What do we know about San Francisco? It’s the city on the coast of The Pacific Ocean famous for its universities, Conservatory of Music, the Golden Gate and The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Moreover, San Francisco is a dream destination for language learners from all over the world as the city offers lots of highly-reputable courses.

LinguaTrip.com will share with you everything we know about Dublin language schools and programs.

• Language camps for kids

  Comprehensive theme-based syllabus of the English language camps is focusing on language development and communicative competence. Classes take place in the teaching buildings on the campus close to the residence. Residence and meals are included in the course price. A full afternoon and evening activity programme is provided. There is a range of activities per week including discos, film nights, karaoke, soccer, swimming, cinema trips, international and talent nights, Vegas night and quiz nights. Linguatrip.com recommends to check out St Giles Summer Camp.

• Courses for adults

  San Francisco schools, such as Kaplan International English, EC San Francisco, TALK English school, St Giles and other, offer General, Business, Intensive English and TOEFL preparation courses.

  General English courses have a balanced program of lessons in a group with a teacher, conversational clubs and self-study. You’ll have about 20 lessons per week on average. This course allows students to improve any level of English at a comfortable pace, leaving enough time for communication and a cultural program.

  Business English courses are designed to improve your career prospects at home and abroad. During the course, you’ll learn core General English skills and focus on the language you will need in the workplace. A sneak peek at what you’ll study: negotiating contracts, management and HR, branding and promotional strategies, project management and many more. Level of the language proficiency required: Low Intermediate to Advanced.

  Intensive English course will make you speak the language within a very limited time. Usually, it consists of 20+ lessons per week in listening, speaking, reading and writing at the student's tested level. The course offers support with pronunciation and grammar, improvement in vocabulary and a focused path towards English proficiency.

  TOEFL preparation courses teach students the test delivery strategies and improve their academic language skills required for success in the exam. They are designed to help you obtain the highest possible score on your TOEFL exam. The course includes the necessary TOEFL practice of reading, writing, listening and speaking, as well as online training simulations that correspond to the actual TOEFL.

• What Else

  There are quite a few important things to know before going to San Francisco as a language tourist. Here they are:

  Visa. There are several types of visas:

  • —Tourist visa(B1/B2) — less than 18 academic hours per week, no more that 12 weeks;
  • —Student visa (F1) — more than 18 academic hours per week. You can stay more than 2 weeks and extend the visa in the USA.

  If you don’t know which type of visa you need, contact LinguaTrip.com specialists to get qualified help.

  Accommodation. There are three options of lodging available: stay with a host family, live in a school residence or find lodging independently. If you want to quickly adapt to living abroad and start practicing English for casual conversations, choose a host family or a school residence. School residences are fairly cheap and perfect if you are a party person, there is usually a mix of students from all over the world. The last option is the most expensive, but the most private. We recommend using a well-reputed service – Airbnb. There you can find more than 364 variants of rooms or flats in different parts of the city. The price starts from $28 per night.

  Food. If you prefer to cook for yourself, buy grocery in Trader Joe's, Costco, Whole Foods or Safeway. Safeway is the biggest supermarket chain with local shops all over the city. Pay attention that you’ll see prices for a pound (0.4 kg), not for a kilogram. Be ready to spend $70 – $100 on food for two weeks.

  Traveling. Use public transport: trams, buses, trolleybuses, subway, and trains. It’s better to buy a Clipper Card (a travel card which you can buy and top up in shops, drugstores or online). A one-way ticket on public transport costs $2.5, for a student and a child – $1.25. There are lots of cycling roads. Each one has its number. For example, 101 goes to the coast, 95 – to the Golden Gate Bridge.

  Connectivity. You can buy a tourist SIM card which will be active for 21 days at least. If you are planning are more lengthy stay – buy a usual SIM-card (for $30–$80 plus a 10% tax).

  Money. San Francisco is a city with lots of tourist attractions, some of them are free, others are not. Take it into consideration. We advise you to take at least $600 with you for a two-week stay. The more the better.