IT is better to start learning English while still young. In Europe, all high school students are encouraged by the European Union to learn a second language. One rational language to learn in mainland Europe is English because it is one if not the most dominant international language of aviation and business. But one can start learning English even when he or she is still in nursery. Here in Spain, you can find international schools which use English as the exclusive medium only in Madrid because it is the diplomatic capital of the country.

During the first day of school in a typical nursery in an international school here in Madrid, children are already taught the ABCs complete with vivid pictures. During the first day of school, make sure that both parents and guardians must be absent from work so they can monitor the progress of their children and learn whether they’re normal or not academically. Also, all nurseries here in Spain are staffed with child psychologists so you really have nothing to worry about.

As the child progresses to his or her first and second grade and so forth and so on, intense English terms and complex grammar are slowly introduced in these international schools instead of the usual Spanish elsewhere. Then English will also be the dominant medium in other scientific subjects such as mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, arithmetic, geometry, biology, climatology, basic physics, basic chemistry, physiology and even Spanish history. That’s because international schools actually cater to sons and daughters of English-speaking diplomats and the rest of the expatriate community in Madrid. But they do accept native Spanish enrollees who are willing to learn English as a second language.

The concept of English as the dominant medium in these international schools is equally true during as the child progresses through high school. During college, you may enroll in St. Louis University because it is the sole tertiary system in Spain which offers programs leading to a bachelor degree all using English as the medium of instruction. There are lots of programs to choose from which will suit your interest. If you are interested to work in the hospitality industry in Costa del Sol and make yourself one of the supervisors someday, then you may enroll in the program leading to a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management. If you want to become a diplomat someday and travel to the United States and Canada, you may enroll in a course leading to a bachelor’s degree in international relations.

By the way, there are no associate degree programs available in St. Louis University because this isn’t a vocational school or a community college which is subsidized by the Spanish government. So you need to enroll in a four-year program. That means you have to study well to pass the entrance examination. If you want to become a farmer, you may want to enroll in a program leading to a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering. Whatever you choose, the bottom line is have fun learning English.

LEARNING English is surely one interesting way to get to know other people in other countries and ultimately be profitable through it. If you’re in the United States, there’s no need to learn English here because it is splashed everywhere and even though you’re a Latino, it can easily be accumulated in your culture. Heck, you’ll eventually even acquire the twang too.

But in other countries, it’s entirely a different story. Take Canada for example. Half of the country speak English, the other half speak French. Thus, French folks need to converge and integrate themselves with the English-speaking people for the economy to move forward. Providing translators for the two different-speaking peoples may be lucrative for the translators but bad for the economy. It is just a hassle and not meant to move things forward.

Thus, residents in Quebec need to speak English. They often go to Toronto and enroll at language institutions there. The tuition may be a little bit steeper but this is just a little price to pay as compared to the profits that you will eventually reap once you have closed deals with an English-speaking person who may not even come from Toronto but as far as the United States, England, Ireland and Australia.

A typical English language course is up to six months long or the equivalent of one academic semester. In this classroom-type of instruction, students are grouped together in pairs to serve as learning buddies. On the first day of school, they are asked to write down an essay all in English. They are asked to recite too. The essays and recitations become lengthy as the weeks pass. Students are also assigned language partners. These language partners communicate together online. A student’s language partner just comes from Toronto itself. He or she is also curious to learn French that is why that person is enrolled in the language school as a language partner.

Or if you do not like the language partner scheme, then there is the immersion scheme. A family in Toronto will adopt you during your entire six-month enrollment at the language school. The family will help you cope with your progress in acquiring English grammar and will teach you the correct enunciation. They will also introduce to you more vocabularies in the English language and all the nuances that are connected to it. The host family will then immerse you in huge crowds around Toronto for you to be really assimilated with the language. Once you’ve made out some of the conversation snippets, you may well already have some command of the English grammar.

The extra excursion added to this scheme is the existence of tours around Toronto. Your host family will tour you around all the beauty spots of the country as well as guide you in the leisure activities that you may be interested. Expenses incurred in these extra-curricular activities are obviously charged to you in the form of tuition in the language academy. But if you prefer to have a less expensive form of learning the right English grammar, then how about doing it as a self-review?