This past Monday I accompanied students to a new spot that we found down the street, The Red Hat Pub. It’s a place that has become quite popular with ELC over the past couple of months due to their ten-cent wing deals on Mondays and Tuesdays and I went to uphold my title as the 19 wings in 10 minutes silver medal winner. While there I did more than just eat 12-15 wings in one sitting, however. We had a student present who is just finishing his five-month stay here in Boston as well as two students who had just started that very day.
Over the course of our gluttonous feast, our veteran student, Jose, started to explain to the rookies a couple of things that will make your time at ELC enjoyable. He mentioned that it’s definitely important to take advantage of each day here in Boston and to keep yourself occupied so as to make the most of your experience. His advice made me wonder just what it is that other students think is the key to being happy while studying English here. So I reached out to a handful of students who have been here a while and asked them what advice they would give to students who are just embarking on their ELC journey.
One of the most important things that students stressed is that you should try to immerse yourself as much as possible and avoid speaking your native language. Naif from Saudi Arabia has been here for a year and said that new students should “just speak English” and Angel from Venezuela has spent 7 months here so far and he says that it is important to be with people whose first language is not the same as yours. Gabriela, also from Venezuela, has been here for 9 months now and added that time here at ELC is great to spend with different people from different countries.
Many students mentioned participating in ELC activities and also getting out and about here in Boston. Ran from China has been here for 6 months and recommends visiting Boston Common as well as universities here in Boston with friends and definitely going to Newbury Street and Quincy Market. Gyeongjin, a Korean student who has also been here for 6 months, mentioned that in order to adjust you should definitely get involved with activities because they are a lot of fun and its easy to make friends that way.
A few students had some unique things to say about what makes ELC fun. Ahmad has been here for over a year and says that he has had an unforgettable experience here and that every one is friendly and welcoming and therefore you should try to enjoy every second that you spend here. Even more intriguing, Kibum says that it is crucial to “believe your teachers” and also to “love Laura and Melissa,” a piece of advice that I would also strongly impress upon any students new to ELC!
All in all, I was very impressed by our long-term students and the tips they had for newbies here at ELC. They had some great advice to offer them and I hope that it makes for some happy students in the future!
-Written by Laura A.
