Month: September 2017

Student international night out – Erasmus Party!

Category: Outdoor Activity, Testimonials / Tags:

Erasmus party in Manchester Hi everyone my name his Hugo, currently I’m an Intern at EC Manchester for 2 months, today I write this post to share with you my own experience in Manchester especially about it’s night life with the Erasmus party ! The party was at the ARK Club in the Deansgate Locks, a sumptuous place in Manchester and probably one of my favorite ! The party was the 21th September, 1300 people were present this night from all over the world. The atmosphere in the club was really crazy, it was a good opportunity to meet people and make new friends. Inside the waitress served a lot of shots, it was funny to try new alcohol from England with friends ahah ! If you come in Manchester you should try an Erasmus party, we hope to see you soon 😉 If you’re interested in following an English course at EC English Manchester, why not join an IELTS Course in Manchester

Trip to magical North Wales with Smile Adventures

Category: Trips / Tags: ,

  Hi I’m Levi, one of the interns at EC English Manchester, on Sunday the 24th I went on a Smile Adventures trip to North Wales. Here’s how I liked it: During the trip we had 4 destinations; Llandudno, Conwy, Snowdonia National Park and Betws Y Coed, I’ll tell you a little bit about all of them. Llandundo After a trip of about 90 minutes we arrived in Llandudno, a beautiful Victorian seaside town where we were able to walk on the beach and the pier, there are all kinds of nostalgic little shops. Foodie tip: try a Welsh meat pie (only try this if you’re REALLY hungry, because there’s a delicious lunch waiting for you in Conwy). Conwy This was our longest stop (two hours), our guide gave us a choice to either visit the old castle, or join him on a walk on the city walls. I chose the walk over the city walls because it was free, yes I am THAT Dutch;), and because I wanted to enjoy the nice weather (no rain Yay!). Foodie tip of the day: After the walk we got pretty hungry so we went to an award winning fish & chips shop, although I usually don’t like fish & chips that much, but it was so good!! The fish batter was golden crispy and the chips were not too greasy Snowdonia national Park After that we drove into the national park where we had a short walk amongst the mountains. As I come from the flattest country in the world I was mesmerized by the beauty of the surroundings and how clean the water was. Betws Y Coed Our last stop was in a little town on the edge of the National Park, this was the perfect ending tot he trip as it combined the friendly town-life with the stunning nature of the park. … Read more

My EC Manchester Experience – Spanish Student Noelia

Category: Testimonials / Tags: , ,

My name is Noelia I am 19 years old and I am from Spain. When by November 2016 I decided I wanted to live my experience in Manchester, my agency recommended me to study in EC. I had high expectations and from the very first moment they lived up to the hype. The duration of my course was only 4 weeks, not too long but once you get to EC they make you feel like you are part of that great family. The welcome of the students and the staff is incredible and I was very shocked that being in a foreign country surrounded by people from all over the world they were making me feel like I was at home, or even better. The classes in EC are very dynamic, they are not the typical ones in which you spend hours without looking up from the book but the teachers give you the opportunity to express yourself and to improve your English a lot. Everybody in the class is always involved in the conversations and the teachers make sure of that. Also, the rest of the staff are very caring and they constantly ask you if everything is going in the best way possible. Thanks to EC Manchester I have lived one of the best experiences of my life and I have met extraordinary people, so I strongly recommend everyone to choose this school. I am very happy with the choice I made, it was the best decision ever. If you want to have an experience like Noelia, why don’t you sign up for IELTS Courses in Manchester  

My Student Ambassador experience at EC Manchester English School!

Category: Student Ambassador, Testimonials / Tags: , ,

Being an EC student ambassador is one of the best experiences i have ever had here in Manchester. Since EC Manchester has become not only a school, but also a second home for me, i will never regret doing this. I still remember the moment i was asked if i am interested to be a part of the school as a student ambassador, i told myself “why not?”, and that is the beginning of the new me.   At first, I was too shy to speak. Actually, i was too shy to do everything because i was not confident in myself enough to feel that i am also as good as others. But when i became a student ambassador, i have to do things which i never thought i would do it before like talking with new people like i have known them for years, being even more friendly and out-going, trying not to be shy, making people laugh, entertaining them, helping them as they are one of my best friends, including answering some questions about grammar. These things were new to me but i think i have done it quite well. To be honest, i feel really good when people come to me for help. I don’t mind helping them. I love seeing their faces turning from confusing mode to realising one, and that makes me really happy. Besides, I can improve my English skills in both speaking and listening because I have to listen to many accents from all around the world, also learn to know how to speak and use the variety of vocabularies with different levels of people. Lastly, the most wonderful thing i have from being a student ambassador is friendship. I have got many friends. Even if i know that they come and go, … Read more

EC Manchester English Student Ambassador Testimonial by Ricardo

Category: Testimonials / Tags: , ,

One of our awesome student ambassadors is leaving this week, here’s his testimonial about his EC Experience at EC Manchester. Thank you for the good times Ricardo!   Remembering my very first days at EC Manchester made me realize the importance of a warm welcome when someone, like I did, arrives into a new culture, particularly if it is going to be for a long period of time. I said this not because it wasn’t offered to me at that moment but because I wanted to take part in this process and try to make friends who I could enjoy this exciting city with.   Now that I am in my last days here and look back, the fact of being an EC ambassador opened to me a whole world of opportunities to enhance my experience, from going to play football on Fridays to participate in coffee and chat on Mondays when the new students come to improve their English. Those activities are available to join but when you feel part of the school, a feeling of belonginess arises deep down.   I will certainly miss EC, Manchester, my friends and but I am completely happy and satisfied I’ve accomplished a goal I’d set up long time ago. Now, I just have several tools to keep learning English whenever and wherever I go.   Ricardo Velasco   Find out more about homestay Manchester English Courses!  

Ninja Warrior: EC Students coming to your TV screen soon! (or not…)

Category: Activities, Outdoor Activity / Tags: ,

For a change of activity, the EC Manchester staff organised a Ninja Warrior training last week. Exactly as the famous TV show, it is a really difficult obstacle run, where all your body is working hard! Nevertheless, a lot of brave students wanted to try. Just in case, we booked the Academic level, it was the first time for everyone after all. When we arrived, it  was the case that the academic level is for young people… So we finally change for the Ninja Recruit level. Fortunately, even for adult runs, there were different level of run. Full of confidence, we were starting with the first obstacle in front of us when a member of the staff interrupted us. We were just starting by the hardest one. So she took us to the easiest one, made us some warm up exercise and gave us the security policy. Now, we were really ready to start our ninja initiation! At this moment, it was possible to see different behaviors between the student : those who went first for it, and the other who preferred to look first how to do and then try. It was very demanding tests:strength, velocity, balance… All the body was solicited! But some students were very comfortable, and succeeded the tests one after the other! The favorite one was the final of each runs, the wall! Students had to run on the wall and jump to reach the border, and it was increasingly difficult! But increasingly fun too!   Only the bravest (and tallest) students were able to partially manage the hardest run! Despite of the challenge, they didn’t give up! For a first time, they were really motivated! It is fatigued that we came back in town, eager to take a good shower!

EC Activities: “Prison Break” with Break Out

Category: Activities, Outdoor Activity, Testimonials / Tags: , ,

Last week-end, EC Manchester organised an Escape room for a couple of students. This is Rene’s testimony, one of the participating students : “We arrived the hall of breakout. One of the staff members welcomed us and wanted to know whether we have some experience in playing escape games. He realized the most of us had their first escape room experience on this day. So he has given us a detailed introduction than. Before the game has been started they took me in the room at first. Because I was the wrongly imprisoned person in this game. He handcuffed me and looked me into a cell. Now the game could finally start. The others came in the room and it was their task to free me from the cell and afterwards we had to escape the room before the warden is back in his office. The room was separated in a cell and the warden’s office. Obviously the warden was a big fan of playing games. We’ve found some play cards, poker chips and a chessboard. Now my mates started to investigate his office and I my cell. Unfortunately my range to move was rather limited because of my handcuffs. But one of my mates found the key and I could free my self from my handcuffs. But I was still locked in my cell. At least from the cell I could help to find some ideas how to manage some of the puzzles. Than we found a connection how to use the poker chips and the chessboard. Also the playcards led us to a new solution. Finally we found a key to open my metal door. We continued together to investigate the rooms, open padlocks and found also some really tricky hidden places. Of course we needed also a … Read more

Wonderful 3 months internship at EC Manchester English School!

Category: Friendship, Testimonials, Uncategorized / Tags:

My name is Theo, and I am a French student in a business school Telecom Business School. This summer, I had to do an internship, and a friend told me about his internship. He did it at EC Manchester, a language school, 2 years ago. It was a great opportunity, to be able to complete my internship abroad. So, interested in, I postulated and here I am: student at the “Student Services”. The first main part of my internship here was student registration management. So every week, I have prepared Welcome packs for arriving students, input their information in the system, prepared timetables and schedule… It was very nice because it is the first contact with students, and with new friends! Because it is also the opportunity to meet new friends from all around the world, with their own culture! And on the other hand, it was a communication internship. As I have a second technical degree in com munication I was able to use my knowledge to help the school to improve its communication. So I created new templates for posters and weekly presentations. By improving their communication, I also improve my skills in English by writing blogs like this one. Of course, I didn’t just work here, but I also have enjoyed the beautiful city of Manchester, and around thanks to the trips organised! I have been pleasantly surprised how open minded Mancunian people are. They have all their own style without fear of others’ opinion. I have really appreciated it! And Northern Quarter was definitely my favorite place, very different from what kind of neighbourhood we can find in France. Thank you EC Manchester for those amazing 3 months, I am coming back home the luggage full of souvenirs and memories!