Talk Academy reviews — in students' own words

One month of ESL study in the Philippines has gone by as fast as a dream! Every day is extremely full with 8 periods — 6 one-to-one classes and 2 group classes. What I like most are the group sessions: a maximum of 8 students, so the atmosphere is always lively, the teacher interacts constantly, and everyone gets a chance to speak. The multicultural international environment lets me train my English reflexes anywhere, any time, and the student mix is very balanced — enough international friends to practise speaking with, and enough Vietnamese compatriots for a bit of warmth when I miss home. Ten out of ten for the school kitchen too: the food is clean, well cooked and really suits my taste.

I think the meals the school provides are quite good. I could eat without worrying, and I had enough energy for the lessons every day. The school also arranges laundry and room cleaning twice a week, which is very convenient for us. Because someone helps with the living side, I do not have to spend much time tidying my room or doing laundry, and I can put more energy into learning English. These thoughtful arrangements made my life much easier and helped me adapt faster to studying in a foreign country.

These four weeks learning English at TALK in Clark, Philippines, were a very happy and full experience. The one-to-one lessons let me work on my own problems — grammar, speaking, pronunciation — while the group lessons taught me how to communicate with other students in English. Besides the formal classes the school arranges after-class activities such as movie appreciation and K-pop dance, so I could use English in a relaxed atmosphere and got to know classmates from different countries. I also joined a horse-riding activity outside the school and experienced a different kind of life. At first I was a bit nervous speaking English, but after practising every day I found I dared to speak more and more, and I could understand more English too.

The time I have spent studying at Talk Academy has been genuinely full. The lessons stay close to real life — take a topic like travel and adventure: the teacher writes the key points straight onto the whiteboard, then calls on people to answer or has everyone share their own view. It really does keep pushing you to speak English. The teachers here are lovely and very patient. Even if your grammar base is weak they start from the most basic grammar and go carefully, so neither the one-to-one nor the small group ever feels like pressure. Outside class I would also recommend the self-study space: the desks are big, and after lessons it is a good place to take your tablet and coursebook, do a test and review what you covered. The canteen is spacious and bright too, and at meals and breaks everyone gathers there and chats in English.

This is the first time in my life I have studied abroad. In my first classes I was honestly afraid my English was not good enough and I hardly dared to speak. After practising for a while I realised that as long as you are brave enough to open your mouth, it does not matter if the grammar or the pronunciation is imperfect — because what the teachers want is for us to have confidence. They are very patient, and they give advice aimed at my particular problems. Outside class, being around classmates from Vietnam, Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia gave me many more chances to use English. You need English to get through an ordinary day here, so it stopped being knowledge from a textbook. This period has not only improved my English — it has made me braver and more independent.

When classes first started I did need some time to get used to the teachers' accents, but if you listen a lot and practise speaking a lot you get used to it quickly, so there is no need to worry too much. Before the course starts they find out the student's goals and the parts they want to strengthen, and build the content around that; every teacher has their own strong area, so you learn a lot from the different classes. I am in the newly built four-person dorm — occasionally something needs adjusting, but the school's admin team helps sort it out quickly. Two weeks in, my speaking is more fluent than when I arrived and I have more confidence opening my mouth in English.

Besides the weekday English classes, what I liked most was talking with my teacher about things outside the textbook — daily life, local culture, Clark food, and the different ways we each see things. That ordinary small talk is what slowly made me comfortable putting my thoughts into English, and speaking stopped being frightening. You do not have to wait until you are ready, until you can say it perfectly. Saying it simply, in a way the other person can follow, turns out to be the more natural way. The biggest change in two weeks is not that my English got very good — it is that I am far less afraid to start a conversation with someone from another country.

What struck me most was the international environment. Making friends with students from several countries meant I used English far more often, and my reflexes in conversation noticeably improved. The teachers are flexible too — they listen to how a student wants to learn. I am in a 4-person room; it is new and well equipped. There is occasional noise from construction upstairs, but when I mentioned it the school dealt with it quite quickly. The food is easy to eat and varied, with green vegetables every day. One thing to note: no meals are served at weekends or on public holidays, so you need to plan for that.

When I first arrived I could barely speak any English. But after studying and practising every day, I can hold a basic conversation and I feel far more confident talking to people. What I liked most was meeting and making friends with students from several different countries — for me it has been a genuinely memorable experience.

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.