Walter Villarreal

CIAL, Lisbon
Duration: 2 weeks

Thanks to ESL, I achieved the dream of all language students: living in the country where the language they are studying is spoken. I had a wonderful stay, from my arrival in Lisbon until my departure. I was immersed in the language on a 24-hour basis: when speaking, writing, reading, talking to the locals, discovering their culture and in the various situations of everyday life (shopping, contacts with administration, arrival at the airport, etc.). It was very useful and rewarding. Once on site you realise how difficult the local economic situation is. As you may know, the economic crisis is still going on in Europe. This trip allowed me to talk directly to Portuguese people and see how they are dealing with the crisis in such a difficult context. Regarding the school, it is well located. The teacher is very competent. Thanks to her, I made a lot of progress in Portuguese and I would like to thank her for that and my group as well.

I met people who shared my interest in the Portuguese language, it was great. They had different accents (English, French, German among others). I was the only one who came from Latin America, and the only one from Argentina. When my classmates heard that I was from Patagonia, Argentina, they started asking me lots of questions about major tourist sites in my country (ex. Perito Moreno Glacier, Ushuaia, San Carlos de Bariloche, the whales in Puerto Madryn, etc.) during breaks. I was surprised to see how much they knew about Argentina and I felt proud to represent my dear Patagonia. Thanks to my language course, I made new friends and established contacts all over the world. Thanks again! I hope to go on another trip soon if the context is still favourable in my country.

Paolo Taccone

CIAL, Lisbon
Duration: 4 weeks

Just like the Portuguese language, Lisbon has a charm of its own. I have been learning this language for a year in my free time and last summer, I spent four weeks in Lisbon thanks to ESL. The CIAL school organised many extra-curricular activities, most of which were free. I can only recommend this experience in Lisbon, at this school.

Lisa Evripidou

CIAL, Lisbon
Duration: 2 weeks

I spent 2 weeks in CIAL Lisbon, Portugal and loved every moment of it. The only regret I have is not staying longer. It was my first time studying abroad and I highly recommend it to everyone. It's a great way to learn any language quickly. I never stopped practising Portuguese, if it wasn't in a classroom, it was among my classmates at a local cafe or on a social activity organised by the school. The social programme was very good and I am happy I took part in so many excursions. It was a great way to explore Lisbon from local people and not from a tour guide! I was also very impressed as all trips were free including students travel to the site. The best part of my study abroad were the teachers, they were very helpful and intelligent. I will defiantly be visiting CIAL Lisbon in the near future.