"It was a good start for my further education in college."
Zhanel Satpayeva,
学生表格 哈萨克斯坦
(Translated by Google Translate)
I am writing this review on behalf of my niece and only in her own words.
Overall, she really enjoyed her study at this school. The school is located in Downtown Vancouver, just near Vancouver Public library and 3 minutes of walk from Robson Square Vancouver. The teachers were amicable and helpful. As for the facilities, the girls' washroom was always occupied and you had to wait a long line to get there after the classes. So, I hope the school can fix it for students' convenience. In general, there are more pros than cons. However, one moment was especially unpleasant.
There were some students in the class who were noisy and disrespectful towards the teacher and other students. Sometimes, a teacher had to distract from teaching in order to calm those noisy students. And that was rather annoying.
As a caretaker of my niece during her visit in Vancouver, I would like to point out my personal remarks:
1) With respect to above mentioned episodes, I believe there should be some kind of an Ethical Behavior instruction for the students prior their study. As it is unfair to other students who are forced to sit and wait when the noisy students calm down so that the teacher can continue the lesson for which they fully paid.
2) Moreover, the study was just for 3 weeks, however, for some reason, my niece was shifted to other group, four days before the end of her course... That was weird and nobody explained the reason of this shift.
3) In addition, I would like to mention this in the review, so the School may avoid this in the future.
There was a feeling of lack of information from School. As a parent we want to know what is the level of English of our child? So, when a student takes his first test, what are the results of this test? There is a need of any feedback from the teacher in the beginning of the study and at the end. So, the student (incl. parents) can see any progress in the study. Enter/Exit results.
4) We applied to this school in February/March and it turned out that the School moved to another location in April and nobody informed us about this. Happily, before the start of the classes we checked the web-site of the School and found out about this change. I should say that we chose our accommodation based on the School's location. Again, luckily new location was not so far from the old one. I believe, this information could be distributed accordingly to all students who applied within this period of time.
Please, understand me right, my aim of this review was not to downgrade the school but to give a chance to consider the gaps in the management and improve where it is required only for the sake of its benefit and further prosperity.
At LSI Vancouver, homestays are carefully selected and visited frequently. All family members 19 years and older are required to complete a criminal record check.
Host families are expected to provide the following to our students:
- An English speaking environment (English must be the only language spoken in the student's presence).
- A pleasantly decorated and private room with a standard bed, study desk or table with chair, closet or storage space, and dresser.
- Well-prepared, home-cooked meals (breakfast can be self-serve, while dinner will be eaten with the family each evening).
- Help, advice, and information during the student's stay.
- A friendly and comfortable environment in which students can learn about Canadian life.
Most homes are located 25-50 minutes away from the school by public transport. If you have special requests or diet restrictions (because of religion or health reasons), please let us know in advance. Students are usually 16 years old and older.
Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to 温哥华 based on your budget, schedule and preferences.
