Angelica was successful in gaining entrance to Cambridge University after several homestay immersion courses with Heritage English. We can’t take all the credit for her outstanding achievement because she is an outstanding person with great ability and determination.
However, she is kind enough to give us some credit for the natural fluency she achieved through lessons and social contacts on our courses.
Below is her message:
Dear Heritage English Do you know these cheesy advertisements on TV which promise you that a language stays can be a life-changing experience? Well, I was always rather suspicious of them. As wonderful and packed with new impressions and experiences they may be, ‘life-changing’ surely has to be an exaggeration! When I look back on the past few years, I have to concede that Heritage English Language Immersion Courses have had an impact of imprevisible proportions.
When I first came to stay with Heritage English at the age of sixteen I was merely a schoolgirl with a pronounced interest for the English language. The promises which were made to me in advance – a genuine full immersion – were held: I became a true member of my guest families, participated in copious and very varied activities, lived ‘the English way’, and generally had a hell of a time. For the first time, English came to me more naturally than my mother language.
Talking to my parents on the phone was an actual hassle because talking in English seemed as easy as breathing while I had to search desperately for the right word in German. I was baffled. How could two weeks make such a difference? I believe that it is the combination of the demanding and enjoyable one-to-one tuitions and the social and linguistic network operating in the background.
The next year I gladly returned to the place which had in a way already become a second home; the people who welcomed me into their homes were not strangers anymore but friends! The second stay was mainly focused not so much on general improvement of my English but rather on my academic writing skills, the presentation of concise arguments and work on on-the-point expression. Whatever my linguistic needs and wishes were, Heritage English managed to integrate them into the course with perfect ease. By the end of the stay, I felt comfortable with the idea of applying to a British university – and not just anyone. No, I wanted to apply to the best: the world-reputed University of Cambridge! While there was obviously a lot of personal work involved, I don’t think I would have been able to succeed without the help of Heritage English
I cannot cease to thank the entire team for their support!
All the best wishes from Corpus Christi College and I hope I’ll see you soon – either in the lovely South of England or maybe you can even visit me at some point!!
I’ll better stop writing now though; my next essay is due soon ;)
Angelika Donata Lauber
