Somebody compares two schools. One charges noticeably less per hour and she books it.
Her class has eighteen students. In a ninety minute lesson she speaks for perhaps four minutes, most of the time is the teacher addressing the room, and after a term she can read considerably better and still cannot hold a conversation.
The other school had eight students. The hourly rate was higher and the cost per minute of actually speaking was a fraction of what she paid.
Ask 1: how many students are in the class
The number that determines everything else. Everything about how a lesson feels and what it achieves follows from this and it is frequently not published.
Ask 2: how much will I actually speak
The real measure. Divide the lesson by the class size and a great deal becomes clear, and schools with small classes will volunteer this calculation happily.
Ask 3: what are the teacher's qualifications
A recognised teaching qualification for the language, and experience. Speaking a language fluently is not the same as being able to teach it.
Ask 4: are teachers native speakers and does it matter
It matters less than most learners assume. A qualified teacher who learned the language themselves frequently explains grammar far better than somebody who acquired it naturally.
Ask 5: how are classes levelled
And what happens if somebody is in the wrong one. This is the commonest cause of dropout and is the ground in placement test and level questions.
Ask 6: how much of the lesson is in the target language
Immersion varies enormously and suits different learners at different stages. A school should be able to describe its approach rather than asserting a principle.
Ask 7: what happens if I miss a lesson
Catch up arrangements, materials and whether anything can be made up. Adults miss lessons and the policy determines whether they return.
Ask 8: what is included beyond the lesson
Materials, online practice, conversation sessions and any support between classes. This varies considerably and it is where the real value frequently sits.
Ask 9: how consistent is the teacher
The same teacher throughout or rotating. Continuity matters for a language class more than most learners realise when booking.
Ask 10: how long is the course and what is expected between lessons
Homework, practice and what progress depends on. Learners who understand the between lesson requirement make progress and those who do not stall.
Ask 11: can I sit in on a class
The single most informative thing available, and schools confident in their classes offer it readily.
Ask 12: what results do learners actually achieve
Where an exam is the goal, pass rates, and where fluency is the goal, what a learner can typically do after a course.
Ask 13: what happens if it is not working
Moving class, changing teacher or stopping. A clear answer prevents somebody quietly disappearing after four weeks.
Publish the class size and the speaking time
An assistant that states the class size, explains the speaking time arithmetic, describes the teacher qualifications and offers a trial class lets a learner compare on the thing that matters rather than on the hourly rate. The level questions sit in level test and course questions from language learners, the same group size consideration in group size and difficulty questions before an escape room, and the qualification approach in qualifying leads automatically let the chatbot ask the questions. See features, start at try, and the sector view sits under language schools.