{"id":70947,"date":"2026-07-01T12:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/70947\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T12:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:21:17","slug":"language-schools-reimagine-learning-with-aperitivos-k-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/70947\/","title":{"rendered":"Language Schools Reimagine Learning with Aperitivos & K-pop"},"content":{"rendered":"

The travel industry boosts the economy of desirable places but all too often it can produce sterile experiences that hermetically seal tourists off from their destination. Fortunately, there\u2019s a gentler world of business that teaches people languages away from screens and deepens encounters. We spread the word about the courses that bring drawing, dancing and aperitivos into the conversation.<\/p>\n

1.
Community spirit
Il Sasso, Montepulciano<\/p>\n

Montepulciano\u2019s Piazza Grande is home to a palazzo designed by architects sent to the hillside town by the Medici family. Across the square, though, is the town\u2019s relatively unremarkable- looking cathedral. The church\u2019s backers spent so much money on its ornate interior that they had none left for the outside. Like the church\u2019s builders, the students of Tuscany\u2019s Il Sasso language school have arrived at the conclusion that it\u2019s what\u2019s inside that matters most. They\u2019re prioritising learning over gilding their fa\u00e7ades on a beach.<\/p>\n

\"FourIl Sasso students practising Italian<\/p>\n

Rebecca Mason made the bold move of quitting her technology marketing job and moving to Italy to improve her language skills. \u201cI realised that I had this amazing job and I had everything going for me back in Sydney but is that all there is?\u201d she says. After a long pandemic, Mason, 30, wanted to reset. \u201cI thought, I can\u2019t just keep climbing the corporate ladder, taking that next promotion and that next pay packet,\u201d she adds. \u201cNow I\u2019m at a language level where I can get by awkwardly; it\u2019s in the immersion that the magic happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StoneMontepulciano\u2019s cathedral<\/p>\n

Founded in 1983, Il Sasso initially catered to German and Austrian tourists, although most of the students that Monocle meets are from the Anglosphere. The school charges \u20ac779 per person for a four-week group class and takes in about 500 students a year, rarely exceeding 45 at any given time. Private classes are also on offer, however, and not just for the business leaders, ambassadors and one Hungarian ex-president who have all studied here before.<\/p>\n

Some classes take place in the cool, high-ceilinged classrooms but owner-director Silvia Celli prides herself on Il Sasso\u2019s place in the Montepulciano community. Classes regularly involve visits to farmers\u2019 markets where students take it in turns to play the role of tour guide around town. \u201cWe do not have a vending machine here because we want you to spend as much time as possible outside talking,\u201d says Celli. \u201cThat way you feel part of something bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celli found herself here during her previous career in publishing, when looking for a rural place to work on revising the Italian dictionary. \u201cI wanted to write in a beautiful setting,\u201d she says as a breeze disturbs the wind chimes in her office. \u201cA friend of mine was working at the school and asked whether I could help.\u201d Unlike many of its competitors, Il Sasso survived the pandemic with a temporary pivot to online lessons.<\/p>\n

Now that in-person classes are back, there are a number of reasons why people enrol. Husband and wife Michael Roesslein, 41 and Mira Danysh, 34, relocated permanently from California\u2019s Bay Area after the stress of being a nurse during the pandemic aggravated Mira\u2019s autoimmune disorder. \u201cWe wanted to assimilate as quickly as possible,\u201d says Roesslein. \u201cFor the first two weeks, though, I was too scared to try to buy anything at the market. But my teacher took me to order stuff and then I felt confident enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StudentsView to learn<\/p>\n

\"WomanSunshine and syntax<\/p>\n

\"GroupActivities include discussing recipes<\/p>\n

Most students are here temporarily, though. American constitutional law student Ned, 29, wants to access Machiavelli untranslated and Judi, 25, from Leipzig, is here to supplement her local internship. Jet-lagged 64-year-old Bruce Johnson has just flown in from Calgary but started his years-long love affair with Italian in his former career as a fashion buyer. \u201cThe experience of meeting people from all over the world is enriching in itself but my hope is to start thinking about winding down work; my three weeks here are my mini-sabbatical,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The programme, which includes perfecting one\u2019s coffee order at the local caf\u00e9 and colloquial Italian practice sessions over aperitivos, would be sumptuous enough in any context but when muddled with Montepulciano\u2019s setting \u2013 vineyards and cypress trees carpet the rolling Tuscan hills that stretch out below the town \u2013 it\u2019s hard to think of a more intoxicating place to watch the sun slowly melt the ice in your Aperol spritz.
ilsasso.com<\/a><\/p>\n

2.
French connections
CESA, Aix-en-Provence<\/p>\n

Most people learn to tell their pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9 from their imparfait in a classroom near home but a lucky few get to study verb tenses in the south of France. At the cesa school in Aix-en-Provence, students come from far and wide to hone their language skills \u2013 and have a glass of Proven\u00e7al ros\u00e9 while they\u2019re at it.<\/p>\n

\"YoungStudents at CESA<\/p>\n

Founded in 1972, cesa\u2019s Aix-en-Provence branch began as a language centre geared towards Swedish students looking to learn French in the region. But as the school broadened its services to include more people, it soon became clear they would need to widen their remit too. These days, cesa combines traditional language classes in the classroom with a number of hands-on activities, including wine tastings, hiking, yoga, p\u00e9tanque and drawing. The twist? Every conversation, from reading a map to discussing mourv\u00e8dre grape varieties, must happen in French. \u201cWe see the activities as a complement to learning the language,\u201d says the school\u2019s director Anna D\u00edaz. \u201cThey present students with the opportunity to meet other people and become more familiar with the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StudentNote to self<\/p>\n

\"FourOutside the box<\/p>\n

\"StudentsPractising vocabulary<\/p>\n

\"ThreeDid you hear that?<\/p>\n

\"TourTour guide setting ground rules<\/p>\n

\"StudentsC\u00e9zanne\u2019s trail<\/p>\n

\"GroupHiking in the Proven\u00e7al hills<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz, who is originally from Stockholm, is no stranger to the art of language learning. She agrees that for her school, choosing to offer a more holistic approach was a smart decision; as post-pandemic travel ramps up again, spots on language programmes like cesa\u2019s have become increasingly sought-after. \u201cWe\u2019re not the cheapest school but the people who come here come looking for quality,\u201d says D\u00edaz. \u201cWe have small groups in classes; the city is beautiful. Lots of people like that small-town charm.\u201d It\u2019s easy to see the appeal. Nestled in a sunny villa overlooking the mountains, the building has a rustic appeal. \u201cBack in the day, women used to come down here and wash their clothes in the river,\u201d says D\u00edaz.<\/p>\n

When Monocle visits cesa, a group of young Swedish students is gathering outside for a break. \u201cThey\u2019re here to study for their exams,\u201d says D\u00edaz. \u201cBut people come here for many reasons.\u201d Claudia Rodriguez, a Colombian massage therapist based in Mexico City, says that she wanted to learn French for her clients, who are often francophone. \u201cPlus, she\u2019s here for love,\u201d says her classmate, Leonardo Cavalcanti, a professor at the University of Bras\u00edlia. Rodriguez\u2019s partner is French and she has always wanted to speak his first language.<\/p>\n

For most of the staff, being able to interact with different types of people is the best part of the job. \u201cI once taught the CEO of a huge Brazilian company basic French,\u201d says Mathilde Couderc, a new hire who, at the time, was just out of university.<\/p>\n

Later that day, a group of students gathers around the foot of the Sainte-Victoire mountain for today\u2019s activity. Here, no English is allowed and, as the students chat and hike up a hill, it\u2019s clear that they are following the rules. It isn\u2019t always easy, though. Jennifer Edson, a New York-based creative director, is still figuring out what makes the language tick. But while she has found the learning curve difficult, the experience has been immensely rewarding. Being in Provence is, of course, half the fun. \u201cI\u2019m in heaven,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Learning a new language can be a daunting experience. But, like Edson, many have found out that jumping off the deep end often yields the best results. As more businesses realise that people are willing to spend their money on experiences, language-learning schools have the opportunity to increase their marketability \u2013 that is if, like cesa, they play their cards right. \u201cThings have started picking up in the spring and we\u2019re headed towards a busy summer,\u201d says D\u00edaz. \u201cHopefully a good winter too.\u201d
is-aix.com<\/a><\/p>\n

3.
K-pop performances optional
Rolling Korea, Seoul<\/p>\n

During Korean class, Lisa Scholer, a pink-haired 23-year-old from Luxembourg, sings a K-pop ballad. She\u2019s at the Rolling Korea language school, which integrates K-pop vocals and dance into its Korean classes, in Seoul\u2019s hip Seogyo-dong neighbourhood. \u201cEverything comes back to its place,\u201d Lisa sings, following the Korean lyrics from musician Taeyeon\u2019s \u201c11:11.\u201d The teacher observes her closely, commenting on breathing, rhythm and pronunciation, while accompanying on the keyboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t just teach regular grammar; we combine education with entertainment,\u201d says Lee Junmi, co-founder of Rolling Korea and a bts fan. Lisa, whose Korean is intermediate, double majored in Japanese and Korean Studies at university in Germany. \u201cI didn\u2019t know a lot about Korea until I looked more into the language and culture; then I really started getting interested, because it\u2019s so different from what I\u2019m used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YoungRolling Korea student<\/p>\n

\"KoreanLearning with music<\/p>\n

At Rolling Korea\u2019s weekly dance class, the teacher speaks mostly in Korean, \u201cwhich helps a lot,\u201d says Lisa. It\u2019s her third time participating in the school, each time spending a month or two here. Today the school offers Korean language packages \u2013 with or without the K-pop options \u2013 costing anywhere from less than $1,000 (\u20ac933) to more than $3,000 (\u20ac2,800) a month. Most students come from North America and Europe but before the pandemic it was Japan.<\/p>\n

Pre-pandemic, the institute averaged 100 students per month; it\u2019s now around 50. Lee is no stranger to hard times; when she and her husband founded the school in 2012, they only had two students: a Japanese couple in their sixties with family roots in Korea. \u201cThe first time I came to Rolling Korea,\u201d says Lisa, \u201cI was the only student here because nobody got a visa during the pandemic.\u201d She says she likes the school as there\u2019s less pressure and more fun. \u201cIt feels like a second home.\u201d
rollingkorea.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The travel industry boosts the economy of desirable places but all too often it can produce sterile experiences…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[38629,38630,5370,38631,38632,38633,38634,1326,195,18552,38635,38636,38637,112,33,38638,38639],"class_list":["post-70947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","tag-cultural-education","tag-educational-tourism","tag-france","tag-french-language","tag-immersion","tag-immersive-education","tag-italian-language","tag-italy","tag-k-pop","tag-korean-language","tag-language-learning","tag-montepulciano","tag-provence","tag-seoul","tag-south-korea","tag-travel-education","tag-tuscany"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}