Kingsmore welcomes first Czech lawyer for legal English course
Bournemouth, 15 August 2007 - Kingsmore International is one out of only five education providers in the United Kingdom who have been qualified to teach a Cambridge legal English course to lawyers and other legal professionals.
As a result of this course, we have accepted our first legal English student from Czech Republic, Martin.
Martin has stayed with us for five weeks and we have asked him some questions about his stay.
The purpose of this interview is to give you more insight in what it is like to study legal English in England.
Q) Martin, it is an honour to have you as a student at Kingsmore International.
How does it feel being so far away from home?
A) Quite fine if you ask me.
The further away you are from home, the further away you are from your daily routine as well.
I enjoy my stay here in Bournemouth as I take it not just as a study but also as a holiday.
Q) Explain to us what you do in Czech Republic and your reason for travelling?
A) I am a lawyer and until now I''ve worked as a civil servant in Prague.
This time is really full of changes for me because soon after my return back home, I am going to Finland for the next five months to take an extra period of legal studies.
As you see, I do a lot of travelling now.
And the reason?
I just want to experience life in foreign countries as well as acquire more knowledge, whether it is in English language or in legal disciplines.
Q) Is this your first visit to the United Kingdom?
What were your first impressions?
A) This is my second visit to the UK.
The first was just a two-week holiday 13 years ago - at that time I visited London and the countryside on the eastern coast of England.
And a year ago I was in Scotland.
I remember the feelings and impressions that my first stay in England gave me, the English culture, history, countryside... simply the English atmosphere that I've liked since the very first moment.
That is why the UK has always attracted me to visit it again.
Q) What do you like most about England and what do you dislike most?
A) What do I like most about England? (Sorry, I'm not very keen on football, so it's definitely not the Premier League).
Perhaps the brilliant English humour - in my opinion, the best in the world.
Where else can you find fantastic comedy stuff as for example Monty Python's Flying Circus or Yes, minister?
And what do I dislike most... probably the rude behaviour of some young people.
Fights in pubs are nothing unusual here, offensive, even aggressive boys under 16 are not hard to meet in streets.
It regrettably contrasts with the picture of the UK I've created myself during my previous visits to here.
Q) What is the course you are doing at Kingsmore and what made you choose this course?
A) I am taking legal English combined with the general English course.
This is an ideal combination for me because as a lawyer, I need to develop my legal English vocabulary but at the same time, I still need to work on my English language skills in general.
Q) What aspects of your course are most beneficial to you?
A) The legal English course benefits me especially because it provides a wide scope of legal vocabulary and exercises aimed at developing the use of that vocabulary in both written and spoken language.
About the general English course, what I appreciate most is learning loads of new idioms and expressions, used in everyday language, and the fact that the course is not just a revision of grammar as many other courses are.
Q) What would you say is the best part about studying at a language school?
A) I suppose you don't expect me to say: "the evening partying with other students..."
Well, for me the best thing about studying at a language school is the intensity of the study.
You spend hours dealing with the language every day.
And when you add an English speaking environment that surrounds you, it is of real benefit.
And of course, I like meeting new people from different countries!
Q) What did you find most difficult about the English language?
A) Phrasal verbs, I think.
There are plenty of them and many are used in very common situations, but to remember them... not easy at all.
Nevertheless, phrasal verbs are not the only difficult thing about English language.
There are lots of others - pronunciation, verb tenses, collocations etc.
Q) How does English beer compare to Czech beer?
A) That's an interesting question to ask a citizen of the "beer nation".
Well, I steadily tasted English beers but five weeks are too little time to try out a considerable number of them.
You have a lot of types and brands of beer whereas in the Czech Republic virtually only one type of beer is brewed, which roughly corresponds to your lager, and there are not as many broadly marketed brands as in the UK.
If you ask me, English lager doesn't do well compared to Czech beers, but did I like some brands of British bitter very much, smooth or ale, that I've tried.
Q) Will you ever return to England for vacation, study or work?
A) Of course I will.
At least for holiday, but possibly for studying - a language course again or maybe, some legal studies if I'm lucky.
Also working in the UK interests me, but it's not easy for a lawyer who has a degree from his country to get a job abroad.
But as I said, I like Britain and this is definitely not my last visit to here.
Q) Would you recommend Kingsmore International to anybody who is looking to participate in an English language course?
A) Sure I would.
I am perfectly content with the courses as well as with my home stay family.
Kingsmore International is quite a small school with a very kind atmosphere and I especially appreciate individual approach to students and the fact that classes are really small so that we can interact better with the teachers.
The quality of courses is in my opinion very high.
Q) Will you translate our entire website into Czech for a few pints free?
A) Ha ha, that's a good joke!
Yes, I would do it if you chose a more clever strategy.
Try to bring your printed website to the class and tell the students that you have a fantastic language exercise for them... and you'll get translations, for free and not just into Czech but into several other languages as well!
Q) What are your impressions of Bournemouth?
Would you recommend it to other Czechs as a place to study English?
A) Bournemouth is really nice town for me.
Although it can hardly boast of variety of historical monuments as many older English towns can, Bournemouth is a very enjoyable place to go for holiday, with nice beaches (also sunny as long as the English weather allows it...), beautiful gardens, fine pubs and many opportunities for holiday activities to do.
During the summer, there are a lot of foreign students at numerous language schools who contribute to the livelyness of the town.
I think it's an ideal place to go to study English as well as enjoy holiday.
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