FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Bank holidays and vacation
No classes will be held on national bank holidays. Instead, activites or a day-trip will be scheduled on a bank holiday. Please refer to the Irish holidays
here.
Books and class material
All English language books as well as all class material needed during the course are provided free of charge.
Certificate and report card
A certificate of attendance is given to all students at the end of the English course with us. The certificate will indicate the results and the knowledge level achieved in the English language course.
Contact to course participants
The best time to contact your children, relatives or friends during their English course in Ireland is either at lunch time (1-2pm) or at dinner time (around 6:30pm). Approximately two weeks prior to the beginning of the language course, all students will receive detailed information about the course itself. This information is also included in the mobile app.
We then will inform you about the exact postal address and the phone numbers you may use to call your children, relatives or friends while they are with us. Please note that there is a one hour time difference between Ireland and continental Europe.
Homework
All students are expected to participate fully and to their best ability in their English course. Thus, a certain amount of homework might be obligatory in all English classes and levels. Homework might be given involving preparation before, and revision work after the day's lessons.
Host family
Students who come to us to learn English and experience Ireland stay with carefully selected local host families.
The experience for both parties - host family and student - should be positively enriching and memorable. Students benefit from living with native Irish people in a friendly and supportive home environment, practicing English and learning about everyday life in Ireland.
What does a typical host family look like? A couple with children, A couple without children, Singles and single parents, ‘Empty Nesters’
Language levels
We distinguish between the levels according to the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Our school´s own students' books are set up according to the Common European Framework as well.
Laundry service in the host family
The use of a washing machine is of the discretion of the host family and an arrangement can be made with the host family directly.
Lessons
The duration of a regular lesson is 45 minutes. There are generally 20 lessons (totalling 15 hours) of English language tuition per week (General English and Junior lessons).
Meeting points & times
Throughout the course we use a number of meeting points around Kilkenny. It is advisable to always check your itinerary as to where the meeting point is on any particular day.
Mobile app
Our mobile app for students contains valuable pre-arrival information and we regularly use it throughout the programme to inform of planned activities, outings, trips etc.
The mobile app will give you personalized and up-to-date information about your stay with us in Kilkenny. You have all relevant information at your fingertips: general information about your stay, your personal details, your booking details, your airport transfer details, your accommodation details, optional English PLUS sports, optional lessons and activities, visa documents (if applicable), your timetable with lessons and activities, your personal attendance score, FAQ - frequently answered questions, our digital student handbook, push notificatoins and more.
The messaging function in the app is a great way of getting in touch with us. And it's also our preferred way of getting in touch with our students.
Payment
After we have received your registration details, we will send you a confirmation email with your detailed invoice incl. payment terms and instructions. You can select your preferred method of payment during the registration process.
The following ways of payment are accepted: via bank transfer, PayPal or PayToStudy (for bank transfers from outside the EUR area).
More information can be found
here.
Placement level test
Every student attending one of our English courses sits a thorough placement test to determine his or her English language level. Ideally, this test should be completed online - the unique link for your personal placement test will be sent to you via email.
Each student will be assigned to a class that best reflects his / her level of English based on the results of this test. When assigning the different classes, we also take the age of the student into consideration (if possible).
Schedule / itinerary / timetable
A detailed itinerary for your course will be provided prior to your arrival to Ireland and is also part of the mobile app for students.
The itinerary is subject to change and we reseve the right to make changes to the schedule at any time.
Students´well-being
Living in a foreign country can sometimes cause problems of medical, emotional or psychological nature. This is a normal part of learning to live away from home for some time. However, our experienced staff will offer everyone support in these cases, and all such matters will be treated as strictly confidential.
Transfers to/from the airport
One aspect of our comprehensive services are the airport transfers at arrival/departure. Arrival/departure transfers from/to Dublin International Airport (DUB) are usually on the Sunday before/after the course. Once we have confirmed your booking, please let us know your flight details and we will then arrange your airport transfer to/from Kilkenny. A member of staff will wait for you in the arrival´s hall of Dublin airport upon arrival. Please look out for a big sign with your name on it. At departure, we will accompany you to check-in and bag-drop and say 'Good Bye' to you at the security check.
In order to organize your airport transfer, please submit your arrival time and flight details no later than 10 days before your arrival to Ireland.
More information about the included airport transfer times and charges can be found
here.
Travel health insurance
We advise you to take out a travel health insurance during your stay with us in Ireland. The travel health insurance covers all kinds of medical treatment by a doctor or in a hospital which becomes necessary during your time abroad.
VISA
Please contact an Irish Embassy or Consulate to inquire whether you need a visa or not.
After receipt of your registration, we shall send you a written confirmation and a letter of invitation for the course with us. Please note that the course fees ought to be paid in full before we can issue this letter of invitation.
Once you have all required documents, you will have to file an application for a visa at the Irish Embassy or Consulate in your country.
Should any difficulties arise during the visa application process, please contact us immediately. We will do our best to assist you in any way we can.
More information about visas for Ireland can be found
here.
Walking tour of Kilkenny
Cork city centre with Titanic XP museum in Cobh
