Reviews of The Bedford Language Centre. (School) in Northampton (Northamptonshire).
The Bedford Language Centre
Description
Information of The Bedford Language Centre, School in Northampton (Northamptonshire)
On this page you’ll find the address, open hours, more popular times, the contact, photos and real reviews of this business.
This business has received very good reviews from their customers, so probably it’s a place you should try if you are looking for this kind of services.
Map
Reviews of The Bedford Language Centre
C. S.A very friendly and professional place to learn languages.
A lot of cultural activities and trips are organised by Elena in orden to enhance the learning and immerse you into the cultural aspects of the countries where the language are spoken.
I loved my recent trip to El Escorial. It gave the people the ability to practice Spanish as little or as much as our capabilities. We visited the most iconic high lights in the area, as well as some not so well known.
Very good value for money. Definitely worthy.
A. G.Wonderful tutors and a fantastic learning experience that helps you achieve lots of progress quickly. Whatever your level of ability/confidence Elena and team make learning languages fun, and they tailor the experience depending on individual needs. Can’t recommend Bedford Language Centre highly enough.
G. P.Elena is a fantastic teacher,. She is very patient and never harsh, but always encouraging. She spends a lot of time preparing very useful online materials which make learning fun and effective - especially for thise with poor memories!
L. C.I’m so glad I signed up to this language school. Our tutor Elena is excellent, kind and patient! I’ve learned so much, not just language but cultural information too especially on our cultural visits where I’ve made new friends. Totally recommend this language school.
J. B.Part of the pleasure of learning Spanish with Elena is that she doesn't just teach the language but organises events to help us understand the culture and history of the country too. I have just returned from an excellent group trip to Madrid with Elena which was really interesting and enjoyable.
D. M.I attend the Advanced Spanish class and have just been on a cultural group trip with Elena to Spain. The course materials are a mixture of grammar, speaking and listening exercises, and have included, for example, studying one of Lorca's plays, a TV mini series, and Laurie Lee's book, 'As I Walked Out One MidSummer Morning'. In the Descubre España classes we also 'travelled' around different regions of Spain learning about their culture, geography, food, customs and history - all the while practising our Spanish. Elena is highly committed to delivering an interactive first class service for her students. I couldn't recommend the Bedford Language Centre more.
M. P.After a 50 year gap I started to learn Spanish again with Bedfordshire Language Centre in September 2021. I thought I would struggle but Elena, our teacher, has been very supportive and makes the lessons very enjoyable. The group size is small so there is a lot of active participation. The lessons are mainly oral but there is homework, which can be challenging, but it helps prepare for the next lesson. Lots of lively materials are provided. Highly recommended.
S. G.In various ways I have been trying to learn Spanish over 30 years. I have learnt and improved so much thanks to Elena. I can see and feel real progress has been made. The classes are fun and informative - it's about learning the culture as well as the language. Highly recommended.
K. C.Spanish classes with Elena are fantastic!! I'm a university student who started taking online class with The Bedford Language Centre to get as much conversation practice as possible. The classes are interesting and Elena is great teacher! I always look forward to my class with her each week
N. E.8 Week Beginner Spanish - Nov-Dec 2021.
tl;dr: Hiqh-quality materials and responsive teaching with communication at forefront. Placement test would improve overall experience imho.
I enrolled on the 8 week Beginner Spanish course in November 2021 (taught via Zoom and Google-Suite). The one downside of the course was not having a placement test before the onset. I was expecting to undertake one, having studied languages extensively at university as well as taking numerous external foreign language courses. At the beginning, I had self-diagnosed reaching the awkward border between A2-B1 (CEFR) and I recognised that group study / interaction would be key to pushing on. As being fairly local, I decided to go ahead with the Bedford Language Centre. I had a rough idea of where my progress lay in reading/writing/listening/speaking, however, I believe a more objective approach through a placement test would have been beneficial for all parties. I emphasise this point as I was placed in a mixed beginner group but after the first lesson it was clear the level was not a good fit for me.
I communicated this to Elena after the initial lesson and fortunately, Elena proved to be amenable and adaptable. She suggested I try the successive lesson, which I did, but after reviewing it together we agreed to complete the course on a more tailored 1-1 basis at smaller 30 min sessions. We took a deep-dive into Spanish culture (comparing with British), the use of the verb 'soler' and the preterite perfect. I was invited to reflect on these more complex aspects by preparing assignments such as a 1-min presentation. Conversational topics included: introductions, numbers, telling time, food, family and festivities. There were abundant new learning points for me and have served me well when taking other Spanish Zoom lessons online elsewhere during the Winter break.
Class materials were uploaded into google classroom before sessions. There was a good mix of high-quality teacher-made material and curated online material (e.g. 'profedeele'). Zoom recordings were made available for revision for 30 days after sessions which was a really nice resource. I personally listened back to these almost as a podcast between sessions.
The course on reflection had an enjoyable seminar-like feel and I felt motivated to continue self-study.
P. G.Would highly recommend Elena’s classes.I feel that I’ve made huge advances both in the quality of my spanish and my confidence to have a go. Ive also learned so much about Spain and Latin America that I didn’t know before and can’t wait to plan new trips to discover places we’ve learned about and to practise speaking spanish. My husband has now joined Elena’s classes and I is really enjoying them too and becoming more confident to speak in spanish.
I’m studying Spanish and also Discover Spain with her. Lesson activities are varied and the grammar activities (my bugbear) are clearly explained and there’s lots of practice. There are lots of opportunities to practise speaking and you are encouraged to have a go, even if you’re not sure you’re right. An interesting homework is always set but you don’t get detention if you don’t get round to doing it! Her knowledge and enthusiasm about the spanish-speaking world is truly impressive and her enthusiasm is infectious.
Elena’s lessons on Zoom have been a highlight of the week in this house. She clearly puts a lot of time and effort into planning lessons.
M. G.I have been studying Spanish with Elena of the BLC for five years now from the complete beginner stage. Although only a basic hour per week (+ homework!), my abilities with the language have advanced considerably with the mix of grammar, speaking and listening exercises. The lessons are always conducted in a very informal, friendly and supportive manner with time to chat - in Spanish, of course. Elements of Spanish culture and history are included in lessons to give context to the language and make the experience more interesting. An additional course 'Descubre Espana' recently focused on specific regions. BLC also arrange very enjoyable events and trips to the countries studied. Highly recommended.
L. S.Highly recommend the Bedford Language Centre and Elena for Spanish. Such a great group, love the different activities a few times a year to meet as a group.
J. A.Learning German was in my wish list for a long time and whenever I tried on my own it was a struggle given the inherent difficulties of the language. Thanks to BCL I have been able to do continuous progress and what seemed unachievable before now feels possible. This process is made much more pleasant and fun by our teacher Rachel, who has great knowledge of the language, lived in Germany for a long time, and is very patient with students.
S. L.I am a total beginner to learning Spanish so was a bit apprehensive before I started but I had no need to worry, Elena explains things very clearly, she is so patient and makes the lesson fun and interesting! I’m really enjoying the online classes, hopefully after lockdown we can all meet up in person.
M. N.Bedford Language Centre is a fantastic place to start learning a new language. Elena Ramos is a great teacher, making the language very accessible for even beginners like me. there is also a sociable and cultural aspect provided by Bedford Language Centre which enhances the experience of learning a new language. I would throughly recommend Bedford Language Centre to anyone wishing to learn Spanish.
A. M.Elena and her team are doing a great job at Bedford Language Centre. I attend the French course and our teacher Anne-Sophie is one of the best. She has got a passion for teaching her mother tongue and she motivates us to practice more and attend the course regularly.
H. J.I began learning Italian at an evening class last autumn with Maria Taverna of the BLC. Maria is a brilliant teacher and I love learning the langauge. Maria's classes moved online through lockdown so it's been possible to continue to improve language skills despite the pandemic. Then Elena and Alessandra organised a brilliant Italian summer school where we 'visited' six different regions of Italy to learn (in Italian) about the history, culture, geography, traditions and cuisine - videos of Alessandra cooking Italian recipes from each region with commentary in Italian. A brilliant idea when we can't actually travel to Italy ! I'm now benefiting from the expert tuition of Desiree Bashi to further improve my Italian during a second year of study with BLC. How wonderful to be able to learn to speak Italian from native Italian speakers. Grazie mille BLC !
B. C.I contacted the Bedford Language Centre with the hope of improving my very basic German skills. I have been working one on one with Sara and am loving my lessons and progress. The pace of the course is great and the exercises that I am set are challenging but not intimidating. I feel I have learnt a lot more than I could have done otherwise. Thoroughly recommended.
A. I.I wholeheartedly recommend The Bedford Language Centre. This is my first time with the Centre. I am taking part in Descubre España, a short course of weekly one hour classes. Valencia region was explored in the first 5 weeks, art, geography, history, gastronomy, ecology, then we traveled to Asturias and now we are in Basque Country. Each region so vastly different from the other. Elena, our teacher, has expertly filtered through a huge array of materials to deliver a focussed course each week, packed with Youtube clips, mini travelogues, extracts of songs, videos of art galleries, and she then gently encourages us to continue our own research in between classes. At the moment, due to Covid restrictions, the classes are on line via zoom; they are recorded each week so you can revisit, plus links to lots of resources relevant to that week as well as homework for the following week are shared via Google Classroom. Conducted mostly in Spanish, with English when necessary. I never imagined I’d ever be confident to deliver a presentation in Spanish about the work of an artist, or the food of a region! (Every week I have this internal dialogue about how I’m no good at Spanish, I will make a fool of myself, the teacher will think I’m stupid...I am too busy for this, plus several other excuses to not attend!) Every week, after the class ends I am almost euphoric! And so glad I hadn’t missed class. The materials and resources, and much more importantly the calm, confident, professional guidance of the teacher wows me! There is empathy for and understanding of the learner. It’s this ‘flavour’, this attitude, that I think really sets the language school apart and above others.
J. H.Elena is a very encouraging and patient teacher. I enjoy the lessons so much I dialled in from Mexico.
S. R.I joined BLC Spanish classes as I wanted to learn a language and make new friends and I've most certainly done both! Elena is so friendly and insightful and I love our classes. I have no intention of stopping yet!
J. N.Helped my daughter prepare for GCSE Spanish and three years on I'm still enjoying my Spanish lessons with Elena.
V. J.I really enjoyed Elena’s Camino Challenge. Our virtual walk along the Camino learning about food, culture and history as we went was a great way of filling a summer where real-life travel opportunities were very limited.
J. N.I have studied Italian for a couple of years now and have found the teachers to be professional and helpful. We work from a course book which means that there is always structure to the lessons and you can review in your own time when required. Materials are also published on Google classroom as an extra resource and backup. During Covid they have arranged our lessons on Zoom and this has allowed us to continue studying and is much appreciated.
A. H.8 weeks Intermediate French. Useful textbook, and whilst the lesson is conducted mostly in French, its easy going and a fun way to learn as an adult with more useful topics than a GCSE etc would have.
B. C.Very much enjoying my weekday 'on-line' sessions with Desiree. My Italian isn't exactly galloping along but that's probably down to age. However steady progress is made each session.
P. N.Elena and her team are improving the quality of life of so may people in Bedford, from 16 to 99, who are enjoying Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Greek, Polish and so many cultural activities as Cerveza & Jamon, wine tasting, trips to Salamanca, Paellas, olive oil tasting, Catherine of Aragon quiz night, ..great great great place to meet friends and learn.
T. M.Really enjoyed the talk about Sorolla's life and paintings last Thursday. Also the social afterwards, with delicious Spanish food and wine.
J. R.Very friendly lessons that are well structured and informative.
M. C.Great experience with great teachers and excellent atmosphere for learning!
V. G.(Translated) Excellent teacher, with very good communication to teach languages. I recommend it to you
(Original)
Excelente profesora, con muy buena comunicación para enseñar idiomas. Os la recomiendo
J. W.
R. K.Contact
Photos
