Am I going away on holiday to learn the language as an activity? Or is this specifically a language course that happens to be abroad?

When you go on a Cactus Language Holiday, you have the flexibility to make your experience whatever you want it to be. At Cactus, we have both points of view in mind when we develop a language experience abroad for you. The Cactus team you’re likely to speak to on the phone or by email will be experienced language learners who also know personally the places you are considering.

“I see it mainly as a language course abroad”

If you really want to put your language learning first, we can guide you to the best course and location for your needs, and as director of studies, I can give you tailor-made advice on what might work best for you in terms of ways for you to get the most out of your trip abroad. Our dedicated language learner clients tend to stay for longer, take more intensive course options, always stay with host families, and integrate into all the activities laid on by the school, which guarantee that the language spoken in your free time is the language you are learning.

“I see it mainly as a holiday!”

At the other end of the scale, you might just want to get away from it all, have plenty of time to yourself, but not feel that you’re spending all your time in isolation. If this is the case, then a lighter load of language learning could be for you. Try a 3-4 lesson-per-day General Course, as this usually takes place in the morning, leaving you the afternoon and evening free to do your own thing. It means you get some daily contact with other like-minded people, some of whom you might end up hanging out with, or not, as the case may be. By taking your classes every day, you’ll also be tooling up to speak the lingo to locals, making it easier to chat in shops and restaurants, etc. Many schools also offer self-catering accommodation, which saves the need to make conversation in the evenings, if all you want to do is crash out!