This summer British Study Centres ran an essay writing competition where the winner would receive a 2 week course and accommodation at our brand new centre in Bournemouth. All the essays are now in and the winner has been chosen. It was a hard choice and we have enjoyed reading all the essays on why the UK is the best place to study English. After all the deliberation we had to pick one and that was Stefano Filauro’s! Stefano’s now arrived in Bournemouth and we recently caught up with him in an interview (below). Also below you can have a read of the winning essay!
Thank you to all who took part in the competition. There will still be many other opportunities to win a free course – simply keep checking the newsletter and the BSC Blog (www.british-study.com/blog) for forthcoming competitions in the next few months! If you would really like to study at Bournemouth remember that there is a 25% discount on all courses this year of 20 lessons per week or above – click here for details!
Interview: Stefano Filauro
BSC: Firstly, congratulations on winning and on writing such a good essay. Where are you from?
I’m from Rome, Italy. I’m coming from a touristy city to another; I feel that the atmosphere here is similar to Rome as they are both tourist spots.
BSC: Why did you decide to study English abroad?
Ha! You can’t study English without having contact with the real British culture and way of having fun.
BSC: Why did you choose British Study Centres?
I found it on the internet; it was the first school I found. I didn’t compare with any other school. It was destiny.
BSC: Which centre did you originally study at?
London.
BSC: Why did you decide to study at London?
It’s the same answer as before, you can’t learn English without coming to Britain and you must go to the core. The first time to England, London is a duty.
BSC: What are the differences between London and Bournemouth?
I can’t really compare the two schools, it wouldn’t be fair. They both have positives. The London school is bigger and has a different atmosphere, we were about 200 students and it felt global. Bournemouth is smaller and more familiar for me at the same time.
BSC: What do you like about Bournemouth?
The fact that you can go to the beach immediately after the lesson. I love the atmosphere. The town is full of students, it’s youthful and full of young people.
BSC: What do you like about the Bournemouth school?
Firstly, it’s in the centre. It’s close to the beaches and nightlife, so the location is key. Also, the wonderful teachers, I’m really enjoying them!
BSC: What classes are you taking here? Tell me about your class?
I am doing 20 lessons per week, they are in the morning and are split into general English and then Speaking and Listening. I prefer the grammar lesson, they are very useful and you must need this as a base. I find a good variety in subjects and skills within the lessons.
BSC: What areas of English did you want to improve on?
I wanted to improve my understanding and after that, speaking.
BSC: Do you think you have improved in those areas?
Yes! (Nods enthusiastically) When I first came (Stefano’s last visit to BSC London) I couldn’t understand people on the bus and TV. Now I’m starting to understand better and better. I feel the difference between now and the first experience (in London).
BSC: What 3 words would you use to describe the BSC Bournemouth?
Central, well organised and enjoyable.
Stefano’s Essay
How could you live without singing in english?
There’s an Island in our little world that has changed our way of looking at it more than Fred Astaire changed Ginger Rogers’ life and her way of dancing. What is that island? Quite simple to answer. I prefer to say that Great Britain is a sort of state of the human nature, composed of fog and beer, stadiums and trade union, harbours and red bricks, the center of the world built thanks to the contribute of the rest of the world. A chaotic puzzle of feelings and situations.
I feel the harmony of the language only in this chaos. The more the situation I’m living is daily, dull and unattractive, the more my ear is delighted by the musicality of the common stream of language; the more I’m walking in the street and the more I think the world we are surrounded by finds its completeness only in this language.
With this background of musicality the musical revolution represented by Beatles is sharply unsurprising, it couldn’t arise anywhere but here; this is unequivocally unfair game, isn’t it?
But after the evocation of Ginger & Fred, the tribute to Beatles, that’s just the time to go out and start singing.
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