This question of learning English in the northern or southern hemisphere would be easier to solve if we were talking about leraning English in the UK or Australia.In that case it would be easy to advocate the friendliness of the Aussies as opposed to the stand offish attitude of so many English people, especially in the south of England.

Anyway, we are speaking about the English learning opportunities offered between Ireland and Australia.

Without doubt both countries offer the best opportunities to learn English in Ireland because the locals are so friendly.

Try speking to the typical English person in the street and you will receive a polite but short and probably not helpful reply. However you can sure that an Aussie or an Irish speaker will take the time to speak to clearly once they have come out with some painfully unintelligle English!

But back to the question of learning English in Ireland or Australia. In our opinion there is nothing to choses between the countries or people so you have to think of costs. Ireland is far more expensive despite the global recession. However, if you live in Europe you will need to think about the huge cost of the airfare.

Basic as it may sound: if you already live in Europe, go to learn English in Ireland and if you live in Asia, learn English in Australia.

And the final winner for Australia over Irleand is the fact that a long stay in Australia will always be cheaper and you can be sure will speak English during the whole stay whereas in Ireland you may find yourself speaking your native language rather than learning English!!