Real world English schools are great. You enter a new environment where the primary language is English. It's easy to forget that you're still in your native country. And you get to make new friends who also share your passion and interest in English.

But traveling to an English class is also very inconvenient. Depending on where you live and work, it probably takes considerable time to get there. And when you leave, the English lesson ends. You might have a homework assignment, but outside the magic of the classroom, it's less compelling.

With a virtual school, you lose the effect of the environment and much of the social interaction. But you are able to study at any time of the day or night. And you don't have to lose any time traveling there!

This article is about an online language school, GoEnglishGo.com, which is run by an American from Texas, who now lives in Kraków, Poland.

(Full disclosure: while the founder of this school is a personal friend of mine, I'm not receiving any monetary benefits or commissions for writing this review.)

Read more the full review!

This is a guest post written by Alice Cuninghame on behalf of St Georges International. For students keen to learn English, learn French or learn German London language school SGI provides a great mix of top-class teaching and facilities and a vibrant social programme.

Warsaw, capital of Poland. Photo by Henri Sivonen.

English is often referred to as a ‘mongrel’ language. It borrows words from other languages shamelessly, sometimes keeping them as they are, sometimes adapting them to make truly English words.

English has its roots in the Germanic family of languages, which includes German, Dutch and most of the Scandinavian languages. Unlike those languages, it borrows heavily from others outside the ‘family’. For historical reasons, French and Latin have had a particularly strong influence on English over the years.

More surprising is that English borrows some words from distant Poland. Increasingly, Polish borrows from English too. That is less surprising, given the worldwide domination of the English language, and the large numbers of Polish migrants heading to the UK in recent years.

Read more for some examples of Polish words in English!

German class at Lengua Viva.

I strongly believe that you don't need to live in a foreign country to learn its language. Personally, I learned Polish primarily in my home country.

You can even learn a lot about a foreign culture from your home country. You can read the literature, watch the films, and even speak with the natives.

However, to experience certain aspects of any culture, you simply have to visit the country!

This article is about Lengua Viva, a language school in Gdańsk, Poland which offers courses in Polish as a foreign language. Plus, they've offered a special price for readers of LinguaTrek!

(Full disclosure: I have never been to Lengua Viva, so I can't personally vouch for the quality of their courses. I agreed to promote their school in exchange for a special reduced price for LinguaTrek readers. I don't personally receive any money or anything else from them.)

Read more for information about the courses!