Looking for some language courses in London and not sure where to find them?

You’re not alone. I’ve noticed a big trend on the London New Girl Facebook group recently, with girls asking for advice and recommendations for the best language courses in London.

I have a theory. In the same way that January is all about making promises to be healthier after a big splurge in December, September seems to be all about learning a new language after a big summer of travel. It makes total sense! How many times have you been abroad in Spain, Italy, France or Germany, wishing that you could communicate a little better with the locals and have a more authentic experience? For me, I feel that way all the time!

I first started looking for some language courses in London a few years ago and settled on French for a semester, switched to Spanish for another semester, then went back to French again. So far I’m fluent in neither (oops) but both courses gave me some really good groundwork to learn more. Not to mention giving me something new to be excited and motivated about! I also found these language courses to be a really nice way to meet new friends. When you see the same group of people every week for a whole semester, you’re bound to strike up conversation outside the classroom at some point.

So through a mix of your recommendations and some extra research, here’s a selection of popular language courses in London and where to find them.

French language courses in London

CityLit is a school for adult education, short courses and classes. They offer a range of French language courses during the daytime, evening and weekends across different central-London locations. Prices vary but for reference, a 12-week Beginners: Module 1 course costs £169.

Cactus Language Courses have a huge range of language courses in London. Locations for their French classes include Holborn, Islington, Kings Cross, Victoria and Wimbledon. A 10-week (20-hours) French evening course for beginners starts at £200.

London Waterloo Academy are based in – yep you guessed it, Waterloo. They run regular French language courses in London starting at £155 for Beginner 1 level (20-hours).

SFX Community Education teach French in their Languages Night School. There are classes for beginners, lower intermediates and upper intermediates. Their evening classes in Clapham start at just £95 per term.
Sept 2019 Update: SFX don’t seem to be active or have any courses on at the moment. Best to email them directly for updates.

Spanish language courses in London

‘Vamos! Let’s learn Spanish’ does what it says on the tin. Based in Holborn, they not only have traditional classes but also offer other opportunities to practice your Spanish, like film clubs or chat sessions.  A 10-week course for beginners starts at £205.

Spanish House London is a Spanish language school for adults based in Clapham North and Euston/King’s Cross. This school is often praised on the London New Girl group for its affordability and small class sizes (8-10 students).  A 10-week course costs £165, or £150 with the early bird discount.

Instituto Cervantes is a worldwide non-profit organisation created by the Spanish government. It’s also the language school that I attended for a semester in 2017 when attempting to learn Spanish. They have Spanish language classes in their central London location (Temple) for all levels. While they’re not the cheapest, the quality of teachers is excellent. A 12-week course for beginners starts at £293.

CityLit is a school for adult education, short courses and classes. They offer a range of Spanish language courses in several central London locations during the daytime, evening and on weekends. Prices vary but for reference, a 12-week Spanish Beginners: Module 1 course costs £179.

SFX Community Education teach Spanish in their Languages Night School. Here you’ll find classes for beginners, lower intermediates and upper intermediates. Evening classes cost just £95 per term (as of September 2018) and are based in Clapham.

London Waterloo Academy run regular Spanish language courses in London Waterloo, starting at £155 for Beginner 1 level (20-hours).

Belingus offer immersive language learning experiences through ‘classes’ which are actually organised activities. Think along the lines of a photography course in Spanish, a pasta-making workshop in Italian or a painting class in German.

English language courses in London

BSC London Hampstead offer free English classes (a small joining fee applies) to local, non-native speakers. Classes are taught by trainee teachers (hence being free). They also have general English and business English classes taught by professional teachers at ‘accessible prices’.

CityLit is a school for adult education, short courses and classes. They offer a range of English courses in London that’ll help you to improve your already-existing English language skills. Prices vary depending on what level you’re at and what you want to study.

The City of London website has adult courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The cost of a term is £100 (£50 concession) and classes are held weekly at Golden Lane Community Centre, just near the Barbican.

Belingus offer immersive language learning experiences through ‘classes’ which are actually organised activities. Think along the lines of a pasta-making workshop in Italian, drama classes in English, or a photography course in Spanish.

Italian language courses in London

Cactus Language Courses have a huge range of language courses in London, Holborn-Russell Square. Their 10-week (20-hours) Italian evening course for beginners starts at £200.

SFX Community Education teach Italian in their Languages Night School. There are classes for beginners, lower intermediates and upper intermediates. Evening classes start at just £95 per term and are based in Clapham.

CityLit is a school for adult education, short courses and classes with locations all around central London. They offer a range of Italian language courses during the daytime, evening and on weekends. Prices vary but for reference, a 12-week Italian Beginners: Module 1 course costs £179.

London Waterloo Academy run regular Italian language courses in London (Waterloo). Courses start at £155 for Beginner 1 level (20-hours).

Belingus offer immersive language learning experiences through ‘classes’ which are actually organised activities. Think along the lines of a pasta-making workshop in Italian, paddle boarding on the Thames in French or a photography course in Spanish.

German language courses in London

The Language Gallery in Holborn offer different levels of German. Prices for beginner courses of 8 weeks start at £150, with an average group size of 12 per class.

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany and they offer German courses in London from A1 – C2 level. They also have online group courses if you’re short on time. Based in Kentish Town or South Kensington, A1.1 16-week courses start at £420.

SFX Community Education teach German in their Languages Night School. There are classes for beginners, lower intermediates and upper intermediates. Their evening classes based in Clapham start at just £95 per term.

CityLit is a school for adult education, short courses and classes. They offer a range of German language courses during the daytime, evening and on weekends across different locations in London. Prices vary but for reference, a 12-week German Beginners: Module 1 course costs £159.

London Waterloo Academy run regular German language courses in London, just behind Waterloo station. Their German beginners course starts at £155 for Beginner 1 level (20-hours).

The German YMCA in London Lancaster Gate hold some extremely affordable (like, ‘£15 per term’ affordable) German classes run by native speakers. The catch it that the times aren’t as flexible as the other schools listed above. Check out their timetable to see if it suits your schedule.

Belingus offer immersive language learning experiences through ‘classes’ which are actually organised activities. Think along the lines of an art and painting class in German, pasta-making workshop in Italian, or paddle boarding on the Thames in French.

Other languages

City Lit have courses for almost every European language plus some classical and popular international languages too. Beginner courses start at around £169 for 12-weeks, but prices vary depending on which language and course type you’re after.

Imperial College London is a university with a Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication. Their evening classes cover all sorts of languages including Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Spanish. Two terms start at £200 for an evening language course.

The WMC – The Camden College in London offers part- and full-time, daytime, evening, weekend courses for adults (aged 19+). Languages include Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, and courses start at £110 (price based on 11-week beginner German course).

Study Online

Duo Lingo has to be one of the best language apps out there. What makes it even greater is that it’s completely FREE! For those who are serious about learning a new language, I have a little Duo Lingo hack for you. Use the web browser version rather than mobile phone app as much as possible. It gives you access to worksheets that explain all the rules and exceptions, and gives you more writing practice as you have to type out a lot of answers rather than the multiple choice equivalent on the mobile app.

Rosetta Stone is another popular software that has a lot of great reviews for its online course with mobile apps. Those who’ve learnt a language through Rosetta Stone really swear by it. Alongside the software and app, they also give you access to live online tutoring sessions with natives. Also, compared to the cost of face-to-face courses, it’s actually very reasonably priced. For example, at the moment there’s a sale on for 6 months access for £130.80 (down from £218) or 12 months for £178.80 (down from £298).

Udemy is an online learning and teaching marketplace with over 80,000 courses. They have a huge selection of online language courses available and you’ll often find a few popular ones on sale. Prices start at just £15.

Find a Private Language Tutor in London

Tutorful is like a UK-based airbnb, but for tutors. You can find lots of different tutors on there offering one-to-one language lessons for a decent price. Whether you’re looking for someone in your local area for face-to-face classes or are happy to do Skype classes – it’s worth checking out.

Language Exchange – Jump on the London New Girl Facebook group to see if you can find someone to have regular language exchange dates with. It’s a great way to make a new friend, learn a new language and learn the skill of teaching your own language too! My tip is to keep it as a 1-1 session because the more people that join, the more chance there is of getting distracted.

Check out Gumtree > Language Services to find some language tutors at excellent prices. Most legit teachers will be able to provide you with their own website and some testimonials. Also, a lot of tutors offer Skype classes for a cheaper price and they can be just as effective as face-to-face.

If you have any other recommendations, good or bad experiences to share, then we’d love to hear about them in the comments!

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