Who wouldn´t want to live in Philadelphia? It´s famous for its food such as cheesesteaks, hoagies and soft pretzels; its home to the iconic Liberty Bell; it oozes art and culture; and it encompasses Fairmount Park, the largest landscaped park in the world. Well Maria did live in Philadelphia, in a neighbourhood close to the famous Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Cultural and educational buildings such as the Franklin Institute, the Museum of Art, the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Academy of Natural Sciences, lined the street. But there was only one building that Maria was interested in – the Moore College of Art and Design. She was desperate to get a place there; she dreamed of becoming a designer amongst the elite artists and designers who had graduated from the college.
One of the requirements of this esteemed establishment is to pass the TOEFL exam, the most widely recognized test in the world of the English language. This required a certain level of English skills which Maria wasn´t sure she possessed. She couldn´t let this stand in the way of her dreams so sought the advice of her friends and enrolled in some private tuition lessons to coach her on her English language proficiency.
These highly recommended English courses in Philadelphia allowed Maria to practice everything that she needed to be able to pass the academic test as the lessons were designed specifically with TOEFL in mind. With the added reassurance of a high score possibility due to the structure of the course content, Maria´s confidence in her linguistic ability increased and she felt ready to sit her TOEFL exam.
Now a fully-fledged student at Moore College of Art and Design, Maria is fulfilling her ambitions by training as a designer and is proud to be part of such a renowned educational institution. Her extra English language courses have allowed her to reach her creative potential and now she is truly living the dream in Philadelphia!
As part of his final year of schooling, Carlos was given a 6 month work placement in Houston. He was studying a computing and technology course and the placement not only counted as experience towards his apprenticeship but as marks towards his final grade. Being from Brazil, his mother tongue was Portuguese and, whilst he knew and understood all of the technical jargon relating to his course and subsequent work placement, he wasn’t so sure how to communicate with his new colleagues who all spoke English. In Brazil, he had been taught basic level English in school but, although he had a base knowledge of the language, he wasn’t very fluent in it by any stretch of the imagination. He asked his new manager if he could point him in the direction of any recommended English courses in Houston and, as luck would have it, his manager knew of a very flexible and affordable course that had a good reputation.
Carlos enrolled in the course and was pleased to discover that he didn’t have to start from scratch, that his teacher would gear the lessons towards the level of English that Carlos already had. He was also able to choose where he wanted the lessons to be held and the teacher would go to him there instead of him having to find a particular venue, which was perfect seeing as Carlos didn’t know the area very well. The course was so flexible that Carlos was able to fit his lessons around his work schedule and the unique style of teaching enabled him to pick up the language at a very quick pace. In no time at all, his teacher – who was native English and fully certified – had helped him to increase his English language proficiency to such a level that he felt completely confident in his ability to converse with his colleagues and much more at ease in his workplace.
Having learned what he needed to know and feeling happier that he’d made the effort so that he could fit in properly with his colleagues, Carlos continued with his technological training and enjoyed the rest of his stay in Houston.
Despite numerous attempts to learn English by attending various classes, listening to CDs and watching DVDs, the student just couldn’t get a good verbal grasp of the language. As one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, why was that the case? Unfortunately, the student suffered with the speech impediment commonly known as stuttering.
Speed impediments can severely hinder verbal abilities and, as if learning a new language wasn’t challenging enough, having to cope with stuttering whilst doing it was another obstacle he needed to try to overcome. A language school with a different outlook on teaching was what he needed. Whilst being surrounded by the fast paced action and excitement of Miami, his speech had to take on a much slower pace so he carefully researched the best English courses Miami had to offer.
Intimate classes in a relaxed atmosphere helped to calm his nerves; this was the first step to take to try to combat the stuttering. The casual yet innovative teaching methods enabled him to enunciate his vowels and consonants correctly without fear of being ridiculed or criticized. He learned how to master difficult words and how to fill any involuntary gaps in his speech so that they were barely noticeable to anyone else. The class focused on speaking out loud which not only taught the student how to breathe while speaking and to gain familiarity with the English language which increased his fluency, but to overcome his fear of public speaking in general. The good thing about learning a new language was that everyone in the class was as self-conscious as he was as to how their voices sounded. Were they pronouncing the words correctly, were they saying the proper phrases, and did they have a good enough accent? Being part of this group who had something in common helped to banish his fear and anxiety of speaking and he started to take control and master his verbal technique.
As his confidence and optimism grew, the usual fear of embarrassment caused by public speaking gradually lessened and, without realizing it, he began to conquer his burden of stuttering. So while for most students these classes were a great way to learn English in Miami’s vibrant atmosphere, for this student these lessons were also vital in improving his outlook on life and boosting his self-esteem no end.
