CERAN Lingua International Spa
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CERAN’s complete immersion residential language training (1 week or 3-day mini-stays) enables professionals to improve their communication skills quickly. Its in-house programs offer effective solutions for busy people who can only spare a few hours a week for their training. Students will at the same time enjoy the magnificent facilities and hospitality of the CERAN chateaux, and the best that the town of Spa and Belgium have to offer.
The pretty Belgian town of Spa has given its name to everything related to thermal baths. The 19th century retro charm of times gone by goes hand-in-hand with the city’s more contemporary offerings: the Thermal Baths, the Casino, luxury hotels, and of course, the world famous motor racing track at Francorchamps, considered by drivers to be one of the most beautiful in the world.
Wallonia, in the French-speaking south of Belgium where Spa is located, is one of the three regions in the Federal State of Belgium (along with the Flemish and the Brussels Capital Regions.) It includes the Ardennes, a hilly and green area and a main tourism destination for nature-lovers. Eighty percent of the Belgian forests are located in Wallonia.
Ceran Spa at a Glance
- Year of foundation: 1973
- Type of city: Tourist resort (pop. 10,450)
- School position: suburbs
- Ages of students: Minimum 18, Average 35
- Number of students: Maximum 110, Average 50
- Approximate number of nationalities in the school: 70 +
- Languages offered: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Dutch
CERAN Spa Adult School: 27 Avenue des Petits Sapins, Spa, Belgium
“I had heard of CERAN Lingua International since the very early days of my business. From what I knew about it, it was actually never founded as a foreign language school, but by two professors of linguistics who were visionaries of the communicative approach on language learning. Their view earned them many followers, both among foreign language students as well as teachers. I was also aware of CERAN’s main location in a chateaux in Spa, Belgium. While I had been to Belgium before and found the people to be extraordinarily hospitable, since I was used to sending foreign language students to the countries in which their language was spoken, I didn’t give much thought to a school located elsewhere (except maybe for French, but truthfully, schools in Paris came more to mind). Then just recently, I was given the opportunity to spend three days visiting the campus and and the surrounding area, to meet the CERAN staff, and to try out the school’s methodology myself.
. . . In short, I had the time of my life. The chateaux in Spa is much larger, and more beautiful than it looks from brochure photos or even the outside (I’ve included many more in the gallery here than I do for most schools) and the surrounding area, the forests of the Belgian Ardennes, were peaceful and dotted with charming houses and villages that showed the 19th Century wealth of the area. Even in low season, the school’s residence was fully booked for its adult and junior clients, and it was easy to see why. The friendliness and good humor of the staff surpassed anything I had ever experienced in a school, and the quality of the furnishings, hospitality and food were suitable for royalty (in fact Belgium’s queen, along with many other VIPs, was a student there one time.) I had a beginner group lesson in a language that was completely foreign to all of the participants, and I was able to see in just those few minutes the progress that would have been possible had I stayed a full week or longer. I came away appreciating why so many students go, and return there, for real language learning. While there are many things to do and see in and around Spa—and let’s not forget the Formula One racetrack at Francorchamps just around the corner—the real destination of this experience is CERAN itself, where students are truly able to progress linguistically, relax, and have even more fun than on that course in Paris, London, New York . . .”
CERAN Lingua International
Why choose CERAN for language study?
There are a few language training schools in the world dedicated to professional and mature students. CERAN distinguishes itself from these others in the following ways:
CERAN’s Quality
- CERAN’s commitment to quality teaching is almost unrivalled
- 70% of teachers work at CERAN year-round and are salaried
- CERAN offers a unique teaching, communicative methodology with a three-month training process for all teachers
- CERAN’s teachers attend quarterly workshops on professional development
- Bi-annual observations and other elements of quality control
- Unlike most schools, all aspects of the student’s stay are paid for and under CERAN’s exclusive control
CERAN’s Value for Money
During a survey that CERAN conducted over a two-year-period of approximately 5000 executive clients, the staff calculated that on average, it takes two CERAN calendar weeks to move up one CEF level.
The facilities
Ceran Spa’s facilities at a glance
- Three permanent year-round buildings
- 50 + classrooms
- 7 dining rooms (one for each language department)
- 7 different lounges (one for each language department) with PCs, television, coffee machine, snacks, fresh fruit and other beverages; newspapers and magazines
- Large gardens and airfield (for private planes)
- Professional kitchen
- Kitchenette for client use
- Laundry room (laundry service on request)
- Highland cattle and sheep in the pasture behind the school
More on CERAN Spa’s facilities and services
CERAN’s Spa and Wellness Center
In the spring of 2018, CERAN Spa will open a brand new spa, gym and sauna building that is easily accessible from the residence and free for all clients.
CERAN’s Variety and Accessibility
- CERAN Spa is easy to access. All clients are given a room key that also opens the outer gates
- Wi-Fi is free and in all buildings
- Free ADSL is available in all bedrooms
The courses
CERAN’s Language courses
- CERAN language courses are tailor-made.
- CERAN’s methodology allows teachers to suit content to any specific situation or professional area.
- Prior to the start of the course, the student completes an online needs analysis.
- For more discerning clients, CERAN can also provide a full diagnostics and test (€50 but free if a subsequent course is booked).
CERAN’s UNIQUE METHOD
QRI
QRI is a language reinforcement and assimilation technique based on constant communication and mutual listening between the trainer and the student. Exclusive use of the target language allows students to improve their knowledge and helps CERAN’s trainers to adjust their approach.
Key Sentences
Key Sentences sum up each of the lessons. This means that they’re unique, but can be adapted to a wide range of general or business contexts. At the end of the course, students will take them away in the form of a recording. They will help the student to boost their communication skills in the target language.
Verbo-tonal method of phonetic correction
Each language has its own music, intonation, rhythm and sounds. CERAN’s trainers use the verbotonal method developed by the University of Mons-Hainaut, Belgium, to help you to identify and reproduce these characteristics. Students’ pronunciation will also improve thanks to the SpeedLingua software which helps their ears to detect frequencies in the target language and change their voices in real time.
CERAN’S INTERCULTURAL EXPERTISE
CERAN’s team of specialists includes more than 200 consultants and experts who provide intercultural training in a hundred countries, across more than 160 cultures. CERAN’s consultants come from a wide range of professions (sales managers, export or zone managers, marketing managers, human resources managers, journalists, academics, lawyers, sociologists, lobbyists, and more.) Most of them come from the world of business, have led multicultural teams, and have extensive experience in international situations. Whether they are bi-cultural or natives of the target culture, they are all passionate about their countries and their cultures and eager to share their skills and knowledge with their students.
Language Course Selection at Ceran
P – Group Course
- Minimum age: 18
- Course duration: starting from mini-stay – Sunday – Wednesday
- Number of lessons per week: 45
- Group lessons (4 student maximum): 20
- Pronunciation training: 5
- Professional (specialist) vocabulary and skills training: 10
- Self-study (with teacher): 5
- Multi-media session (listening, reading and grammar with teacher): 5
- Language levels: All
- Start dates: Any Monday except Christmas holidays
- Average age: 35
P1 – Combination Course
- Minimum age: 18
- Course duration: Minimum Sunday to Wednesday
- Number of lessons per week: 45
- Group lessons (Maximum 4 students): 20
- Individual lessons 5
- Pronunciation training: 5
- Specialist Professional vocabulary and skills training: 5
- Self-study with teacher: 5
- Multi-media session (listening, reading and grammar with teacher): 5
- Language levels: Any
- Start dates: Any Monday except Christmas holidays
- Average age: 35
P2 – Combination Course
- Minimum age: 18
- Course duration: Minimum Sunday to Wednesday
- Number of lessons per week: 45
- Group lessons (Maximum 4 students): 20
- Individual lessons: 10
- Pronunciation training: 5
- Specialist Professional vocabulary and skills training: 5
- Multi-media session (listening, reading and grammar with teacher): 5
- Language levels: All
- Start dates: Any Sunday (Monday) except Christmas holidays
- Average age: 35
P6 – Individual Course
- Minimum age: 18
- Course duration: Minimum Sunday to Wednesday
- Number of lessons per week: 45
- Individual lessons: 30
- Pronunciation training: 5
- Professional (specialist) vocabulary and skills training: 5
- Multi-media session (listening, reading and grammar with teacher): 5
- Language levels: Any
- Start dates: Any Sunday (Monday) except Christmas holidays
- Average age: 35
Executive English and Belgian Grand Prix Program
CERAN Spa of is of course proud to offer a special VIP package for the yearly Belgian Grand Prix! As is the case with many of the school’s offerings, this package can be tailored to specific requests, but here is a summary of past programs:
- Dates: Last two weeks of August
- Levels: A2 – C2
- Participants: 5 (min.) – 10
- Included:
- Private transfer from Brussels Airport or Dusseldorf Airport
- All meals and accommodation at the CERAN residence in a single, en-suite room
- All teaching materials and linguistic report
- Special guest event with speaker Stoffel Vandoorne (current first reserve McLaren)
- Pit and Grandstand Gold Card for Grand Prix weekend
- Spa Franchorchamps track test drive (min. 2 laps)
- All transfers to and from events
Please click on the link to see a sample calendar for the CERAN Executive English and Belgian Gran Prix Program.
The Ceran Spa Student Residence
CERAN Spa offers each of its clients an en-suite single room in its own student residence. The residence holds 75 rooms that are furnished to hotel-quality standards, 2 VIP suites offering a bedroom and living room, and some common areas. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are of restaurant quality, and hot and cold drinks and snacks are available throughout the day.
Insurance
Insurance covering medical and travel assistance, personal liability and trip cancellation is not included in the price of the program. Marshall Language Services has a policy available through Guard.Me that covers these elements, as well as an additional policy through CareMed that covers cancellation under a wider range of circumstances, including the need to repeat school exams. A summary of these policies may be downloaded below.
Dates and Fees
Calculate your own approximate quote
The following tool will help you to get a good idea of the cost of a language course and accommodation, if requested, at this school. It may not include all the courses and accommodation options available or take into account promotional offers or costs associated with student visas, insurance, study materials or exam fees. For these reasons, the availability of any course, accommodation option (especially in the high season) and the final price of a package will always have to be verified with Marshall Language Services prior to enrolment.
Contact us for information about dates & prices
Other Programs by this School
CERAN LANGUAGE TRAINING FOR YOUNG ADULTS at CERAN SPA
These trainings are aimed at students aged 18 to 25 who wish to prepare for an exam or an overseas internship, to receive a fuller understanding of the required reading at university, or to prepare for their first job. The course participants should be students in tertiary education and not beginners in the desired language. The program includes a varied and intensive training schedule in groups of a maximum of 6 students. It also includes thematic evenings, cultural and leisure activities.
Young Adults language training is available as a residential formula and a non-residential formula (at CERAN’s schools in Brussels or Paris), in individual or group format.
Students who do not have time for the Young Adults program or who are not available on the program dates can take advantage of a course for Executives at a preferential rate. This program, tailored to student’s specific needs, will also enable students to benefit from the experience of people already working in business.
CERAN YOUNG ADULT PROGRAM COURSE CONTENT
SPRING, AUTUMN, and Summer junior PROGRAMS at CERAN SPA
All of the above formulas for English and French learning are available at CERAN Spa on a weekly basis from the 3rd week in March to the middle of April, and during the first week of November. Intensive German with the option of horse riding is also available in July and August.
The following language courses are also available:
Academic Course
- 27 hours of group language training
- 14 hours of sports activities with professional instructors
- 1/2-day excursion or leisure activities on site on Wednesdays
Language Exam Preparation Course (IELTS, Cambridge, TOEFL, DELF, DALF)
- 5 hours of group language training
- 5 hours of one-to-one tuition
- 14 hours of supervised leisure and recreational activities
- 1/2-day excursion or leisure activities on site on Wednesdays
Excursions from CERAN Spa are available to Trier, Cologne and Phantasialand
Summer junior PROGRAMS at CERAN fERRIERES
CERAN also offers a residential junior program for children aged 9-17 outside of Ferrières, Belgium with intensive language courses for English, French, German and Dutch.
NON-RESIDENTIAL LANGUAGE TRAINING in Brussels and Paris
CERAN also offers non-residential language training for professionals and young adults at the following centers:
- A non-residential school for adults in Brussels, Belgium, in the FEB offices.
- A non-residential school for adults in Paris, France, in the area of La Défense.
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