Heritage English

Parisian is going to New York

2012-02-04T03:52:00.001-08:00

Pierre came to Heritage English for 4 weeks in January 2012. A marketing director for Nestle Waters in Paris, he has allocated one year to become fluent in English. Pierre had been to Heritage for an immersion course in 2005. He decided that the logical solution was to come back to England. Before going to New York for the summer, he would refresh his English grammar and vocabulary and become relaxed with the language.

Students are able to make rapid progress in only one or two weeks with our training programme. Pierre had longer due to his 2012 sabattical from work. He made amazing progress in this extended immersion training. His oral and listening skills rose two whole levels - from pre-intermediate, through intermediate and into the upper intermediate level. His stay was split between two host families, to expose him to a wide range of speakers.

You can hear him talk about his experience in his video testimonial (see homepage).

This is what he says about his homestay one-to-one English language immersion training with Heritage English:

"For me this was the best training because at all times you are thinking, speaking, listening, even perhaps dreaming in English. You practise every day with your teachers, your hosts and their friends. All the training is built specifically for your needs; all social activities are organised just for you.

" I want to say thank you to my wonderful, kind, helpful teachers Gail and Celia. Thank you to my hosts David and Kate and thank you to Steve, the best cook in England!

"Finally, I recommend this training for everyone if you want to make rapid progress in English"

Pierre del Garofalo

Gilles prepares for UK job transfer

2012-01-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

Gilles with his teachers, Cherry (left) and Gail

Gilles works in the nuclear industry as an engineer. Soon he will be moving from Cherbourg in the North of France to Sellafield where he starts a new role in his company and this week's training was designed to help him to communicate with his colleagues in the UK.

This is what he says:

"During my immersion I met some very pleasant persons. The host family (Pam) was a very nice and pleasant person. The separation of the day into two parts (formal lessons in the morning and communication practice in the afternoon) is a good idea. I think that it is a good formula – but I also think that 5 days is not enough. The third day was a great difficulty!
Did I achieve my objectives? I can say that this training has given me insurance!

>Congratulations on your progress this week.

We wish you success in your new life, Gilles
Gail, Cherry, Pam, Steve and Celia

New Year Greetings and THANK YOU!

2012-01-11T10:50:00.001-08:00

WE WANT TO SAY A BIG
THANK YOU …….

Thank you to all the companies and students who invested in our language training immersion courses in 2011. We also want to congratulate students on their achievements.

Your success is what makes our work so rewarding. We love to hear when you pass your exams, when you get a promotion at work or when a presentation you created with us was a success. So don’t forget to let us know.

For all those in business, the economic climate is cold. We all need to be more competitive to succeed. Good English communication skills are essential for success in the international business world.

Well done to all our young learners who passed their English exams in 2011

If you are thinking about coming back next year, we are offering two free interactive telephone lessons at the end of each course booked before March 2012.This is a good way to maintain the progress you made by speaking to your teacher once a week after your return.

And there may be a special discount if you quote this code: Alfa Beta

Don’t forget to ask about this offer if you book a course.

With all good wishes for 2012

Celia and Gail

Iren from Norway

2011-11-21T04:15:00.001-08:00

“Hello!
My name is Iren and I work for the Norwegian Health Economy Administration (HELFO).

I wanted to regain my fluency in English; to be able to communicate without hesitation and to regain the fluency I once had. I also wanted to learn more about cultural awareness. I found Heritage English on the internet and booked my course.

I’m happy to say that I think I’ve achieved my goals. Celia and Gail have been wonderful teachers, very kind and helpful. I would also like to say that the great advantage of this kind of one-to-one immersion training is having your own private language teacher. This is a real privilege - much better than being in a classroom - and a great opportunity to optimise the learning experience.

I would recommend Heritage English to everyone.”

Iren Fagerli

Andreas from Dresden

2011-11-10T04:30:00.000-08:00

“I’ve been here for 2 weeks and for the second time with Heritage English. In the lessons we concentrated on revising tenses, learning new vocabulary and speaking skills.

Out of lessons, the conversation with my host family gave me speaking practice every day. The most impressive excursion I’ve been on was to Stonehenge and I’m looking forward to going to London.”

Andreas, October 2011

Message from Uta Bilow, mother of Andreas on his return:

“Andreas arrived save and in time and we are very happy to have him here with us again. I looked at the documents from his lessons today as well as Susie´s very detailed reports - I am very impressed how much she has taught him.

Thanks a lot to everybody: The Fry family, where Andreas had a pleasant stay (and he enjoyed the trip to London very much), Susie, preparing all the lessons and other activities with him, and also to you and Celia for making his homestay so perfect.

Kind regards,
Uta Bilow

Ramon from Spain

2011-09-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ramon came to us for Business English to help him in his communications at work. He was very nervous before coming because his English level was quite low. He was a beginner. He worked very hard! In fact he deserves a prize for being the hardest working student in 2011. :)

This is what he said about his course...

"My experiencia en Inglaterra fue excelente, toda la gente que me acogieron eran inmejorables. No podria haber encontrado gente mejor para vivir esta experiencia, con mi Inglés tan malo y ellos esforzàndose muchisimo. Gracias a todos por esta gran experiencia y espero poder repetirla prento con todos vosotros. MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS!!!!!!!! "

Thank you for coming to Heritage English, Ramon. We hope to see you and Ester in the Cambrils, Solsona when we come for our holiday in Spain next week.

Business student from Barcelona

2011-09-30T06:52:00.001-07:00

Gisela came for a 2-week immersion in Business English. She finished today and she has written:
"I have appreciated the whole experience. The classes were very useful and I am more conscious of my mistakes. The grammar and the exercises has been useful to remember a lot of things.

Lunch and afternoons with the teachers have helped me to improve my pronunciation and practice. Gail and Celia has been very kindness and friendly with me and I'm feeling very cofortable since my first day.

To stay with a host family complete the experience. Cristabel has been a good host and I enjoyed my time with her.

The outings in the New Forest, beaches, London, etc has been wonderful. I liked very much this zone of England.

I'll come back!

I think I have new friends. Gisela, Spain

The beautiful Italians

2011-09-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Maria Rapetti and her two daughters, Frederica and Alessia came to Milford on Sea for a holiday. They stayed in a cottage and had lessons at home every morning with Gail and Susie.

This is what they said: "We found all very beautiful. The two teachers were very pleasure and we could learn more English, grammar and vocabulary."
" I had lovely conversations about a lot of subjects"
Frederica hopes to use English to attend a British university where she would like to study to be an Opthalmologist which is the study of the eye.

They have promised to come back next year.

Gail and Susie say "thanks for being such lovely students"

2011-08-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

Anja from Sweden

2011-08-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

My name is Anja. I'm from Sweden but live in Brussels where I work as a freelance interpreter. One of my objectives is to be able to work (interpret) also from English, which is why I wanted to do an intensive course at Heritage English. The one-to-one tuition was exactly what I wanted and needed, and all classes where perfectly adapted to my needs in a very flexible way. I really appreciate the friendly welcoming and the informal atmosphere created by both Celia and Gail.
Staying with a host family is also a perfect way to get a glimpse of what England is about and the how the English live "from the inside".
If you want a true immersion experience in a very friendly (and beautiful, with the New Forest and the sea nearby) environment, do come to Heritage English.

You are Wonderful !

2011-06-28T05:08:00.000-07:00

July 2011 update
We have been very busy and so apologise that we have not posted a blog for a while.

We would like to share an email we received from Werner Frei. Werner came to us in March 2010 for 3- week immersion in Business English.
Please read what he says now:

"I hope you are all well at Heritage English. I just want to thank you again for what you have done for me in your immersion course one year ago. I have had an excellent opportunity to compare what improvement I have made with my English.
Last Thursday and Friday I participated on World Courier's Western European Group sales meeting in Barcelona.
The last meeting in Lyon two years ago was one of the reasons which motivated me to look for a quick and solid solution to do a step forward in improving my English skills.

Anyway those two years ago I hardly could follow any conversation on the event. I had difficulties to understand our manager who is a British English native speaker. I did not take part on discussions because I was afraid to make myself ridiculous with my current English skills.

Last week it was completely different. I was a really active participant who was able to give my own statements on every topic, to support or object the meaning of my colleagues and defend my own county branch's interests if necessary.

Also on our two social events I was following every conversation without problems. What a difference! What a pleasure! Again, Thank you!

All my best wishes for you and your business
Werner Frei
Zurich

Laurent drives the Beaulieu Vintage Bus

2010-12-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Laurent Bourdenet from Paris

2010-12-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

Laurent had a 2-week immersion in general and business English in December 2010. He wrote about his stay:

"Honestly, all was perfect. I don't have any negative remarks. I have really appreciated the hospitality of all the people I met. Sometimes I could forget that I was here to learn!
I wanted immersion to practice my English. I know that I have to work more, but I think that my hearing and speaking are better. One-to-one is the best way to learn. If I had known I would have gone before... obviously with Heritage English!

Thank you very much"

Laurent Bourdenet

Thanks for all

2010-11-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Laureen came to us in October and again for a second week in November. This is what she said about her immersion course: "I very appreciated the "intensives" lessons and the fact that I had different teachers. I think that I'm becoming more confident. We worked on different items that I could need in my job.. presentations and talking about graphs and results.
One-to-one is a good method of learning because it is adapted to your level and needs when we are in the family or outside. Thanks for all!!!

Success At Ielts - Congratulations Huran.

2010-09-10T05:02:00.001-07:00

Huran came to stay with me for four weeks during his summer hoiday from Cyprus. He was determined to reach his goal of achieving an overall score of 7 in his Ielts exam. He was a very motivated, hard working and conscientious student who made the most of his time with Heritage English. On his second day here, he had already joined the local gym and struck up a conversation with Omar, a university student, who he would meet up with after his lessons and play basketball. He became independent very quickly and would take himself off in his spare time into Lymington or take a train to Bournemouth or Southampton to go shopping. The model student!

I have just heard that Huran passed his Ielts exam and achieved his goal with an overall score of 7! Well done, Huran.

We wish you all the best for your future studies.

Gail and the Heritage English Summer Team.

Francois Dhoury

2010-08-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hi,

My name is Francois, I work for Sairp Composites and I need English to talk to my clients in the United Kingdom. My problem was oral comprehension. My target was to have a conversation without having to ask the person to repeat.

This week was very rich for achieving my objectives. The lessons were exactly adapted to my needs and my job. Having 2 teachers was a nice experience. Gail was a very good teacher. Celia gave me confidence and a very nice feeling about what could happened during the week. David, my host, took care of me as if I was an old friend of him.

The one-to-one is the very best method to learn. Speak, hear, think .. dream in English. Since Sunday is very tiring - but so constructive.

My advice to future students is .... GO ON !

Francois Dhoury, St. Jean de Braye - August 2010

Business student from France

2010-08-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Geraldine works in the Quality Control department of a pharmaceutical company in the North of France. She needed to improve her English for meetings with inspectors and control officials as well as meeting clients from overseas. This is what she said about her one-week course with Heritage English:

"I achieved all my objectives- improved my oral expression; asking and answering questions; describing my job and my company; explaining procedure flow charts; having a better understanding and use of English tenses. I also increased my oral comprehension and my vocabulary.

One to one is the best method to improve your English level. English lessons are in compliance with our requirements and teachers can take time to explain you and adapt lessons with our level. Out of lessons you can practice what you have learned.

Celia and Gail adapted the lessons about my needs and organised nice afternoon visits, meeting people and experiencing life in the UK.

One week is too quick. I miss that we haven't enough time to work on written reports, emails ...

A Big Thank you for all

Geraldine

Angelika reports on her second course

2010-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Getting Ready for Cambridge University? Piece of Cake with Heritage English!

After having had a wonderful time with Heritage English last year I travelled through UK with my parents for 2 weeks. During this journey I happened to visit Cambridge, its world renowned university and the beautiful colleges. It was love at first sight; I knew I wanted to study Social Sciences there even though the application process is exceedingly daunting and the places immensely fought after. Although my grades are of the high level that Cambridge demands, I still had to improve my English in order to be able to compete with the elite of British students.

This was when Heritage English came into play. My objective of this year’s stay was to raise my written style to a more academic level which is required for university essays. The other goal I wanted to achieve was practising interview techniques and framing cohesive and concise arguments and answers to difficult interview questions such as “If 'Humanitarian Intervention' is acceptable, why shouldn't Europe invade the USA to stop it using the death penalty?”

Despite the fact that the amount of lessons comprised not more than 15 hours in total, I perceived the progress I made each day. Rebecca Nunn, my teacher, was competent and helpful in every way, challenging me, criticising, praising, making me see awkward sentence constellation and extending my academic vocabulary. At the end of the course I felt confident both in written and oral expression and well prepared for the tasks that still lie before me.

Additionally, I was able to see old friends and acquaintances again. I was even allowed to accompany April, my lovely “sister” from last year, to school and gain insight knowledge of the British school system and life. But not only did I meet up with everyone that has grown dear to me since last year, I also got to know new faces: I came to stay with the big Hobby family, and after only one week it felt as if I was already part of their family!

In conclusion, I can only repeat what I said last year: The programme that Heritage English has to offer is well-rounded, including fun time and intensive work, and is extremely flexible, suiting everybody’s special needs. No matter if you are a Business English student, a teenager who wants to brush up their English while having a great summer time or someone like me; this organisation will succeed in providing you with whatever you want.

A big thank you to everyone who made my stay as fantastic as it was!! (all members of the Hobby, Morrell, Thom, Nunn, Lincoln and Steggell families)

Angelika

IELTS Preparation Course - Huran

2010-08-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Huran came to us this summer for four weeks. He was a brilliant student who made the most of all the opportunities he had to improve his English. Here is the message we received on his return to Cyprus:

Hi miss , I hope everbody is ok in your home :D

After my all experiences in England , I feel more confident and have a more self-esteem to speak and show my English . After my 1 month course , I can decide which form of language I should use in different places to explain situations . It made my communication with other people easier as I can describe myself easily .
It was a great advantage to stay with a family , as I was able to learn daily speaking between members of family and know them . The lessons were specially designed for topics that I was weak , and help us to move forward on my English correctly . Self studies apart from daily lessons were also important and homeworks help students to repeat subjects which they studied in the morning . Activities apart from lessons that were took place in the afternoon were spectacular as well . Different types of historical places and museums are visited and new vocabuary words can be learned .
Meals were also delicious and lovely , as members of family gathered during supper , it was a good time to observe culture differences easily . Shopping was also different topic that I was interested and I need lots of time to shop and observe goods , my host family help my transport and online shopping whenever I want . I am very happy to live with new people and share lots of things with them . And my brother and cousin who are 15 and 14 respectively looking forward to attend same type of course in the future . Moreover , location of the House is also brilliant as we can walk everywhere easily . I like the weather in South England and if I have a choice I would like to live their instead of other parts of England as it is very clean and quiet . The citizens who live their is very friendly and smiling all the time . This made me feel confident during my stay .

A message from a dog!

2010-08-11T10:26:00.001-07:00

This message from a dog was sent to us by a student called Torsten from Germany. Torsten had a 2 week immersion with Heritage English. He stayed with Debbie Cummings and her dog Oscar and the rest of Debbie’s family. He was taught by Toby and Becca. He has written his testimonial in the words of Oscar, the dog!!
Hi, my name is Oscar. I’m Debbie’s dog. Debbie was Torsten’s host mother during his two weeks’ stay at our house in July. Torsten is 17 years old and he comes from Germany.
Gail dropped him off one Sunday evening and we immediately became good friends. Soon he and me shared his sandwiches. And he was a good person to play with. It was obvious that Torsten really enjoyed staying with us, i. e. me, Debbie, Lyndon, Ashley, Grandpa and all the family. One day we went to watch a football match, then we went to the beach, the other day we had a barbecue at Debbie’s sister’s house. But Torsten did not only come here for pleasure. He came here to improve his English and was taught by Toby and Becca who took turns to collect him every day. There were three lessons in the mornings and various activities (e. g. museums, sports, cinema) in the afternoons so that he could practise his English all day long. There was a good mixture both of formal language teaching and instant usage – and Toby and Becca were the right sort of people. And - according to Torsten -it didn’t feel at all like English lessons back home. One day he even talked English to his mum when she was on the phone. Total immersion at its best. Unfortunately, sometimes there was homework for Torsten so that he could not play with me straight away. However, he managed to squeeze it in between me and the Football Championships on TV. Hadn’t I experienced it myself I wouldn’t have thought so but watching TV can contribute enormously to enlarging one’s command of a foreign language.
On departure Torsten was provided with a record of lessons and activities (for his parents) as well as recommendations for further study. I hope Torsten is enjoying the remaining weeks of his summer holidays. And I’m sure he is missing us –especially me. Of course, we must not leave out Debbie who did a real good job making him feel at home at our place. I wonder whether he’ll want to come back some day…. . And I’m sure it was worth all the emails between Gail and Torsten’s mum.

Sveva (14) from Italy

2010-07-29T03:04:00.000-07:00

La cosa che piu’ mi e’ piaciuta e’ stata stare con la famiglia perche’ sono persone davvero stupende, io e Maia abbiamo molto in comune e ho avuto un mese di tempo per conoscerla, Blaede suo cugino e un tesoro e’ molto simpatico e molto gentile con me. Una delle cose piu’ divertenti che abbiamo fatto e’ stata quando siamo andati tutti a Thorpe Park, li ci siamo divertiti tutti tantissimo ed abbiamo passato una bellissima giornata tutti insieme. Un’altra cosa molto divertente e’ stata andare in barca tutti insieme e fare il bagno nel mare gelato o molto semplicemente andare io Maia e, qualche volta anche, con Bleade a fare shopping! Ma anche la maggior parte delle lezioni con le insegnanti sono state moloto efficaci e divertenti!

What I liked most was living with a family. They were fantastic. Maia and I have much in common and I had a full month to get to know her well. Blaede, her cousin, is a gem, very nice and very kind. One of the things I enjoyed most was when we went all to Thorpe Park, where we had a wonderful time. I also liked our boat outing, swimming in the freezing sea and even just shopping with Maia and occasionally with Baede! And most of the lessons have been effective and amusing!

Quando sono arrivata qui il mio scopo era quello di poter capire quello che si diceva senza troppi problemi e di cercare di parlare ill mio inglese in un modo piu’ sciolto e senza troppi dubbi o problemi, ecco ora riesco a capire la maggior parte delle cose quando le persone parlano e spesso commento senza pensare troppo agli errori che sto facendo oppure quando mi accorgo degli errori riesco, a volte a correggermi da sola! Quindi si ho raggiunto il mio obbiettivo!

When I arrived, my objective was to understand what was being said without too much of an effort and speak English more fluently and confidence. Now I can understand most of what is said to me, I can answer without being afraid of making mistakes, and sometimes I actually can correct my mistakes by myself! So I have achieved my objective!

Penso che sia meglio studiare faccia a faccia con l’insegnante invece che per esempio in classe, perche’ in classe e’ difficile stare attenti e la maestra non puo’ accorgersi di tutto e quindi si rischia di rimanere indietro, poi a volte si fanno gli esercizi ma non tutti hanno modo di farli o di verificare perche’ hanno sbagliato, durante le lezioni invece l’ insegnante di segue ti aiuta, ti corregge, ti spiega gli errori e ti mette in un situazione in cui imparare e’ bello!

I believe that one-to-one study with the teacher is better than being in a classroom, because in a class environment it is difficult to pay attention and the teacher cannot be aware of everything and it is easy to fall behind. Then, coursework can be wrong or unfinished and there isn’t enough time to check and correct mistakes. Instead, during one-to-one lessons the teacher can follow up, help, correct, explain mistakes and make learning fun!

Al prossimo studente direi solo di non pensare a casa, agli amici ecc ma solo di cercare di divertirsi e di imparare qualcosa che alla fine e’ sempre utile! Sopprattutto di non vergognarsi e di cercare di parlare in inglese il piu’ possible perche’ cosi’ e’ piu’ facile capire gli errori, correggerli e non farli piu’!

My advice to other students?
I would tell future students not to think about home or friends, but just to have a good time and try to learn something that will always be useful! And most of all, not to be ashamed and try to speak English has much as possible, because this will help understand mistakes, correct them and avoid them in future!

Thank you Sveva.

Andreas 14 from Germany

2010-07-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

Andreas had 2 weeks with us in July. Lessons were with Jane and the host family were Ruth and Chris Hobby and their six wonderful children. With her permission, we publish below the email from Uta Bilow, his mother - on his return to Germany this week:

Dear Celia, Ruth and Jane,

We are very happy to have Andreas back here again. He is very relaxed and amiable since his return and often talks about his impressions. We are sure that he made great progress in English during the language course and also in his personal development - due to your commitment!

Thanks to Celia for arranging this stay so perfect, matching the teacher, the host family and the leisure program to Andreas´ needs.

Thanks to Ruth and her family for taking Andreas as a member into their family and giving him a loving home for two weeks. He obviously enjoyed having such a lot of siblings around him.

Special thanks to Chris, who took Andreas to the airport in the early morning!

Thanks to Jane for giving interesting and varied lessons to Andreas, accompanying him to his surf lessons and all other sport activities and for uploading photos on facebook so that we could participate in your outings. I am also very happy that he made good contact with Emma the dog!

I am confident that Andreas will never forget this journey and all of you!

Kind regards,
Uta

2010-07-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

Frederic from Aix en Provence

2010-07-15T09:20:00.001-07:00

“It was a very pleasant week. I liked a lot English lessons with Celia. She has a lot of patience and she made my English becoming better and more fluent. Even grammar lessons were nice and it was pleasant to do my grammar homework!
I liked also the cook and driver, Steve. Steve is very funny and a nice person. My conversations with Celia were very interesting. It wasn’t English lesson but like conversation between two friends.
Dave, my host, was also a very nice and friendly person. He made a lot to make my stay a good one. My first objective was to speak English more easily, without shame about my accent. Now I am even thinking in English!
My second objective was to make better presentations in English and I learnt so many things abou that, that it will be ALMOST easy to do presentations in Engish – IF there is no questions at the end!”
Finally, the equilibrium between 4 hours lessons in the morning and more cultural and friendly activities in the afternoon is very good. “
Photo: Steve and Fred in “the stocks” ... no longer allowed as punishment for bad deeds!

June and July 2010

2010-07-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

This summer has been (and still is) very busy. Not only do we have the usual business English students, but we had an exceptionally high demand for junior courses.

Of course we only take a few students at any one time, so we have not been able to provide courses for every enquiry. That is because we like to keep our service small and personal, providing a specially high level of attention and care to every student regardless of age or learning needs.
Everyone makes great progress and that's what makes our work so fulfilling. Lots of testimonials and photos to come, when we get time to post them!

Best of all, the sun has been shining in the UK for months now and our green garden lawns are looking more like Africa than England!

See you soon
Celia

Mr Condello's Italian blog

2010-05-28T06:27:00.001-07:00

Antonino Condello came to Heritage English from Italy for an intensive, one-to-one 14-day Business English immersion course in May 2010.
His low level of English made it difficult to communicate with clients of his oil company based in Iraq. He came to England for total immersion and stayed with David Hughes for the first week and with Julie and Steve Woodington (see photo) for the second week. He was taught by Jane Reid Peters and Gail Steggell.
Here is what he said about the course:
“voglio dare una testimonianza della mia esperienza trascorsa nella Sua scuola per frequentare il corso di lingua inglese.
All'inizio ero preoccupato perche' non credevo di potercela fare, invece mi sbagliavo.
Adesso posso dire che e' stata una esperienza bellisiima, le mie insegnanti mi hanno fatto sentire come uno della propria famiglia, impegnandosi a farmi studiare la lingua inglese come un loro fratello.
Inoltre dopo le ore di studio durante la settimana ho trascorso delle giornate indimenticabili visitando tutte le attrazioni dei luoghi intorno a Lymington trascorrendo dei pomeriggi in perfetta sintonia tra paesaggi e studio della lingua Ingese .
Grazie all’ospitalita’ delle famiglie ospitanti, mi hanno fatto sentire in queste due weeks come un membro della loro famiglia.”
Thank you to Celia and your Team
Antonino Condello

Werner Frei, World Courier Sales Executive

2010-05-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

Dear reader
I’m Werner Frei, a 45 year old Sales Executive, working for World Courier (Switzerland) S.A., Zurich Branch. Working for an US Company means also having the English language as a company language. When I applied for this Job three years ago, a First Certificate of Cambridge was required. I passed this examination successfully, but 15 years ago.
With not too much practice since then, my English skills were not anymore on a top level and I really experienced that one time on an internal sales meeting of World Courier’s Western European group sales team. There I found out that only a few out of 25 people had a lower English level than mine. Another crucial experience was a presentation at one of our most important customers, where the audience was very international and I wasn’t able to answer the questions after the presentation properly. Luckily, one of our operation executives was also there and was able to do so.
After participating in two English courses in Switzerland in the last three years with steady, but slow improvement, I decided to look for another solution. Another reason was the need of an additional training for my Advanced Business English Certification of Cambridge Examination, which will be held end of Mai 2010.
Three weeks of intensive learning, well prepared by highly qualified private teachers without any influence from outside, neither through your job nor through your family duties, that was
Heritage English!
With the results of written classification tests and a questionnaire about my needs in advance of the course, the lessons were absolutely tailor made. That covered exactly what I was looking for. In addition to that, the ability to live with two different native families within my three week stay improved my communication skills tremendously.
A nice side effect was that I could discover the beautiful region south of the New Forrest, sometimes with the help of my hosts, sometimes for myself.

To summarize, it was worth any single penny that I spent and I highly recommend this way to improve your English skills.

Lieber deutschsprachiger Leser
Dieser kleine Bericht entspricht nicht einer Übersetzung der obigen Englischen Version.
Ich habe drei Wochen in Südengland zugebracht, um meine Englisch-Sprachkenntnisse zu erweitern. Zwei Gründe sprachen dafür, etwas für meine sprachliche Weiterbildung zu tun. Erstens, die Erkenntnis, dass mein Englisch in gewissen Geschäftssituationen nicht genügend war und zweitens, die Vorbereitung auf die bevorstehende BEC Vantage Prüfung Ende Mai 2010.
Mit dem Vorbereitungskurs (in der Schweiz, ein Jahr) für die BEC Prüfung habe ich B2 Niveau erlangt, vielleicht ausser dem schriftlichen Ausdruck (Briefe, Mails, Rapporte etc.), wo ich mich im B1 Niveau wiederfand. Das hätte wahrscheinlich auch für einen erfolgreichen Prüfungsabschluss gereicht, aber mir selbst fehlte etwas. Auf der Suche nach diesem „Etwas“ bin ich auf
Heritage English
gestossen, was meine Bedürfnisse, wie auf der entsprechenden Website dargestellt, vollumfänglich abgedeckt hat. Und ich kann nur bestätigen, die Internetseite hat meine Erwartungen nicht nur erfüllt, sondern deutlich übertroffen.
Drei Wochen nur Englisch um mich herum, jeweils vier Lektionen täglich mit einer hochqualifizierten Privatlehrerin (Celia Lincoln oder Gail Steggell), an den Nachmittagen dann weiter mit Kommunikation (bei gemeinsamen Ausflügen und weiteren Aktivitäten) und Abends dann jeweils Hausaufgaben, die dann am Folgetag besprochen und korrigiert wurden; wer da nicht etwas lernt, dem kann niemand mehr helfen. Die erwähnten Lektionen waren wirklich massgeschneidert, dies ermöglicht durch vorab durchgeführte Einstufungstests und das Ausfüllen eines gut strukturierten Formulars, das gezielt nach meinen Lernbedürfnissen fragte.
Ich hatte das Glück, Gast in zwei verschiedenen Familien zu sein. So hatte ich die Möglichkeit, den Sound der Sprache von verschiedenen Seiten zu erleben. Zuerst bei einer meiner Lehrerinnen, Celia Lincoln, mit ihrem Mann Steve, dann in der liebenswerten Familie von Peter und Thelma Lewis mit Ihrem erwachsenen Sohn Watkin und dessen Freundin Emilie. Das bedeutete natürlich auch, dass zu jeder Zeit Englisch gesprochen wurde und auch in den Gastfamilien darauf geachtet wurde, dass ich mich in der richtigen Weise ausgedrückt habe.
Wenn man sich die Zeit nimmt und bereit ist, einen gewissen Betrag zu investieren, erhält man einen höchstmöglichen Ertrag. Ich kann mich nach diesen drei Wochen viel sicherer in der Englischen Sprache bewegen und mich gewählter ausdrücken. Natürlich wird man in dieser Zeit und wahrscheinlich auch später kein „Native Speaker“, aber es ist ganz klar eine deutliche Verbesserung, mündlich wie auch schriftlich, zu spüren und zu erkennen.
Obschon das alles ziemlich anspruchsvoll erscheint, ist es doch gut zu bewältigen, vorausgesetzt, man lässt sein Business und den sonstigen Alltag zu Hause. Konzentriert nur auf das Lernen und Verbessern der Sprache, lässt sich sehr viel erreichen.
Verbunden mit der wunderschönen Landschaft im Süden Englands kann ich den Heritage English Immersion Course nur herzlichst empfehlen.
Für Rückfragen stehe ich gerne zur Verfügung
werner.65@bluewin.ch

sejour immersion - lecons one to one

2009-11-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

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.

Feedback from Austria

2009-10-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

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!"

New Message from Berlin

2009-09-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

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

I hope I'll come back =)

2009-08-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

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!

iT'S SO BEAUTIFUL !

2009-08-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

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!!

Bulats Exam Success!

2009-04-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

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

Tips for learning English

2009-02-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

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.

Christmas message from Paola and Ricky

2008-12-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

HAPPY XMAS SEASONS GREETINGS

The winter holiday is fast approaching and New Year is very close.

We want to say THANK YOU to all the companies and students who invested in our language training this year.

We want to congratulate students on their achievements as this is what makes our work so rewarding.

We love to hear when you pass your exams, when you get a promotion at work or when a presentation that you practised with us was a success.

The economic climate is cold. We need to be more competitive to succeed. Good English communication skills are essential for success in the international business world.

Well done to all our young learners who passed their English exams in 2008! Don't forget fluent communication is the key to exam success in English.

If you have not yet booked a course with Heritage English take advantage of our special price giving 10% discount on all bookings taken BEFORE the end of February 2009.

CAPTION COMPETITION

See this photograph of the resident Newlands Manor cat, Sam? He is dressed in his Santa hat and boots. What is the strange looking bird behind him? In case you didn't know, it's a turkey. Traditionally, British families eat this large bird on Christmas day as part of the celebrations.

We are offering a big prize for the reader who can suggest the funniest caption for this photo. The prize is a £100 reduction on a course with Heritage English. Send in your ideas before New Years Day (January lst) and we will publish the results on this Blog.

We wish you many happy moments this Xmas - moments that will brighten every day of the coming New Year.

from your teachers,

Celia and Gail

My lovely week in Newlands Manor

2008-09-27T02:08:00.000-07:00

My name is Ester, i'm from Cambrils, in the middle of Catalonia (Spain)... between Barcelona and Andorra. I'm 29 years old and this setember I spent part of my holidays in Milford on Sea.

This week the most appreciated for me was the real immersion in an English life. I studied English but I lived in English.

The second part, or realy the best part, to me there were the people, celia, Gail, the babys, Steve, Josie, Ben, and their friends... thank you for every day and every moment.

The other aspect it was my achieved English level. I want to recuperated my last level, and I did. But my most progress is in the comprehension of language. Now I can undestand everything that an English person say me. The other aspect that I improve it is my pronunciation.

I recomended this experience to everyone who want to improve their English fast and who want to live a beautiful experience.

Una experiencia recomendable para todas aquellas personas que necesiten conseguir un buen nivel de Ingles en poco tiempo. Tanto Celia como Gail son unas magnificas profesoras. Las clases son personales y combinan a la perfeccion teoria y practica.

En el aspecto personal son encantadoras... te acompanyan si tu quieres durante las tardes, puedes hacer diferentes actividades con ellas,... bici, piscina, visitas culturales... Convives con sus familias y te incorporan a sus vidas.

Newlands Manor esta emplazado en un maravillosa paraje... es una zona tranquila y apartada por donde puedes dar largos paseos.

Ha sido de verdad una semana increible...

Si alguien quiere saber algo mas sobre ellas, podeis poneros en contacto conmigo en la siguiente direccion de correo; muntada55@hotmail.com

Besos

Ester

Top Tips For Learning English

2008-07-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ways of Learning

Everybody learns things in a different way.

Some people learn things best through listening, some through reading, some through visualising and some through kinaesthetic methods.

If you find out what kind of learner you are, it will help you to decide the best way of learning English.Think about theses things:

Do you remember the music from scenes in your favourite film?

Do you remember things that you read in a novel or do you have to read the same page more than once?

Do you find it easy to learn the words of an English song ?

Do you remember the dance moves from your favourite video clip?

Working out what kind learner you are is the first step to successful English language learning.

What You Learn

If you need to pass an academic English exam, it is not so important to know how to ask where the nearest toilet is or how to book a room in a five star hotel!

If you want to go on holiday, it would be useful to know how to ask for directions or order food in a restaurant. It is not as important to learn how to make a conditional sentence....

Remember it is important to focus on what is relevant for your English language learning needs.

How much you learn.

Well, the average human brain can only remember so much! It is said that only 100 words make up 50 per cent of all conversations! So, do not try and learn lists of vocabulary "by heart". If you learn ten key words a day, in two weeks you will have a good grasp of the basics!

Don't Get Tongue Tied!

Many people are afraid to use the English that they have learnt in case they make mistakes - it can be a real confidence killer...BUT remember the only way we really learn is by making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. To boost you confidence in speaking English, you should learn a few key phrases to help you such as:

"Could you repeat that, please?"
"I'm sorry. I don't understand."
"Could you speak more slowly, please."
" How do you say ....... in English?"

So, remember:

Think about how you like to learn things

Think about why you want to speak English

Think about mastering your memory techniques!

Think about SPEAKING IN ENGLISH!

....and last but not least

Making an effort to speak in English is the first step in the right direction!

EcoWeek at Priestlands Secondary School!

2008-06-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to announce that EcoWeek has finally arrived at my school!

At my school, in Lymington, at the end of every school year we have an activities week, based on a theme. Last year we had FreedomWeek, celebrating 250 years since the abolition of slavery. This year,however, we have EcoWeek.

EcoWeek is based on the issue of the effect global warming an how we can help stop it. Each class will be doing different activities to do with the enviroment, such as making rugs(small carpets) from old clothes and scraps of materials. I will be doing abstract landscapes, making pictures of landscapes (fields, valleys etc..) from recycled materials.

Have a good summer!

NADIA...x

Lymington - Number One UK Coastal Town

2008-06-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!

We were very happy to read an article in The Daily Telegraph ( For coastal living, wish you were here - Friday 6th June 2008) describing Lyminton as" Britain's most desirable coastal town."

We are sure that past students will remember strolling around Lymington, wandering down the cobbled high street to the quay, watching the boats in the harbour and then walking back up for a nice cup of tea!

However did you know that......

Lymington was called Limen tun in Anglo-Saxon times. Tun means a farm or a hamlet.
Lymington was well known in the 18th century for smuggling!
The cobbled High Street we walk up and down is one of the steepest in England!
Lymington is the home to world/Olympic class sailors Ben Ainslie and Nick Rogers.
The population of Lymington is 14,500.
Johnny Depp is said to have a house in Lymington.
And last but not least, Lymington is proud to be the home of Heritage English!!

To read the article on Lymington go to www.telegraph.co.uk/news.

Let us know what you liked about Lymington.........

We'd like to hear from you!

Celia and Gail

"A nice age" (An Ice Age)

2008-06-17T02:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we have to laugh at our language.

During a recent immersion course with a French executive client, we were amused by a typical misunderstanding. Over lunch, we were discussing the ideal age of potential customers at a hotel health club where Josie is working.

When Josie commented on clients "in their thirties" being a nice age we were puzzled. Why on earth was she talking about an "Ice Age" in this context? What did ice ages have to with client ages? Suddenly the "penny dropped" (an idiom meaning we understood).

Even native speakers get confused with identifying where one word finishes and the next word begins.... how much harder it can it be for speakers of English as a second language?

With this in mind, we decided to offer a few examples to help you.

Mister Knight can sound exactly like "missed a night"
Ice cream can sound just like "I scream"
No news is good news can sound like "known uses good news"
Thanked him sounds just like "thank Tim"

Confusing? It certainly is and it's easy to see how misunderstandings occur.

In our English language immersion lessons, we spend 10 minutes focusing on this kind of problem. Just looking at examples, learning to look for meaning and repeating the phrases can help language students to recognise words in conversation.

I AM HAPPYYYYY

2008-03-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, I am Paolo.

This morning I had the score about the TOEFL Test that I take in March.
My score is 71 - twelve points higher than my first test in September 07.

So in my opinion, Celia and Gail are the best teachers that I ever know

I'm very happy about my progress in Heritage English.

Paola Moscatelli

Note from Celia: We are so happy for Paola who has worked very hard and deserves this amazing result. Bravo!

Many students try to post comments (like Paola above) and find it difficult.

There is a video to help you register to make a comment. Please try to log on with this to help you because we love to hear your comments.

The best decision I ever made

2008-03-01T01:58:00.000-08:00

This is Paola Moscatelli writing at the end of my third course with Heritage English.
The first time I came was in August 07 with my friend Stefania. We practised for the reading of Toefl Examination. I came back in December and Gail helped me to prepare good writing skills for this exam. Now, I have just finished an intensive week with Celia. We practised a lot of listening and speaking.

I feel that this exam is possible for me to pass after all these wonderful lessons and practise that I had in England.

For all Italian people, listen to this. Mr Steve is a wonderful cook. He cooks all of the Italian food very well!

Goodbye and thank you.
Paola

CZESC ALICJA! YAK SIE MASZ?

2008-02-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Alicja - I hope you had a good journey back to Poland on Sunday.
Also, I hope you don't forget the vocabulary we studied in lessons. Don't forget to listen to the cassette we gave you and to repeat the English phrases as often as you can.

We were very happy to have you as our guest and now we have found a new Polish friend.

I attach the video that I made with Steve and you on the clifftop last week. My filming technique needs practice .... I must find out where the STOP button is located!

Please send us a comment on this Blog site Alicja! Darren says write something in Polish.

Bye for now
Celia

Cake photo

2008-02-23T10:58:00.001-08:00

Polish/English chocolate cake from Alicja and Josie

2008-02-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

Hi,

This is Alicja from Poland. I have just finished my business finance training course with Celia.

It was a fantastic time to spend with Celia and Steve.

The lessons were well-prepared to my level.
The work we did in lessons has helped to improve my vocabulary and sentence construction and now I feel more confident in speaking.

Today I have made a chocolate cake with Josie, Celia's daughter.
It didn't go exactly how we had planned. So if you want to see how it should be done, look at Nigella Lawson's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe. We made a mistake with the cake tins and most of the cake spilled out.
Here is the result!

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T03:13:00.000-08:00

Gail and Celia send warm wishes for a Happy New Year to all our students and agents in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, China, Japan, India and Poland. We are busy filling our calendar for 2008 and the first two months are almost full up. After February, there are still free dates.

It was great to hear from our first student, a handsome Italian engineering student and keen scout! Please send us a recent photo, Davide, so that we can post it on the website.

Well done Paola for all your hard work with Gail. Sounds like you had a great Christmas and New Year at Lake Como. Keep the good work and we look forward to reading your next composition. Soon as you know your TOEFL exam dates, let us know.

Hello Francesca and Laura in Milan; have a fantastic 2008 and try to get here if you can.

Bonjour Laurent! We have great hopes of seeing you in Lymington this year. Bonne Annee.

As we write this the snow has started to fall. This is very exciting for us as we rarely get snow by the seaside.

Celia and Gail

Why the English drive on the left ....

2007-11-22T05:18:00.000-08:00

To all our students:

Hello there everyone,

Ever wondered why in England we drive on the left?

An ex-student has sent us a great video that she found which gives the historic reason for us being the opposite of most other countries. So thank you Cristina.

Click on this link for a five-minute drama documentary on this fascinating subject.

And please send us your comments!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_zLFNEV9e4

Celia and Gail

Albane's immersion

2007-11-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

Our recent English immersion business student came to us from The European Commission in Brussels.

Albane, who works in the Human Resources Department, needed to improve her level of understanding and spoken English for use when interviewing newly appointed members of staff.

She will be publishing her post-course comments on this space soon.

Eleonora Umidon

2007-10-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

This is a message for Eleonora from Celia and Gail.

(Eleonora came to us for two weeks in the summer. Her special talent is making music. Reading and writing are not her favourite skills and so, at the request of her parents, we devised a programme of English lessons which focused on visual and audio information.)

Hi Eleonora!

How are you? Did you have a good holiday? How is your viola practice going?
Charlotte, George, Kate and Oliver all say "hello" too.

Best wishes to you and your family.

Celia and Gail

Paula and Stefania in Green Park

2007-09-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great day out in London when we visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and Harrods in Knightsbridge. We walked all the way from Waterloo Station to Green Park where we stopped for a picnic lunch... but of course it began to rain. Luckily Stefania had her umbrella and we didn't mind.

We are hoping that the course we did with Heritage English will help us to get a better grade in our Toefl exam in September.

Now we are back in Milan and we hope to return next year.

Thanks Celia and Gail for all your help with our practice tests!

Paula and Stefania

Our day out at Madame Tussauds

2007-07-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

I went to London today. We took the train to Waterloo and then the tube to Madame Tussauds. The best part was taking photos with all the famous people. Here I am with Ayrton Senna!

Michele Motta

Welcome to the Heritage English student blog!

2007-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to students old and new! This blog is for sharing your thoughts, experiences and language questions.

We will be posting new students' thoughts as we work with them, but any past students are welcome to join in too!

Celia & Gail