Hi! I’m Palina! Now I’m going to share my experiences with You!
I came to Bristol to spend 3 weeks, preparing for the Ielts exam. It was the first time I had chosen a home-stay teaching course. (Before I had done only group courses). Of course, before I came, I had been a bit nervous about my teacher and her family, whether I would get on well with them… But when I met Lesley (this is my teacher’s name) at the bus station, where she was waiting for me, I realised, that all my fears had been absolutely groundless! She turned out to be a very friendly, kind, smiling sincere woman!
Lesley is also an excellent teacher! We had very interesting lessons, despite all the hard work for the exam. My teacher gave me not only compulsory preparation for Ielts, but also different additional knowledge on themes I was interested in. For instance, I gained very useful language skills in such areas as banking, drama, law… Moreover, I had practice during the days talking to Lesley’s family. In the evenings we had long conversations at the dinner table. It was wonderful!
Besides lessons I had nice spare time. Several times a week I went sightseeing with Lesley. Among our excursions were: Bristol Zoo, the Clifton suspension Bridge, the MShed museum, cinema, trip to Bath… And it was also a good time to improve my English. I also went shopping and explored the local area by myself.
So, thanks to this friendly, hospitable family I managed to improve my English. It really became more fluent. I am pleased, because this, not the exam, was the main purpose of my trip to England.
To conclude, I just want to say that I’m very happy to have had 3 unforgettable weeks in Bristol, with Lesley and her family! I really felt at home!