MIDWEST LANGUAGE SERVICES - BLOG
English Classes at Providence Cristo Rey by Midwest Language Services
Join us for English classes twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at Providence Cristo Rey High School. This is an 8-week course that will introduce you to basic English grammar and vocabulary.
English and French Conversation Lessons
Are you interested in improving your English or French conversation skills? Do you want to learn to interact more naturally with native speakers?
We are hosting two new conversation courses for both English and French to help you reach your language speaking goals!
The English language conversation course will be taught by Lauren on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30-11:30am EST, starting Monday, May 2nd. This course is aimed at intermediate to advanced (B1-C2) English speakers. Topics covered may include:
American food and culture
American traditions and holiday customs
Hobbies
American Schools
American news media
Making small talk
Politely sharing opinions
Idioms and sayings
To sign up for English conversation classes, click on the following link! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/english-conversation-for-intermediate-and-advanced-students-b1-c2-tickets-324251844997
*The English conversation class is $10
The French conversation course will be held by Alexa on Friday, April 29th from 3:00-4:00pm EST. This class is aimed towards intermediate speakers (B1-B2). We will cover topics such as:
French culture and traditions
Common French phrases
Discussing how we are feeling
Politely sharing opinions
Descriptive vocabulary
To sign up for the French conversation course, click on this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-introduction-to-french-conversation-b1b2-tickets-324118325637
*The French conversation class is FREE
Online English Courses for International Business
Do you want to learn English, but you have a busy schedule?
Midwest Language Services, LLC offers several options for busy professionals like you.
Independent English Course Plans that you can take at your own speed from the convenience of your computer. This is ideal for people who want to practice their reading and writing skills.
Video English Lessons are available online on our YouTube channel and we will be adding more in the coming weeks. As we add more videos, the quality will improve. Also, please send us your feedback about what English lessons would be helpful to you. For example, do you want to learn English for the hotel and hospitality industry or do you need English to work for the automotive industry or at a restaurant?
Group English Lessons help students learn from their classmates. We currently offer online group lessons and hope that we can offer more in-person lessons at your place of business! Contact us today about having English lessons at your location whether you are located in Indiana or in another state or country.
Private 1:1 English Lessons are conveniently scheduled at a time that works for you and your instructor. We provide English assessments to check your current level and offer regular homework (if this works for your schedule) and we can retest you every three months, every six months, or once a year. We also offer TOEIC training for business executives and their families who are interested in taking this assessment that is known worldwide. In case you are not familiar, with it, it is the Test of English for International Communication. Although there are options to take the test online, we currently offer training for the listening and reading test, but recommend that everyone also learn speaking and writing skills to improve their ability to communicate.
Moving to the United States from France
Audrey Ruel is a journalist from France who now lives in the Midwestern United States. In this article, she shares her expectations of life in America and some of her observations along with a bit of advice. The article has been shared with Audrey’s permission.
Audrey Ruel is a former journalist from France who takes one of our English conversation classes. I asked her about her expectations about moving to the United States and what the reality has been. The following is what she shared with us:
Living in a foreign country since January 2019 has been a new experience for me. It was on my dream board to have the opportunity to spend more than vacation time outside of France. We have had this opportunity thanks to my husband's work. We moved with our two young daughters. We thought it would be a good experience for them too, and speaking English will help them throughout their entire lives. We moved 3 months before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, we were lucky because living in the countryside during this period has been easier than it would have been in the big city where we previously lived in France (Nantes).
I didn’t expect there to be a big gap between French and American cultures because we are both Western and we know about each other, but I was wrong! If you spend more than vacation time in a foreign country, you will understand the way of life of the local population, and I can now say that it’s really different here from my country!
For example, my husband and I were really surprised at the beginning to see people going to restaurants at 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. In my country, dinner time is from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. American people wake up earlier, eat earlier, and go to school earlier, (and consequently go to sleep earlier), compared to France.
Before moving, I was anxious about not speaking English well. I knew that the American accent was hard to understand, and I thought I could stay alone a long time or stay only in the French community, but I can now say that it’s really easy to form new relationships with American people. You can easily find a club or association where you can volunteer your free time and meet nice people. School is also a good place because they hold a lot of events with students and parents. You also have opportunities in your church community. My Hoosier neighbors are such nice people that I really enjoy having small talk with them.
Living in America
We asked Audrey to share her expectations of what it would be like to live in the United States, the reality, and any advice she might have to newcomers.
Another big challenge when you move to the USA is to buy or rent a house. Real estate prices are really high compared to Europe and for less quality. Take your time to find a good place. Hopefully, we will be here for more than one year. We really enjoy our place. My family and I adore traveling in this huge and wonderful country.
If I have advice to give, it would concern official documents. As a foreigner, there are a lot of documents to be careful with. If you can have a new passport when you move, that can help, because when the passport expires, you have to ask for a new visa, etc. If you don’t want to have immigration problems, take care of all those forms, and be as smart as possible.
My last point is about electricity! In Europe, it is 220 volts, and in the USA it is 110 volts. You have to be aware of that point when you are packing all your stuff if you come from Europe.
FREE English for Work Lessons on Tuesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time
Free English for Work lessons will be given on Tuesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Be sure to register. If you can’t join us this week, register now for next month.
English for Work
Do you need English for work, but don’t have a lot of time or extra money to take English lessons?
Midwest Language Services can help. Register for our free classes that will meet online every Tuesday via Zoom from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time.
English for Work
Do you want to improve your English speaking and listening skills for work? Join us on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time on Zoom.
Learn how to talk about:
schedules
common phrasal verbs for work
numbers
describing trends