Over Christmas, we often have students who go home for a few weeks, and return in the New Year having forgotten half of what they had learned before the holidays. This is quite frustrating for the teachers, but extremely frustrating for the students!

As the saying goes, “use it or lose it”, so it's a good idea to introduce a little 'English Break' into your daily life, so that you don't forget everything before your next English course. Instead of sitting at your desk watching hilarious cat videos on YouTube during coffee breaks at work, go to the BBC Learning English website and spend 10 minutes playing games, doing a quiz or watching a clip about idioms. Check the news headlines in English.


If you're feeling adventurous, change your mobile phone or Facebook language setting to English. You might not feel as though you are studying English but a little daily exposure to the language is better than studying English for one hour once a week.

At ECS Scotland, we encourage our students to carry out their everyday lives in English while they are in Edinburgh. That's why we include Social and Cultural English in our classes, so that you can make the most of your time in Edinburgh.