Thinking of opening a language school for English learners (Oxfordshire, England) | Miscellaneous / Off-topic | Forum

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of opening a language school for English-as-a-foreign-language students. I'm based in a town with eighty thousand people, an hour away from London and an hour away from Oxford.

I'm yet to narrow down my focus to a specific target market (age of students, where they are from, what level of English), but I am likely to cater to less experienced students who are not after professional certifications (since I will be a new school and not have any certifications yet).

I will also be very cheap compared to the competition. But I'd like to be honest about the no-frills approach – like Ryanair

No-frills shouldn't mean "bad-quality" though. I'm looking for a teaching method which would give my school a special edge. It should be easy to teach for young and inexperienced teachers, importantly. It also shouldn't rely on audiovisual aids or expensive proprietary textbooks, since I won't be able to afford all that in the beginning.

Any ideas? If Benny were starting a language school, what would it look like?

Thanks a lot,

Tom

PS: If any of you can advice with other aspects of starting up a school, eg dealing with agents who are supplying students or finding host families, I'd really appreciate it.