If you’re an international student studying in a foreign country, you probably face a language barrier problem. Not only will this affect your education, but it will also affect your social life, as you won’t be able to communicate with other people, which in turn, will lead to your not being able to socialise. 

According to students, language barriers have been a problem for years, and that is due to the effects caused. These things that prevent people from understanding each other and block effective communication have had a long-lasting effect on many students, leading to students not enjoying their college years to the fullest!

Thankfully, almost all universities worldwide now have a language centre or school that can help you learn languages in almost no time! So, let’s check out the best language schools in the world and what they have to offer!

Best Language Centres and Schools Worldwide 

Since most students look for universities in the United Kingdom, most language centres are also there. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any language schools in other countries; below are some of the best language schools in the world. 

1. Harvard University 

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the first college in the American colonies and was founded in 1636 as Harvard College. Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly-ranked universities in the world. 

The language centre at Harvard University supports both modern and ancient languages for those interested. There are several languages offered by the university for its students, including:

• English

• French

• Italian

• Portuguese

• Spanish
  
  

Harvard University also has a library that students can benefit from greatly. It is the oldest library in the United States and is considered the largest academic library and the largest private library in the world. It offers a wide range of books in so many languages that help students learn and understand the language better. 

2. University of Oxford 

The University of Oxford is another university that offers several language courses to facilitate the learning process, starting with English. The university recognises its international students by offering high-quality English language courses to help them learn the language better. The University of Oxford offers academic English courses, pre-sessional courses, and other language courses for its students. The academic English courses offered by the university include:

• Term-time Written Communication Courses

• Term-time Spoken Communication Courses

• Intensive Courses

• English for Partners

• Pre-sessional Course in Academic English

• Tailored Courses

• Individual Learning and Support 

The University also offers courses in other different languages, including:

• Arabic

• French

• Greek

• Japanese

• Portuguese

• Spanish

• Dutch

• German

• Russian

• Italian

• Mandarin

In addition to the language courses, the university is home to one of the biggest libraries in the world. The Oxford University Language Centre Library provides a variety of materials in almost 200 different languages. Offering lending books, sound recordings, videos, newspapers, and online resources, the library works as a language centre by itself! 

The library has all the languages taught at the Language Centre, other languages, indigenous and heritage languages, and less commonly taught languages. The library also includes pidgins and creoles, as well as material in some endangered languages, meaning that the library has almost everything!

3. Yale University 

Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The university was founded in 1701 and is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Yale University is considered one of the best universities in the world!  

The university has over 9,274 undergraduate students and 8,031 graduate students. Yale University is famous for its majors and schools, including Social Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and History. On top of that, Yale University has one of the best language centres in the world! 

This language centre has a mission of supporting and promoting the study of languages and cultures. The centre is committed to ‘innovation and excellence in language education, informed by current research, and to lifelong learning’. The university offers English language programmes for students, including:

• Academic Writing

• Advanced Academic Communication

• Pronunciation

• Speaking Fluently 

• Teaching in the American Classroom 

The university also offers courses in the following languages:

• Spanish

• Portuguese

• Chinese

4. University of Manchester 

Known for its groundbreaking discoveries, lovely environment, and high-quality education and research with a global impact, the University of Manchester is one of the best universities in the United Kingdom and the world that is recognised globally for its pioneering research. With an esteemed reputation among students and faculties, the university is the largest single-site university in the UK. 

One of the most important things about the University of Manchester is the variety of university courses it offers its students, especially languages. The University of Manchester Language Centre provides a wide range of language courses. There are about 13 languages for personal, professional, and academic needs. 

5. University of Birmingham 

The University of Birmingham is a public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, making it the first English civic or 'red brick' university to receive its own royal charter, adding to its already respectable reputation!  

The University of Birmingham is among the top 100 universities globally, ranking 14th among UK universities. This university is also a place for a diverse community of students, as it holds more than 35,000 students from over 150 different countries! The university provides its students with the perfect place to study, enjoy their day, and get to know each other, which is really exciting! 

In order to help students learn different languages and cultures, the university has provided its own Modern Languages Programme. Students are able to learn more than one language in an advanced language bachelor’s programme; it’s ranked among the top 100 for modern languages in the QS World Rankings by subject and the top 25 for French in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2022).  

The University of Birmingham Language Centre offers various language programmes, including:

• English

• French

• German

• Spanish

• Italian

• Russian

• Portuguese

• Chinese 

• Japanese

• Catalan

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6. University of Cambridge 

The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. The university was founded in 1209 and is the third-oldest university in continuous operation. The university is well-known for being one of the top universities in the world, with several programmes in all fields of study. 

The University of Cambridge Language Centre is one of the best language centres because of its mission of supporting learning different languages. Using IT to underpin its operations and its activities informed by relevant research in second language acquisition and educational technology, this language centre is one of the best. There are two types of language programmes offered by the language centre: Academic Development and Training for International Students (ADTIS) and Cambridge University Language Programmes (CULP). 

The university also offers languages other than English, including:

• Spanish

• Russia

• Swahili

• Korean

• Japanese

• Greek

• German

• Italian

• French

• Chinese 

• Arabic

7. University of Melbourne 

The University of Melbourne is a public research study university. It is located in Melbourne, Australia and was founded in 1853. It’s considered Australia’s second-oldest university. This university is known for being one of the best universities in the world, with its high-quality education and programmes that students travel for! 

The university recognises the importance of learning different languages, and this is why it offers several courses in a lot of languages to help students learn better and become more educated. The university believes that learning a language gives you the opportunity to build new neural pathways. Students can choose from over 15 languages, which are:

• Ancient Egyptian

• Ancient Greek

• Arabic

• Chinese

• English

• French

• German

• Hebrew

• Indonesian 

• Italian 

• Japanese 

• Korean 

• Latin

• Russian 

• Spanish 

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8. Brown University 

Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. The university is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. It was founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The university has over 10,333 students.

Brown University is well-known for being very prestigious, with several majors, including Computer Science, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, Biological Sciences, Engineering, History, and English Language and Literature. The university is considered one of the best universities in the United States and the world! 

Brown University’s Centre for Language Studies promotes the teaching and learning of all languages. The university believes that in order to foster a community of like-minded individuals interested in exploring other cultures, communities, and traditions, the only way possible is through a deep knowledge of their languages.

The languages offered by the language centre are:

• English

• Arabic 

• Hindi

• Nahutal

• Persian 

• Turkish

• Urdu 

9. University of Leeds 

This university is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is famous for its quality of research and teaching! The University of Leeds was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science; it then merged with the Leeds School of Medicine and was renamed Yorkshire College in 1884. 

The University of Leeds is one of these universities that offer a huge language programme for its students. This is mainly to support the cultural exchange and to support students. The University of Leeds Language Centre is one of the most prominent language centres in the United Kingdom. Learning English is so much easier because of this centre, and students really benefit from it. 

This language centre offers a variety of programmes and courses, including: 

• Postgraduate pre-sessional English

• Undergraduate pre-sessional English

• Online pre-sessional courses

• General English course

• Specially designed courses

• MA Teaching English for Academic Purposes

10. Cardiff University 

Cardiff University is another educational institution that offers language courses. It is also considered one of the best language schools in the world! You can either choose to study a language from the beginning or work on your language. All courses are taught by native professors in the School of Modern Languages. 

This language centre offers a wide range of languages, including:

• Arabic

• Chinese

• French

• German

• Greek 

• Italian

• Japanese

• Portuguese 

• Russia

• Spanish

• Polish 

• Ukrainian

11. University of Liverpool

Recognised in the top 1% of the universities worldwide for internationally recognised research, the University of Liverpool is a university with a global reputation, excellent faculty, and amazing study programmes that always rank at the top! It is a public research university founded in 1881 that is based in the city of Liverpool and gained its Royal Charter in 1903. 

The university is known to be one of the six ‘red brick" civic universities, where it is referred to as the Original Red Brick. One of the main reasons why the University of Liverpool is so famous is that it offers a wide variety of courses in many fields. These courses are taught by highly qualified professors, making the University of Liverpool an even better choice! One of these amazing courses is the language one. The English Language Centre at the University of Liverpool gives students the opportunity to learn the English language and improve their academic English writing skills. It is supported by BALEAP (the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes). 

The courses offered by this language centre are as follows:

• Pre-sessional English

• In-sessional English 

• IELTS

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the best language schools in the world?

There are a lot of universities that offer amazing language courses for students to benefit from, these include:

• Yale University

• University of Oxford

• University of Manchester 

• University of Birmingham

• University of Melbourne

• Cardiff University 

• University of Liverpool

• University of Leeds

• Brown University 

• University of Cambridge 

2. Are there a variety of languages you can learn in university?

There is a wide range of languages students can learn, including:

• Arabic

• Chinese

• French

• German

• Greek 

• Italian

• Japanese

• Portuguese 

• Russia

• Spanish

• Polish 

• Ukrainian

3. What is the best place to learn languages?

The United Kingdom is one of the best countries to learn languages because of the variety of languages it offers. However, there are other countries with amazing programmes, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.