Language study trip England: Oxford
As the oldest university city in the English-speaking world and the second oldest university in the world still in existence today, it is not only the University of Oxford (founded in 1096) that attracts thousands of students every year, but also countless tourists and language students. Oxford has the lowest average age of any city in England and Wales; almost one in four inhabitants is a student at the university.
This makes Oxford an extremely popular destination, especially for young language students from all over the world, where they can not only improve their English language skills, but also find numerous leisure programs, sports, nightlife and shopping opportunities. Drinking a beer in the "typical English Bear pub" founded in 1242, paddling on the Thames, relaxing in the Botanical Gardens - Oxford is the perfect place to spend a successful language study trip in England and elegantly combine learning with enjoyment.
Which language school to choose in Oxford?
If you want to learn English in Oxford, you can do so in a variety of places. On the one hand, the University of Oxford offers English courses as summer courses in 4 of the 38 colleges, but these are sometimes very expensive even by Swiss standards. For example, a four-week summer school course including accommodation and meals costs around £7,400, while three weeks costs "only" just over £5,640.
If you don't need to be quite so elite, you can choose one of the city's other language schools, most of which are located around the city center and along Banbury Road. However, you can also find language schools a little further afield, which are sometimes not within walking distance of the city center. Via Google Maps you can findReviewsof former language students about the respective language schools in Oxford. This is a good way to view the criticism and praise of former students and thus obtain an assessment of the respective schools. Reviews can also be viewed via Facebook and other social media.
Language travel agencies where you can book your language study trip to Oxford also often collect feedback from their former students, which you can either find directly on the respective website or on request.
However, since it is not always easy to decide on the right school and the location and criticisms of others are not sufficient for an assessment, other criteria should also be taken into account when choosing a language school. In the guideLanguage courses in Englandyou will find comprehensive information about this.
Where to live in Oxford?
With a population of around 152,000, Oxford is not a huge city and is spread over an area of just over 45 km². It is therefore much smaller than Winterthur (68 km²) and many routes are easily accessible by bike. The bus connections in the city are also extremely good, so it doesn't matter too much where you live in Oxford.
Of course, everyone wants to live as close as possible to the school and the city center during their language study trip to Oxford, but this is not always easy. Especially if you are staying with a host family, you can expect to be in the outskirts rather than in the city center itself. There are, of course, exceptions. Student halls of residence or residences are often, but not always, within a 20-minute walk of the school. In general, however, you can ask about the location before booking your stay and choose accordingly. A good location for your accommodation is the area around the colleges, Trinity College, Nuffield College, Oriel College, Merton College, All Souls College, but the area up to the district of Summertown is also easy to reach. However, the districts around Iffley, Temple Cowley, Rose Hill, Summertown or Littlemore are already too far away for the daily commute by bike, unless your chosen language school is located in this area.
What to experience in Oxford!
Thanks to the many students, the days and of course the nights in Oxford are never boring, the nightlife is buzzing and offers just the right location for every taste. Whether it's a quaint pub, trendy club, stylish restaurant or trendy bar, karaoke, indie rock or RnB, comedy or theater, everyone will find exactly what they are looking for in Oxford.
If you are visiting Oxford, you should at least once watch a training session or a race of the rowing teams on the Thames. Once a year, the most famous rowing regatta takes place, the Boat Race, in which the universities of Cambridge and Oxford compete against each other, in 2018 on March 24. It is not always possible to be in Oxford around this exact date and watch the spectacular action, but Oxford has a lot to offer in other respects too.
A punting tour on the Thames, for example, is also worth experiencing to see the city from a different perspective. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Radcliffe Camera, the Sheldonian Theatre, South Park, the Botanical Gardens, the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Ashmolean Museum are all well worth a visit and should be visited whenever possible during your language study trip to Oxford, as should of course the Bodleian Library and the individual colleges. And last but not least, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, which is not only worth a visit for its dinosaur skeletons, but also for its breathtaking architecture alone.
If you don't want to explore the city on your own, guided tours can be extremely worthwhile to get to know Oxford's most beautiful buildings and most popular sights. Do this right at the beginning of your stay so that you get an overview of the city as early as possible and find your way around better. Such tours can also be booked as walking tours or on completely different themes, such as "Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland", "Oxford Official CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien", "Bill Spectre's Ghost Trail" and others.
And why not get out of the city and explore the surrounding area? Oxfordshire has much to offer, including Blenheim Palace, Bicester Village, Bletchley Park, Broughton Castle, Sogges Manor Farm and more. On the websiteExperience Oxfordshireyou will receive interesting suggestions for your language study trip to Oxford.
How to get around Oxford?
You can explore the city with the City Sightseeing Bus, as well as by boat, theOxford River Cruises. Many routes can also be easily covered on foot, as well as by bike, which you can also hire. In this way, you can explore the city quickly and easily and can use a bike for the entire duration of your stay.Rent a bikeand get around in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way - and work off those tasty fish & chips at the same time. For longer distances, take the City Bus, whose timetable you can find on theVisitor Information Centerfind.
What can you afford in Oxford?
If you want to study in Oxford, you won't pay very little for your education. Students pay £9,250 a year for an undergraduate degree course - and that's just in tuition fees. It is therefore not surprising that the cost of living is correspondingly higher than in many other university cities in the country. Those who come to Oxford can afford it, or so it seems. And for those who come to the city not as students, but as language students, this also means that they have to spend a little more on living in Oxford than in Bournemouth, Brighton or sometimes even London. You should therefore be aware of this when planning your language study trip to Oxford. If you are not afraid of this, Oxford promises you a fantastic time!
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