Blog and Student Reviews: Gap Year

Hannah (23) spent 20 weeks in Madrid on a Spanish Gap Year course from July to November: I had been to the Spanish language school in Madrid before. My expectation was that I would achieve fluency in Spanish at the school, by the time I had completed 20 weeks there. My expectations were met! The […]

I expected that I would be thrown in at the deep end as it was a Spanish immersion course and I know no Spanish at all. I thought that the other people on the course were likely to be young people travelling in South America. The Spanish language course in Santiago was brilliant and met […]

I have an Italian background but I had little knowledge of the language.  I was looking forward to the linguistic challenge, but  was very nervous and excited.  Definitely felt better prepared for the experience after talking to the CESA staff. Having lessons solidly in Italian was the real challenge – but it made learning the […]

“I hadn’t ever taken a course with a language school before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought perhaps it would be similar to my A level lessons, and in each lesson you would cover: listening, reading, writing and speaking. My expectations were met, most of the teachers structured their lessons using the four […]

“Greetings from Cannes! I have been living here on the sunny Cote d’Azur for just over a week now, and so far I’m having a fantastic time. There was lots to take in at first; getting acquainted with the college and where everything was, exploring the quaint, but bustling town of Cannes, and being trained […]

Well the important thing is my French.  I have every confidence it has flourished under the instruction of my prof. Katia, who was amazing and extremely patient. The teachers at the college are brilliant, and with lessons taught solely in French, it is a steep learning curve. Every lesson is structured well and it is […]

Cannes was definitely the best part of my overseas Gap Year, last year. The French college was perfect for me, and being able to see the festival was just amazing. A Norwegian friend from college and I actually walked the red carpet and saw a film due to some unbelievably good luck in being at […]

We are having an amazing time! I think the classes are very well set up and I am learning alot. I enjoy going to classes! Emily and I walked up Mount Urgull yesterday and after a tough climb, we reached the top. The views of San Sebastian up there are breathtaking and it´s so peaceful […]

Howard 8 week Spanish course “I expected to find the course very difficult linguistically as I had found French at school very hard. I did not expect the lessons to be very interesting, as I’ve not found languages interesting in the past. I was unsure what to expect from my accommodation because I had heard […]

Shezre decided to follow several language programmes with us; to Cannes, Madrid, Seville and Granada. Here she talks about her initial 4-week Intensive Group course in Madrid in November  for her Gap Year. “Having studied A-level Spanish I already have a basic knowledge of the language, and expected it to become easier to speak in […]