Frequently Asked Questions

The definition of fluency always varies depending on who you ask. At ILC, conversational fluency is the goal: being able to hold a conversation comfortably with a native speaker without needing to revert back to English. For example, if you don’t know the word for rabbit, you’re able to say it’s a white animal with long ears that jumps and then continue the conversation. Also, there’s many different types of fluency. You ready for your vacation to Spain? You’re vacation fluent. Are you able to email Japanese companies about a business? You’re business email fluent.

Everyone has their own unique goals and reasons for learning their target language. We strive to provide a proper foundation in each level so that you build upon what you already know. We recommend completing at least a full level to make the most of our programs.

After you enroll in one of our classes, we will send you an email confirming we have received your tuition and that once the class has enough students (minimum of 4) we will send another confirmation email that includes the official start date and time as well as information on any necessary materials you may need.

Depending on availability needs of the class, we typically have several teachers on our roster that will be able to accommodate everyone’s schedules. For private students, it also depends on your availability. We also take language goals and learning styles into consideration in order to best match students and teachers for long term education.

We have a range of instructors of which we have very high standards for, with an expectation of fluency in the language regardless if they are native or not. We try our best to find native speakers; however, the benefit of a non-native speaker is they are aware of certain nuances of the language (specifically for English speaking students.)

Please check our online assessment-section that will give a rough estimate of your language ability. Our staff also speaks a few different languages like Spanish, Italian, German, French a.o. We can have a simple conversation over the phone and will be able to determine your level and where to place you.

Yes! If we have a class in session for the language you’re looking to study, you can jump in at any time. Your tuition will consist of the full 30-hour session. However, you will receive a credit in the amount of hours you missed for that class by jumping in. Your next session will be discounted by the prorated hours.

While our programs have thorough lesson plans, in order to get the most out of your language education we suggest self-study every day for at least 15-20 minutes. We also encourage our students to immerse themselves in the language via music, movies and television, podcasts, and reading. You will better retain what you are taught in class and will see changes in your fluency much faster!

BEGINNING: Build a strong foundation with new grammar, vocabulary, & sentence structures. Greetings, reading and writing new alphabets, present tenses, simple sentences, basic grammar. ELEMENTARY: Expand your vocabulary & understand more difficult dialogue and grammar. Past tense, future tense, present progressive tense, develop speaking ability more thoroughly. PRE-INTERMEDIATE: Be challenged with more grammar. Reply to most questions and answers without English. More nuanced, specific grammar points, develop a natural sound when speaking, longer speaking exercises. INTERMEDIATE: May not understand everything but can read, write, & discuss a wide variety of topics. Classes often are taught in the target language. Making use of connectors, sentence structures to produce natural speech. ADVANCED: Near conversational fluency. You can travel & communicate without difficulty. Refining speaking ability, grammar points, levels of formality.

Although we are not accredited like a university, our language instruction has the same thorough lesson planning and skilled instructors, but with an increased focus on speaking and conversation.

Completing a level provides a Certificate of Completion that showcases the # of hours you have spent learning the language with our program. Having the # of hours in class is helpful for resumes, university applications (i.e. TOEFL), anywhere you'd need to show your skill in the target language.

For Group Classes: $600 (payable in 2 installments) for a 30-hour session (i.e. Beginning 1) that can meet once or twice a week. For Private Classes: Starts at $61/hour. Minimum package purchase of 9 hours. Additional 9 hour packages purchased reduces the per hour rate. For Private Online Classes: Starts at $52/hour. Minimum package purchase of 9 hours. Additional 9 hour packages purchased reduces the per hour rate.

In order to facilitate effective language learning, we offer our sessions as part of a 30-hour package for groups and 9-hour packages for private and semi-private lessons. This ensures you follow a detailed lesson plan and receive consistent practice in new vocabulary and grammar you’ve learned.

We do not provide observation times for classes as we want your impression of the class to be as part of an actively engaged student. Before enrolling, we will ask you a little about your previous experience in your target language. After we receive your tuition, we will place you in one of several levels that’s fit for you. After your first class if you decide it’s not a good fit for you, we can either place you in another class or offer a refund. See our refund policy for more details.

ILC requires full payment tution prior to attending a language class. However, we offer our 30-hour group classes with the option of paying the tuition in 2 payment installments for a session.

For group classes, it depends on how often your class meets each week. Typically, meeting twice a week will make it a 5-week session. Once a week classes will end in 10 weeks. At the end of the session you will need to re-enroll in order to continue. For private students, it also depends on how often you meet each week and how quickly you use the hours you’ve purchased. Purchasing an additional 9-hour package allows you to continue your lessons

Classes are non-refundable, however we do offer tuition insurance that allows a percentage of your tuition to be returned should you need to leave mid-way through a session. We can pro-rate your tuition up to 2 missed classes if you know before you enroll that you will be out those dates. Or, if you jump into a class, we pro-rate as a credit any classes you missed out on before you joined.

Like the question above, if you have tuition insurance, we can refund your tuition based on how many classes you have already taken. Any credit kept on your account will reflect the discounted rate and any discounts will not be applied to your next enrollment.

Some students have been grandfathered in from previous administrations. We’ve also made temporary arrangements for special circumstances affecting students such as refugees. In fairness to all our students, we offer very competitive rates that would allow the greatest number of students to benefit from our classes, while at the same time retaining skilled and happy teachers.

The registration fee covers the costs of paperwork processing and computer time required to set up each student in the attendance and tuition-billing system. It also covers your teacher's scheduling, training, insurance and communication costs— all separate expenses from class tuition. In the event of a course cancellation, first-time enrolled students will be given a FULL REFUND, including a refund of the registration fee.

If you plan to continue into the next session, you don’t need to do anything! We will automatically take payment from the credit or debit card we have saved on our secure system. If you have decided not to continue with class, please reply to the email or call us as soon as possible so that any automatic payments will be paused.

You will receive a billing reminder one week before your scheduled billing date. On the day of your last class, if you plan to continue the session you will automatically re-enroll into the next session. If for any reason you won’t be able to continue, please call or email us.

We do not.

Absolutely! While our language programs are the most rewarding when students are able to complete a full level, even taking one session will be a benefit to you. Our instructors design a lesson plan with goals for each session, so you will definitely be able to take a full range of vocabulary and grammar with you.

Our policy for enrolled students is for any reason they need to withdraw from class, they will receive a full refund if it’s before the second class of the session. If they withdraw after that, we are unable to refund their tuition UNLESS they purchased tuition insurance. Tuition insurance protects a student’s enrollment on a sliding scale. The more classes that meet, the lower the percentage of your tuition you can get back in the form of a refund. Please visit our Terms & Conditions page for more information.

We use Zoom, Skype, MS Teams or similar platforms for both group classes and private lessons. All of these platforms are extremely easy to use! We leave it up to teacher(s) and student(s) which works best for them. Being able to see your classmates' faces and interact as you would in a real classroom is a huge benefit to building your conversational skills. Face to face learning keeps you engaged and focused.

For online classes (over Zoom or Skype) audio settings are adjustable.

There have been vast improvements in online face-to-face interfacing since then. Camera quality is much sharper, audio isn much clearer, and faster wifi means more real-time connection. Give it a try and experience the difference!