My English language journey – A Student Testimonial
We have been helping students achieve success in their Cambridge exams for many years with our intensive preparation courses. We love hearing students talking about how positive their experience has been, and the next step in their journey so we wanted to share Maeva’s story of her FCE exam success.
Why did you want to study English and take the FCE Exam, Maeva?
Learning English is no longer negligible in 2020: whether for your professional career or for traveling, English is the most useful language for communicating in the world. I wanted to have a career in international business so I decided to take a year out to learn English. I thought it would be good to take an exam at the end so I had a qualification for my CV. I was always very attracted to England, which is why, thanks to Idealangues, I found LSI/IH Portsmouth language school.
Why did you choose LSI/IH Portsmouth / IH Portsmouth to study English?
I chose LSI/IH Portsmouth because of its reputation and the different services available. In addition, the town of Portsmouth is charming and welcoming, by the sea with lots of great places to visit. You can find accommodation with host families offered by the school, which is very warm and helpful for your English learning to have a complete immersion. In order to fully experience the English lifestyle. There is nothing better to learn about a culture than to share it with the locals.
Where did you stay?
Personally, I didn’t choose a host family but the shared residence with other foreign students; you immediately feel a good atmosphere, and I quickly became friends with everyone. We shared our cultures and tried to learn some words in everyone’s native language. Not only do you meet people but also you make lifelong friends all over the world. It’s just 2 minutes from the school so very convenient.
Did you join in the social programme?
The activities organized by the school allow us to travel to different places in the country; we created a bond between us that felt like a big family.
What about the English lessons?
I was at LSI/IH Portsmouth for 9 months: I started in General English, then studied intensive IELTS and finally decided to join the FCE exam preparation class. The lessons are fun and playful, we are in small groups which allow us to learn more easily and to help each other. We are surrounded by an excellent teaching team; each teacher has their own way of teaching, but they know how to adapt to the group.
We didn’t just stay in class studying the vocabulary or grammar of the language; we were also able to explore the city and talking directly to the locals.
What about when the school had to close because of Covid-19?
When the UK went into lockdown, the school was able to adapt and continue online courses which allowed me to take the FCE exam and obtain my FCE diploma. It has been very interesting to study both online and face-to-face with LSI/IH Portsmouth – I was surprised how good and effective the online classes are. I am so thankful to them.
What are you going to do next?
After my success in the FCE exam, I am going to university to study Business. I know that my experience at LSI/IH Portsmouth allowed me to become an advanced English speaker; this will be key in my future in an international company.
My time studying at LSI/IH Portsmouth remains a wonderful memory for me.
Thank you, Maeva for sharing your experience with us.
One of Maeva’s teachers was our Director of Studies Lewis Richards. Here he tells us a little more about her language journey: “When Maeva started studying with us, her level was elementary. She worked incredibly hard over 6 months: she was very studious in class and made friends very quickly. This helped her progress very quickly. After 3 months, she joined our FCE exam class, then passed the actual FCE exam class. It has been amazing to watch her go from elementary to advanced so quickly. I wish her the best of luck in her future!”
Here is a video which shows Lewis teaching an online FCE exam class:
You can see more about preparing for a Cambridge exam online:
