Nelson is located at the top of the South Island. In Nelson, you can do different kind of activities, such as kayaking, sailing, going to beach and so on. People in Nelson are helpful and kind. What I really like about Nelson Bays is Abel Tasman National Park. It takes an hour to arrive in Kaiteriteri by car, which is my favourite beach in New Zealand, because it is absolutely stunning white golden sand and turquoise water. It takes your breath away. Once you are in Abel Tasman National Park; you will see a lot of amazing scenery. Kiwis and penguins might be seen in Abel Tasman National Park. In addition, if you like camping, Abel Tasman National Park should be your campsite.
by Ahmed Arwaily from Saudi Arabia. Ahmed is a student at Languages International.
30 January 2009
Nelson Bays
29 January 2009
The First 3 Weeks of CAE – from the Students Perspective
Gaiane, a student from Belgium, is taking part in the CAE preparation course for the exam at the end of March. It’s her aim to improve her English skills and reach a higher degree. A good structured and organised programme, the multimedia Learning Centre, as well as meeting people from all over the world, makes her stay pleasant here at Languages International in Auckland. During her leisure time she likes to travel around and discover more of this gorgeous country, as well as enjoying the moving city vibe and going out. “Although I’m surprised about these many similarities to Europe”, Gaiane states, “I really like the mixture between Kiwis, Maoris and Foreigners down here.”
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Studying under palm trees and lying on the beach is everyone's dream.
Soomin from Korea is doing it right now. First she was told that the North Island is less exciting than the South Island. After 3 weeks she's still astonished at the amazing activities that can be done here.
"The school is the best in town". Good friends, small classes, the useful learning centre and social programmes helps Soomin to prepare for her CAE.
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Sara has been in "Kiwi-Country“ and at Language International before.
It was not only this unforgettable way of learning English but also the extraordinary scenery and natural beauty of the countryside as well as the warm, friendly and absolutely helpful Kiwis all around that drew her back here. "It feels like home!“ says Sara with a big smile and blinking eyes.
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3 weeks already? wow.....
"Hey Jasmin do you remember how cold it was when you left Switzerland?“ Okay, she doesn't really think about her home country because she's just having a fantastic time here.
"Last weekend was amazing", she exclaims. She and her girls went to the Bay of Islands. Away from the school stress, just right into an amazing and unforgettable trip.
So far so good, but is it all about party and having fun? Well, she wishes it could be like that. Anyway, school is cool too, and she would rather learn here than in cold Switzerland.
Written by Dérene’s CAE class.
28 January 2009
A Great Place to Be
On 5th January 2009 ten students from Switzerland, Korea, Japan and Germany had their first day at Languages International. Now - three weeks later - we are going to write a blog about the impressions and experiences we have had in these weeks. Not only have we had a marvellous time in the Social Programme and at the weekends, but also we have enjoyed studying in class. Thanks HD and Simon for your efforts.
Lisa Bracher
My classmate Lisa must be one of the classmates who is studying the hardest since she found it very demanding studying CAE level English from the very beginning. She has consistently spurred herself on. Her strength is speaking, reading and listening and weak areas are grammar and writing. But she is quite confident she will do well if she practices more and gets familiar with different types of writing.
Sue Jeon
Sue has been studying in New Zealand for almost 8 months, so this CAE course is the last one for her because she needs to go back to Korea. It’s her last chance to be abroad for the next few years and that is the reason why she is really enjoying studying and she is working hard to reach a good level. Her first impression was like: “Oh my God, all of my Swiss classmates speak very well.” But she recognized soon that she’s good at grammar and writing and she doesn’t have to worry about the exam. One of her targets is to speak more because this is one of her weak areas.
Giselle Germann
Giselle´s from Switzerland and doing her CAE course in Auckland. On our first day at school she was well informed, not only concerning our studies but also the social programme. Besides the activities organized by Simon at Languages International, where there are a lot of activities which must be recommended to everybody staying in Auckland for a little while, she has four hours class time every day. In the week two test Giselle recognised that the CAE course is quite challenging and she has to work hard.
She thinks the Sky Tower is a perfect place to get a first impression of almost the whole city, especially on beautiful days. On the weekend she prefers spending her time on trips. For example last week she was travelling through the lovely countryside of New Zealand to the Bay of Islands.
Daniel Gussmann
Daniel feels at home with his host family, as they treat him like a family member. His first day at school was too long for him. The entry test was a good way to see if everyone has chosen the right course. Daniel noticed that he has to improve his speaking and vocabulary range. The social programme is great: every week it’s possible to do a different activity! Daniel is enjoying his time in New Zealand. He has done a bungee jump and has already visited a lot of amazing places around Northland.
Daniel Knüsel
Daniel from Switzerland told me that the second week of the course was quite hard as he found it difficult to pass the exam, especially the Use of English. He also discovered that he has strong skills in listening and reading. During the course, there is a lot of homework, so he is busy and feels the challenge in studying English. He travelled to the Bay of Islands last weekend and explored outside Auckland city, which was a great experience for him. He has also bought a racing bike here to do exercise while he studying at Languages International. Overall, the school encourages him to be lively and enjoy his time in New Zealand.
Sanae Matsuyama
Sanae arrived a few months before the CAE course. Although, she took the FCE exam one year ago, she was really surprised about the high level of the 2nd week test. Particularly the reading part wasn´t so easy for her. However, she says: “Everything seems to be useful for improving my English, so I do all homework and writing tasks with passion.”
She has been to different places in Auckland, for example, she has been to the Domain, the Harbour and she also walked to the top of One Tree Hill, but she has also been to the Bay of Islands and Piha Beach. She likes the totally different atmosphere, compared to Japan.
Adrian Morf
Adrian arrived 3 weeks ago in Auckland and is really enjoying his time. On his first day in school he received lots of information and details about the next ten weeks of his CAE course. He is very happy about the good organization of his first day, and the explanations from all the teachers and the school staff about the course. He was a little surprised about the high level of the course- he realized this in the second week when he got back the results of his first tests. His biggest problem is lacking a wide range of vocabulary. On the other hand, he loves the environment of the school with its lovely park, where he spends a lot of time.
Adrian likes taking part in the school social programme. For example, he has visited the sky tower. But his greatest experience ever here in New Zealand was skydiving in Taupo. I saw his video and it looks great fun.
Kristina Skulj
Kristina stayed for three months in Cairns, Australia, before she came to New Zealand. She did a General English Course and is now in HD’s CAE class. In the second week she was really afraid of doing the test because she didn’t know about her current English level. She wasn’t happy about her test results and is now more determined to work hard to reach the CAE level.
In her spare time she has done a lot of different trips in just three weeks. She has already been to Rangitoto Island, the Tongariro National Park and done the alpine crossing there which is an 18 kilometre long walk. There she was absolutely impressed with the active volcanoes.
Bettina Wagner
Bettina Wagner started studying English at Languages International in Auckland on 5th January 2009. Everything was new for her but she got to know the new circumstances quickly. She appreciates the good organization and the amusing people at school.
She was really happy with the results of the week two tests. She knows exactly what she has to learn now. Bettina has to learn the different grammar rules and wants to enlarge her vocabulary which is very important for passing the exam.
Bettina likes going to school as well as enjoying her free time which she often spends at the viaduct basin on the harbour. She has already visited the beautiful Bay of Islands where she enjoyed watching the dolphins.
Janine Wegmann
Janine, from Uster in Switzerland, came to New Zealand to have a better opportunity to get a more challenging job. She hasn’t been to school for four years, and found it hard to get back into the student’s life. After the test we had in the second week, she is now more worried about the CAE final exam. She has to use the grammar which we learn every day and enlarge her vocabulary which will improve at the same time as her speaking.
Of course, she enjoys the activities which the school offers. She has been to Rotorua and to the Bay of Islands where she met new friends. But that’s not going to end here. After the course she’s going to travel throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Written by HD and Simon's CAE class
My favorite place in New Zealand
I have been living in New Zealand for three years,if you ask me where I like, I would like recommend to you West Coast beaches. For example, Piha, Karekere, Bethells and Muriwai beach. Almost all the beaches are less than one hour by car from center of the city. The shapes are completely different between West and East coasts of the North Island . The black and the white sand, wild and mild waves and so on.
Especially I love summer season - on the way to the beach there are lots of strawberries farms that produce not only strawberry but also they make ice-cream using their own strawberries. It is extremely delicious.
If you want to go hiking, you can easily find walking trails in the Waitakere Ranges forest, that are placed near the beaches.
by Yumiko Kawata from Japan. Yumiko is a student at Languages International.
27 January 2009
Why You Should Stay in a Languages International Homestay
If you are coming to Languages International I strongly recommend you to stay in a homestay.People from New Zealand are very friendly, and Languages International offers you the family that better suits with your profile.I’ve been in NZ for two weeks now and I’m loving it. The day I arrived...
Read the rest of Rhaiany's story on our website...
by Rhaiany Falqueto Amorim, a student at Languages International
26 January 2009
English for Business Class Project : Publishing an In-house Company Magazine
Nice to meet you, I am Moonsung Cho from Korea.
In Korea, I worked for 5 years and planned to an MBA. Before starting my MBA, I came here to improve my general English ability because every lecture in MBA school would be taught in English.
When I arrived at Languages International, I chose this class to improve my business English communication skills and to know how business in Western culture is different from Asian culture.
During the class, I came to understand how to use English naturally in Business and learned a variety of business vocabulary.
At the same time, I have accumulated academic knowledge and skills necessary for business by trying lots of projects and tasks for the experience of using English for business.
Not only did I learn English for business, but also I built up personal relationship with various class mates from different countries and different backgrounds.
These experiences widened my perspective which had been limited to the Asian countries only and provided me with opportunities to learn the know-of doing business in various countries.
Organizing a company in house magazine was one of our projects which were done during the class. We planned, wrote and published this in house magazine under the instruction of our teacher, Emma. It was a very unique experience for every classmate in our class and we could learn about the process of releasing a company magazine from this.
You can see the magazine here.
By Moonsung Cho, a student at Languages International
23 January 2009
Radio Grischa's Andy Hartmann: "Languages International has a perfect school system"
Andy Hartmann from Swiss radio station Radio Grischa is currently studying at Languages International Auckland in New Zealand. Andy has been reporting back to Radio Grischa on his time at Languages International and his travels around New Zealand. If you understand German, you can hear about Andy's visit to New Zealand on the Radio Grischa website. For the rest of us, Andy has has written a little bit about his experience of Languages International:
I’m Andy Hartmann from Switzerland, and I’m studying at Languages International in Auckland. I’ll tell you a little bit about the school and my study. Languages International has four buildings very close to the city, but around the buildings is a beautiful park. Inside the buildings are a student café, learning center and some computers that you can use for emailing. The learning center is a very good place to improve your English. There are always teachers there, a library, some DVDs, computers etc. You can spend a lot of time there, if you like.
The school has a great Social Programme, so everyday there are fun and interesting activities for the students to do. For example, we go up the Skytower, visit pubs, play soccer or go to the beach together. Of course, it’s great to be able to meet people from other countries.
Languages International is the second English school I have been to, so I can say Languages International has a perfect school system, helpful and friendly teachers and the school is in a lovely place in Auckland. Of course, here are a lot of Swiss students, but the school has mixed classes, which is good. For example, in my class are only two more Swiss students.
Photos: Andy enjoying New Zealand
06 January 2009
New Zealand – so far away and so close
It’s been my second day since I left New Zealand, the second day away from this beautiful and peaceful country. It all seems so far and so long time ago…
Visiting New Zealand was one of the best life experiences I have ever had. On the 8th of January 2008 I arrived in Auckland the business centre of New Zealand. The main purpose of my trip was to improve my English. So I spent the first four months in Auckland studying at Languages International School of English. And those were good four months! First I realized that my decision to come to a foreign country to study English was right. The thing is, in my home country most of the teachers are focused on grammar, though the skills one needs to communicate with other people are actually listening and speaking. From the first day at Languages International I was given a lot of this essential practice. We spoke and listened a lot, and our teachers corrected us - but just at the end of our speech, which was very important so we weren’t afraid to speak. I am sure many people who studied English in their home countries can totally understand how important it is to be able to speak without being corrected every second. English was everywhere; the school organized a lot of social activities, such as games, BBQs, bars, sailing trips and so on, where everyone could practice their everyday English. In addition, my New Zealand homestay family was very nice and I am still good friends with them. They helped me a lot, cooked good meals and were very friendly to me.
After finishing my studies I went travelling, first to Fiji and then to one of the most beautiful places in the world – the South Island. I spent about 5 months in the South Island and these were the best months of my travels ever. I also visited Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. This place is not just where the government sits, but is also a cultural and social centre of New Zealand. I recon it’s my favorite Big City out of all New Zealand. It’s hard to forget Wednesday nights (known as Student Nights) when crowds of students go out to enjoy themselves and mix with others in numerous bars and clubs. I don’t think I have ever met so many people in one night like I did in Wellington. It was amazing!
After 10 days in Wellington I jumped on a plane and flew to Queenstown. Queenstown is a party town and an adventure centre of New Zealand. If you are into crazy staff such as bangy jumping, skydiving, giant swings, fast boat jetting, it’s the place for you. They say that there are about 20-30 thousand local people and 100 thousand tourists in Queenstown. Then I went to Christchurch to sit my IELTS exam and then off to the West, East, North and South Coasts of South Island.
All these destinations were very special. East and South Coasts are famous for their wild life; you can see penguins, sea lions, seals, dolphins and many other marine life there. It could be quite cold and windy, especially in winter time. West Coast and North Coast are my favorite ones. There is a dramatic and a very beautiful coast line on the West Coast, and Punakaki rocks in Punakaki region are just unforgettable. The most spectacular beaches however are the ones on the North Coast. Abel Tasman Park is the smallest national park in New Zealand but is the most beautiful one, and it attracts a lot of tourists every year. There is a fabulous 3 days track, which I have done and was very impressed with the beauty of the nature and the views around me. After doing this track I become really addicted to tramping and trekking so I ended up camping around for another week or so.
After four months of non-stop travelling I decided to settle down a little and found a job in a vineyard in Blenheim which is a centre of New Zealand wine industry. I worked there for about half a month and then went to one of the most beautiful places in the South Island – Marlborough Sound. This place has a very dramatic coastline and magnificent lookouts. I decided to spend the last part of my trip at the backpackers called Hopewell (highly recommended!) It’s a very nice and peaceful place at the end of the world, away from the main streets. This is the place where one can enjoy seafood every day: mussels, oysters, and other shell fish – you can pick them up on the beach just 50 meters away from your room!
New Zealand as a country is one of the friendliest places I have ever been to. NZ people are so polite and easy going. New Zealanders earn enough to make a nice living and at the same time they are so casual and down to earth. If you are in trouble, or need assistance, or just lost on the road, be sure you will get help, even from the total strangers.
And so I’m finishing this letter at home and I can say that I already miss New Zealand a lot. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to visit this fabulous country again.
Story contributed by Sergey Basov a Russian student at Languages International
Photo: Sergey and school mate Boris enjoying their time in New Zealand
