At the time of this review, I have completed one language session and just started another session…read more(Advanced Spanish). Overall, I am having great experience with ISL. The pricing for an 8-week course (2hr session) seems pretty reasonable compared to other language schools - it's not the cheapest, but it's not super expensive. I really appreciated the school's administrator's quick responses to all of my questions prior to registering for my course. The school's website provides VERY detailed information about registering for courses, refunds, time commitments, etc. My professor (Rossy) is amazing and very patient in helping her class reach its language goals. LOL, I think she has a worksheet/example for EVERY possible linguistic situation. I do appreciate the small class size, which gives all students a chance to have a more personal experience. Actually, I was quite shocked (in a good way) that a couple other students have been working with Rossy for over five years. Although most of the courses are virtual (I could be wrong about this), I wish that there were some in-person courses/options especially for the weekend sessions. However, I understand that times are changing, and we as a society are moving to a more virtual world. Perhaps, this is outside of ISL's responsibility, but I wouldn't mind the incorporation of at least one in-person event/experience within course. However, I guess arranging an in-person event/excursion could be left to the discretion of the the course's professor and/or the students. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend ISL.

ISL has helped me progress with my Spanish by pairing me with a wonderful Spanish teacher. My…read moreteacher was very patient and helpful in helping towards my goal of becoming more fluent. May, on the admin team, is always very friendly and works very quickly to answer any questions you may have or provide you with lesson updates.

I took a Bangla "tourist" class with GLN. I was so excited to find an adult Bangla class! I'd been…read morelooking for one since 2011. I think my skill level was a bit beyond the beginner class, but they only offered beginner and it was excellent to be able to refresh my skills. I was especially glad to get to hear and speak in real time. There weren't as many visuals or handouts/learning aids as I prefer, but I took notes for myself to learn from. The cost of the class was very reasonable. Overall, when time allows, I'll happily enroll in another class with GLN. GLN is offering a great service.

The other negative reviews are largely correct. GLN uses these class as opportunities for new…read morelanguage teachers to gain teaching experience while offering a low-cost option for students. Great concept, terrible execution. If your class does not have enough students (or in some cases, an instructor to teach it), they will simply stop communicating with you. They will ignore your requests for information or refunds. You will spend weeks moving your schedule around and waiting for information. DC has a lot of competent, busy, intelligent people who will support this type of thing, but they are careless with their time, money, and resources. I don't doubt some classes are great, but some classes are truly terrible (if they take place at all).

I signed up for Chinese classes. My group evening classes were small -- only six people. I'm…read moresurprised how much I've learned and am excited to continue. My teacher is a native speaker, knows the traps English speakers fall into, and makes sure we connect to Chinese through authentic output.

First, my teacher was fanatasic. Ok, the second teacher they gave me was fanatastic, the first…read morenever had a lesson plan, could never remember where we ended the class before (would never write notes) , and had a weird situation where I had to ask where was the book that I paid for with the class. He had put his name on it and then "offered" it to me. Besides that, the administration is a bit of a mess. Phone calls and emails returned days after the fact but not really responding to what you asked. Called to confirm govt rate, can't tell you on the phone. Has to be sent to a supervisor or someone to call you back, its not secret info folks. They actually make it really difficult when you want to be a client, strange business model. Anyway, the again FANATASTIC teacher saved the day on this one for me.

Having studied Arabic and Persian in college, I've been taking classes regularly at ILI to review…read moreand increase my speaking ability. ILI has compared to college teaching and I'm more than pleased. True, we cannot cover the same amount of material in 10 weeks, but the attention given to the material is professional. The prices are fair for the amount of instruction put into each class. Emphasis is given to speaking, reading, listening, and writing, although development of one's handwriting isn't part of the classes I've taken (Basic 3-Intermediate 3). That can be done online and should be. There is no extra time for that...although I cannot speak to Arabic and Persian 1...where it's possible that the alphabet is taught. I never learned the alphabets in college. I taught them to myself over several weeks on my own. The classes are hybrid. I attend by zoom. There is homework, which must (to my mind, be done). I spend around 4-6 hours a lesson in homework to prepare for a 2 hr 15- 2 hr 30 minute class. It would be entirely possible to take two classes together, which I am currently doing in Arabic and Persian. I've read a few comments, one complained about a refund...I had a situation in which a refund was rejected. It was somewhere in the course and a medical emergency took place. I let it go because I felt that the school was doing it's best to keep the small classes afloat. I do ask for the same instructor, and so far that has been possible. I also believe that it's entirely useful and productive to move up and down ones level, which I've done. The point is to deepen the grammatical and vocabulary usage. So I've taken Int 3 and then Basic 3, and enjoyed them tremendously. Another comment was on the instructor's approach. That is something that should be taken up with the admin and possibly a transfer will be arranged. My experience has been this: everyone gets equal time in all categories; the instructors are KIND. We come into class at many different levels. Our instructors work well with the differences, keeping everything moving IN THE Language and show kindness to all of us. The instructors are professional and know how to teach hybrid, and they know their stuff. I didn't know how to keep my languages alive in what I wanted: a structured setting. I love ILI. I'm so grateful to have found it.

Update: I was able to get a refund, however, I am still…read moredisgusted by the disrespect and unprofessionalism demonstrated by this institute. The amount of trouble I had to go through was exhausting. From refusing a refund in the first place to the staff members removing their name from the signature line. Customer service obviously isn't their expertise. For this, my review remains 1 star. __________ I am very disappointed in the International Language Institute and would not recommend for anyone to attend this language school. You would be better off using an online service such as Duolingo or Babbel in my opinion. I received a degree in Spanish in college found the learning environment to be no were near comparable. The school was desolate and was not met with warm regards from current students in the course who talked about their confusion on how the class was structured and taught. Please do not get me wrong, the teacher was a very nice person but just didn't provide the instruction I desired. I wanted professional level learning environment and this was not what was provided. There were problems with the Hybrid class environment and connectivity with virtual students lagging and hard to hear (also reportedly unable to see the class-board). I requested a refund and was instead met with contention from the Language Coordinator who insisted my experience and evaluation was inaccurate. They said it was past the registration deadline and deadline for refunds, however, they allowed my registration nearly two weeks after the deadlines. It seems they will break their rules to take peoples money, however, when it comes to returning it they follow the rules. They will gladly take your money but refuse a refund for any reason. In my opinion this Institute is focused on making a profit and not providing quality learning experiences. In addition, I was told I did not receive the handouts for homework as a matter of being an in person student. However, the other two in person students received the handouts via email before the class date and I have proof. Two days have passed and I have not received a response from school in regards to the status of my refund. I am now having to dispute this charge with my credit card company who is working on a refund. If a refund were provided my rating would be different, however, I believe my experience proves the school values profits over providing a good learning experience.Upd

Well-run, with high standards. Very popular among students, teachers and volunteers. WEC stands…read moreout as an important counter-balance to today's prevailing political culture, regarding immigrants and race relations.

I used to be a volunteer teacher at the Washington English Center, and it was one of my favorite…read moretimes of the week. I looked forward to being around people who enjoyed teaching English, and meeting students from all around the world. If I ever came across a family member or friend who needed English support, I would definitely send them here as well. From a volunteer perspective, the Center provides so much support and training for its teachers (who do not need to be professional teachers, so this helps), including a ready-made curriculum and textbooks. Though I've been an ESL tutor in the past, having this institutional support was important for me as I wanted to be well-prepared for my students. The teaching set-up also requires each class to be taught by two teachers, which is very helpful! The students come from all around the world and have many different reasons for being in the program. I loved laughing with them, learning from them (as well as my co-teachers!!), and even learning a few things about the English language myself.

Hola Me Llamo EJ. Me encanta Fluent City!…read more First of all, I have learned more than just that from Fluent City, but they have really helped me improve my Spanish skills tremendously! After taking two courses here, I really appreciate how knowledgable and organized the classes are. With less than 12 students per class, the teachers really encourage students to get to know each other and really speak only the language. If you don't like the class and/or teacher within the first two classes, you can get a refund or switch to another class! I have tried other language courses in DC, but Fluent City really helped me learn and use my Spanish most proficiently. It really takes a lot of extra time and effort to be more fluent on the language yourself, but in the city of DC, Fluent City tries their best to make sure that you are Fluent in your City!!! Offering a variety of languages other than Spanish, Fluent City is the way to go especially if you want to use it for employment, take up a new language, or just explore the world!

Really loved my experience with Fluent City, and would totally take Spanish classes from Pineda…read moreagain. Her lesson plans were the perfect pace and Spanish 3 turned out to be a great level for me -- I had only taken two years of Spanish in high school, and just kind of stumbled my way through travel for 10+ years. Could not recommend Pineda's class enough. It's a challenge to follow along sometimes because she explains everything in Spanish (and she's from Barcelona), but at level 3, you need to be getting comfortable with hearing everything in Spanish anyway. Gracias por todos!

Classes here with Ana were great. Would definitely do it again, smaller group classes was easy for…read morecommunication learning. I like that we did learning for grammar, and with some vocab and history too. Many accessible times and teachers from different areas. I wanted to learn with Ana because she is from CDMX.

Group classes are a good value at effectively $20/hour. They get you up and speaking right away. My…read moreclass averaged 3 students but it varied from week to week. I feel you'd likely want to be doing other things to study the language in addition to the class, but it provides a good foundation and a regular check-in to keep you engaged with the language.

I enjoyed taking classes at Lado. I started my English program as an Au Pair in person at their…read moreArlington location, and then moved to online classes due to the pandemic. I've completed up to level 10 at Lado and now I'm finally back to my career here in America. The staff was very helpful, the place was clean and the Teacher made it a smooth process even when I felt I was at the wrong level they gave me a chance to take an assessment test again, which I was able to score higher at the time and moved up.

While the English language learning is adequate, very supportive of students in class, and very…read moreencouraging as people learn, it is located very far from where most students live. This Yelp website has not been updated to reflect their move to Vienna, on the Spring Hill Metro on the Silver Line which is at least an hour and a half ride from Alexandria to the school out and back. The school does not place students in any kind of housing so those living in Maryland or N. Virginia have a long complicated commute. Beware of this before you pay for their classes.