Los alumnos

José Alberto

Fuí alumno de ELA durante casi 10 años y no hay dia en que no me alegre de esa decision. El inglés y la ética de trabajo que aprendí en la academia durante ese tiempo me ha servido desde entonces para crecer profesionalmente y me ha abierto muchisimas puertas en el mercado laboral, incluyendo mi actual puesto de trabajo en EEUU. El inglés es una herramienta de trabajo indispensable hoy en día y Úbeda tiene suerte de tener una escuela con tantas garantías.

I was a student at ELA for nearly 10 years and there isn’t a day that goes by that I am not glad of that fact. The English and the work ethic that I learnt in the academy during this time has allowed me to grow professionally and has opened many doors in the job market, including that of my current position in the United States. English is an indispensable work tool these days and Ubeda is lucky to have a school which can guarantee your success

My relationship with ELA started five years ago. I remember my first day – I couldn´t speak or write in English. With the help of the teachers – who don’t just speak English but also have a deep knowledge of their own language – I can claim that although there is still a long way to go, I have a high level of English. One of the advantages of ELA is the closeness between teachers and students because the class groups are small. Thanks to the academy, next year I will be able to study my engineering degree in England.

Miguel Pedro

Mi relación con ELA empezó hace ya casi 5 años. Recuerdo que el día que empecé no era capaz de hablar o escribir en inglés. Con la ayuda de los profesores que no solo hablan inglés, sino que tienen un profundo conocimiento de la lengua , puedo decir que aunque no domino completamente el idioma dispongo de un alto nivel. Una de las ventajas que posee esta academia es la cercanía entre alumno y profesor con grupos reducidos del mismo nivel. Gracias a esta academia, el año que viene estaré en disposición de estudiar mi grado de ingeniería en Inglaterra.

My experience at ELA has been great, not only because of the classes, but because of the pronunciation clinic, the help classes and the speaking practice available. You can interact with other students and teachers, making the English language seem closer and more natural and thus helping to get rid of the fear of speaking that a lot of Spanish students have.

Alba

The teachers at ELA are dynamic, creative, demanding, kind, friendly, hard-working and close to their students. I have also been able to make use of the wide range of resources such as copies of previous years’ Cambridge exams, films in English with subtitles in English or Spanish and books at different levels of difficulty to help enrich my learning experience.

I must also mention the opportunity given to me by ELA to work as an assistant in Bucksmore Summer School in England, as it was there that I met so many people from different countries and we were all using English as our way of communicating. It was an incredible experience for me. I made many friends, enjoyed myself playing and travelling with the children and listening to their different stories, which made me appreciate both what I have and what I could learn from them.

The important thing about learning a new language is to be able to communicate and in the end I achieved this goal. Through this success, I have even come to love the language! Going to the speaking club on Thursday evenings has really motivated me, as each week you understand a little bit more of what the teachers are saying.

Initially English was a necessity for me: a means to find a job in Spain and to finish my degree, but now it’s something I enjoy. I feel more confident when I travel because I understand what is being said, I can make friends and get to know some really interesting people and I have learnt to get by on my own in the language.

Daniel

Tengo mucho que decir sobre ELA y es muy difícil hacerlo en tan poco espacio, porque para mí ha sido y es mucho más que una simple academia. Siendo objetivo diré que empecé en 2012, aprobé el First Certificate in English (B2) en 2013, el Advanced (C1) en 2015 y todo fue gracias ellos, porque son verdaderos profesionales y se preocupan por sus alumnos.

Además de sus clases, me organizaron un curso de verano de un mes en una escuela de Londres en plenos juegos olímpicos de 2012. También, a través de ellos, conseguí una plaza de becario en un campamento de verano en Inglaterra donde acabé consiguiendo un puesto en sus oficinas y acabo de firmar el contrato para mi cuarto verano trabajando allí.

Sin ser objetivo, y para mí es lo más importante, ELA está lleno de amigos, tanto compañeros de clase, como los mismos profesores. Son muchas las actividades que organizan para fomentar el uso del inglés, que el simple hecho de pasar tiempo juntos ha hecho que encuentre verdaderos amigos. He vivido grandes experiencias con ellos y gracias a ellos que nunca olvidaré.

No existen métodos milagro para aprender un idioma. Sin embargo, en ELA han hecho que realmente disfrute aprendiendo y, bajo mi punto de vista, esa es la clave de su éxito.

I have a lot to say about ELA and it’s really difficult to do it in a few words, because for me it is much more than just a language academy. Being objective, I started there in 2012 and passed my Cambridge First Certificate in English (B2) in 2013, and then the Advanced (C1) in 2015 and it was all thanks to them because they are truly professional and care about their students.

As well as my classes, they also organised a month-long summer course for me in London during the Olympic Games in 2012. Also through them I got a place working in a summer camp in England, where I ended up getting a job in their office as an administrator and I’ve just signed a contract for my fourth summer working there.

On the personal side, and for me this is the most important, ELA is full of friends: both classmates and teachers. There are a lot of activities they organise to promote the use of English and the simple fact of spending time with them has made me feel amongst true friends. I have had some amazing experiences, both with them and thanks to them, and I shall never forget it.

There are no miracle methods to learning a language, however, at ELA they have made the process a real pleasure, and from my point of view that is the key to their success.