Ксения Юношева, 16 лет, гимназия №1

At the end of July my travel to the UK, Oxford began. My goal of visiting Great Britain was next: I wanted to improve my speaking skills having a conversation with other students and in using the next-level vocabulary.

Frankly speaking, I was a little bit nervous as it was my first trip alone but everything was perfect as soon as I opened my host-family’s door. They were kind and really wanted me to adapt in their country. I was surprised but the mother of the family learnt Russian before and sometimes she helped me to learn new earlier unfamiliar for me words.

When I went to the school nearest campus we were going to the city center to another one where we had a test. I didn’t have bad results so I was proud of myself. Since my arrival I dove into the English atmosphere so I suppose my speaking has become much better than it used to be. I can’t believe but I could speak easily next day.

Certainly, classes helped me to improve my skills as the teachers were ready to help every student who didn’t catch anything. We were talking a lot with each other and now I understand the only thing I need is practice. Actually, the form of giving students a material was quite extraordinary: once we played a criminal game which wasn’t boring and in that case we could learn and remember vocabulary easily and faster. Also we had every-Monday tests which showed our progress and achievements of the week.

In my class I met people from different countries - Japan, China, Italy, Turkey, Poland…- and it seemed easy for me to speak with them and later to make friends with them. Together we went to the cafes, visited sport activities and even we were in the picnic. Therefore, we visited London 3 times – every weekend. There was a Korean festival where we could see their fashion, taste their national dishes and just enjoy the atmosphere, and the charity marathon where people riding a bicycle could contribute to something important.

I was abroad only 3 weeks which in Russia seemed to be a very long period but in Oxford I didn’t notice how time flew.

It was my dream to visit the UK. And now it is real. 

I want to thank Greenwich for the organization of my trip and the constant support while I was abroad.