FAQs

Norwich is in the East of England, just over 100 miles from London. There are good coach and rail services from all London airports, especially Stansted, though the most convenient route may be to fly via Amsterdam to Norwich International Airport.

There is no pre-requisite reading or study to be done before the course. However, if you would like to do more research in your chosen field before you arrive, please contact us and we will put you in touch with the course tutor who will be able to provide guidance.

Accommodation is available year-round with carefully selected hosts in and around the city. In the summer (late June to early September) there is also residential accommodation available at the University of East Anglia. Read more about your accommodation options.

If you have chosen to stay in homestay you will be provided with breakfast, evening meal and a light lunch at weekends. Half-board residential accommodation on campus includes two meals a day. If you have opted for self-catering residential accommodation, you will be able to cook all meals for yourself, although meals are available in several restaurants and snack bars on campus at an extra cost.

Courses are held year-round in Delta House, NILE’s teaching centre in Norwich city centre. At peak times we also use our sister organisation INTO's premises at the UEA Campus. A few days prior to travelling you will be emailed a ‘Welcome Pack’ which will give you all the information you need concerning your arrival in Norwich and your first day at NILE.

Courses are normally taught by a pair of tutors, with some specialist topics covered by other members of the teaching staff.

For face-to-face courses, classes will normally be held Monday to Friday between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00. Open-enrolment courses (25 hours per week) are usually timetabled from 9:00 to 15:30 Monday to Friday.

The minimum age for teacher development courses is 18. However, on most courses teaching experience is an advantage or requirement. For closed language development courses, the minium age is 18. 16-18 year-olds can be enrolled by prior special arrangement with the sending institution.

In the summer, certainly. Course participants come from all over the world, though some topics tend to attract higher enrolments from particular countries.

Yes - all course participants receive a Certificate of Attendance, specifying the number of tuition hours and a detailed summary of course content. Many of NILE's courses can also be extended to include the Trinity Certificate for Practising Teachers (Trinity CertPT).

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an international standard for describing language ability. It describes language ability on a six-point scale, from A1 for beginners, up to C2 for those who have mastered a language. Click here for a self-assessment grid.

Please see NILE's Terms and Conditions point 5 for cancellation charges and point 8 for cancellations due to visa refusals or visa delays. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your options.

NILE is a teacher development institution running courses for education professionals year-round in Norwich and online.
From time to time we also organise General English or exam preparation courses for groups of upper-secondary/high school students (16 years+) Please contact us directly for details of how this can be organised.
To learn about our free English classes taught by teacher trainees, click here.

NILE works closely with group leaders to run courses meeting your high school’s requirements and expectations. In the first instance, please contact your group leader for details. For an overview of NILE’s care of under-18s and General English programmes for high school groups, please click here.