Here is what Ali has to say about his host family who live in Blackrock just outside the city centre:

” My host family is lovely, very warm and welcoming. I felt at home on the first day. They even adapted their food  to suit me ( for example I eat a lot of vegetables, they don’t eat a lot so they make some extra for me, I think it is very considerate).

About the room, it is separated from the rest of the house so I am very quiet, I have my own bathroom on the same level ( private stairs from the kitchen so if you want to be alone, it is perfect, it’s like a little flat in the big house).

May I add that they have 3 or 4 living rooms with tv so there is no problem for watching your own show on tv if you wish( though I like to have plenty of conversations with the husband in the host family) and the house is very clean ( important point for me)!

I only have good comments about the family, the welcoming they gave me and their house. The location also is good, not too far from the center, the village of Blackrock is lovely and shopping center ( Mahon point) is not too far ”.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay Ali and thank you so much for the lovely photos.

We welcomed Vero to Cork English Academy last November on an 8 week General English programme. Vero went back to Spain just before Christmas time.

She got on very well in class due to her hard work and positive attitude. She went to the free afternoon classes and studied at home. We were not surprised when she sent us this lovely note about her recent FCE examination success:

”I’m writing to tell you that I passed my FCE exam. I am very happy and I wanted to say THANK YOU to Cork English Academy because that wouldn’t have been possible without you. 

I know I didn’t prepare the exam with you but my two months there, in your academy, helped me a lot. I hadn’t studied English for 15 years and your classes encouraged me to continue learning the language once back in Spain.

Thank you again.

Vero”

We wish Vero the very best for the future!

Iván and Natalia are a lovely couple from Spain who are just coming to the end of a 3 month English Language stay with us. They are staying in a double room with a lovely host family. The host mother’s name is Alaine and she is very happy with the students. They all get along very well. They are very active students and took part in nearly all the excursions and afternoon social activities. We will be sad to see Iván and Natalia  leaving this Friday!

Here is what Natalia has to say about her language holiday: 

I finished studying a major in Spain just before coming to Ireland. I wanted to study abroad to improve my English.

I had been in England a view years ago and wanted somewhere different to visit so I chose Ireland. I heard that Cork was a small city so it seemed the perfect choice for me.

Cork is a really nice place with lovely people and I am enjoying living here a lot. Furthermore, I have traveled around Ireland and it is gorgeous. I really like it!

I have gone to Dublin, to Galway, to Kinsale,  to Youghal ,to Killarney and to the Ring of Kerry… Ireland is very nice.

The school has very good teachers and staff and I am learning a lot of English.  The school offers lots of social activities. My favourites are Book Club, Pronunciation Class, Conversation class and another very interesting one is the City Orientation Walk on the first day.

In addition the school has a lot of board games,books and DVDs to borrow.

Nowadays I am a member of the Book Club and I enjoy reading new books and sharing my opinions with other members.

In Ireland I am living with a host family with Iván my boyfriend. The family are so nice and they take really good care of us.  The house is big . I share a bedroom with my boyfriend and we share a bathroom with just one other student. There is lots of room for all of us. The food is delicious and our host family also allows us use the kitchen to cook at extra times if we like. We sometimes cook Spanish food for the family.

I have met many people in Cork:  French, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and of course Irish.

I used to drink coffee before coming to Ireland and now I drink tea with milk like an Irish person! I love tea with milk, I like the flavour so much!

Here is what Iván has to say about his language holiday: 

Before coming I was working in a company and I took a break for three months in my job.I chose Ireland because a friend came to Ireland last year and he advised me to come here.

I prefer towns to cities so I chose Cork over Dublin and I also knew there would be less Spanish people in Cork. Cork is a beautiful place and the people are lovely.

I have travelled around Ireland from Cork and visiting Galway, Limerick and Dublin. Each place was beautiful.

The school has  a lot of activities after lunch for students. My favorite social activity is the Book Club because I think it is the best social activity to improve your English.

I’m living in a host family with my girlfriend and the family are really lovely.The food is delicious because my host mother loves cooking.I have been very lucky. I like it a lot.In conclusion, I think going to a host family is a good chance to improve your English.

My favourite thing in Ireland is the rugby environment and also Ireland is so green and the views very beautiful.

I recommend Ireland as a study destination over other countries as the people are very friendly, the views are amazing and there are lots of places to visit!

Thank you to Ivan and Natalia for being such engaging, active and out going students. We wish you both all the best for your future.