LAL Sprachreisen Blog

My time in Malta

The time there was amazing!
Not only weather was perfect but everything!
First, our class has become even more united and everybody had a lot of fun.
For me personally, I was most impressed with the life and culture of Malta. The houses were small and all were beige, that was funny. But also it had very modern houses and apartments. My host family had a very modern apartment opposite the seafront, it was very nice!
But I think, the most of the host families doing it for business and not a sincere interests and that is one of the things that I felt.
Though I’ll never forget this time in Malta, because it was a unique experience! You know it already only on the number of pictures of my camera-au, 1300 pieces!
By: Liza

+++

Finally of our trip, it was great. All of our class liked the trip to Malta and that’s important. I think, the trip was useful to improve our English. On the last day, also Saturday, we had to pack. We had a lot of fun in Malta, so all students felt sad when we came home.
I myself will miss the sea, the palms and the beautiful sunsets in the evening, it was so nice.
But at least, we are glad to get such a unique opportunity like this. Anyway, we will never forget the time in Malta, it was amazing and no matter what happened, the class held together.
By: Vahiny

+++

There was just one little thing that I didn’t like about Malta: The houses are very cold in the winter. Sleeping without a thick blanket was impossible. Everyday I woke up with a cold nose. I’m so glad that I carried my house shoes, without them I wouldn’t have survived this week.
But maybe it’s good. Because of the coldness, I was outside most of the time, so I experienced many great things.
By: Luana

+++

I was impressed from Malta because there are on the whole island more than four hundred churches. And above all it has only four hundred thousand habitants.
The biggest church of Malta – Twelve thousand people have space in the church.
The capital of Malta, Valletta, is very beautiful. It is surrounded by a high wall and looks like a fortress. It was named after Jean Parisot de la Vallette.
The week in Malta was great.
By: Carlo

+++

I was wondering that our host family ate to a other time than we. We never ate together. Besides it was unusual for me, that we had to save water and electricity.
Malta is very different from Switzerland, but we had a very good time there together.
By: Annina

+++

Our host mother gave us a very special dessert. I said to Cyril:” It smells like Gummibärli!” Then our host mother said:” Tummibäli! What’s that?” That was very funny.
By: Daniel

+++

Malta – The streets are similar like in San Francisco. They are small and steep. The houses stand close by the alleyways. The most house walls aren’t so beautiful but the doors are mostly very cultivated, because they are painted and glost. Furthermore the doors have nice door knob.
By: Sarah

+++

Amazing – I found the language Maltese comic. I thought Maltese is similar as Italian, but it sounds like in Arabic. I had never understood anything. Only in parallel with certain words. The food was bad, my mother makes better food than all people from Malta. I thought Malta is a really good place to make holidays. I couldn’t live there, because I like eat good food from my mother, when I had a shower in Malta came very little water. And in the nights was it very cold at home. But I thought that Malta looks so, how I had imagined it.
By: Ciriaco

+++

The blog entries below are written by the students themselves and were not changed at all. The idea of the following entries is that you gain an impression of the students‘ actual level of English. The first two entries are made by the students‘ teachers, Charles and Claire, who tell us how they experienced the work with our teenagers.

+++

I really enjoyed teaching this week. The students surprised me by their motivation and willingness to learn the language. They asked questions, wanted to know more about the language and were always attentive. They are also quite fluent and enjoyed speaking English in all situations.
Well done and keep it up!
Claire Baron Bello (Teacher at LAL)

+++

I have been teaching teenagers for quite a number of years but this class that I had from Switzerland
this week were by far the best, I was taken aback at their drive and motivation and interest in learning. They all carried out their work and duties diligently and all have a very good command of English, it really was a pleasure teaching them and to see such delightful teenagers
Charles William Camilleri
(General and Business English Teacher at LAL Malta)

+++

We arrived on Sunday evening. The bus driver had problems to find the houses, so we arrived in the family at ten o’clock. On Monday we had school in the morning and a harbour cruise. On Tuesday we had school in the morning and in the afternoon we visited the capital city Valetta.
By: Daniel

+++

The family is very nice, the name of the family is Mr +Ms Borg. We have our breakfast at 8 o’clock, then we have to make our sandwiches for lunch. The bathroom is very small. Mr + Ms Borg often talk to us and ask us how our day was. For dinner they cooked Lasagne for us.
By: Yves + Carlo + Tobias

+++

We arrived on Sunday evening at nine o’clock in our houses. We greet the family and polster our room. On Monday morning we get up at 6:30. We took a shower and then we ate breakfast. Misses Frendo, our host mother drove us to school. We had a little test and divided us in two classes. The first day was great.
By: Dimitri

+++

Our family is very friendly. They talk with us. Ciri and I are living in Ta’Xbiex, I don’t know how to speak it out. Usually, our family speak Maltese so we don’t understand much.
The school isn’t bad. It starts at 9 o’clock and it is not very hard. On Monday was our first class in the school and we went for a trip around the harbour. On Tuesday, we went for a trip to Valetta. It’s the capital of Malta.
My exchange parents have three sons. The smallest is very sweet. He plays always with his “Firestation”. The medium son likes to play playstation, we already played FIFA 11 with him. And the oldest son is fifteen but we don’t see him very often because he is in school.
By: Yannis

+++

As soon as we were dropped off, Dimitri and I were buzzing with excitement. The host family greeted us warmly into their home. Our host mother showed us everything an explained, how their rooms work (e.g, Lights, windows).We were then rewarded for listening with two large beds and surprised with a cold but warm night. The next morning we were kindly woken with a delicious breakfast. After breakfast we made our way to school. We had a great day full of harbour tours and jokes with the class and around about 16:00 we started heading home. At 18.00 there was a steaming, hot, scrumptious meal waiting for us. We wolfed it down and hoped, it would keep us going for the other adventures that are awaiting for us in MALTA.
By: Alex

+++

On Sunday evening eight o’clock we arrived on the Malta Airport after a flight of three hours. After that a bus driver should bring us to our guest families but he didn’t found the right way. Then we arrived at our appartments at ten o’clock. Me and Daniel have two people in their seventies. We greet them and went early to bed. Next morning we had breakfast and went to school at 8.45. We had school to 11 o’clock. At two o’clock we went for a harbour cruise. That was not so funny because it was really cold. On Tuesday we went to Valetta and had a nice walk through the village and had an hour time to walk around.
By: Cyrill

+++

When we first meet our host family, I was surprised about the differences to Switzerland. The house was pretty old which doesn’t mean it’s bad. The host family is nice but there are also negative points: The bedroom is very cold, mostly it’s warmer outside. But in general it’s very nice there.
By: Yannick

+++

Our family is very nice. I was surprised when I first meet them. On the first evening Mrs Rita Borg made us immediately a sandwich. Mr Borg showed us the house and our bedroom. The bathroom was very small. Our host family talked often to us, he asked us every day, where we go today or what we make with the class.
Mrs Borg cook every evening very good things. On Tuesday she cooked us a very good Lasagne.
By: Carlo, Yves, Tobias.

+++

The family is very friendly. They live in Ta Xbiex in a nice apartment. Jannis and I arrived on Sunday evening. We have unpack the bag and we went to sleep. The meal wasn’t good. My mother cooks better. Malta is very nice, we looked to the capital city. His name is Valetta. Also Sliema is a beautiful city.
By: Ciriaco

+++

Heute erzählt die Klasse über Ihre Gastfamilie, die Sprachschule, das Wetter und Malta.

Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Spaß beim lesen.

***

Our host families and the school
Liza
My host family is very nice! But I think they’re very private. On Sunday evening we arrived at 9.30 p.m. Our host mother, Lillian, greeting us and show us the school and our room.
The next morning we had breakfast alone, the family was at work or at school. At 9.00 a.m. the school starts and our teacher is so funny! In the lessons we have a lot of fun .
For lunch we have to buy something in McDonalds or Subway, were ever we want. In the afternoon we did a journey around Valetta and with the ship. For our girls, here in Malta, we can shopping very well!
Until now everything is great! And our class found together!

The weather in Malta
David
The weather in Malta is at the most days very nice. It’s very warm and the sun is shining every day. On Sunday, when we arrived, it was pleasant warm. On Monday it was very warm in the morning, that we can went out in the T-shirt. On Tuesday it was not so warm like at Monday and it rained a little bit. Today, on Wednesday morning it is very warm and it isn’t raining. The weather in Malta is very nice. It’s warmer than in Switzerland and it’s a very nice climate.

Malta for ever
Luana
I cant’ believe it, our class is in MALTA! Everything is perfect, so all you can be jealous. The flight was pleasant, the family and the house are nice and the territory is beautiful and the shops are great. We visit everyday many different beautiful places in Malta. Slowly we know everything about this country.
I’m so thankful to Coop that they gave us this chance to win this great competition. I just love Malta.

***

Heute berichtet die Klasse über Ihren Ausflug nach Valletta.

Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Spaß beim lesen.

***

23.01.12
In the afternoon, we went to a harbourtrip. The ship drove us to the other harbours. It was very interesting and the weather was very windy. A lot of people has cold. After the shiptour we went home to our hostfamily. We ate all together in the kitchen.

24.01.12
At 9 o’clock the school lesson began. We had 3 ½ hour fantastic lessons. After that we were very hungry and then we went to a next restaurant.
At 13 o’clock the trip to Valetta starts. A very nice tourguide came with us. She told something about the city. We learnt that Valetta the capital of Malta is. Valetta has lot of different cultures. The language is a mix of Arabian, English and Italian. But the Maltese write in Italian alphabeth.
Valletta is one of the most fortified cities in the world. Because around the city are many bastions.
After that information we could shopping in different souvenirshops.
As we bought a speciallity food of Valetta. A girl who tried the food, didn’t like it and spitted the speciallity in a handkerchief. Her grimace was very funny. And the class laughed.
Later in the afternoon, we went home to our hostfamilies.

Maja, Sarah

***

Ende letzten Jahres hatten wir ein Gewinnspiel bei der Schweizer Coopzeitung. Dabei hat eine Schulklasse einen 1-wöchigen Aufenthalt auf Malta inkl. Sprachkurs mit 16 Lektionen und zahlreichen Aktivitäten gewonnen.

Vom 22.01. bis 28.01. ist die Schulklasse nun unterwegs und wird hier täglich von seinen Erlebnissen und Eindrücken berichten. Laut unseren Mitarbeitern vor Ort in der LAL Malta, sind alle Schüler und Gruppenleiter happy. Nach dem Einstufungstest findet jetzt der Unterricht statt.

Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Spaß beim lesen.

***

Dear Blog-Reader
This is the beginning of our trip. Before we are going to tell you all about our experiences and adventures we want to say thank you to some people and organisations that made this language stay possible at all. First of all, we want to thank the Coopzeitung that advertised the competition we took part in. We also want to thank our sponsors LAL-Language Schools and Airmalta which are the two companies that enabled us to stay in Malta for free. Up to now, everything went smooth and we were well taken care of. Second, we do not want to forget our committed voters who helped us to win the competition. We appreciate very much that the school allowed us to go abroad during the regular school times. Therefore, we want to say many thanks to the school board of Möhlin and the headmaster of the Bezirksschule Möhlin.
Now we are looking forward to enjoying an exciting week and you can participate in our progresses in English.
Best wishes from Malta!

Our trip to Malta
22.01.2012
We started our trip at the train station in Möhlin. We took the train to Zürich airport and waited an hour to checking. While we waited, our class 4b was hungry. So we ate something at the airport. Some students were very nervous becauce three classmates never flew befor this trip. So it’s the first flight journey for them.
At 17:40 was the departure and we landed at 19:45 in Malta. It was very exiting. Our teamleader picked us up with the van and brought us to our family. It was a bit difficult to find all our familys. We were tired and would only go to sleep.
23.01.2012
We met the other students at the LAL school at 9 o’ clock. We spoke a lot about our hostfamily and then found our classrooms and wrote a little test. After a big break, we returned in the classrooms and got our test back. They split us in two groups. We’ve got two lessons in wich we discuted about diffrent topics.

Annina, Gishanti, Natascha, Vahiny

***

Folge 12: Französisch lernen in der legendären Stadt an der Côte d´Azur

Die legendäre Stadt an der Cote d´Azur ist traumhaft gelegen zwischen dem klaren Meer und den mediterranen Alpen und vermittelt die so typisch südfranzösische “joie de vivre”. Die wunderschöne Altstadt liegt direkt an der bekannten Promenade des Anglais.

Die zahlreichen Märkte zeichnen sich besonders durch einheimische Produkte aus: die Frucht- und Gemüsemärkte, Blumen- und Fischmärkte, sowie die Stände mit historischen Büchern, Postkarten und Kunst aus der Region.

Unser Tipp: Genießen Sie die einzigartige regionale Küche mit ihren Spezialitäten wie Olivenöl, kandierten Früchten, einheimischen Gewürzen und Wein, sowie dem berühmten “salade nicoise”.

Hier erfahren Sie mehr über den Sprachurlaub in Nizza…

Dieser Film gibt Ihnen einen kleinen Einblick auf eine Sprachreise nach Nizza.

Folge 11: Englisch lernen und Indian Summer erleben in Toronto

Willkommen in der größten Stadt Kanadas am Westufer des Lake Ontario! Die Einzigartigkeit dieser überaus lebendigen Metropole besteht in der vorherrschenden Vielfalt. Die weltoffene Stadt ist geprägt von der bunten Nachbarschaft verschiedenster Kulturen, die ihre eigene Tradition bewahren und durch den gemeinsamen Stolz auf ihre Heimatstadt in Freundschaft verbunden sind. Erleben Sie diese Mannigfaltigkeit und öffnen Sie sich für die Herzlichkeit ihrer Bewohner…

Unser Tipp: Erleben Sie den Osten Kanadas während des Indian Summers mit seinem lebhaften Farbenspiel der Wälder. In Toronto gibt es besonders in dieser Zeit zahlreiche Festivals und Paraden, wie z.B. das Toronto Buskerfest im August oder das Toronto International Film Festival im September.

Hier erfahren Sie mehr über den Sprachurlaub auf Toronto…

LAL Gozo nun für das Jahr 2011 geöffnet

LAL Gozo öffnete am 2. Mai seine Türen und begrüßte die ersten internationalen Studenten in diesem Jahr. Das ganze Team der Sprachschule in Gozo ist ganz aufgeregt und freut sich sehr auf die neue Saison.

Frau Catherine Pace, Direktorin von LAL Gozo:
“Ich leite die Sprachschule LAL Gozo und kümmere mich um unsere Sprachschüler ab dem Zeitpunkt ihrer Ankunft. Ich achte darauf, dass die Schüler in der richtigen Lernebene sind, und bin immer da, um ihnen zu helfen sowie alle Fragen zu beantworten. Zusätzlich organisiere ich auch das Freizeitprogramm und begleite die Schüler auf einigen der Ausflüge. Leider neigen sich alle guten Dinge auch irgendwann dem Ende – ich verabschiede mich persönlich von allen Schülern und wünsche ihnen eine gute Heimreise. Aber natürlich freue ich mich immer, sie nächstes Jahr wieder begrüßen zu dürfen!”

Wenn Sie ein unvergessliches Lernerlebnis mit Erholung, Unterhaltung und Verbesserung Ihrer Sprachkenntnisse suchen, dann ist LAL Gozo Ihr Ziel. Die kleine Sprachschule mit einer Kapazität von 75 Studenten, befindet sich in Ghajnsielem. Sie bietet unter anderem 8 klimatisierte Klassenräume, einen Medienraum, eine Verwaltung und einen Empfangsbereich.
In wenigen Minuten Entfernung sind Sie am lebendigen Hafen Mgarr, wo Fähren regelmäßig zur Hauptinsel Malta fahren.
Die geräumige und komfortable Schulresidenz Migiarro befindet sich im zweiten und dritten Stock des Schulgebäudes.

Hier bekommen Sie mehr Informationen zur LAL Gozo Sprachschule und können auch gleich Ihren Sprachurlaub buchen.

Folge 9: Englisch lernen auf Gozo

Malta´s kleine Schwesterinsel hat sich ihren dörflichen Charme bewahrt. Grüner und fruchtbarer als Malta, wachsen auf Gozo Feigen, Granatäpfel, Mispeln und Bananen. Leben und Straßenverkehr sind geruhsamer, die Wanderwege leichter zugänglich. Ruhiger und überschaubarer als Malta, ist Gozo das ideale Ziel für Naturfreunde und Erholungssuchende. Dazu passend bietet unsere Sommerschule LAL Gozo, die von Mai bis Oktober geöffnet ist, neue interessante Kombi-Sprachkurse an, wie beispielsweise “Englisch & Yoga” oder “Englisch & Kunst”.

Unser Tipp: Besuchen Sie das Restaurant Ta Ricardo in Gozo´s Hauptstadt Victoria. Hier genießen Sie nicht nur typisch maltesische Küche, sondern können nach dem Essen stilvolle Mitbringsel und kulinarische Spezialitäten einkaufen.

Hier erfahren Sie mehr über Sprachurlaub auf Gozo…

Folge 8: Spanisch lernen in Quito in Ecuador

Die alte Hauptstadt des nördlichen Inkareiches gehört zu den bedeutendsten Kulturstädten Lateinamerikas. 1534 von den Spaniern erobert, verfügt Quito über eine wunderschöne koloniale Altstadt, die Teil des UNESCO-Weltkulturerbes ist. Aber auch das moderne Quito, in dem sich unsere Sprachschule befindet, hat einiges zu bieten! Das schneebedeckte Panorama der umliegenden Anden lädt zu zahlreichen Exkursionen ins Umland ein. Entdecken Sie die indigene Kultur bei einem Besuch auf einem Indianermarkt, erleben Sie die Bergwelt zu Pferde oder entspannen Sie beim Besuch in den Thermalquellen von Papallacta und entdecken Sie die ganze Exotik Ecuadors!

Unser Tipp: Das Viertel Mariscal bietet für Gastronomie und Nachtleben alles, was das Herz begehrt. Den schönsten Blick auf Quito genießt man von der “Vírgen María” aus, wo einem die Stadt buchstäblich zu Füßen liegt!

Hier erfahren Sie mehr über Sprachurlaub in Ecuador…