Best NYC language classes including Spanish, French, Italian and Arabic

This language school really does have something for everyone. First, choose which of the 15-plus languages you’d like to study – instructors teach everything from Arabic to Polish. Then, you can opt for short workshops, group classes, or private instruction. Since ABC Languages’ past clients include the FBI, the College Board, and Uma Thurman (they’re responsible for her flawless Japanese dialogue in Kill Bill), you know these classes have got to be pretty good.

Spanish is the most common second language in the US by a wide margin (Spanish-speaking households account for twice as many people as every other language combined). If you want to learn the basics of conversational Spanish and you haven’t mastered enough Spanish to make it through an episode of Dora the Explorer, this course will help you get a grip on pronunciation, syntax and grammar.

If you don’t think of yourself as a total beginner, you may want to consider enrolling in this more advanced introductory Spanish course. This course aims to provide students with the skills they need to lay the groundwork for Spanish language fluency. This course will help students learn important grammatical constructions, natural sounding speech and idiomatic phrases. If you want to learn Spanish for professional reasons or you are aiming to become fluent in the language, consider enrolling in this course.

Learn the original lingua Franca, the language of love and the language of art in this French class for total beginners. Even if you have no experience with French, save maybe watching Ratatouille or Beauty and The Beast, this class will help you master the basics of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. You’ll also become more comfortable with pronunciation (French uses more vowel sounds than almost any other language, making it intimidating) and gain the basic conversational skills you need to continue your French language training.

Part language school, part arts alliance, the French Institute Alliance Française offers everything from French immersion classes to kids' cooking workshops. The real gem is the 11-week French in the City course, which pairs traditional classroom methods with field trips to Parisian restaurants, galleries featuring French artists, and other cultural sites around New York. Since all 60 instructors are native French speakers, you’ll get a quality education no matter which class you choose.

Learn French BK offers a range of beginner and intermediate French classes for students looking to learn French, a language associated with high class culture and bon mot (it has a certain je ne sais quoi to it). These full immersion classes are a great way to learn French, regardless of your age or experience level and they are conversational enough to be practical for speakers looking to spend some time in Paris (or Montreal or Kinshasa) while being deep enough to be useful to students aiming for fluency.

If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting the Uffizi, the Doge’s Palace or the Trevi Fountain (or virtually anywhere in Italy, which has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country), you’ll want to learn to speak the language. This Italian course aims to give students the basics they need to navigate the cities and find food, train-stations, hotels and other important landmarks. You’ll learn the essentials of Tuscan Italian (which is the most commonly spoken dialect of Italian, though the Venetians might not like it) and you’ll leave this program ready for a trip to Rome, Sicily and Florence.

Lovers of fine wines, fresh pasta, and la dolce vita will want to check out the classes at Collina Italiana, the Upper East Side’s Italian language and cultural center. Morning sessions will begin with a coffee, while students in the evening classes can indulge in a glass of prosecco. Whether you enroll in the more intensive, 10-session program or the three-week “survival kit” designed to prepare you for a trip to Italy, you’ll certainly come out of the program with the ability to say more than just grazie.  

Learn the basics of Italian vocabulary and grammar in this class that will have you ready to start your journey to Italian fluency. You’ll learn your way around parole e frasi (words and phrases) and you’ll learn how Italian has evolved over the last few hundred years. This course is a good starting point for anyone looking to learn Italian and it will help you build the foundational skills that you need, regardless of the path your Italian lessons take.

Sishu Mandarin has been teaching Mandarin to New Yorkers for nearly a decade and they pride themselves in offering practical training that meets the highest quality standards. They offer introductory courses for students who have no experience with Chinese and advanced classes for students with a background in the language. They also offer immersion classes for children, helping students develop proper grammar and pronunciation skills while they are more equipped to learn a new language. These courses will help students learn the intricacies of Mandarin and prepare them with conversational fluency.

By a relatively wide margin, Mandarin Chinese is the most commonly spoken language on Earth and is becoming a secondary lingua franca of a number of important industries.In this beginner-focused course, you’ll learn the basics of Mandarin grammar, vocabulary and syntax, with an emphasis on the challenging way that Mandarin utilizes pronunciation and emphasis as part of speech. You’ll get practical lessons built on real world speaking exercises and you’ll start to learn about reading and writing the language. By the end of this course, you’ll be ready to start more advanced Mandarin lessons and start on your journey towards fluency.

Since it uses a different script and sounds significantly different from Romance languages, Arabic can be intimidating for students. This total beginner level course will help ease your worries and make you comfortable with writing, pronouncing and conversing in Arabic. Over six weeks, you’ll cover everything from the alphabet to the basics of conversation with a small cohort of two to seven other students. By the end of this course, you’ll have the foundational skills you need to start pursuing more focused and more advanced Arabic classes.

If you are looking for more focused, guided training in your Arabic, you should consider enrolling in a series of private, one-on-one (or small group, if you have people you’d like to train with) lessons. You’ll get to work directly with experienced Arabic speakers and teachers with the aim of addressing whatever aspect of the language is giving you the most trouble. You can focus on writing, pronunciation, conversation or specific, technical vocabulary and your instructor will be in contact with you in advance of the course to ensure that the lesson is tailored to your learning style and goals. These private lessons are a great way to supplement your training in Arabic and help you develop the skills that matter most to you.

Get 1-on-1 privating Korean tutoring from ABC Languages and learn the basics of the language or build your conversational skills. Since this is a private training session, you can customize the training to fit your needs, so if you are planning on visiting Seoul, you can focus on reading and conversational Korean, while business types can learn more fluent, professional Korean skills. There are also opportunities for students to work in groups if they find a cohort of other Korean learners they would like to work with.

This Irish language class is an ideal introduction to the Gaelic language and the fundamentals of writing and speaking it. Irish is a language that can be scary at first (just try to pronounce that bit at the start), so getting your fundamentals down is a great way to build confidence and prepare yourself for long-term success. This course will focus on the basics of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation and will set you on the path for future, more advanced Gaelic courses.

Some estimates suggest at least 500,000 people in the United States use American Sign Language – other sources say that figure is actually closer to 2 million. Either way, ASL is one of the most widely used languages in the country. You’ll pick up signing quickly during a six-week beginner session at the Sign Language Center, plus learn more about the deaf community while you’re at it.

Learn the basics of ASL in this easy and accessible class, designed with new learners in mind. The course will cover essential phrases and words, commonly used signs and the process of signing at the proper pace and sight line. By the end of this program, you’ll have enough knowledge of sign language for basic communication and you’ll have laid the groundwork for involving yourself in more advanced ASL training courses.

Fittingly, this Korean language education school is located right in the center of Koreatown. Students learn to speak, read and write Korean in regular lessons on Fridays and Saturdays, then take their growing conversation skills to the on-site Korean Lounge to practice with native speakers.

Since New York has the highest population of Irish Americans in the nation, it only makes sense that the city would also have its own Irish Arts Center. Reconnect with your roots in the Emerald Isle (or just channel Saoirse Ronan’s character in Brooklyn) in a Gaelic language class. Take your pick of an introductory class or a tea and conversation meeting for a bit of the craic (that’s Gaelic for witty chat).