and gas, and tourism.

England is one of the world's most multi-ethnic countries. It is made up largely of people of Anglo-Saxon, Scots, Welsh and Irish descent, but also has sizeable communities from the Caribbean, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, China, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

Inventions

Many inventions and discoveries that have greatly changed our life were born in England, DNA, World Wide Web, Penicillin… just to name a few. Surprisingly, English people, who are not famous for seeking excitement, have produced the fastest car and the largest passenger plane!

World Wide Web

In March 1989, Tim Berners-Lee wrote Information Management: A Proposal, which referenced ENQUIRE and described a more elaborate information management system. With help from Robert Cailliau, he published a more formal proposal for the World Wide Web on November 12, 1990.

A NeXTcube was used by Berners-Lee as the world's first web server and to write the first web browser, Worldwide Web in 1990.

By Christmas 1990, Berners-Lee had built all the tools necessary for a working Web [3]: the first Web browser (which was a Web editor as well), the first Web server and the first Web pages which described the project itself.

On August 6, 1991, he posted a short summary of the World Wide Web project on the alt.hypertext newsgroup. This date also marked the debut of the Web as a publicly available service on the Internet.

Penicillin

Penicillin was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming. By 1928, Fleming was already known to be a brilliant but disorganised researcher; cultures that he worked on were often forgotten and his lab was usually in chaos. After returning from a long vacation, Fleming noticed that many of his culture dishes were contaminated with a fungus and so threw the dishes in disinfectant. He had to show a visitor what he had been doing and retrieved some of the unsubmerged dishes. He then observed a zone in the region of the fungus where the bacteria had not grown. Fleming then found it was from the pencillium family group and called it penicillin.

Fleming's accidental discovery and isolation of penicillin in September 1928 marks the start of modern Antibiotics

The largest Passenger Airliner-A380

The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world. It is a double-deck, four-engined airliner manufactured by Airbus S.A.S. It first flew on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse in France. Commercial flights should begin in early 2007 after 15 months of testing, with the delivery of the first aircraft for launch customer Singapore Airlines.

The A380 is double decked, with the upper deck extending along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a spacious cabin with 50% more floor space than the next largest airliner, providing seating for 555 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration.

The First Supersonic Car - Thrust SSC

ThrustSSC (SuperSonic Car) is a British designed and built jet-propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss, which holds the world land speed record, set on October 15, 1997, when it achieved a speed of 1,228 km/h (763 mph) and became the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier,

The car was driven by Wing Commander Andy Green in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada USA. It was powered by two afterburning Rolls-Royce Spey engines as used in British F-4 Phantom II jet fighters. It is 16.5 m (54 ft) long, 3.7 m (12 ft) wide and weighs 10.5 tons. The twin engines developed a thrust of 223 kN (50000 lb) and burned around 4 Imperial gallons per second (18.2 l/s or 4.8 US gallons/s). Transformed into the usual terms for car mileages based on its maximum speed, the fuel consumption was about 5,500 l / 100 km or 0.04 mpg.

Learn English in England - Advice

At our English schools and courses in England our advice can really be summed up with one simple word - practice! What kind of study materials you use is not quite as important as how or how often you use them. Your hard work and determination will be one of the biggest factors in successful language learning.

The English school and course you choose in England is going to be the core of your English study, so make sure you choose a English language course that gives you structured lessons and lots of opportunity to practice your new language skills. Our English courses at our English schools in England, will give you the perfect opportunity to study, learn, and practice English in a supportive, well planned and friendly environments.

You must work at your new English language skills every day. Ideally, you should study English an extra hour or more every day. If you can get at least an extra half-hour of study time, that's pretty good too. Try to at least get a little review and study, learn and practice English every single day.

If you attend one of our English courses in England and you learn English everyday, you will have a good basic knowledge of the English language in a reasonable amount of time. Your knowledge and ability will increase and improve depending upon what other tools you use and what kind of experiences you have using the English language.

Grammar book. A good old-fashioned grammar book may be boring but they are a great way to really get to grips with the details of the language.

Phrase Book

These are extremely helpful books that you can carry with you. They can be useful for practicing pronunciation, or for quickly finding a lot of more commonly used phrases, words and idioms. Phrase books are always a nice supplement to learn English and they are convenient and cheap.

Dictionary. Absolutely necessary in the long run. You must have a dictionary if you wish to expand your vocabulary, and you will need one in order to take full advantage of many of the English language learning tips set out here. Make sure you get one that translates both ways e.g. Spanish to English AND English to Spanish. It is also helpful to find a dictionary that contains idioms - the phrases particular to the language which you are studying - as well as phrases that are commonly used in the English language, but may be difficult to translate.

Flashcards

A simple English language learning tip, but a very effective way to review, refresh your memory and expand your vocabulary. There are pre-made flashcards that can be purchased, or for extra help, you can create your own. Keep them with you at all times, in your pocket or in your car, and look at them for a quick review or language lesson at every opportunity. They are very convenient.

Talk to yourself

It may be obvious, but the best way to learn English in England is to speak English in England ! This convenient method can be use at all times, as you can even talk to yourself. Even if you are in public and don't feel comfortable talking to yourself out loud, you can make it your habit to practice English by thinking English. Throughout the day, think of the English words for everything you pass - objects in your house, things you pass when you are traveling, things you use at work or school, etc. Learn basic English phrases like - ‘it is cold today' or ‘it is sunny today' and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out the window. By putting this tip into use on a regular basis, the vocabulary and phrases will become more routine and automatic.

Practice with friends

Taking it even further than talking to yourself, you can practice with your friends. Even if they don't speak English, talk to the people you know by using your new language. Warn them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they'll know what's coming. Even a simple 'good morning' or'see you later' in English will make those phrases more natural to you. Your friends may even begin to learn a few words and join in the fun too!

Listen to music

Listen to English music. You'll hear the English language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and pronunciation even better. This method will also give you a further understanding of, and appreciation for, the culture and customs of the people. Music in English might be easier to find than others, but Amazon or eBay and many other global websites will enable you to find music in English and many different languages.