Latest Reviews for International Language Schools |
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| Date Submitted: | July 28, 2008 |
| Language School: |  EVOLANGUAGE |
| Language & Location: | German :: Mainz, Germany |
| Classes & Instruction: | 10 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 10 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 10 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 10 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Excellent German instructors & location After spending considerable time reviewing options for a language course in Mainz, I decided to attend Evo Language. It was a great decision which dramatically improved my German and provided a terrific place for me to learn more about Mainz and the local area. The classes were small (4-6 students usually all ages and nationalities) which meant everyone had the opportunity to talk a lot. It was total immersion once you got past the very basics. The students came from a variety of backgrounds which meant often German was the common language, as a result even casual conversations during the breaks were in German. I arrived with basic German (I had taken an immersive 12 week course two years before). I was placed in an advanced beginner group to relearn some grammer before advancing to more of a conversational group a few weeks later. Both styles of class were engaging, we usually had 3-4 days with one instructor and 1-2 days with another. This allowed us to work on different skills and helped us learn different accents as well as materials. The instructors were all excellent, all had advance qualifications in languages and many also worked at the local university. As you can see I scored the school with all 10's, this is honestly because 11's or higher were unavailable. Finally, how did it work out? After about 6-8 weeks I found I was able to participate in conversations easily, watch films, television and engage in any day to day activities with relative ease in German. I wasn't fluent, but this takes time and I can not think of anything EVO could have done better to improve my progress. When I encountered problems (my weakness - grammer, I think it's more of an allergy) they took the time to explain things multiple times and in multiple ways to help me and others in the class understand. The school is small and as a result over just a couple of weeks you get to know everyone which is really nice. I felt within days that I was part of the 'EVO' community. We'd have coffee together, we took field trips and I made friends there, all of this in German! Finally, I know EVO has facilities in a number of cities. I picked Mainz because I wanted a smaller city where hopefully I would be exposed to less English. It was a good choice and I'd recommend Mainz to anyone who wanted to live in Germany. It's a terrific size, easy to get to know, the people are very friendly, the prices are reasonable and Karnival is fantastic. There is also a surprisingly good nightlife as its a college town. If you've made it this far in the review, I hope it's helped. Also, tell the people at EVO I said hi when you contact them! :) Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Liam Wen 40 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: Boston, USA |
| Date Submitted: | July 24, 2008 |
| Language School: |  don Quijote - Barcelona |
| Language & Location: | Spanish :: Barcelona, Spain |
| Classes & Instruction: | 3 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 2 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 1 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 1 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | DO NOT GO HERE!!! This is the most expensive language school that I came across in my search. Because of this, and their webpage, I assumed this would also be the best school. To begin with, the residence was DISGUSTING. I travel a lot and do not mind staying in hostels and this residence was by far much worse than anything I had seen in my travels. The worst part is that they charge $1200/month to have your own room there. You can get a room in the center of Barcelona in a nice apartment for between 400 and 600 euros. I knew a lot of other people in the residence who were unhappy. I also heard constant complaining in class about the apartments. The biggest problem with this school is that the cancellation guarantee that they have is just crap. Along with many of my friends, I fell down the very dangerous stairs in the residence and hurt myself pretty significantly. I could not even attend classes for almost 2 weeks and I could barely walk. When I started to feel a little better I was still unable to sleep in the residence because they have the most uncomfortable beds I have ever slept in and it was aggravating my injury. While I had been staying in the residence I also had my food stolen from the kitchen and clothes stolen from the laundry area which I reported to the office both times and nothing was done. So considering all of this, when I was in so much pain I was ready to throw the towel in. I went to the office and said I wanted to use my guarantee (which I paid an extra $600 for) to get my money back. I was told to get a Dr's note and to leave the school and that in 3 weeks I would get a refund. I did what they asked and when weeks went by and I heard nothing I returned to the school. Olga in the office denied ever telling me any such thing, pretended she did not speak English all of a sudden, and basically told me I would be getting no money refused to tell me who I could even talk to about this. When I tried to contact Maria in Salamanca, which is who my contact was during the registration process, she would be mysteriously out of the office every time. E-mails consistently went unanswered as well. Basically I was at this school for one month and they kept my money for 4 months even though I had the guarantee and did what they asked. They are liars and crooks and you cannot trust them. They made my experience abroad miserable and it kills me every time I think about the large sum of money they stole from me. There are many less expensive schools in Barcelona and look on Loquo.com for apartments. Comments [ 1 ] |
| Submitted by: | donquijote is the worst 24 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: Orlando, Florida, USA |
| Date Submitted: | July 9, 2008 |
| Language School: | Inhispania |
| Language & Location: | Spanish :: Madrid, Spain |
| Classes & Instruction: | 9 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 9 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 8 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 8 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | great experience I have just come back from a 6 week stay in Madrid and I can honestly say that inhispania made the whole stay an unforgettable one. I saw the negative review below and I cannot believe that we went to the same school. The school is run by young people and has a fresh and inviting feel. Also I had a bit of a bad experience in Madrid ( completely my own fault- my bag with my wallet and Passport got stolen because I left it unattended while having drinks in a bar) and the school was extremely helpful. It’s not easy being in a strange city when you have lost all your money and ID. They even helped me out with a bit of cash and helped me stop all my cards, find the closest police office and the embassy. All I can say is that I will always think back very positively about my time at Inhispania. Accommodation was good (I stayed in student apartment, -no frills but good value. We were in the very centre of Madrid within 5-10 minutes walking distance of all the going out places and the school) I am sure there are more posh schools in Madrid, but I would not want to have been anywhere but there. Also- there is a free internet café at school as well as free wifi. Very practical. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | anthony 25 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: New York,NY,USA |
| Date Submitted: | July 9, 2008 |
| Language School: |  Centre Linguista - Montreal (French) |
| Language & Location: | French :: Montreal, Canada |
| Classes & Instruction: | 1 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 1 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 1 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 1 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Not recomended This school offers intensive French classes. I have followed closely the progress of one of the students, and I need to say I am very very disappointed. I did my education in French, but I found a lot of the exercises she was given were too advanced for what they had taught in class. One of the hardest (I find) parts of the French language was not even discussed in the classes and yet, she had an assignment on it. They skip around, and do not lay a good foundation, so students are confused and demoralized. They give you photocopies of the workbook, without the chapters the exercises are covering, so if you are confused, you have no reference point to verify this new material. I am very unhappy with this school, and will not be recommending it to anyone trying to learn French. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Rakoth 23 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: Montreal |
| Date Submitted: | July 7, 2008 |
| Language School: |  Instituto Chac-Mool |
| Language & Location: | Spanish :: Cuernavaca, Mexico |
| Classes & Instruction: | 9 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 10 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 9 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 10 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Great People, Great Environment Although I attended in the rainy season, the weather was good. Strengths: Well-organized, well-trained teachers, classes ran on schedule; amazing selection of extra-curricular activities (including cooking, dance, and art classes; weekend excursions; and one-on-one tutoring), clean and well-maintained campus, and supportive staff. No Internet access: bring your own laptop if you expect to be staying in touch with people via email. You will be surprised by how much you absorb in just a few weeks. A million opportunities to use your Spanish--do not miss the Mercado Lopz-Mateos in downtown Cuernavaca. It will change your life. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Celeste 80+ year-old :: Female Reviewer :: California |
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