• general information on the country
• specific information on the town/region of interest
• advice on living in the target country & regulations
• useful things to take 
• advice on health and safety 
• travel information and advice
• information on hotels and accommodation
• general information on the culture & stereotypes
• information on the culture of business in the target country
• information on how businesses are organised in the target country
• survival language skills
• useful phrases
• useful books, guides, films and websites

HOW DOES IT WORK?
The first step is to fill in the on-line form for Lingualearn's international briefing packages. We need to assess your needs carefully before giving you an estimate of costs, so we may request some further  information.  After that, we'll propose a tailor-made package with timetable and costs to suit your exact requirements. The cost of the package will vary considerably depending on the location, language and number of services required.  As a rule-of-thumb, the information and advice presented in English costs  ~£500 [approx' $800 US, EUR 800, $1200 CAN] per person per location, plus £45 per hour per person for the language tuition.  It can be presented in different formats and adapted for special needs e.g. the visually impaired, children etc. Catering for special needs will inevitably increase the price of the package - quotations on request.  The briefing can start before departure and continue while you are abroad.  Being in touch with your language tutor while abroad can be very reassuring for some people.  You can have your very own help-line to sort out linguistic and cultural questions on arrival.  Bon voyage!

To be able to understand the training, we recommend that clients have at least an intermediate level in English (~ band 5 on the IELTS scale).  If in doubt, we can arrange a short distance test for a small charge.

Why don't you fill in the on-line form and apply for one of Lingualearn's international briefing packages now?

We've put a brief introduction below for each of the main languages/countries we deal with, just to wet your appetite!
 

Market and Country Profiles from the Export Zone of the British Chambers of Commerce

Political / economic profiles of all EU countries.

Libyan culture

Trade Arabia - click on country briefings

China-Britain Business Council

Doing Business in China from TMC

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

Foreignborn Practical information for foreigners coming to the USA,  useful for EFL students wishing to study English in the USA.

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

Lonely Planet gives a good summary of what it's like in England

Mappy  maps, routes, itineraries, distances and driving times for the whole of Europe

Planet Britain gives a good selection of information on music, sport, study in the UK, cultural events etc

Europe   France in the european context

General information   From the French Prime Minister's site

France.com  This has information on culture, quizzes, classified ads for jobs,  travel, houses, etc. It also has forums, French radio broadcasts, etc.

France à la Carte  Includes a guide to current French events around the UK, films on UK TV, a bilingual magazine, as well as links to other relevant sites. From the French Embassy in London.

FrancewayComprehensive information about France.

French Ministry of Culture  Official site of the Ministry of Culture in France. Has documents, information, the ministry, etc.

French National Assembly  Information about the legislative body, including bills pending, reports, records of session and committee proceedings, and adopted texts of bills.

French Senate  Here is the official page of the French Senate, which includes their discussions, rules, procedures and even personal pages of them!

Histoire de France  A site with links to resources on the history of France.

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

Le Louvre  The Official site of the Louvre, famous museum in the centre of Paris.

L'essentiel du droit français  A French government site

Mappy  maps, routes, itineraries, distances and driving times for the whole of Europe

Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication  Official website for the French ministry of culture and communication.

Most useful official site Covering many areas: political, cultural...

Office of the French President  The official page of the French President. A lot of information.

Paris - the city, culture and tourist info'

Paris maps: metro, RER and bus

Prime Minister and the Government  The French Prime Minister's official page and information about the French government.

Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links  Comprehensive and regularly updated database of links to Francophone sites all over the world. Includes links to Francophone Literature; Art, Music, History, Tourism, Press, Radio/TV, Film and General Culture; The French Language; Education in French-Speaking Schools; French across the Curriculum and in Every-day Life. 
 

The Goethe-Institut is an official organisation which represents and promotes German culture and language world-wide. Includes teaching materials.

Government site

Government Information  A lot of facts, figures and links from this official site

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

Information Bundestag site

Information Centre  From the German Embassy in the UK

Information Centre  From the German Embassy in the U.S

Inter-Nationes- German culture and politics, with teaching materials such as Landeskunde online.

Map  Click on map of Germany

Mappy  maps, routes, itineraries, distances and driving times for the whole of Europe

Search the web   Famous yahoo directory in German

University of Göttingen database of "literary life"

Useful information

More Useful Information
 

Italian Embassy in London

Italian political parties. Information on the main political parties. 

Italica  Website run by RAI International, a "Virtual Campus of Italian language and culture".

Links  Many links on Italy

Mappy  maps, routes, itineraries, distances and driving times for the whole of Europe

Parlamento italiano. The Italian Parliament online: information on the activities, composition, and procedures of  the Camera and the Senate. Live debates and recordings of recent debates (RealAudio).

Virgilio   La guida Italiana ad Internet. 

Windows on Italy Many articles about Italy's history, geography, culture and news (in English). 

Yahoo! Italia is an Italian version of the popular web directory. 
 

Ayako and Steven Archer Useful information

Doing Business in Japan from TMC

Global Window   Useful information for travellers and business people about the Japanese work ethics and culture.

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

Haiku for People Ancient art of poetry

Japanese Art  In English and Japanese. 

Japanese Constitution  The site in English. 

Japanese Fairy Tales  Some popular Japanese fairy tales in English

Japanese Holidays A guide of the holidays celebrated or observed in Japan.

Japanese Superstitions

Japanese Weddings

Kid's Web Japan  Activites for children of ALL ages. Also available in Spanish, French, German, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch and Swedish. To understand Japan: its culture, people, sports, language, games, etc.

Modern Japan from the japan-zone

Nihon-no-Kotowaza   Japanese proverbs

World Haiku Club - for enquiries, please contact Mr Susumu Takiguchi (Chairman)
 

Government & Parliament

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

News 

Russia today

The Face of Russia The website for the American PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) television series on the culture and history of Russia.

HOST - meet international students and learn about their language and culture.  If you would like to invite an international student into your UK home as a guest, send an e-mail to hosts@hostuk.org

Instituto Cervantes
Information from the Instituto Cervantes in Spain.

Latin World  Information about all Spanish-speaking countries in the world.

Mappy  maps, routes, itineraries, distances and driving times for the whole of Europe

Ozu Spanish search engine. 

Sí España
Information on Spanish history, geography, education, media, culture and language from this official site.

Spain clickable map
To search for sites on the Web relating to different areas in Spain. 

Spanish culture  Government site