Speak English with confidence in the Philippines

I joined Talk Academy about two months ago and studied the Talk 4 Hybrid J course. It consists of 4 individual classes and 2 group classes. I benefited from highly professional teachers, and I really enjoyed the institute. There are many cafés, restaurants and entertainment activities around the institute. God willing, I will come back to the institute again.

The canteen food suited me well — there were vegetables and fruit every day, so I ate properly. What I liked most was meeting friends from so many countries. After just one week I could talk with them comfortably, go out together, and cook: each of us made one dish from our own country. The room surprised me too — clean and fully equipped, closer to a hotel than a dormitory.

At Talk I found that speaking does not stay inside the classroom. My friends and my roommate are all from different countries, so there is almost always someone to talk to — at breakfast, in the breaks, after class, and in the evening when we cook together. After exactly one week, the best part is not how much I learned but that I now use English in ordinary life.

I am 34 this year. I had a steady job and family back home, so putting work on hold to come to the Philippines and study English was genuinely hard to decide. But after one week at Talk I feel it was worth it. I share a room with a student from another country, so we speak English almost all the time, and that has made me far more confident. At 34, I think it is never too late to learn.

A Junior student from Saudi Arabia who spent 8 weeks on the Talk 6 Hybrid J programme, working one to one with his teacher. His message to anyone thinking about it: "If anyone wants to study in Clark, Philippines, I highly recommend enjoying your study experience at Talk Academy!"

My first week at Talk went by faster than I expected. The canteen food suited me and there were vegetables and fruit every day, which made living away from home feel much easier. I made friends with students from several countries, and we went out together and experienced life in Clark. I also got to cook with friends from other countries — cooking and talking in English at the same time. The room was comfortable and clean, genuinely like a hotel. I think this is a place where you can study English and enjoy a lot of new experiences at once.

I chose Talk Academy after learning it sits inside "The Villages," a safe area. It was my first time living alone abroad, but the teachers and staff listened and advised me from the heart — I could even ask them about hospitals and shopping. Being able to concentrate somewhere I felt secure is what made my first time studying abroad work.

I enrolled because I was drawn to how clean the new campus was and how complete the facilities were. The teachers each had their own specialism, so I could work on grammar and speaking efficiently. Over six months I became close with them — we played badminton, went to karaoke. Three meals were served on weekdays, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, a different menu every day.

I studied for twelve weeks as a new challenge after retiring. The dorm was clean and spacious, I could even cook simple meals in the kitchen, and I slept comfortably. Lessons were one-on-one, so I could focus on my own weak points — pronunciation, conversation. On weekends the Japanese staff took us to the mall for shopping and meals.

I studied for fourteen weeks to build up my English before starting high school in the US. Outside class I spent time with friends my age from Korea, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, and on days off we went to the cinema and restaurants together. In the evenings there were free vocabulary and movie classes, so I was surrounded by English every day. I came away with more than English — I got to enjoy meeting people from everywhere.

It was only a four-week course, but I made a lot of friends. The teachers were friendly and worked jokes into the lessons, so I could speak English without freezing up. After each class I got a "class record" — the teacher's comments — which really helped with review. Even in a short stay I gained confidence and started speaking up. That was the big result for me.