Our students come from a varied and diverse background, each bringing with them many expectations and a desire to learn something new. With the exception of the health and fitness courses, all courses are open to men and women

*What our students say:

 

CHINESE MANDARIN BEGINNERS:

Laughing in Chinese !

Review by Nick

 

It still bewilders me, that I can now pick up some Chinese text, read it, comprehend it,
say the words (in Mandarin) and make a comment in Mandarin. All this after only 6 weeks!

The teacher, Tina Tian, has bought back the fun to learning and with that, the joy of
acquiring new ideas. Her style is to immerse you in a knowledge of what ordinary
Chinese people say to each other about everyday matters.

 

The mix of a constant flow of Chinese conversation with English explanation,
soon gives comprehension to the meaning of, previously unintelligible sounds.

Soon you are responding, in Mandarin, to a question put to you in Mandarin.
Next you are laughing at a joke in Mandarin, while conversing with a fellow pupil!

The venue is a very pleasant building in Portland Place, well served by tube and buses.
There is a jolly canteen and a relaxed atmosphere to the whole place.

For me, the course has been rewarding and the price, well worth it.
There is an emphasis on preparing yourself for the next class, as each class opens
with questions related to the previous lesson.
This is the homework element, but it is not daunting and compels you to practice conversation.
All in all, a positive experience indeed.

 

RUSSIAN BEGINNERS:

Review by Olivia

I ended up going to 44 Portland Place for my Russian classes in part because
they were so reasonably priced in comparison to many other places.
The building itself is attractive and conveniently central. My teacher is a
lovely woman from Siberia who brings humour to the classes
( even if some of my classmates don't find her as funny as I do!).
We have been covering the grammar ( which is fairly hideous) in a logical and well paced way.
The only problem is that I don't spend enough time out of class studying..
but there's not much my teacher can do about that, is there?!

 

KICKBOXING:

Kicktastic

Review by Helen, 11 Feb 2007

This course is more Thai-bo/kicksercise that an actual contact kickboxing class,
but it an absolutely fantastic workout, faced paced, great music, noticing the
difference after only a few weeks. I would definitely recommend this class to
people of all fitness levels, it's an intense workout but the unfit ones like
me can just take it a little bit slower and there's plenty to push you if you
already have a good fitness level. Great instructor and great class.

 

 

Italian Beginners A

Mama Mia!

Course Review by Peter 19 Oct 2006

I've always enjoyed learning languages and Italian food, so decided to give beginners
Italian a whirl as I was off there on holiday! I don't regret it, the course was fun and
gave me the basics which was all I was after, and it was reasonably inexpensive too.

I'd recommend this to anyone wishing to learn Italian for a holiday or just for a bit of fun.