English plus Culture

This course is for you if you want to know more about English culture and history.

The morning General English classes improve your use of English, increase your vocabulary, extend your grammar and give you confidence.

The afternoon Culture classes offer you:

2 afternoons of Cultural Experience lessons outside the classroom in a place of touristic interest eg castles, abbeys, museums and stately homes with your teacher, with your English lessons happening in the place that you are visiting. This offers you an alternative and unique way to increase your confidence and to improve your vocabulary on a wide range of topics not generally covered in classroom-based lessons.

Elke (68 years) from Germany (May 2019) said:

'At the beginning of the week I could not understand the museum information- today (in Exeter Cathedral) I read and understood about Scott of the Antarctic!". Here is Elke's testimonial.

Lessons are taught inside and outside the school and we use public transport as much as we can to protect our environment . Where we do use a car, we offset our carbon footprint through, for example planting trees. When you go on foot or by public transport you also have the chance to talk to your teacher from the beginning to the end of your outing.

If you only have 1 week available, this course is ideal for you and will ensure you make the most of your time with us. If you are coming for longer, we recommend you combine this course with one of our other programmes.

Course details

Course availability: all year round

Course length: 2-4 weeks

Course levels: Intermediate (B1) to Advanced (C1)

Minimum age: 18 years +

Class size: maximum 12; average 3

Lesson length: 60 minutes

No of lessons: 21hours English lessons per week- 15 hours in the classroom and 6 hours outside the classroom.

Course prices

£501 per week

All entrances and transport for Cultural afternoons included

Why not add: our excursion programme for only £55 extra per week, to include two half-day and one full day excursions to places outside of Totnes?

Registration fee :£55 per course

Book now

Cultural Experience timetable

Daily schedule: 09:00 - 12:30 General English lessons in school daily Monday to Friday

13:30 - 16:30 Cultural Experience English lessons outside school for 2 afternoons- usually Monday and Wednesday

Week 1

Monday

Buckfast Abbey - a modern-day Benedictine community with a strikingly beautiful abbey. This is a great opportunity for practising your 'shoulds' and 'oughts'!

The Abbey has thought-provoking gardens (such as a medieval sensory garden) and exhibits which present a fascinating perspective on British history. The lifestyle of the monks is also considered and this gives us an opportunity to reflect on what is important in life.

Wednesday

Coleton Fishacre - an art-deco house and garden famous for its links with the Gilbert and Sullivan operas - with a wonderful coastal walk.

This was the dream house (built from scratch, from an empty river valley) of the D'Oyly Carte family and the design of the house and extensive gardens make you think about what we might create if money 'was no object', was not a factor.

Week 2

Monday

Sharpham Vineyard - an award-winning maker of wine and cheese, and a really scenic walk from Totnes along the river.

The shape of the landscape and river have produced a micro-climate where a south-facing hillside has vines, and the north-facing has cows, so wine and cheese are the natural produce, and we can discuss and use the rich language of taste and smell and texture when trying them!

Wednesday

Dartmoor and Widecombe - wonderful countryside and interesting geology combine with ancient history to make this a great adventure into the past.

Experiencing Dartmoor often takes us into considering geological time-scales and brings reflection and perspective on what we can create in our landscapes, and in our lives.

Where can I stay in Totnes?

You can choose to stay with local host families offering half board standard (single room, shared bathroom) or executive (single room, own bathroom) accommodation, or we can recommend one of the many excellent bed and breakfasts in the area. Our accommodation is all situated in Totnes, within walking distance (maximum 20 minutes) of our iconic school building in the Gate House, in the centre of the town. At lunchtime, you can step out of our building and into a High St offering excellent, independent small restaurants and cafes serving organic and locally sourced food a matter of minutes from the school.

See here for prices for accommodation and transfers.

If you want to stay longer, why not book another General English Plus course?

I like this way of teaching, especially this kind of experiential teaching. Learning more and pracising my oral English while enjoying the scenery. Hui Lu (China)

The best part of it was Cultural Experience. I had a lovely time visiting various places and learned a lot about history and local people's lives. Masahiro (Japan)