Surf and Study 15 Hours

The housing was really great, and the rest was too. I can really recommend it if someone is really looking forward to improve the English skills.

I was very nervous in the beginning, but my hostfamily welcomed me in a great and very kind way.
The teachers were motivated, and class was diverse, so it was never boring.
Unfortunately, the class was too easy for me. After telling them, I got extra sheets. So we found a solution.
The main school is in a beautiful old cottage next to a nice little coffee. In the break you could go there and buy something to drink and/ or to eat.
Surfing classes were great. We were a nice group of teens and we became friends very fast.
The activities were okay, but not really special. Many times, we met at the wavehouse and we could just do what we want for two hours. That was a little boring. Other activities were: gameevening, fish and chips at the beach and movienight.

My stay in Newquay with the babbelfish language school was amazing. For me the school was perfect and that what i was searching for. I chose the “surf and study” program. That means lessons in the morning and surfing in the afternoon. On top we had activities in the evening and on the weekend i got to now the regions around Newquay with my host family.

I had contact with Alex (one of the school owners) before my stay in England and he chose the perfect host family for me which was also addicted to surfing like me. Hannah and Clyde (the couple where i lived the last 4 weeks) were super friendly and the house was extremely clean and they cooked really good.

The school is very small which means that sometimes we were classes out of 5 students which makes the lessons much more intense. Tobi my teacher there was super open minded and interested in everybody and everybody’s opinion. In his lessons he tries to show you the universe of language and the power of it and how important and beautiful language can be.

In that way he helped me to understand how English people use their language.

When i arrived in England i felt really unsure about and with my English skills, but now i really love the language and i will definitely come back to this school and this beautiful town.

The activities in the evening have been always super funny and by the way without realizing you get to now the language more and more.

I liked the school very much but I expected more of the teaching, because I was in a class with a lot of Italiens, we talked rarely English together.
The teachers are very nice, the building is wonderful, the area is really beautiful. I could have stayed forever. I was sad to go home.
The activities (surfing) were my favorite.
I learned a lot at my host family (Daniel and Caroline Turner), we talked a lot during dinner and in the evenings. I really felt at home. I made friends with the other girls who stayed at their place.
Hope to come back next year 2019.
Thank you very much Alex, Dan and Caroline.
Best regards,
Lara van Rijswijk

Okay, first of all this isn't a "normal" language school. From the first contact on, they gave me a warm pleasant feeling. I felt like visiting friends with upgrading my English skills. The accommodations in the families are super as you have to speak English in your daily environment which will help you a lot. The school facilities are perfectly located for a chilled walked in the morning and are next to a super delicious cafe where you can have your black tea and the best flapjack in Newquay.

The groups of students are very carefully chosen and fit perfect. Everyone gets the attention he/she needs for his level. They will show you their fun to improve your English in every class. The communication is super friendly and nobody is afraid to make mistakes to get the correction immediately and understandable. The overall working atmosphere is awesome.

Beside of the class, you will get at Babel Fish Language School a full range of activities. The important one - surfing. Whatever your skill level in surfing is Alex will improve your skills in your daily surf sessions. Cornwall is the perfect spot to catch some sweet beach breaks. If you are not into surfing the rest of activities like exploring the region, bike tours, hiking, Bowling...... the list is too long. So your stay will never be boring - this is an environment where learning feels not like typical learning.

In my daily Job in an agency as a project-manager for a big sports brand, I have to talk English all the time. This isn't a problem anymore as Babel Fish Language School improve my skills and gave me the confidence to talk.

Babel Fish Language School is your teacher and your best friend.. :) Check them out - you will not regret it.

Bebel Fish is as a family. I had a wonderful time in this school. Alex is a great teacher, who has acquired the best teaching tactics to teach students a real English. The classes are very practical, fun, interesting which I have improved a lot my English. The facilities where is the school are great and the school is in a nice place of Newquay. The activities are really engaging which I visited nice place of Cornwall. The family was incredible. They were my English family in Newquay and I had a excellent time with them. They helped me with everything in Newquay and I am really grateful to them. For me, It had been the best way to improve my English.

Babel Fish Language School isn’t a normal language school. Loris, the son of my godfather, told me about this fascinating School and immediately I got fascinated about their idea of “study in the morning and surf in the afternoon”. I always wanted to try surfing but I never truly believed I could.
Located in the heart of Newquay within a beautifully local park the school focus on talking. I’ve almost never done grammar stuff and barely written something. Most times we discussed about topics like the school systems, community gardens, Blackfish and shows with whales and dolphins, political problems, fast and low food, food in general and many more interesting topics. To get information about these things we watched movies, read texts or articles in newspapers or in the internet. The lessons were different every day and I learned a lot – not only English. Once we made short movie by ourselves, another day we watched a movie or we went to town. Unfortunately, although this variety I sometimes got bored – we were talking all the time and I couldn’t really see my own progress. Several times I yearned to do a bit grammar stuff or do some writing, but we never did. I wanted to be aware of my progress but when you do oral work this is difficult. I think when you do grammar it’s easier to see the steps you’ve taken.
The size of the class depends on the quantity of students. During my stay, there was a large Italian group and in addition they had to make two classes and our class was bigger than usual – we were about twelve people. There were two teachers and every day they changed the class so we I had both.
They always encouraged me to just talk and not think about all the mistakes I could probably make. They didn’t care if I said something wrong. Unfortunately, they just let me talk but, in my opinion, they should have corrected me more. Sometimes I said something and I was sure it wasn’t correct, but they didn’t correct me. Simply Alex corrected me every time he realized a mistake. I liked this because of this I could be secure that all the other things I said were correct.
From Monday to Friday we had class from 9am to 12am. Then we had lunch at school and in the afternoon, we had different activities. Most times we went surfing but once we were coast steering, we visited a water park, played beach games and had a trip to Truro, a nearby town. In connection, we usually had dinner with our host families and at seven o’clock we met again for the evening program. There was a big variety; we went bowling and mini golfing, played at school and we even had Beach BBQs and Fish and Chips evenings at the beach where we watched the changing of the tide and the sunset. It was a huge program and we had barely time for ourselves – and when we had I often was sleeping because I was really exhausted of all these impressions.

I can’t really explain how breathtakingly amazing surfing is! I love the feeling of being alone with my surfboard and the endless ocean. Sometimes the sea was just perfect and the waves were pretty clear. But there were also days, when the sea was flat as a mirror and there were no moves at all - or the sea was in such a mess and so unclear that it was hard to even sit get out to the ocean. But all this is a part of the sea and I always enjoyed my surf. Especially when I could catch a wave, I was just stunned! It’s amazing!