Jo Hubbard
3 weeks Russian course in Moscow
I studied at the Russian language school with CESA before and the first time round I was pleasantly surprised by the class size, central location and the friendliness I experienced. Frankly I was amazed by how much Russian I understood from the teachers from the beginning (I had started from scratch). Read More
Alex Mackula : 12 weeks Gap Year Russian course
Before my arrival in St Petersburg I expected to gain a lot from the course. During my basic learning of Russian before the course began I realised just how complicated the language was. Read More
Sarah Golamaully : 2 wks Standard Course
I knew it would be a short course, so I didn’t expect to learn more than some basic grammar and words, just enough to make simple sentences. In general, I didn’t really know what to expect apart from what the CESA Briefing Pack said about Moscow itself. Read More
Claire Jones : 10 weeks Intensive Russian course
I expected to get basic grounding in the Russian language, understand more about grammar, and be able to speak conversationally. I hoped to experience various aspects of Russian culture, Russian history etc. to set me up prior to reading Russian at Uni. Read More
I was a touch unsure what to expect, yet the pre-arrival information I received gave an impression of a well organised school. Linguistically the school was excellent. The teaching was robust and the improvements I made in merely two weeks were marked. The school was very well organised. I have no complaints at all, the teaching was fantastic and the group was small (3 students), the teacher pushed us all to improve at our own pace. Read More
I decided to learn Russian for pleasure! I thought it was a beautiful language and like nothing I’d ever studied before and I really wanted to get a good grasp of it; and where better to do that than in Russia?
I found the college staff really friendly and learning was the best bit! The college was central, so after school you could go pretty much anywhere — a museum or a bar, depending on how the lessons had gone!
The family I lived with were friendly and very patient with me, which was great because my Russian at the beginning was non-existent. When I arrived I could not form a sentence, when I left, I was comfortable with the language and could hold conversations without stressing! It was really total immersion in the language and culture and I would love to go back.
A Year Out course enabled me to combine going to a different country and experiencing a different way of life with actually learning the language and living there. I was not a tourist who ‘does’ St Petersburg in a day, but a student. You feel as though it’s your town towards the end and because you’re learning the language, you feel so much more comfortable and welcomed, rather than just imposing on everyone.
In the first month of my gap year, while I was still at home wondering what to do with myself (my gap year was unplanned, forced upon me after the whole A-level exams cock-up in 2003 – a story for another time), I got sick of hearing everyone talking about Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and all the other places gappers seems to go to ‘get away’ from home – the best way of doing so, it seems, is meeting other westerners in these places and recreating their home thousands of miles away. So, in a fit of pique, I decided I wanted to go to Russia, where, I was assured, nobody would tolerate attempts to make the country more like Britain. I would just have to blend in.
So in order to do so, I needed to learn the language. Very few agencies in the UK offer language courses to Russia, for obvious reasons. Not only is it far less popular than the warmer and more welcoming Mediterranean (by the way, CESA also offer language courses in Spain, France and Italy), but documentation is a bugger to come by. Fortunately, when I contacted CESA they knew the drill. I would have to fill out all sorts of papers to apply for my visa, but once that was done I could sit back and let the agency do all the leg-work. Anyone who has been to a Russian embassy will understand what I mean – you stand in a queue for hours only to be told when you get to the front that you don’t have the right papers, or that you should have come on Wednesday, or that the desk is now closed. CESA will organise all that for you.
Throughout my application process they remained in touch pretty much constantly. They sorted out insurance for the period I would be away, they also assured me that I would have an airport pickup on arrival and that any problems I might have could be dealt with by them. It’s important to remember that CESA are merely an agency. They liaise with schools in foreign countries, who, once you arrive, take over looking after you. But it’s still useful to know there’s someone on the end of the phone in Britain who might be able to pull a few strings.
The other comforting aspect of CESA is that they really research the destinations they send students to. Firstly, this meant the cities or countries themselves. About two months before I was due to leave they sent a very handy ‘dos and don’ts’ about Russia through the post, which made for compulsive (if slightly disturbing) reading. I thought that was very thoughtful. Secondly, in this respect, they research the schools in the countries in which students enroll. The people at CESA assured me that all schools registered as partners with the agency are accredited and inspected every year, to ensure the highest standards of teaching (and also, I suspect, that they don’t rip off students). In this respect I was well looked after – Moscow can be quite a forboding place, but the school I was sent to had really excellent staff, both in their role as teachers and as friendly faces in a new country. So whatever inspections CESA carried out, they did a good job.
As far as the cost of all this is concerned, it’s important to bear in mind that Moscow is not a cheap city, especially when westerners are involved. Additionally, as I said above, I felt well looked after and the whole trip was extremely well organised. And finally, I was in Moscow for about 4 months. With this in mind, the fact that I paid around £2,000 for my tuition, accommodation and documentation/insurance should be in context. Yes, it sounds expensive, but I came back having had a great time, speaking pretty good Russian and never having had any problems (and that’s a miracle, having heard other people’s stories about Russia).
The truth of the matter is, if you want to do it cheaper than this, you can very easily contact a school abroad directly without going through an agency, and sort out your own visas and accommodation. Fair enough, but as someone who was going to a place where information was relatively scarce, it was great to be able to talk to people who knew what they were doing, even if they charged a premium for the privilege. Plus, as I said above, no waiting in queues.
The gap year experience is one I’ll never forget, Russian language sadly is something that I have, but organising one can be fraught with problems. CESA seems to me to be an organisation you can trust, and that’s what matters most – more than the cost of using their agency’s connections.
French for ADULTS
Long term courses for Adults
Etienne's French course in Montpellier proves you DON'T have to be 18yrs of age to spend some serious time improving your French!
A'level Revision 2013:
Start dates, prices & full details
Whether you need to work on your Spanish or French for those looming exams - talk to us - we have some fabulous options to help hone those skills and give your linguistic self confidence a real boost.
