Friday, 6 November 2009

sejour immersion - lecons one to one


C'etait la premiere fois que je venais faire un sejour en angleterre, et pour une premiere, c'est une reussite. J'ai choisi une semaine en immersion chez un professeur avec cours particulier car je devais progresser rapidement et je n'ai pas ete decue. Voila un apercu de mon sejour. Je suis arrivee a Southampton et mes hotes, Celia et Steve, sont venus me chercher a l'aeroport. Ils m'ont conduit chez eux en voiture. Ce trajet m'a permis de prendre un premier contact. Celia, le professeur, m'a de suite mise a l'aise et m'a questionne sur mes attentes concernant cette semaine mais aussi sur ma vie et ma profession. J'ai aussi pu apprecier durant le trajet toute la beaute du paysage que j'etais loin d'imaginer. Nous avons traverse la foret qui est rempli d'animaux en liberte. Nous sommes arrives chez Celia et Steve qui habitent une charmante demeure inclut dans un petit chateau au milieu de la foret... Une chambre et une salle de bain m'etait reserve. Steve fait une cuisine charmante hors des cliches que nous avons de l'angleterre. Le principe de l'immerson est de passer la semaine a ne parler qu'anglais. Steve et Celia se sont de suite mis a mon niveau pour que je puisse converser. La journee s'organise comme suit : apres un petit dejeuner en compagnie de Celia et Steve, j'ai eu 4 heures de cours le matin, soit avec Celia, soit avec Gail, l'autre professeur tout aussi charmante. Ensuite repas partage ensemble puis balade en foret, en ville, au bord de la mer, en fonction du temps et de mes envies. Tout au long des apres midi, Gail, Celia ou Steve ont discute avec moi et j'ai pu apprendre la langue mais aussi decouvrir la culture anglaise. Le soir je devais faire des devoirs avant le repas pour reviser les notions du matin et ensuite repas avec Celia et Steve puis repos bien merite. Tout le monde m'a aide a parle, mes hotes m'ont incite a regarder la tele avec eux, Celia m'a meme propose des livres adapte a mon niveau et que je suis arrive a lire. J'ai passe une semaine merveilleuse pendant laquelle j'ai progresse sans presque m'en apercevoir. L'alternance des 2 professeurs permet de voir differents accents et differentes approches. Les cours particuliers sont adaptes au niveau de l'eleve et la semaine se deroule rapidement et sans ennui grace aux differentes activites. Je garderai un tres bon souvenir de ce sejour. Et pour maintenir mon niveau acquis, je vais meme continuer a garder le contact en conversant une fois par semaine au telephone avec les professeurs car je crois qu'elles sont arrives a me donner le gout de la langue anglaise.
Je conseille vivement cette formation a toute personne qui comme moi est terrorisee par l'anglais car cette formule m'a permis de me debloquer grace a un environnement absolument charmant. L'ambiance de cette formation est une ambiance familiale et je reviendrai voir Celia, Gail et Steve avec plaisir.

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Feedback from Austria

Angie was very lucky to get a fantastic 2 week Heritage-English-experience this August (see photo on departure).

Picking up our daughter in Milford-on-Sea at the end of her stay, we had the great pleasure to get to know most of the members of the teaching and host-families team for a short while and we were able to say thank you face-to-face.

Now that we are back we can’t help but recommend Heritage English for its excellence!

In Austria a proverb is saying:

Only good ingredients make a good cake!

At Heritage English we got the best piece of “educational” cake ever tasted!

Tell you why:

-there is a top recipe

· the total immersion concept:
· fully individualized to student/client needs, no matter what age, aim or level;
· combination of tailor-made formal one-to-one instruction with informal leisure activities for conversation purpose;
· means: thinking, speaking, hearing and even dreaming 24hours a day in the English language

-there are top ingredients:

highly educated, competent and friendly teachers;
a pool of selected, dedicated and caring premium-host families,
a wonderful landscape with a lot of leisure opportunities


-and of course top cooks knowing how to bake the cake:

excellent information/counselling work,
online assessment of level and personal issues to design an individualized program in advance,
sensibility for perfect matching the host families/accommodation, making familiar teachers and hosts to the learner through encouragement to communicate long before arrival, shown interest in the person’s needs, warm welcome and facilitation to the new situation;
effective, intensive and varying teaching techniques,
perfect organization and teamwork with the hosts
integrated, interesting leisure activities,
an absolutely detailed report on progress
daily activities recorded as well as suggestions for further progress;
serious follow up/continuous counselling after departure


Angelika was able to make a substantial progress, while having fun and making friends.

Nothing could have worked better! Time and money couldn’t have been better invested!

Congratulations and honest thanks and of course best regards to the whole team!

Roswitha and Adi Lauber (Linz&Vienna)

Reply from Celia and Gail on behalf of all the Heritage Team

"Thank you so much for your kind comments. It was a pleasure to know you all this summer. We hope to see you again next year.
Sorry, but we couldn't upload your photo onto this blog, for some strange reason!"

Thursday, 10 September 2009

New Message from Berlin

Dear Celia, Gail, Fiona, Maia, Susie.....
and everyone else in Lymington who made our daughter's trip to England so outstandingly great.

Anja was totally enthusiastic about staying with you in Lymington and told us lots and lots about her holydiays during the long trip from Frankfurt to Bolzano (Italy).

We believe, it was the best thing we could do, to send her to you.

Thank you very much for being so kind to our daughter, Anja - she really found new friends and would love to meet you again.

With greetings from BerlinKilian and Christiane Kopp

Anja´s comment is below:

Hello!
I spent three weeks in England and it was the funiest and most exciting holiday you can imagine.My hostfamily was very nice and I would love to see them again!

Even the lessons were fun and they improved my English a lot. It was so cool to be together with english teenagers and after a few days I understood nearly evrything.

I hope I´ll come back soon!

Love, Anja

Friday, 28 August 2009

I hope I'll come back =)

Hey folks!
Well, actually I can only repeat what all the others have said before....coming here is more than improving English, it's an unforgettable experience!
Just after one or two days you feel as if you have always been here, as if you were part of the family =)
These two weeks flew past faster than you were able to keep up with. Now, that my stay is nearly over, I'm already planning when I could see my "sisters" and their families again!

Thank you for this wonderful time here, I'm going to miss you all: April, Diggory, Claire, Fiona, Maia, Martin and Charles...my big British family ;-)
And of course Susie and Gail too!

Love,
Angelika

PS: All those people who are interested in the progress that you can make here...I'd say you can do nothing better: You really are totall immersed in the language and when you try to speak your native language it will be more difficult than English =)
The lessons are very intense but wonderful!

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

iT'S SO BEAUTIFUL !


My name is Giulia and I come from Milan, Italy, I found Heritage English beacuse my friend tell me about it. I' m really really happy, about this experience, is not like other holiday for studying english, it's more.
I think it's true what they write: you come as a guest and then you go away like a friend, at the end of this holiday you are a real friend.
They are so kindly and gentle, they are available to do everything you want ( in fact I make an Italian cake... look at the picture), but they are serious too.
When it's time to study and to learn they are so professional, and this method (lesson one to one) it's really good, beacuse they think always about you, to your level of knowledge and they want that you improve your english. I feel that I'm really improve my english.
Definetly I will come back as soon as possible.
Kisses xx Giulia

Fire Drill with Paola, Ricky and Giulia


Yeeeeeeeeeah!!! I am very very excited for having this experience. I liked it so much because the family is very nice, funny and the house is comfortable ;-). Sammy is the cat, I like it very much. My teacher is Michelle; she is a good, prepared and friendly lady. My English is very improved. Steve he is a fantastic cook and prepares a delicious meal for us every day and night. So after the lesson I had a new experience, for example the Newlands Manor Fire Drill :O)!!!! It was very interesting to see it and take part. And now I talk about Celia, the queen lady in the castle. She is very lovely and sweet with me. Last but not least we have Josie, the princess, she has a little graduation photo in the living room, very very nice and I like it so much.
Goodbye.
Ricky.

Ciao a tutti! Vi consiglio vivamente questa esperienza, perche' racchiude in se' sia divertimento che studio!!

Monday, 27 April 2009

Bulats Exam Success!

Dear Celia and Gail
I took my BULATS exam yesterday and I am very happy with the result.My score is 75 (out of 100) on average that is really much better than at the beginning of all my courses.My journey home was very good and I was happy to see my children again.
My teacher in France has noticed the improvement in my confidence in speaking.
I really enjoyed my stay with you and I thank you for all your attention.

I am really happy of my three days immersion and I will recommend it to my colleagues.

Joelle Chatelet
Euriware, Cherbourg
France
April 2009

Friday, 20 February 2009

Tips for learning English


Hi, my name is Suria, from Germany. I've just completed a three week immersion course, staying at Newlands Manor and having one-to-one lessons with Celia and Gail.
Did I achieve my objectives? Well, my initial objective was just to practise some speaking. My teachers believe that I can achieve much more. I relied on their expertise and judgement. So now I'm really aiming at CPE - a level I could only have in my dreams before I came.
One-to-one intensive lessons are tough. You have no escape and you have to concentrate all the time. The teachers use different methods. You are kept busy without feeling bored. They target on your problems only.
In my opinion, if you are serious about learning the language, there is no other way you can get as much as with this one-to-one immersion method.
There is no hammering, pushing or spoon-feeding. It is all natural and gentle. You really learn the language without even realising it - and without pain!
However, what I enjoyed most was the friendly atmosphere at home. You really feel like one of the family. Thank you Celia, Gail, Steve and Josie, for all your hospitality.