About EC School (Malta again)

I’d like to remember my English lessons in Malta. It was a terrible first day, I was late for a test! I try to be punctual and I had even found the school day before, but I was lost. The test began at 7.30am and nobody was waiting for me, no doubt. I was led to a small crowded room and given several sheets of paper with a printed test. The people around me had been doing the test for 15 minutes by my appearance and I began to feel very uncomfortable. In addition, I almost didn’t understand the teacher. But the process in school was so well-organized that in a dozen minutes someone invited several of us to continue the test in another room, which was quiet and calm. The test was really difficult for me. I didn’t understand a recording and wrote a muddled creation for free subject. In conclusion, I ticked in the test small windows, my memory allowed me do it correctly evidently. It’s evident that my Russian English school gave me good knowledge! I confirmed my pre-intermediate level and I’ve got 50.2 points! It was my little success that day.

After the test finished we had a free time. I did nothing useful and was wandering around the building, ate a roll with a lemon-tea and I took a lift up to the roof by 12 pm. Someone students tried to have a tan, someone read, I stared at people round. At last, a crowd of future students gathered. There were plenty of eccentric teenagers, several middle aged people and even an old woman. I hadn’t seen any people my age and was very surprised. A loud voice was screaming out our names and we had been invited to our classrooms.

It was a lucky break; the first teacher I had met in school was Simon. He could make a kind, patient, comfortable atmosphere. He urged and encouraged us to express our opinion and did it very politely and our levels were taken into consideration. We didn’t have two similar lessons with Simon. For instance, we were solving one problem after we had survived in a desert after crash landing. Each of us had got a list of 15 items and we should have ranked it in order of their importance for a personal survival and after that, all together, we should have written one list. For example, we had been given torch, knife, map, loaded pistol, parachute, mirror, 1 liter of water, vodka and etc. That communication activity taught us the most important thing in the similar situation is a mirror as it can be used to signal for help. Simon’s lessons were liked by everyone. I had three lessons every day, apart from the weekend. Basically, we were taught new words and expressions all 4 weeks, books were seldom used. Now I have a pile of some materials and I still can’t throw it out.

So, the next teacher I remember was D. He was very shrewd, looked like a psychotherapist and each lesson was brain storm. For example, one task was ‘The ark’. Of course, again, we had to vote for 5 lives from at least 12. Each of us prepared a speech and tried explain why exactly his or her person was most important. And we had a really difficult dilemma. Because of the plot, our leader had cancer, our officer was homosexual, our top-models were so skinny and may be ill and etc. First time in my life I felt desire to speak but hadn’t words. Anyway, the group had a same level and studies flew. The most challenging thing about being in English school is studying a lot of new words every day. Nobody wanted to check your knowledge and I was motivated to spend my free time to do it.
I learned new words and expressions by writing, listening and speaking every day. Fortunately, English is used in Malta by everyone. The most rewarding thing was my individual trip which I had bought just on the random travel agency after I had been learning English a couple of weeks. My ability was tested; I hadn’t been lost and even had been brave to asking questions. I left tour bus in a fish market quite satisfied. Let me continue about the fish market, school activities and sights next time.

To be continued…