TL;DR: Most language course descriptions sound alike because they describe the school's method instead of the course. Replace the adjectives with slots: who it is for, starting and target CEFR level, what the learner will be able to do, format, taught hours per week, dates, class size, teacher and price. The template and a filled example are below.
Open the websites of three language schools in the same city and read their "B1 General English" pages. You will probably find the same words on all three: dynamic, communicative, interactive, qualified teachers, small groups. What you will rarely find is how small the group is, what time it starts, or what a learner can do at the end that they could not do at the start.
How do you write a course description that doesn't sound like every other school? You stop describing the school and start describing the course, with facts no other school can copy because they are yours. This article gives you the slots, a filled example and the rules that apply. It is part of our guide to language school marketing in the age of AI.
Why do language course descriptions all sound the same?
Because they are written about the method, not the course. Words like "communicative" and "interactive" describe almost every modern language class, so they distinguish nothing. An applicant comparing schools needs facts: level, hours, times, size, teacher and price. When those are missing, the page reads like a brochure from anywhere.
There is a second cause. Schools often create a page for every course they could run, not the ones that will start. Accreditation inspectors have a name for this. Under Accreditation UK's publicity criterion M22, inspectors look out for "phantom courses" that make the offer look bigger than it is, along with photos, videos and social media that do not match reality (English UK / British Council, 2019).
Fewer, complete pages beat many vague ones.
What goes into a language course description? The template
Twelve slots, in the order applicants check them. Fill every slot with a fact; if a slot stays empty, the course is not ready to advertise. The first five decide whether the course fits the learner; the rest decide whether the learner can actually attend and pay for it.
| Slot | What to write | Weak version | Strong version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Who it is for | One sentence about the learner | "For everyone" | "Adults who use English at work but avoid speaking in meetings" |
| 2. Starting level | CEFR level and how you check it | "Intermediate" | "B1, confirmed by our placement test" |
| 3. Target level | Where the course aims | "Improve your English" | "Towards B2 speaking; one term covers part of the step" |
| 4. What you will be able to do | Three can-do statements | "Gain confidence" | "Explain a delay to a client on the phone" |
| 5. Format | Group or one-to-one, online or in person | "Flexible" | "Group course, in person, room 2" |
| 6. Taught hours per week | Hours, weeks, total | "Intensive" | "Two 90-minute lessons a week for 12 weeks" |
| 7. Course start date and times | Exact dates and times | "Starting soon" | "Tuesdays and Thursdays 18:00–19:30, from 6 October" |
| 8. Class size | Maximum | "Small groups" | "Maximum 8 learners" |
| 9. Minimum age | Age | (missing) | "18 and over" |
| 10. Teacher | Name and background | "Qualified teachers" | "Anna K., 9 years teaching Business English" |
| 11. Price and what is included | Total and inclusions | "Contact us" | "Total price, book included, exam not included" |
| 12. Between lessons | Homework and practice | (missing) | "About 1 hour a week, with AI practice tasks the teacher sets" |
Several of these slots are not optional for accredited schools. Accreditation UK criterion M24 requires publicity to show class times, taught hours per week, course dates, minimum enrolment age and maximum class size (same source as above). The US accreditor CEA requires all written, electronic and oral promotion to be accurate and complete, covering goals, admission, hours, length, calendar, fees, location and services (CEA, 2022). Even if your school is not accredited, these lists are a good definition of what complete means.
Example: a filled course description
The template only works if every slot gets a real value, so here is one filled in. The school, teacher and dates are invented to show the level of detail; the structure is what you copy. Note how the outcome is written as tasks a learner can try, and how the price line says what is not included.
Example (illustrative, not a real case): a small school rewrites its "B1 evening English" page. The owner pastes the course plan into an AI tool with the twelve slots as headings, then checks every line against the timetable and the training programme.
Evening English for work, B1 → towards B2. For adults who read English emails without trouble but go quiet in meetings. You start at B1, confirmed by a 25-minute placement test. Over 12 weeks (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 18:00–19:30, from 6 October; 36 taught hours) you practise explaining a problem, disagreeing politely and summarising a call. Maximum 8 learners, 18 and over, in person. Teacher: Anna K., Business English since 2017. Price includes the coursebook; the language exam fee is not included. Between lessons: about an hour a week of set practice, some of it with an AI speaking tool, which Anna reviews. One term covers part of the step from B1 to B2; most learners need more than one term.
The owner's check found three problems: the start date was wrong in the draft, it had added "fluent" twice, and it had invented a "certificate of completion" the school does not issue. All three came out.
How do you write the outcome without promising a result?
Write what the learner will practise and be able to attempt, not what they will become. Can-do statements tied to a CEFR level describe skills, not promises about speed. Add the condition: the hours, the homework and the attendance it takes. That keeps the description useful and honest at the same time.
The Common European Framework of Reference describes levels from A1 to C2 across listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing (Europass, 2026). Use that vocabulary. "Can take part in a discussion on a familiar work topic" is a B1–B2 kind of statement an applicant can test against their own experience; "speak with confidence" is not.
Three rules for the outcome slot:
- Write it as tasks: "explain", "summarise", "write a short report", not "master" or "perfect".
- Say how far one course goes. If a full level step takes more than one term in your school, say so.
- Name the learner's part: homework, attendance, practice between lessons.
For how to show what past learners achieved without turning it into a promise, see showing learner results without promising fluency.
What do the rules say about course names and qualifications?
Do not name a course after a qualification it does not award, and do not hint at one. In Hungary this is written into the adult training act, and the course you advertise should match the training programme you hold. Accreditors in the UK and US ask for the same thing in different words: accurate and complete.
For an adult training provider in Hungary, the Adult Training Act (Fktv.) sets three relevant rules (Fktv., Nemzeti Jogszabálytár, 2026):
- Training programme. A provider operating on notification still needs its own training programme, uploaded to the FAR reporting system, and must report the course data before the course starts (Fktv. 11., 12., 15. §).
- Names and qualifications. Advertising and information material may not use a training name identical to a vocational qualification, and may not refer to a qualification the course does not give (Fktv. 17/A. §).
- Register number. It belongs on the training documentation and on the documents you issue, and clients must be informed (Fktv. 17. § a)). The law does not say it must appear in every advertisement.
The practical rule: write the course description from the training programme, not from memory. If the programme says 36 hours, the page says 36 hours.
How do you use AI to draft course descriptions?
Give the AI the facts and the slots, and ask it to fill them without adding anything. A prompt that contains the course plan, the timetable and the template produces a usable draft; a prompt that says "write an attractive course description" produces the same adjectives every other school uses.
A prompt that works in practice:
Write a course description using exactly these twelve headings. Use only the facts below. If a fact is missing, write MISSING. Do not use the words fluent, dynamic or communicative, and do not promise any result or time frame. Do not mention any certificate or qualification unless it is in the facts. Facts: [paste course plan, timetable, price, teacher bio].
Then check the draft against four things before it goes online: the timetable, the training programme, the price list and the teacher's own reading of the outcome slot. The teacher who will run the course usually spots the over-promise first.
Next steps: rewrite your three busiest course pages with the template this month. Then build the page around them with the online course landing page template, and link each description to a placement test page that gets people to start. More on course pages and the enrolment path is in the language school marketing guide.
If you want prompts and checklists for course pages, emails and the rest of your school's copy, we are building the Conversion Copywriting Pack. Get notified when it launches.
FAQ
How long should a language course description be?
Long enough to fill every slot, usually between one hundred and fifty and three hundred words for the description itself. The length matters less than completeness: level, outcome, format, hours, dates, class size, age, teacher, price and homework. A short description with all of these beats a long one full of adjectives about your teaching method.
Should a course description mention the CEFR level?
Yes. The CEFR scale from A1 to C2 is the shared language between schools, exams and learners, and many applicants already know their level or have a certificate showing it. State the starting level, how you check it, and where the course aims. Avoid inventing your own level names without the CEFR equivalent beside them.
Can I list a course that has not started yet?
Yes, if it has a real start date and you intend to run it. What accreditors warn against are phantom courses that make the offer look bigger than it is. If a course runs only when enough learners enrol, say so on the page, together with the minimum number and the date you will decide.
Can AI write our course descriptions?
AI can write a solid first draft if you give it the facts and a fixed template, and forbid it to add anything. It tends to add adjectives, promises and certificates you do not offer, so a person must check every line against the timetable, the training programme and the price list before the page goes online.
Sources
- Nailing the publicity criteria (Accreditation UK) — English UK Marketing Conference, British Council session, 2019.
- CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions — Commission on English Language Program Accreditation, 2022.
- Common European Framework of Reference for Language Skills — Europass, European Commission, accessed 2026.
- 2013. évi LXXVII. törvény a felnőttképzésről (Adult Training Act) — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár, state as of 2026.