book your new course up until the end of January, and we will give you 08 prices! Our prices are rising in 09, so if you study with us right now, come to the office and we’ll give you this year’s course price- that’s a good 10% saving for Christmas presents!

It’s the last week of term in the English Studio, and while everyone’s thinking of Christmas, we’re still thinking of you guys! We’ll give you a 10% discount if you book in the final week of term for any course starting next year! Don’t say we aren’t generous at Christmas!

Rob

One of the things I most like about The English Studio is the opportunity to meet and teach people from all over the world while  watching people from different countries becoming friends. I think that’s the best part of the London experience for so many of our students and something I’m proud to be a part of. The only difficulty that arises is when it’s time to say goodbye.

When I was growing up, the idea of Guatemala was of a strange country, which I knew absolutely nothing about. More than twenty five years later, not a lot had changed: and then I met Melany Adriana Garcia Carrillo or, ‘Adri,’ as we will all remember her. Having come to London to  work for a family  and  improve her English before going home to start college, Adri joined The English Studio as a member of both Stuart’s Blue Class and my Black one. She soon proved herself to be a sweet-natured, hard-working intelligent girl and was much-loved by her classmates (and teachers) as a result.

If proof were needed as to her popularity, one only needed to visit her going-away party at O’Neill’s pub in Shepherd’s Bush last night , where we drank our pints of Guinness, laughed like lunatics and said our sweet and sad goodbyes. Our section of the pub was packed with well-wishers from, amongst other countries: France, Georgia, Brazil, Algeria, Colombia, Macedonia, Scotland,Venezuela, Spain, Turkey, Mexico, England, Ireland and Romania. (Sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone!)

Watching this mini United Nations having a good time together gave me a lovely, warm, Christmasey glow and it was Adri who had brought us all together..To everyone who came, thank you for a wonderful night! To Adriana: It was a pleasure to meet, know and teach you. You are an outstanding ambassador for your country and every time I hear the mysterious word ‘Guatemala,’ I will always think of you…

Mike

Once again, we are approaching the end of our Autumn term, and this means exam time! Every time we get to the end of the term our students do a test, and after that they get together with the teacher, discuss their progress on the course, and come to a decision about the best class for them for next term. It’s a great chance for the students to get really useful advice from their teacher, and to think about what they want to achieve. Our role is to facilitate our students in getting what they need for their future in the quickest way possible.

As I write, the first Christmas tree in Shepherds bush is twinkling on the street outside and a never-ending conga line of shoppers stream in and out of the Westfield shopping centre. As late november drifts into December there will be a mounting sense of excitement as the big day approaches. there will be more parties, people on the street in silly Santa suits and a general air of goodwill which we like to call The Christmas Spirit…

However, if you’re spending your first Christmas away from your family in a foreign country, Yuletide  can be a terribly lonely time and you may feel desperately homesick… There are, howewver, one or two things that you can do to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative this holiday season.

Number one: whatever you do , don’t go shopping on Oxford Street! don’t get me wrong; while a lot of people claim that London’s central shopping thoroughfare has gone downmarket in recent years, it is still one of the finest streets in Europe for anyone who is gifthunting. The only problem is that it is ridiculously crowded and it literally is a battle to go from one end to the other, with people’s heavy shopping bags bashing against you and their umbrellas poking you in the eye. Personally, I always do my shopping on High Street kensington, which also has a great variety of shops but is far less congested with frantic shoppers.

Secondly, and most importantly,  whether Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve is the day most traditionally celebrated in your country,start making arrangements for the big day now. Put a post on the English Studio Forum and start getting people together, because if you leave it to the last minute you could end up spending the day alone and that would be terrible.

so go and get organising and may I be the first person this year to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Mike