LSI has been successfully running Young Learner courses at our schools in London Hampstead, Toronto, Brighton and San Diego for two years and for 2010 we have also introduced a campus programme at Chichester. These courses are proving to be increasingly popular with record numbers booking the courses this summer. Below you can read some recent feedback that we have received from the family of one of our students on our London Hampstead Young Learners Course.

Laura Navadijos Peral wrote the following to school director Greg Wickline, ” I would like to thank you and congratulate you for the quality of the study programme your school has offered my nephew Jorge Calvo Navadijos. Jorge finished a two weeks young learners course on Saturday 24^th of July and he has repeatedly told us how happy he has been with the classes. Jorge has greatly appreciated having more than one teacher every day with different styles and accents and he has found that the rhythm and the exercises were very fresh and different from the methodology he has always followed in his home country Spain.”

Laura continues, ” From my side, his uncle and his family in Spain we would like to thank you for making us feel he was in safe hands. We felt he was given the protection that was needed at his age and level of English and we sense he has not felt overprotected. Greg, from my first interaction with you a few months back I had the feeling we were choosing the right school and I am glad we were right. We will recommend your school wholeheartedly to our friends in England and Spain with children in similar ages and situations.”

We thank Laura for taking the time to give us feedback on our Young Learners Course and for the helpful suggestions she has made to improve the course even further. It’s great to know when we have happy students!

LSI’s Language Test app has been downloaded over 10’000 times. For the two project managers Stephan Lendi and Ian Cryer (LSI Zurich ) it is not however time to relax.

“We are currently working on version 2.0, improving not only the graphics of the app, but adding further content, while improving the app structure,” states Stephan.

In version 2.0 which can be expected in autumn 2010, vocal guidance is added in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. In addition to the multiple-choice grammar tests, version 2.0 enables students to test their listening, writing and even their speaking skills. With LSI being the first provider of iPhone/iPod app language tests, Ian Cryer and Stephan Lendi are confident, that version 2.0 will further strengthen the lead of LSI regarding iPhone/iPad language testing.

To find out more about our current Language test app you can visit out iPhone page or visit iTunes and type in LSI to download it.

Congratulations to Jonathan Goldberg for coming second place in the regional East Anglia Trophy meeting! Jonathan only took up go-karting two years ago and  regulary competes for his local club (AS Kartland, Nelun) in the 125 gearbox category.

“My parents were always worried about how aggressively I used to drive on the roads and so they were really happy when I took up go-karting as I can now take my aggression out on the track.”

When Jonathan finished his masters in marketing and business last year he knew he needed to improve his English to enhance his job prospects. However , whilst he was able to leave family and friends behind in France during his 5 month course at London Hampstead,  his precious go-kart just had to come with him. Even choosing accommodation proved to be problematic as he needed to have access to a garage where he could store his go-kart.

It seems Jonathan is a one man team fulfilling the role of  mechanic, engineer and of course driver. “To win you need to be lucky, have achieved the best setting for the chassis, and maybe have a little bit of skill and courage,”  he stated modestly.

The competition took place over two days at Hunts Kart Racing Club, near Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire. With over 200 competitors this is a popular meeting. In the 125 gearbox category ten people were competing. During  the qualifying and heat 1 rounds , Jonathan did not get off to a flying start.  After  a poor time in the qualifiers , he was only able to line up on sixth position of the grid for Heat 1. 

“The first day was a really bad day. In Heat 1 I had my worst crash ever when I swerved to avoid a car in front that had spun after a slight collision. It forced me onto the grass at 100 mph. I was lucky that all I did was to bruise my back but I ruined my steering column and had to buy another so I could be ready to compete the next day. I felt really depressed by the end of Saturday but I was determined to do better the next day”

Due to the accident Jonathan had been unable to finish Heat 1 and therefore was only placed eighth on the grid for Heat 2 . Jonathan though had the ride of his life moving up into third. Similarly in the pre-final Jonathan finished the race second having started sixth on the grid. In the final, lining up second on the grid , Jonathan felt very confident and was able to maintain his position to win second overall position in the 125 gearbox category.

Speaking to school director Greg Wickline about his recent success, Jonathan claimed, “I am so happy to have won this trophy. When I go home to France I am going to give it to my father. If it wasn’t for his encouragement I wouldn’t still be go-karting.I feel so lucky.”

At LSI we have always promoted our Multi-Center courses as a unique way to combine travelling the world with study and the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of different cultures. Don’t think that just because English is spoken in Australia, Canada, the USA , the UK and New Zealand that our students will have the same experiences wherever they study. Even the language itself can change depending on where you study!

Back in March, the LSI blog featured Japanese student Kayo Yamaguchi as she was leaving the 2010 Winter Olympic host city of Vancouver for sunny San Diego. We caught up with her again in the beginning of May during her last week at LSI San Diego. We were curious how she enjoyed her multi-center experience:

“At first I wanted to go to Vancouver because of the Olympics, but actually I like to stay in hot weather and I wanted to live in California so that is why I decided to move to California after Vancouver. It was a nice decision because I could feel the atmosphere of two countries and compare the two countries. I liked that the student makeup of each school was different. It was very interesting for me to meet people from so many different countries.”

Kayo explained her reasons for learning English:
“I’d like to study at university using my English. I want to study sports management which is why I went to the Olympic city of Vancouver. I am going to study in the UK since London is hosting the next Olympics in 2012.”

From what Kayo was saying it seems we may be seeing her sometime soon at one of our London schools, LSI London Central or LSI London Hampstead.

“As a former student and now the summer activities coordinator at LSI Vancouver, I am in a great position to come up with  fun activities for after school,” states Dalibor Vartovnik, the newest member of the LSI Vancouver team. “Vancouver is known as an active city with plenty of opportunities to enjoy free time outside. For example, last week I took our students to explore the beauty of Stanley Park, the largest urban park in not just Canada but North America. It takes just about 20 minutes on foot to reach this amazing place, which should be the envy of every other city. We rented bikes and had an astonishing ride around the seawall. The many attractions such as Siwash Rock, Lost Lagoon, Lions Gate Bridge and the Totem Poles make Stanley Park the best place for relaxing and recharging yours batteries after a long day of studying.”

“If I haven’t convinced you yet what about kayaking in Deep Cove, hiking in Grouse Mountain, swimming in the ocean or playing volleyball on the beach. All these activities keep our students in good shape and eager to study English here at LSI Vancouver. Summer is the best season in Vancouver and all us here at LSI Vancouver welcome anyone who wants to share joy and broaden his/her English. At LSI Vancouver you will never be bored!”

After a recent facelift to the outside of the building, LSI Cambridge has now added a splash of colour to the inside too.  Working through the night so as not to disturb the students, Cambridge Classics repainted the entire school in just six weeks.  With a different colour scheme on each floor, the school now looks much brighter and all the staff and students are delighted with the transformation.  The painters must have been impressed with the school as well, as one of them has since enrolled on our Cambridge CAE course!

With the help of volunteer students, we have also been planting flowers in window boxes, making sure the building reflects the warm, friendly and inviting atmosphere offered by the staff inside.

LSI’s strategic partnership with the Metropolitan College New York brought MBA students to Zurich, Switzerland and London, UK for one of their field trips. As part of the MBA sessions taught, marketing, law and the media were covered in addition to LSI-related projects and analyses.

Students in Zurich enjoyed a team-taught Swiss banking secrecy class. Lecturers Terrence Spaeth (LLM), USA and Stephan Lendi (MBA), Switzerland, aimed to show students the underlying laws and principles, while debating and contrasting Swiss, American and German perspectives.

As part of the media session in LSI Zurich taught by Stephan Lendi (MBA), the case of the local Zurich radio market currently dominated by license trading issues was studied and possible solutions debated for the case of NRJ Zurich. Subsequently, the students, many of whom study media management, got to enjoy a tailor-made tour at NRJ Zurich: Christian Kramer (NRJ) addressed NRJ’s impressive marketing and social media strategies, and Stephan Lendi (MBA) gave students an idea of acoustic branding principles, while producing a radio commercial for MCNY in real-time, live and on the spot . Listen to the Radio commercial, voice over by Stephan Lendi, produced by the students with the help of senior station designer and sound engineer Andy Mejuto.

Students as well as the lecturers have greatly enjoyed their collaboration and are looking forward to future sessions, where LSI and MCNY join forces.

At LSI we recognise that there are many ways in  which our students can learn and practice newly acquired language skills. We have always adopted many different techniques that often challenge students both inside and outside the classroom and encourage great team work. One recent example of this innovative teaching methodology occurred at our LSI San Diego school.

Teacher Jovana Poduje gave her Upper Intermediate class a unique opportunity to write and perform their own movie!  They spent time in the classroom writing their film, A Random Act of Kindness, which showed an old woman being helped by a stranger.

Jovana’s friend, film maker Elizabeth Spitsbergen, volunteered to help them out.  Here you can see the class on a Saturday afternoon while Elizabeth films them. All the students claimed that they had thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would love to do it again.

Choosing which kind of accommodation can be a crucial decision when booking your language course. Studying abroad often means moving away from family and friends to a totally new country and culture. This can be a very daunting experience especially for those students who have little travel experience. Finding a home environment where you feel safe and comfortable can be just as important as choosing the right course. As all our students are different, LSI offers a range of accommodation to suit our students’ varying needs. Here we give a  few pointers to the benefits of  the two most popular types of accommodation that we offer. Use this as a guide in making the right choice for you.

The Benefits of Homestay

• No hidden additional costs incurred (food, laundry etc. all included)
• Living within a family environment offers more opportunities to practice your English
• Increased opportunity to learn about the local culture and sample the traditional cuisine
• Host families constantly available to give advice and support. Many students remain friends with their host families long after they have returned home.
• The comforts and space of living in real home

The Benefits of Residences

• Increased independence
• Frequently living with students your own age who may even be studying at LSI. Many of them may have experienced the same issues that you will face when you first arrive and will be able to provide advice and support
• Residences are usually more centrally located often reducing travelling costs/time to the school
• The opportunity to prepare your own foods

We find that many students initially book a homestay which can provide that extra support you might need when you first arrive. However many, once they have found their feet in their new ‘home’ country, decide to move to shared flats with fellow students or move to one of our residences. At all stages of a student’s stay with us our accommmodation officers are always available to give advice and help you to make the right choice for you. We offer detailed accommodation brochures for each country where are schools are located:  LSI accommodation in the UK, LSI accommodation in the USA, LSI accommodation in Canada, LSI accommodation in New Zealand, LSI accommodation in Australia, LSI accommodation in France, LSI accommodation in Germany and LSI accommodation in Switzerland.

Our London school, LSI London Hampstead, holds a special place in company director David Immanuel’s heart. It is from this spot  back in 1965 that Language Studies International first took tentative steps into the world of language teaching. Certainly the school building is an impressive one. Built in the late 1870s this large Victorian building, orginally  a home for a wealthy London family, is ideally suited to its present day educational use.

“All the classrooms here are a generous size and with the high ceilings it makes the rooms feel even more spacious. We have an amazing garden too which is in constant use during the summer with a whirl of BBQs and sporting activities. The students just love it,” comments school director Greg Wickline.

Over the last year there have been quite a few changes to the building itself. This winter the entire outside of the building has been given a fresh new coat of paint, the  reception area has had a revamp and some toilet facilities have been redecorated (with plans to do two more this year). All in all it is a much smarter place to study and work. Why not come and find out for yourselves?