Why learn English with SEE brighton?
You are already very comfortable in English conversation and now you’d like to speak more smoothly and accurately for natural, flowing communication with native speakers.
SEE Brighton’s workshops are designed to help you take your English to the next level. Not only will you learn new techniques and build your confidence. You will also feel empowered to develop your English skills in your daily life using a range of simple tools. Read more about our workshops for workshops for leisure and workshops for business.
Our service is exclusively for native speakers of Spanish or Catalan and our tutors are specialised in teaching English to people from Spain and Latin America. Tutors use creative and innovative teaching methods to make even the driest areas of English grammar come alive! Classes are small to ensure everyone participates equally and improves quickly.
Learn techniques for listening, so that every conversation helps you improve your knowledge of real-life English. Focus on communication and make use of all the cues available so that your listeners understand how you feel about what you’re saying, as well as what you mean.
Exclusively for Spanish & Catalan speakers
Speakers of different languages have very different relationships with English. For speakers of Spanish or Catalan one of the most challenging areas is to pronounce the written word. English speakers find Spanish spelling and pronunciation relatively straightforward to learn as a second language. As you may have noticed, this aspect of English is much more difficult!
Our tutors are specialised in the particular challenges experienced by speakers of Spanish (from Spain or Latin America) and Catalan. You will focus on three main areas: word pronunciation, intonation and understanding regional accents. A number of optional themes are available, such as English use in your personal and professional life, common grammatical issues, how to make ‘small talk’, and many more. See the workshop programme for a complete list.
In each workshop, you will explore several key issues related to each theme:
1. Word pronunciation
The vowel sounds are a very common area of confusion. Spanish has just 5 pure vowel sounds, whereas English has at least 20 and a great variety of regional accents that multiply this diversity. Catalan speakers have some advantage given that they have a few more vowel sounds than Spanish. Nonetheless, the key challenges are broadly similar.
This pronunciation workshop will help you identify unfamiliar vowel sounds in common speech and reproduce them accurately with confidence. A variety of lively games and drills will keep you on your toes and ensure you can improve without ever feeling discouraged or bored.
2. Intonation and rhythm
ENGLISH speakers like to add EMPHASIS to the most IMPORTANT words when they SPEAK. In fact, word stress is a crucial dimension in communication – without additional emphasis, your listener may think you’re not very interested in talking to them!
The intonation & rhythm workshop uses innovative teaching methods, drawing on techniques from music and theatre. Give your English natural ‘swing’ and expression.
3. Understanding regional accents (UK, Rep of Ireland, North America)
English is a very flexible language that has developed many distinctive variants over the centuries. Even just in the UK, the diversity of accents in the north, south, east and west can be very challenging for non-native speakers – as well as sometimes for native speakers!
This workshop explains the main characteristics and nuances to look out for in accents in the UK, Ireland and North America. You will hear people describing their towns in their own words, as well as excerpts from popular TV shows. Accents from England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland will be compared, along with the key qualities of North American English.