LEARNING ENGLISH IN BRISTOL

At the EC Language School - Bristol 

We realize that every experience in life teaches us something once we evaluate its pros and cons. I asked my 4scA students to reflect on our week in Bristol (14th/20th April 2015) and point out its advantages and disadvantages.
While we were there, they went to EC Language School and had native-speakers teaching them for 4 hours and 30 minutes every day, they lived with English host families, they visited Bristol in the afternoons, went to Bath  and London at the weekend. They had plenty to tell once we were back.

In my questionnaire I also asked my students about the best and the worst moments,  or what they liked and disliked (click here to see my questions). Here are some of their answers. On the whole all of them thought it was a great experience. 

Bristol -  Suspension Bridge

Our stay in Bristol was  fantastic and very  exciting. We visited three cities - Bristol, Bath and London – and many beautiful places. Lessons at EC Language School were interesting and fun. Our teachers were qualified and very nice. They were very good at capturing our attention and interest for several  hours a day.

(Giovanni  Pantini, 18)

I would recommend this kind of experience because it is perfect for students who want to improve their English. It allows you to be in contact with a lot of English-speaking people and at school they teach you a lot of useful words and expressions.

(Marianna Pasqualoni, 17)

In Bristol we practised speaking and listening a lot. I especially liked the survey our teacher, Andrés, included in our lessons as one of the communicative tasks: we had a questionnaire and we had to interview people in the streets around the school.  Each of us had to interview 5 people, asking them their names, birthdays, mother-tongues and foreign languages spoken, jobs and working  places. It was really useful and fun!

(Maria La Rocca, 17)

In London, at last! 

The most exciting moment? It was our meeting with the host family. I was so worried but they were so nice and kind to us! I had a great time with them. The hardest and most embarassing moment? It was when I met and tried to speak with Mary, a beautiful girl living in Bristol. I wished my English had been much, much better!

(Valerio Orlandi, 17 )

I liked London best! You know? Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace! It was a great trip.

(Francesco Mancini, 18)

My experience in Bristol was exciting because for the first time I lived with an English family and I could speak English with native speakers.

(Stefano Folgori, 17)

One of the most difficult aspects we had to cope with was moving around by bus in a big city we didn’t know. We had to take a bus  to go to school in the morning or,  at night,  to go back to our homestay. It was not always easy to realize when to get off the bus, especially on our first days in Bristol.

(Pierfrancesco Sbraga, 18)

Bristol and its Graffiti

What did I learn about English people while staying in Bristol? They are polite and ready to help, they respect rules and regulations, they … they have supper or dinner at 6.30 in the evening!

(Andrea Puglianiello, 17)

I found the lessons very interesting. We had fun practising listening comprehension, speaking, vocabulary and pronunciation. We had a nice, sympathetic, fantastic teacher. His name was Andrés. I liked his teaching style.

(Matteo Pistoia, 18)

Playing football in Bath

The most difficult aspect for me was speaking English.  I was so slow when I tried to. I had to simplify my sentences because if I had translated my Italian thoughts directly into English, I wouldn’t have spoken English but a different language: Ital-english.

(Francesco Zaccaria, 17)

This kind of experience was useful to make me aware of my skills. Before this trip I thought I wasn’t good at English, now I think that I have a good pronunciation and an adequate vocabulary but I still have so much to learn! I had never spoken to a native speaker before and it was really useful.

(Francesco Veglianti, 17)

The Romans in Bath

The most exciting moments were our trips to Bath and London. I had always dreamt of going to London and, at last, I was there. The most embarassing moment was, instead, when  my friends and I took the wrong bus  and got lost in Bristol!

(Martina Frasca, 17)

Would I recommend this experience to other students who want to improve their language skills? Yes, of course! In England you really improve your English.

(Lorenzo Mari, 17)

I’ve learnt new words and new expressions I didn’t know before while living in Bristol. But the first words that come to my mind are “ Take care!”  That is something the lady at my homestay used to say when my friends and I left her house in the morning.  

(Francesca Castellani, 17)

I would recommend this experience to

At the Globe in London

other students but not to learn English. You can’t learn English in just one week. However, it could be an important experience to test your skills in real life. Only in real life you can realize what your are good at and what you are not”

(Marco Giammei, 17)

This experience made us aware that the world is big and full of people with different cultures and traditions.  We all live in very small towns or villages and to be able to go away for a while helped us  grow up and widen our  horizons.

(Isabella Mercuri, 17)