March 2010 - Scholarship Competition

There are many important things to me but I will try my best
1)Mixed classes: having mates from different parts of the world is a necessary condition when you are learning a language which is spoken all over the world.
2)friendly environment:colourful furnitures,gardens help you relax and make you feel comfortable at a new place that is going to be like home during your stay.
3)central area:of course a place located in the central area of some city allows you to move around easily and have access to many extracurricular activities.
4)trips: planned trips make your studying more pleasent and exciting.
5)last but not least...English: the language of science,medias and rock 'n roll!

Daniela Crapanzano,Italian

When i'm looking for a language school first thing i notice is the thoughts of visitors and the degree of visitors from my country 'cause if 70% of students in this school are from my country probably i will speak almost time in my native language not in english.
Second thing is the professioncy of teatures,and there friendly attitude to students.
Third thing is what school can offer for students on our free time, because it's cool then in a free time i also can speak english and communicate with my classmates on excurtions,evening meetings and so on.
Also i look at the position of school and residence from the center of town.It will be perfect if school is near center, for me not to lose my way in a new area.
And im interesting in what levels of studing english can the school offer (begginer,intermediate,busness english and so on)And number of students in class
Good luck in learning English.Nastya,Russia

1. I would choose EC language school in St. Julians, I was there in 2006
2. I would choose my motivations for learning English
3. I would choose my photo camera of course
4. I would choose meet new friends and will see the fantastic sights of Malta.
5. I would choose my respect for other nationalities.

I will spend my Holiday there from 28th May until 7th June.

Greetings,

Doris Trutmann
Switzerland

lahcene ouled moussa
iam lahcene from Algeria ilike to learn english and iwant to participe to this challenge
best rgerads
lahcene

School, school...what a lovely time in a life of all of us! Some ancient philosophers even said, that "school is the inseparable body of an organism, which is called LIFE." I'm a student of kazakh high school. And for me education is the aim of all my life. I think that one of the most treasurable things for learning is environment. English language school is absolutely another part of world, another style of learning.
As for me, there are some important things when choosing an English language school. First of all, is its atmospere. I mean, collective, the teaching working methods and the teacher himself. In my strong belief, the atmosphere of school is like another magic life, which should be full of smiles, love, and friendly faces.
Secondly, I would choose that school, which is settled somewhere in interesting and inspiring places, somewhere in the exciting corner of the globe, where I can find some more new opportunities, where my vision will change in a better way, and where I will feel myself comfortable, like the real kid of this world.
Also, the resourses of the learning centre is very valuable for every student, who want know as much us possible. Various libraries, speacial classes on the particular subject, Internet services or Wi-fi all over the territory.
Every action in our life is giving results. So, while choosing a particular school I want to be sure of the qualified certificate. And before entering the school, I would like to find out something of its history and reputation, the opinion of ex-learners.
Finally...in my opinion, the conditions of living play a huge role in a life of everyone. Because, we all know that simple philosophical quote: "We are what we do, what we eat, and where we live". If somebody asked, I'd never answer like this: Oh, I can't imagine my life without croissants on breakfast", for example. I'm not that choosy one. But for every person in the world, it is an important thing, where does he return after work or school etc. So, the campuses, which the school is giving, should suit all the students.
In conclusion, to these 5 most important things when choosing English language school I can only add...funny mood, friendly jokes, sun, blue sky and laugh - this is all that makes good education really pleasurable.

Alina from Kazakhstan

Hello
My name is Kristina, and I am from Kazakhstan..

I think that the most important thing is popularity of this school because if you tell somebody That you studied at EC they will tell "WOW" cause a lot of people know this school.Its an image, Brand.So it can help you with the future career.

Second thing I think is Professional and english speaking staff. Because If you study English you need permanently to talk, to write, even to think in this language to be successful.

Third thing this is a good place of this school with everything needed for students ( comfortable classrooms with air-conditioner,internet connection,gardens, a student lounge, gym) BUT but if you go to study you must study. You need to have a wish for studing, not just to go to the beach ))You need to make all homework from school and ofcourse if your future is important for you try not to miss lessons.

Fourth is i think its friendly and warm atmosphere. Readiness to give a peace of advice,possibility of teachers to deal with all kind of students from the whole world, smile,a lot of people from different contries who are ready to help each other.

Fifth its good rest i think. I think its good accomodation,Different trips, contests, I think we need to have a memorable experience studying there. )))

Best regards
Kristina

I joined the EC online on my free will ,and I have always been trying to take part of all the competitions to win a scholarship,yet to learn English in this compelling EC centre...so when it comes to choosing an English language school I will absolutely select the EC for its online services as well as for its good reputation ,which can be seen through many EC members appreciation of learning at such a school for quite a few motives :
Hard work - exclusive programs at the school -and brilliant teachers ,in addition to that the school is situated in an English-speaking country,which means that its location produces the bedrock for motivating students to interact with people outside the school ,thus bringing up their English skills ,,,and these are exactely the most important features I take into account to pick up my Enlish language school.
Afaf from Algeria.

In my opinion the five most important things in an English school are the following:
First: the city where the shool is, it should be an interesting city surrounded by culture activities like cinemas, theathers and museums.
Second: the teacher's abilities to deal with different people's culture.
Third: the school must be cozy, offering some coffee or tea for its students to make them feel a warm enviroment around them.
Forth: the school is supposed to have a nice library, offering a quite variety of books and magazines for students who want to read at home.
Fifth: teachers are welcome to participate with their students in parties, trips or simple chats.

That's it! Am I asking too much?

Thank you
Marcia Ferreira

There is a lot of preferences to learn English in an English speaking country. Being from another country, you bring to the school your own unique culture and skills. And, studing at this school is something of an adventure for you. It is an opportunity for you to study in a different country, to get to know better their culture and its people, to spend a great time in another country and to make a lot of new friends. But the most important it"s to learn English. Choosing language school first important thing to me is professionalism of teachers. Their skills in process with students for which English is not native language. At second, I will look the location of school. It can be a center of city or a picturesque suburb. Also very important thing when you study English is a library and video shows. Half of the world"s scientific literature is in English. When we learn a foreing language at the same time we get acquainted with the culture or the country, its literature, history and geography. In this language school must be variety of artistic and musical groups where students can improve their English skills.And for the end the most important to me it"s culture student"s exchange of experience. Possibility to be attached to the culture of different countries of the world and to make a lot of new friends.
The English language is one of the most important languages in the modern world. That is why I pay much attention to English. And English language school must help us in this.

Best regards!!!
Olja from Ukraine.

English Arabic French Italy

Sent to us by Fatih from Turkey:

Hi

If I will go to english language school in an English-speaking country;
First of all price is the most important for me. Because if the price is too low I can stay there more weeks and this is more helpfull to me. Second one language school's quality is more important for me. Language school's representative in my country show me their quality. Third one, activities and facilities are more important for me. Because sometimes I can get bored in lessons at that time activities or facilities would resque me this boring time. So I can learn too much things with activities or facilities. Fourth one, students nationality is more important. Because, If there are too much same nationality, they will speak in their local language and this situation would be bad for me. And the last one, english language school's technolgy is more important for me. Because If there is not a wireless area or internet cafe I can not contact with my friends and family. So I couldn't choose that language school.

If the language school has got these points I am going to choose that language school.

The five most important things to make decision of choosing this or that an English language school for me are:
1. Status of the education school, which includes accreditation and certification.
2. Location: country, city and central area.
3. Facilities: style of studying, professional teachers, good accommodation, what kind of trips they organizes for you , friendly environment (teachers , staff and whole situation), but most important about all these facilities is to be introduced in such a way to make positively affect to your feeling. so an English school must have a good website.
4.Prices must be a suitable. (when I was searching an English school I liked and I was thinking about both Regent and EC schools but at last I chose EC because EC’s prices were cheaper and facilities nearly same.
5. Good recommendation from a person who studied in past there and is quite satisfied.

Best,
Nino Mindiashvili from Georgia

I'm Natalia from Ukraine
If I choose the school I'd take attention on the following things;
1 teachers- friendly,creative and experienced
2 student's groups- different ages and nationalities
3 reputation of school(opinions of students)
4 activities in free time - for more communication and meeting new friends
5 unfortunately for me it's important- the price

Hello! My name is Dmitriy, I’m from Russia.

When I started to choose an English language school I was mainly interested in these aspects.
1) Prices and conditions
Firstly I need to understand conditions of getting visa to some countries where you suppose to study. Then I have to count all costs including tickets, accommodations, foods and something else.
2) Teachers
It’s highly important to know who will teach you. Is it native speaker, are they qualified enough? For that purpose perhaps you need to know your English level, so you can take a test from that school and do it. It’s absolutely interesting!
3) Quantity of students in a group
Also you can imagine how many people will be in a class. The less quantity the more attention you will get from your teacher.
4) Advertising
You can compare the school websites, appreciate it. As for me I like to speak with someone from schools to get additional information. For instance when I was choosing an English school in Malta, I called to 7 places to ask about advantages of their courses. It was so nice when twice from seven I found a British women at the phone and they were very polite and with native pronunciation.
5) Opinions or references about school
And probably the most important thing which can change you choice completely is references about schools from people.

Do the best choice!

The five most important things to me when choosing an English language school:
1) Price is suitable;
2) Classes are excellent;
3) Accomadation is acceptable;
4) After-classes activities are interesting;
5) Friends are available.

Live and Learn
Marina, Ukraine

To learn English language it is my main objective throughout many years. And now I have started to understand that I will never learn language if I will not visit the English-speaking country. Certainly I have criteria on which I would like to choose school in which to study language.
At once I can tell that the external conditions and a site a little excite for me, in this plan I am not pretentious. But there are things which are very important for me and as I think make the main points of successful study. The most important thing for me it is of course quality of studing. At the same time I understand that the tuition fee depends on quality also. It is point number two. Too cheap offers will never involve me, in the same way as well as the overestimated payment, cause my parents will not pull this burden. One more important factor is internal conditions in collective. It should be comfortable for everything, it will help to find faster common language and start to communicate without difficulties . These 3 points are the cores for me. On the fourth place I would put an educational institution arrangement though as I have told earlier it has no special value. Well if dream up I would be desirable that it was not too far from a place of my residing and the most important social points (shop, hospital...). And the fifth and least important my requirement is residing and a food as it is strange. I could live in very hard conditions, therefore now for me it is trifles. The main thing that there was a roof over the head.

Here my summary of the basic requirements. I wait for results of competition very much!!!

Olga, Russia.

This question was my topic last year =) Because, I went to language school in the UK.. My priorities are ;

1)City: I prefer small cities rather than big cities. I don't want to waste of my time on the traffic and crowded streets. Also, in the small cities, I could find the people easily for chatting.

2)Rate of nationalities: it's one of the most important things during the choosing. I search the rate of my nationality in the school.. It shouldn't be too much people from my country, otherwise I'll improve my native language.

3)People's advice: I ask to people who had an experience about abroad and language schools. Rather than agency, I give an importance that what experienced people saying.

4)Price: It's probably the key point.. "Is it worth of that?" I try to answer it.. Also, I am not willing to choose the school which is charged high tuition..

5)Accomodation: The school should offer a comfortable accomodation to students. Host families should be native and friendly.. If, a student face some problems with their host families, school should help them and offers different alternatives.

Deniz/from Turkey

The five most important things when choosing an English language school are:-

1)Mixed Friendly classes: having mates from different parts of the world is a necessary condition when students are learning English which is spoken all over the world.

2)Understanding capability: In an english school,different types of students come from all over the world.But,among themselves,some may not be able to speak english fluently.But,all the students in the school should understand the reason and weakness of them who are weak to speak english fluently.They should not depress them as mentally dis-balanced or any other.

3)friendly environment:colourful furnitures,gardens help students relax and make them feel comfortable at a new place that is going to be like home during their stay.

4)Speaking fluency and convincing capacity: All the students in the school must speak in english fluently(not another language) and must also have the convincing capacity among themselves so that they can communicate with the other people all over the world easily.

5)Teacher and Interpreter requirement: there should be an english teacher who can easily teach the students and understand the weakness of the students and make them properly as an english man.There are also some students who come from another country(not english country.So,they may have some problem at the first time of attending the school.So,there should be a good interpreter at the first time to make those students capable to communicate with others in the school.

!!!Aniket Sengupta!!!
Country- India.

I think that you should consider many things while going to learn English, but the if we focus on most 5 important things;

1 – Teachers backgrounds, language skills and school’s teaching methods are very important because they get in contact with you directly during the course.

2 – Accomodation type is important because if you are not happy with a host family or a hotel, you couldn’t study except the school hours and so your productivity will be decreased.

3 – Price level is also inevitable affect of your choice, the optimized price will help give your decision easily. Regarding the most part of the people’s occupation is student, in case they have economical problems.

4 – Profiles and nationalities of people who are attending the course, because they will have the possibility to be a candidate of your classmate. During the course, you will keep in touch with abroad students’ more than native speakers.

5 – Location, which means country and city, is one of the most important things because you will manage trips and explore the city’s historical places such as in your free time.

Datev YAZDANOGLU, Turkey

Dear All,

I have to inform that english is most important for our life with english you cant survie your life is empty without english and education,if you want to learn english so you have to work on this
mission ,

Regds
Sikandar

Hello!I am Dasha from Russia!

I know even from my experience that it is so difficult to choose English school for studying.. And I chose EC School according to some points:
1. it must be the most popular school because it means that they care about the quality of teaching and they want you come again and again…
2. it must have good and reasonable price..
3. of course you need good-decorated school where it will be pleasant to study for you..
4. each course has new interesting approach for teaching where you will learn a lot of new things for yourself
5. and the last point is caring about your free time..You are going to be in new country..and it is so important to have in your study program Welcome evening or excursion..It helps you to find friend in short time!!!

EC School is following these points! It must be chosen!!!
Good luck everyone!!!

If I were to go to an English-speaking country to learn English, I would have to check out some conditions before making the final choice of school. What is important for me is:

1. The quality of the school. I would check the school's accreditations, to be sure that the school, the teachers and the lessons are of a certain standard.
2. I would check that the school has a good mix of students, concerning nationality and age. This will ensure that the students use English as a common language not only in the classroom but also in the breaks and free-time.
3. The school should offer a variety of after-school activities. This will make the students do things together also in their free-time, and use English in other situations than in the classroom.
4. The location of the school is important. Meaning that both accommodation and services like shops, bars, restaurants etc. must be in the neighbourhood, so that Idon't have to spend lots of time travelling.
5. The price, unfortunately, also plays a role. When I say the price, I mean “the whole package”, not just the school fees, but also the costs of travelling and the stay.
I think as a whole the EC schools meet my requirements!
Kristin, Norway

The most importants things for me before choosing an English school are:

1- THAT THE TEACHERS ARE WELL-TRAINED, FRIENDLY AND UNDERSTANDING.

2- A WELL SITUATED SCHOOL IN A SMALL TOWN WITH ACCOMMODATION NEARBY.

3- THE FEES MUST SUIT MY POCKET.

4- A REASONABLY SMALL CLASS WITH A MAXIMUM OF 10 STUDENTS.

5- A SCHOOL WELL EQUIPPED WITH MODERN FACILITIES.

Vicente LLorens Llorca.

Spain.

1. Find accredited language school.
2. Read students reviews about school.
3. Is offering price adequate price for you? What is included in school’s offer? Books, internet, library…
4. Size of classes (choose small classes).
5. Choose city and school with less chance to meet people from your speaking area.

Ljiljana, Serbia

It was something like 3 years ago when I asked to me the same question. I was going to take a break from work and I decided to live in London for a while and improve my English.
First of all I looked up on the web and on the British Council for the Accredited Schools. Then I made a list with the 15-20 Schools that seemed the best ones and the most recommended by others students. I also visited its web sites for more information. I checked the courses and the prices and I chose the Schools that offers the kind of courses that I was interested on.
I found the schools on a map of London and then I reduced the list by choosing the ones that where located in a central point, close to an underground station or to an attractive point (like the British Museum
Before making a decision I went to London to visits the Schools. I wanted to know how the buildings and classrooms looked like, how many students there were per classroom (in some schools there were 20 or more students!!! awful!), if there were nice and comfy places to eat, to surf on the web or just to take a break. I asked directly about things that I was interested on, like social programmes, trips, specific courses, teachers and nationalities of the students.
After all that I must say that was EASY to choose! And I would LOOVE to come back to that School were I spent almost 2 months... can you figure out in which School I went?...

To sum up, in 5 words the most important things FOR ME are:
1. Reputation
2. Courses
3. Location
4. "Atmosphere"
5. FUN!

I must add something that wasn't important for me but maybe is very important to consider when you choose an English School and is the accommodations that must be nice, safety and affordable.

Hmm…that’s interestng.
At first I would choose the country. It’s amazing to learn language in a place of your dream.
Then I‘d read the stories of previous students. It’s useful to know their opinion about teachers, educational process, environment, and so on.
There should be interesting activities after school.
But the most important thing is a warm atmosphere and friendly people.
Of course we shouldn’t forget about the price. Unfortunately, lots of things depend on money.
Olga Bezrukavaya, Russia.