Experiencing exchange

Name: Asta Kristiansen
Unit at OsloMet: Department of External Relations and Communications
Location: The London School of English, Canterbury, England
Course type: General English 30+
Date: 16 to 20 November 2015

A few thoughts on the stay

About the school

The London School of English, Canterbury is a small school with around 25 students. It is centrally located in the heart of Canterbury. Canterbury is located approximately an hour away from London by train.

The students come from all over the world and follow different courses of different lengths. Most of them are probably there for two to four weeks.

I found the teachers and the staff at the school incredibly helpful and attentive. We were given a warm welcome and were followed up closely during the week we participated in the course.

Course structure

The course ran from 08.45-15.00, Monday to Friday (it concluded at 12.00 on Friday). We had a one-hour luch break and were given homework that took about 30 minutes to complete.

The school provided lunch Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday. We went to different restaurants in Canterbury, which was very nice and sociable. We organised our own lunch on Thursday, and the course concluded before lunch on Friday.

There were six of us in the class. My classmates were from Russia, Japan, Brazil, Germany, and two of us were from Norway (me and a colleague from OsloMet).

Course content

• Improving vocabulary through discussions and conversation in the class
• Practising correct pronunciation
• Practising grammar
• Practical tasks (worksheet)
• Individual feedback from the teacher

Social life

The school offers a number of social events, including: city walks, pub evenings, restaurant visits, etc.

Overall experience

Choosing the London school of English in Canterbury, rather than a school in London, is a good way of getting value for the money. Canterbury is a really nice small town that dates all the way back to the Christianisation of England.

I went together with a colleague, but there is no reason not to go alone, since the class is small and the school organises a lot of social events that you can take part in if you want.

I had tested my English level on the school’s website before I went. Unfortunately, the school did not use this test when put the classes together. This resulted in a class of people with very different English skill levels. Some of the students could hardly speak English, while other could speak it pretty well. I would perhaps have liked to have had more challenges than was possible in this class.

One tip is to give the school feedback about this on day one, which might make it possible to change to a group that is more appropriate to your level. 

I only took part in the group instruction, but I think choosing group instruction and individual training is the most effective alternative.

All in all, it was a very positive experience that I would like to do again. Thank you for the opportunity!