Hi, my name is Marianne, I’m 18 and I’m a French intern at Alpha School of English. I started yesterday and I am here for 6 weeks. I am a management and languages student, and I have to do internships during my study, that’s why I’m here.

With this blog, I would like to share my experience of living in Malta and learning English thanks to the lessons and my job.

Day of arrival in the Country

After some turbulence on the plane, I arrived in Malta with my friend Pauline (also an intern) in the afternoon of Friday 15th May. My first impression was rather good because of the climate, which is rather warm and sunny. Indeed, I was a little surprised by the driving here (on the left side) because it’s the opposite in my country.

One other interesting point is the size of the island which is very small and can be crossed very quickly, it is rather pleasant. I was happy to arrive in Bugibba; I really love this city because we are next to the sea, it seems rather quiet when compared to other cities and there aren’t too many people.

When we arrived at the flat, I felt a little sad because I realized that I would stay without my family for six weeks, but in the other hand staying alone in a flat, managing a budget for food, activities and so on seemed like an adventure. The apartment was great: it is rather spacious, functional and near to the centre of Bugibba.

On the weekend after our arrival, we visited several cities: St Julian’s and the capital Valletta. I enjoyed St Julian’s because it’s a place where young people meet, full of life and movement, and as well with a great view of the sea.

On Sunday I visited Valletta: it’s a historical sight. We saw the Parliament building and the fortresses by the sea. There is also a great market next to the city’s gates, a lot of little streets… It’s a great place to visit.

- 18th May 2009

My name is Sabrina Roesen and I come from Germany. I go to a vocational school where I am training to be a foreign language assistant. My course is a combination of school and work experience. Within this training I have to do two internships of four weeks. I did the first one in a German industrial company.
For the second internship I decided to go abroad. Last term in school we had talked about the European Union and obtained information about the different member states. As I still had some addresses of Maltese language schools I applied for an internship by e-mail.
I arrived in Malta on Friday, 10th October 2008 and I am staying in a host family with two other students from Switzerland. On Saturday I went with the two Swiss girls to Paceville and I also went to Golden Bay by bus on Sunday.

I have already noticed some interesting differences between the Maltese and German cultures. In Germany, I live in a small village of 500 inhabitants and therefore I have to travel approximately 30 minutes by bus to school. It is great for me that the school is so close to my host family’s house – just five minutes on foot! Another different aspect is the weather. In October the temperature is about 15 degrees in Germany. In Malta it is warmer, 23 degrees or so and you can still go swimming outside. By now I have formed a good impression of Malta. I hope to gain experience and to improve my English skills within this four-week internship.

My name is Oxana Demidanova and I come from Russia. I graduated from university as a lawyer one year ago and came to Malta to study English last October. After I had finished studying English at an English school, I decided to find a job in Malta. I had an opportunity to work at Alpha School of English training as a foreign language assistant. I have English lessons in the morning and I work in the office in the afternoon. It is very effective for me because I can gain work experience and practice English at the same time.

As part of my secretarial studies, I have been carrying out a six-week placement at Alpha School of English in Malta. It has been a great opportunity for me in many ways. I helped the Sales and Marketing Manager with various tasks and therefore have been able to put into practise what I have learnt throughout my school year. I worked on different things such as including presentations, databases, letters, mail, Internet research. All these tasks are related to what I am currently studying and have provided a good working experience. My internship in Malta also greatly helped me to improve my language skills since I have been surrounded by English – speaking people. Besides, I was also given the opportunity to attend English classes which definitely helped me to become more confident in English. In addition, working in Malta has also given me a chance to discover the island and get to know a new culture and way of life.

As an intern, I work in the office of Alpha School of English in Malta. I find this experience very useful for me. Even after the class I continue to practice my English with colleges that work with me. We speak only English because although there are a lot of Maltese people, there are also some foreign students that’s why our common ‘lingua franca’ is English.
As part of improving my English, I have a chance to try my skills in different types of work. It’s a very big advantage of internship in Alpha School that the work isn’t monotone and repetitive. For example, I liked a lot the idea to write some small texts for school’s blog. Of course it’s difficult for me to express myself in foreign language but it’s very useful for my English. Secondly, people from other nations can read my observations and add their opinions about Malta, School and their own experience.
Another type of work is the translation from English to Russian. In my professional life I have done a lot of written and oral translations from French and Italian languages. I like to choose the best variety of the translation in Russian and to compose the same English text in my own language. It’s a very creative and interesting activity.
Internet research and writing articles are more examples of my work. I take the opportunity to change my activity every hour so my internship doesn’t become routine and boring. It always depends on you and your leader.

As part of my secretarial studies, I have been carrying out a six-week placement in Alpha School of English, Malta and it has been a great opportunity for me in many ways. I had to help the Sales and Marketing Manager with various tasks and therefore had been able to put in practice what I have learnt throughout my school year. I worked on different things, e.g. presentations, databases, letters, mail, Internet research. All these tasks are related to what I am currently studying and have been a good work experience. That placement in Malta also greatly helped me to improve my language skills since I have been surrounded by English – speaking people. Besides, I have been given the opportunity to attend English classes which definitely helped me to get more confident in English. Plus, carrying out my placement in Malta has been a chance to discover the island and get to know a new culture and way of life.

Last Friday I finished a week Business English Course , which I took part with two German students. I am feeling a little bit sad now because the German girl was so sweet and the man was very nice and interesting person to speak with but now they have both gone home.

What i found very useful for the student was the course certificate they got from the school at the end of their course. Additionally, the teacher gave them a satisfaction questionnaire to fill in. I think it’s very useful for the school. It lets the school’s staff know how their students are feeling.

Today I’ve just started a new General English Course. This time the course is about general matters and for a group of Russian teenage students with an upper Intermediate level of English. When they introduced themselves this morning, they said that they will be at Alpha School for a week and they are having a lot of fun in Malta. In this course it is very important that the teacher stresses, as she does, that they must always speak and ask questions in English. Of course they came to Malta to learn English so they are not allowed to speak their mother language during the lesson. There are a maximum of 10 students in the course. The teacher checks attendance at the beginning of the lesson to make sure that everyone is in the classroom. Students who attend less than 90% of their lessons do not receive a certificate so everyone always comes to class!!!

– 1 - 04 - 2008
– Luisa

I came to Malta as a participant at the Leonardo Da Vinci European Project. This program gives me the opportunity to improve my English and will provide me an invaluable work experience in a Maltese company where I will simultaneously get an insight into this company, the Maltese people and business culture.

After a couple of Interviews I found a position as an intern at Alpha School of English and have started to work here at Alpha School of English as an administration assistant. Alpha School of English is a company with few but wonderful employees who have made me feel very welcome.

I have also had the opportunity to take part of a Business English Course which is being held at the school this week. This course is very useful because we are a small group of three foreign students with a native English teacher. We are only taking three hours of this course every day but it have

been learning a lot because it is very well organized and focuses on the students’ specific interests and needs. In the last two days, I have learned new English phrases and words used in business organizations and also many things about meetings.

In my third day of work my tutor has given me her feedback as well as some training and support. I have also just started working in the office and I’m beginning to settle down into the job.

– 25 - 3 - 2008
– Luisa

I worked as intern at Alpha School of English for 6 weeks between April and June 2008 where I was also given the opportunity to attend English lessons.

I think that this school employs very competent teachers who not only have the ability to adapt to students’ difficulties and needs but who also create a relaxed and efficient atmosphere. For younger students, teachers practice all of the English skills by using playful activities, listening, oral communication, reading, watching DVDs… they really get involved in the lessons and their main objective is that their students make progress.

What’s more, following lesson with other foreign student from different country is very enriching. Teachers often choose subjects which concern the country of another student which is a really interesting way to improve students’ vocabulary and openness to otehr cultures.

It was an experience that i really enjoyed and I think I will return to France with more maturity.

– June 2008
– Pamela