AYA – Academic Year Abroad 20

I am deeply grateful for Ms. Andrea Hall’s outstanding support. Her dedication and commitment have been truly remarkable. Her assistance has been invaluable, and I cannot thank her enough for her unwavering support. Ms. Andrea Hall’s efforts have made a significant difference, and I am incredibly appreciative of her help.

The English course was very good for me. The classes are very well organized, and the teachers and other staff are very helpful and friendly. I enjoyed the time and learned a lot. In particular, I would like to thank Ms. Pamela Sharam. She is a great teacher and a wonderful person.

I liked the class activities it was extremely funny for me and I got confidence during the lessons. I communicated a lot of people and we discussed each other on the main topic and also I liked my teacher she told us many things and I learned different cultures from the other friends and my teacher so I liked the school.

This school is great, I am currently making a lot of progress in English. the quality of the courses is great and totally different from my country, which means that I progress much more and faster. I highly recommend

The teachers who organized the Club+40 activities were wonderful and I had a lot of fun. There were 16 students in the class, which I think was too many for the size of the classroom. The building where the school was located was old, and the toilets were difficult to flush. My host family had a very nice environment, but it took me an hour to commute to school, so I think it's a little far. Perhaps the phone number and email address of my host family were both incorrect, so I was unable to contact them until the evening of the day before my stay, which was very troubling. I wish they would have told me where to stay sooner since I had to think about how to get to school.

Great teachers and perfect students

So I was only one week in London and I was focused in exploring the city. I was nearby in every museum in London. So I got many things done by my own. But I think my English skills increased not so much in one week, because it was only one week and I decided to do many things by my own. Therefore I got many things done but it was maybe the false setting to improve my language skills. But I was afraid I wouldn't see enough. I enjoyed the classes. The teachers are all incredible polite. Housing was also good. I arrived always late at night at the accommodation. I made good experience in London. thanks

I am very happy that I was able to take part in general English studies with my lively , kind and clever class mates.
I have seven children of my own and I really felt like home.


All of my teachers were excellent.

I admired Mellissas ( 1 st week) and Matts ( 2 weeks) ability to use IT and internet so fluently as a part of teaching. They both succeeded excellently in keeping young students focused and understood the affect of their back round to learning. The topics were variable ,interesting and connected lively to the time. And the both have the sense of humor I like.

Robin and Diane had planned and organized our 40+ - club ( I and Willy) events very well. We got a chance to visit many different sites of London where average tourist could not find his way. I learnt much about the history of London while improving my English. They both are about my age and intelligent and it was inspiring and interesting to talk about the state of the earth in many levels.

All of the teachers were very kind and patient. It was a complete pleasure to get to know them.
The staff of the office was very helpful and changing classes in different levels was flexible.

I am planning to continue my English studies and its possible that I would come to London again for a couple of weeks again
in the Autumn.

Best Regard to all of you

Sakari

I had so much fun during my trip! The school was super cool. Everyone was very nice and I also got to know many people from all over the world! Our teacher made the lessons very interesting and I also learned so much new stuff! I loved it.

It was an experience full of lessons, which I really enjoyed.
The teachers are very prepared and available to answer any questions; the location of the school is perfect in my opinion, because it’s close to several museum and the centre, so I had the possibility to visit the city in the afternoon.

I also found the housing very comfortable, welcoming and present to my every needs, with an amazing morning breakfast.

What I enjoined most were the after school activities when we h d the opportunity to go out and visit museums and pubs

The only element that was difficult to endure was the afternoon classroom, which got very hot and extremely difficult to follow the lesson

I really enjoyed taking classes at LSI, I found the general atmosphere of the school to be very cheerful and welcoming. The location of the school is convenient as it is quite central and close to various metro stations. The teachings are made in a good mood and always in the benevolence of others. A really interesting and enriching experience because I was able to discover new cultures and a joyful and interactive language learning.

It’s cool to know a lot of people from different countries. But the social programs are not very various. The school should organize some more interesting activities. The distribution of level is not strict. People in B1 and B2 could not even communicate with you. But it is also very important part to improve the speaking skills in class. The accommodation is not very well than I expected especially the simple breakfast offered by homestay

I arrive in the school with a bad level in English. I've found some good teachers who make me a review of all the grammar rules and give me some new vocabulary about specific subject. The courses was perfect, not boring and they've given me enough clue to work at home and improve as faster as possible my English level.

I liked everything. The teachers at LSI are amazing and they really care about your success. They are always happy and friendly. I liked the social programs, because it help you to make friends. My house was good, but London is a big city, so sometimes it's very long by underground to go somewhere.

I managed to improve my English a lot and after all successfully pass my exam.

Nevertheless I think I would have felt more prepared if I hadn't been mixed with other students who were preparing for the TOEFL or the CAE exam.

The teachers are nice. I very appreciate them for giving such useful grammatical knowledges during the class. It helps me a lot. I like it very much because not only the perfect teachers but also nice facilities. With a empty student room (although it's not big enough), I can make many friend from all over the world.

It's not easy to say. Everything about the school was good- classes and teachers. I liked my level. Maybe the main problem was accommodation because the host family wasn't native English speakers and I expected them to be.

Very good experience. I'm planning to go back there again and keep contact with the friends I made there.

I liked my classes because I could change my schedule from morning to an afternoon class in preparation for a test.
My teacher was a really nice guy and it was always fun with him joking around.
The location of the school is perfect for tube connections and lunch break.
The social program after school was cool as well and I think you should put that on the advertisement.

I studied there for just one week, but it was amazing because I came with my family so I enjoyed London very much.

The teacher was really good. She was really cooperative and funny, I really enjoyed my classes and I wish I have stayed there longer.

LSI is an amazing school. My first contact with the school was with Mark who was always nice and always with a smile. He explained everything we needed to know about the school. Gavin, the director, is also very nice, always accessible and always trying to help the students. Armin, the receptionist, is always available to help. I was very happy to have Johnny as my teacher, because he was always very professional, he is a great teacher but also very flexible and funny. I remember that he has this very contagious laugh (once he starts to laugh) nobody can be serious. I also had classes with Aslynn, a very energetic teacher who seems to be really passionate when she teaches. After Aslynn, I had classes with Anna, who was always very funny and very flexible as well. Billy was my teacher too and he has great qualities of a great teacher too, but one in particular is that he was always making an effort to make sure that everything he teaches is very accurate, that is why sometimes he searched on internet to check the accuracy of some things. And the social programs are really cool. My favorite ones were with a teacher called Barry, who although I didn't have classes with, I always heard good things about his teaching skills and on the social program was just impossible to get bored with him cause he is a very interesting person to have a chat with.
The school location is great. It's 5 minutes to British museum, 5 minutes to Tottenham Court road and it's near all the fun places.
In general it was a great experience and I would recommend to anyone.

I really liked Johnny's class- he was a good teacher. I have learned a lot about grammar, phrasal verbs and interesting language tips and facts. I did not like conversation classes because I had this feeling that I am wasting my time. It was my second time here so I think I don't have to describe everything :)

I would like to return one day. Everything was perfect. All the teachers and staff were great.

The teachers were very knowledgeable. I liked very much the conversation exercises. I enjoyed the social programs, which allowed me to get to know London. I would have liked to get some suggestions as to how get a better aural understanding of English, besides just practicing. I think it would be interesting during classes if there were frequent swapping of groups.

Positive aspects:
- The teacher and the location were okay. They were excellent.

Negative aspects:
- The group was so heterogeneous that it was difficult for the teacher to allow each student to improve his/her English.
- The rhythm was too slow for me.
- The introduction of the first day was too long.

Recommendations:
- For persons coming only for one week, the rhythm could be quicker. It must be quicker.
- I did not participate in the activities. I did not ask LSI to find accommodation for me.

I liked everything. The classes were good; most of the teachers were kind. It was very easy to find the location. Because I stayed there only for one week, and I did not use most of facilities, I cannot give any evaluation about the facilities. I joined only one of the activities which I thought was good, and the leader was very kind. I enjoyed myself with the host family, especially since there was another guest student as well as two local children. They were very kind and we talked a lot. In one sentence, I can say I enjoyed myself very much. It was an amazing experience for me, and I hope I can join again!

I really enjoyed my experience at LSI. I met lots of great people, and everyone in the school was really nice and friendly.

For me, it was a good experience, and it helped me to improve my English a little bit.

In general, I liked the majority of things.

About the teachers: Some of them should be more supportive to the students. They should spend more time to explain better the subjects, and make more exercises where the students would be forced to speak. I think the people of LSI should be more attentive and more friendly with the students. They should do something for the students to feel good and more comfortable while at the school.

Here is my testimonial of my 6 weeks at LSI London Central.

LSI London is really a high quality school. I had a complete range of English teaching; points of grammar, vocabulary, conjugations, speaking, listening etc. The class are of 12 pupils on averages and you feel at ease to ask questions and to learn confidently.

The organisation of the school is really coherent, the team is always available and always give a clear answer either by e-mail or face to face very quickly.

The super teaching team is open and use good pedagogic methods. I had two excellent professors in the morning, Janine and Barry!

I really felt that I made very good progress by the end of my studies.
The social programme after the school really encourages us to speak in English, to discover different cultures and to communicate with the pupils and the professors in a relaxed spirit.

Thank you LSI!!

I liked everything! The staff are really interested in our improvement!
The teachers are excellent and they really are involved with our necessities and development!

Liked:
Different orientations of the lessons; students from all over the world.

Dismissed:
Unfortunately, many substitutes; many Swedes in the same class; had wished for a better spread of age in the class.

I really liked the school and the teacher. I stayed only for a week, and I wish I could have stayed for longer, but for personal reasons I couldn't. I am looking forward to go there again next year, but maybe for two weeks. The only bad thing I can think about LSI is that the class I was in was quite big, and not everyone had the same level, so at some moments I felt like wasting my time, but in general I think I learnt a lot. Thank you so much for your kindness and your organisation. See you soon!

First of all, I was fond of the friendly teachers who are real experts. What is more, the environment made me relaxed and gleeful. I did a very enjoyable and efficient course, moreover, having studied in such comfortable conditions , I greatly improved my pronunciation, and definitely enlarged vocabulary, which has contributed to improvement of my listening skills.

Next time I would book an intensive class.

I had good teachers and I liked my class. In this multicultural environment, I learned a lot. But concerning the activities, my recommendation is to extend them to other cities, outside of London, to see more of England. I spent good time with my host family, they are so sweet, I miss them...

My overall experience at the school is great. I liked the teachers who were really friendly, funny and helpful in any matter. We had Noah for the morning grammar classes; he had a very innovative and interesting approach to teaching which I liked very much. I changed evening classes every week but each of them was good. I especially liked the business class and general conversation classes. For me, the best were grammar classes though at times I would have liked to go more in detail. But maybe it is just professional distortion (as English was my core subject at University). I mark as excellent the teachers' sense of humour. The school location is very central which is convenient for exploring London. The activities offered ranged from night club tickets to ice cream (or a pint of beer) with teacher in the evening or sports events (football matches in amazing Regent`s park). I did not use the housing opportunities the school offers so I don`t know about this. It was a great (and for me the first) real experience of the true English world.

I liked getting to know different people from different countries and going out with my mates. The discussions during the lessons were a chance to practice my English, and the topics were very interesting. There was a teaching method I really liked: we had discussions and during this discussions the teacher noted our grammar and vocabulary mistakes which we discussed afterwards together. The teachers were very keen on creating interesting lessons for us. I didn't really like the organization at the arrival--the pick-up service didn't really work out well (this means that I was not picked up from the airport). Although I got assured that we will clarify this matter I never heard anything about it again. Sometimes I would have preferred to have more practical exercises instead of grammar theory (but this is my personal opinion)

When I first got to LSI I was really welcomed. People were polite and very helpful. On the other hand, I had several problems with incredibly bad teachers and horrible activities in the classroom. For example: a few teachers didn't organize a class, so they just asked us what we wanted to study, which is very democratic, but does not focus on our real needs; the same few teachers used to just give us exercises instead of teaching us the specific topic and even worse they used to just give us the answers in a piece of paper, instead of trying to make us learn how to get to the right answer; the last and maybe worse of all was the substitutive teacher, who used to talk so much, ask us to buy our birth languages' dictionaries and was so rude! Besides the problems with organization and horrible teaches, they had good stuff, such as the location, the structure, and a few teachers who were awesome (Jonny, Ale, Gavin) and made me feel at home every single day. Javier was incredibly helpful and always available (even though he was kinda busy). Finally, I think that the school's headmaster was amazing with the students, very kind and smiley. These points made my experience worth the money I paid, although I faced major problems with organization and bad teaching skills.

The location of the school is very good: near Goodge Street subway station, and near the British museum. I liked my classes and teachers but the activities were only okay. The housing was good. My hosts (Michael and Elizabeth) were very nice and friendly people. I would like to meet them again. :)

I think that the course itself was good because it was a practical one. Unfortunately, what I must say now as an unsatisfied-point is housing. The location of my accommodations was very convenient, but my host mother had a kind of bias, that Japanese (Asian people) can only become poor English speakers. Therefore even though my flatmate was obviously beginner, my host mother compared me to her as a worse English speaker.

I liked the teaching system, specially Business English. I didn´t like very much the Housing, The family was fine but my bedroom had leaks. The social activities were very poor or inexistent.

It was a fabulous experience for me in LSI ;i had met so many foreign students like me and we had spent great time together ,even it was just 2 weeks courses, we still managed to visit the whole london ; shopping ,markets ,parks and pubs of course ;as the school is just in the centre of london ,it makes things easier like for lunch, transport or shopping . The most teachers are really kind and patient to teach except one woman teacher. HAHA sorry for that; and i didn't like be in the beginners' class too ; even i know my english was not brilliant but i would really prefer a intense programme as i was there for a professional reason (interview in london) a 2 weeks course to learn basic grammar was not i wished; and the 2 hours one to one lesson didn't help me at all ;but if i have a time again i wish to go back to LSI again for another experience ;bad housing experience for me last time too ; but i do really love the school activities with very good organisation and facilities;

I liked specially the staff's availability to respond to my demands in a personal way. I had my little son there with me and both the principal and the teachers were really understanding when I had to miss lessons and look after my child because he was not having school due to the volcanic ash cloud. On the other hand, I didn't like the fact that the advanced level classes the academy offered were not enough for me. I'm a qualified English teacher with a five-year university degree in English Language and Literature and the Proficiency level of Cambridge University. That's why I was really looking for another kind of English refreshment and the classes of advanced level I was in were just like the ones I teach my 18-year-old students every day, with the only difference that there I was one more student while in my daily routine I'm the teacher. In Spain there are scholarships for teachers, like me, who want to improve or refresh their English by doing a course during the school year. Many of them choose London to do it, so I suggest that you offer some special course for them.

this spoiled an otherwise perfect experiance, I would reccommmend DID but would advise to source own accomodation

In that course I learned a lot of things and I improved a lot by using the language with the friends from the school and the family from my home-stay. I really recommend this course and probably I will repeat it to learn more English.

The classes were OK, but the schoolmates sometimes was a little tiring, when they were very often late, they were sometime loud and they spoke on their mothertounge. The teachers were very kind, sharp and openminded. They spoke fortunately very clear. The location of the school and my flat was ideal. The host family was very kind.

I liked house I stayed there but sometimes I was afraid that from street in the evening it seemed a little dangerus but family was good. School also was good but I did not like practice with partner because we talked with our partner in the classroom but we could not whether these speeches were true or falce. I prefer teacher talk us and we talk rarely. It is important that if we want to learn and speak english we have to listen
and teacher repeat continueusly. I never forget train announcement or street advertisement because there was repeat and repeat.

a very beaytiful experience.
the location, the teachers, the location, the facilities was very good. the housing was good...perhaps too far from the school but was good. the activities good

I have a mix feeling about my experience because there were some mistakes with my booking, my class, etc. On the other hand I had some teachers very good, for example: Pamela or Gabin. I feel that they need organizing everything better.

Except housing every thing was OK. Because when I was staying at Robert Blackwood's house, bed room and bed clothes were very dirty.

hi!
I'm having a great time here in London
I like my teachers,the facilities,the location etc.. everything is fine!
I've only a little problem..me and my roomates we found out that in our appartement we have mice..and this is not good,cause our appartement is always clean..
anyway,we spoke to our land lord and he came up with a solution and we hope it'll work otherwise a have to find i new appartement..

thanκ you for your e-mail!

I've found the school interesting because all the teachers are very young, and in this way they can make good public relation with all the students and we usually speak about interesting objects.

Actually this is my second week, and I feel more comfortable with the things around, teachers and classes are very good, and the teachers are qualified enough to give us what we need. the only one things that is not good is the distance of my homestay (one hour to arrive using bus and tube).

I've loved the time I stayed at the school. I think some teachers aren't prepared to teach, but I think that's because I took the course in the summer time. I will recomend the school to my friends. Congratulations ,especially to Leslie (from Language International) who really helped me to get the best options. Thanks a lot.

Hello, when we arrived at the residence, they had only one room to give us with one bed (we were 2). The room was very dirty and we had to wait for 2 hours until they changed our room. Then they gave us a twin room and again it was very dirty and very small. After two days they changed our room to a bigger one that was perfect and clean.
The classes were very good and also most of the students. The location of the school is the best!

I liked the school. We had very good teachers and they exchanged the teachers between classes every 2 weeks which I find a good idea. We didn't like the accommdation a lot. It was old and very far from the school.

I liked the school, teachers, and location, but I didn't like my accomodation, because my family's house is located in New Eltham. In my opinion, very far from school and last train departed 11-12 p.m. and my commute was 50 minutes. But my family was great. I liked my family.