Happy Norooz – Iranian New Year, March 20th

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Norooz is the Iranian New Year. In harmony with the rebirth of nature, the Persian New Year Celebration always begins on the first day of Spring, March 20th of each year.

Norooz (meaning “New Day” in Persian) ceremonies are symbolic representations of two ancient concepts – the End and Rebirth. About 3,000 years ago Persian’s major religion was Zoroastrianism, named in honour of its founder Zoroaster, and arguably the world’s first monotheistic religion. Zoroastrians had a festival called “Farvardgan” which lasted ten days, and took place at the end of the solar year. It is said that this was a festival of sorrow and mourning, signifying the end of life, while the festival of Norooz at the beginning of Spring signified rebirth, and was a time of great joy and celebration.

Norooz sinifies hope, peace and prosperity and has been celebrated among people regardless of ethnic background, political views or religion in many countries around the globe, such as Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Georgia, Iraq, Tajikistan, Syria, Armenia and India.

Some of the activities during Norooz include spring cleaning, buying new clothes, painting eggs, family reunion, giving presents, visiting neighbours and friends and celebrating with a picnic on the 13th day of Spring.

By Peyman Shameli, Language Course Advisor at Cactus.

Cactus Worldwide Blog: February 2014 – Focus On TEFL

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Focus on: Cactus TEFL Special Offers

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Hello, and welcome to the February 2014 edition of the Cactus Worldwide blog! And also, welcome to our agency – Cactus Worldwide – where our team of experienced course advisors are here every day to discuss options with you and help set up a varied range of unique language-learning or language-teaching experiences, all over the globe, throughout the year, for all of our fantastic students.

This month’s blog is all about the special offers we currently have available to those of you considering taking a TEFL course this year, in the U.K. or abroad.

If you have any questions about any of the special offers that you read about here, please feel free to contact our experienced TEFL admissions advisor, Peyman Shameli, directly via info@cactusworldwide.com and he’d be happy to answer any questions.

1.      £47 off the Cambridge CELTA course in April in Krakow, Poland!

Now only £868 for the 4-week CELTA course starting 7th April (finishing 9th May).

Click below to find out more about this last-minute offer and apply now!

Full-time Cambridge CELTA course in Krakow in April with British Council and Cactus TEFL – now just £868

2.       £50 off the Full-Time March Trinity CertTESOL + £100 off the Part-Time April Trinity CertTESOL in Oxford Circus, Central London!

Established in 1962, St George International operates out of a new purpose-built centre, situated in the Fitzrovia district of Central London. Although only three minutes away from busy Oxford Circus underground, the school itself lies in a wonderfully quiet back street.

The centre is widely regarded as being a specialist in the field of EFL, having run high-quality, good-value teacher training courses in Central London since the summer of 1993. Since then, over two thousand trainees have successfully passed through their doors as newly-qualified English language teachers of the globally-recognised Trinity College London Cert TESOL.

Click below to find out more about the 2014 special offers and apply now!

Full-time Trinity CertTESOL in March with Cactus TEFL & St George International – now just £845

Part-time Trinity CertTESOL in April with Cactus TEFL & St George International – now just £895

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St George International, Oxford Circus, Central London

3.       Free Course Book (Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener, worth £30) for every successful Trinity TESOL applicant in 2014 @ British Study Centres in Brighton! Exclusive to Cactus TEFL

BSC in Brighton was opened in 2008 and is located in a beautifully refurbished, four-storey Victorian house between Brighton and Hove, with a garden, a terrace and a 5-star cafeteria, and in an ideal location with the beach, Brighton attractions and city centre only 15 minutes away. The school has 15 spacious classrooms with large windows, a fully stocked study centre and library, a computer room as well as WiFi throughout the building. This school is not only newly-renovated, well-resourced and a pleasant training environment, it is also a real, thriving workplace where students can experience the reality of teaching.

Every little helps, and this year they are offering every successful Trinity TESOL applicant applying via Cactus TEFL a free copy of arguably the most highly-regarded text in the EFL industry – Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener – worth £30.

Click the link below to take advantage of this special offer!

Trinity TESOL in Brighton with Cactus TEFL & British Study Centres

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The garden at British Study Centres in Brighton

4.       Free Course Book (Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener, worth £30) for every successful Trinity TESOL applicant in 2014 @ Athena Teacher Training in Bournemouth! Exclusive to Cactus TEFL

Just two minutes from Bournemouth’s long sandy beaches and city centre, Athena Teacher Training forms one of Bournemouth’s largest language schools and prides itself on offering a friendly, professional atmosphere in which to develop the teaching skills vital to all good teachers.

The school is offering every successful Trinity TESOL applicant applying via Cactus TEFL a free copy of arguably the most highly-regarded text in the EFL industry – Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener – worth £30.

Click the link below to take advantage of this special offer!

Trinity TESOL in Bournemouth with Cactus TEFL & Athena Teacher Training

5.        Discounted Part-Time Trinity Cert TESOL course in Oxford this March – now only £795!

ISIS Oxford are offering £55 off off their part-time Cert TESOL course starting 4th March – normally £850, now just £795.

This 14 week part-time course leads to the award of the Trinity Certificate in TESOL. Along with the RSA CELTA, this is the most widely accepted qualification for teachers of EFL/ESOL, with recognition from schools and colleges worldwide and bodies such as the British Council and the QCA. You can anticipate a demanding but enjoyable month, at the end of which you will have the tools and the confidence to take up a first TESOL position either in the UK or abroad.

If you’re interested in taking a last-minute Cert TESOL course this is a wonderful opportunity to study in the beautiful, iconic city of Oxford at a reduced price.

Click the link below to find out more and apply!

Part-time Trinity Cert TESOL in Oxford with Cactus TEFL and ISIS Oxford

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6.       10% off a CELTA course in the Sevilla sunshine this March, with Cactus TEFL & Clic! – but be quick, offer only valid for applicants applying before Friday February 21st

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The Andalucian ‘Clic Sevilla’ school building

Are you considering teaching English in Spain this year? If so, we highly recommend taking a course in-country, as this offers many significant benefits, such as a valuable in-country contact for jobs advice and support. Trainees taking their TEFL course abroad also benefit from teaching students native to that country during their teaching practice sessions, so they graduate from the course already highly equipped with knowledge of these learners’ specific academic and cultural learning needs.

This highly popular school in Sevilla, called Clic, is part of an international network of schools (for teacher training and teaching Spanish as a foreign language) located in the heart of the town, just 10 minutes’ walking distance to the cathedral and 2 minutes to Plaza Nueva. The building is a very well-equipped Andalucian house with a reception desk on the ground floor, training director’s office, teachers’ room, classrooms, internet access, kitchen, vending machines and common room on the second and third floors and a large roof terrace. The school also owns its own cafe/bar (serving drinks and tapas) on the same street. This provides an excellent meeting place for both teachers and students from all over the world.

Interested? Visit the link below to find out more about the course and download an application form for the 17th March CELTA course!

Cambridge CELTA in Sevilla with Cactus TEFL & Clic International House

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The ‘Clic’ cafeteria in Sevilla

We hope this selection has been of interest, and may have given you some ideas for some bargain study options for the year ahead. Any Qs at all, please feel free to contact me directly and I’d be happy to help.

Happy planning 😉

Best Wishes,

Ollie

—————————————————————————————————————–

Oliver Donovan
Agency Product Manager
Email: oliver.donovan@cactusworldwide.com

French course in Antibes: Cactus staff review

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Operations Manager at Cactus, Leticia Artiles Gracia, tells us her reasons for learning French and how much she enjoyed immersing herself in the language in Antibes

I love and enjoy doing many things. But if I had to choose two, they would definitely be: travelling and learning languages.

What if you are given the choice to combine both? That is exactly what I have been doing once a year since I joined the Cactus team, almost 4 years ago. This time I took a 1-week holiday and went to do a French course in Antibes.

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I must admit that this was a bit of a risk as French is not really my favourite language. I have tried to study it many times without success and not because I find it difficult: I am Spanish and that helps a lot when it comes to understanding the language, its structures, its spelling, etc. The real  reason behind my lack of interest in French is that I have never had a real motivation to learn this particular language.

Now I do have one: I am learning Arabic in Morocco and the Moroccan dialect uses a lot of French terms and in many cities of Morocco they use a high percentage of French words.

So, there you go, if I want to communicate with people in Morocco, I need to improve my French too!

So I decided to give myself another chance and instead of going for a normal course I thought: why not to go there for a week and immerse myself completely in the language and the culture? I am so glad I did.

A language holiday is such a good choice for a solo traveller. The General Course is perfect in terms of number of hours. I had to get up early in the mornings to go to the school but then at midday I was free to go and enjoy my free time while practicing what I had learnt in the classroom. During the 3 hour class we practiced all skills: listening, reading, writing, speaking.

My teacher & classes

My teacher could not have been better. You could tell she was highly qualified and experienced and she managed to motivate us to produce as much language as we could. I was placed in a higher level than I expected and that was very encouraging. I cannot say it was not a challenge, but it really pushed me to try and learn as much as I could in a week.

The whole class was entirely in French, not a single translation in English and the teacher did not allow us to use dictionaries or applications to translate. What was not understood at first was explained using different techniques such as: giving examples, using synonyms, mimics, sounds, anything! My vocabulary grew by the days and my oral expression and understanding were definitely improving. The course was complemented with a grammar book created by the school with clear explanations and examples.

Due to the fact that the week I was there was low season, we did not manage to get enough people together to do any of the extra activities the school offers. These included city tours and a wine and cheese tasting evening. Next time I will have to go when it’s busier but that would also mean more people in the classes. The class size at this time of the year is between 6 and 8 people, perfect if you want to make the most of the week.

Although most of the students were in their early twenties, there were also quite a few people over 30. I managed to meet people of my age not so much in the classroom as in the residence where I stayed. This one was definitely the best choice as most people were over 25 and it was a nice and quiet place to stay that invited you to relax and study during your free time.

There was where I met Diana, a Dutch lady, with whom I shared lovely chats (in French!), nice seafood and wine dinners and entertaining excursions in and out of Antibes. We agreed that although we both spoke much better English than French we would try to speak French as much as we could and so we did.

Antibes & the surrounding area

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Antibes has a lot to see; it’s a lovely and picturesque town on the Côte d’Azur, full of small cafés, restaurants and shops. It has a beautiful beach really close to the school, perfect to run to right after the classes for a couple of hours. There is also a traditional market right in the heart of the town. It is a place that allows you to travel back in time.

The residences are in a more touristic area called Juan les Pins, a lively place perfect for partying. From my point of view, Antibes is much more authentic – it has the perfect southern French taste! People are very lovely, although there are many tourists. You still get that personal treatment and after going to a café twice, they already know what you want.

I managed to visit Nice and Cannes. My favourite was definitely Nice, a very charming city with a mix of traditional architecture and modern buildings and a great promenade to enjoy a pleasant walk in the evening. There is also a nice waterfall at the top of the mountain definitely worth visiting.

Other class mates visited other small cities and they all sounded very nice too. I wish I had gone for 2 weeks so that I could have had time to see a lot more.

All in all, the experience was extremely positive. Now that I have experience learning French in a country where it´s spoken I can´t wait to do it again.

Leticia learned French in Antibes with Cactus. Cactus offers French courses in many locations across France and Canada, as well as evening and part-time courses in the UK and the US.

French evening course in Brighton: Cactus staff review

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Salut, je suis Laura et j’apprends français à Brighton.

I have always loved the French language and studied it for numerous years at school. I had thought I had a reasonable grasp of it – that is until I visited Paris last year and stayed with some friends. I found the ability to repeatedly ask for the location of the toilets and to describe my love of swimming at the swimming pool only gets you so far. So when Cactus offered the Beginner 1 French class at their St Giles centre in Brighton, I jumped at the chance!

I am so pleased that I did now – going back to basics has proved so incredibly useful.  We were quite a large group, which was initially quite nerve-wracking (I am not a confident public speaker!). My classmates were of all ages and came from a variety of different backgrounds – some were learning French as they had family and friends in France whilst others took it up as a challenging way to occupy their Wednesday evenings. We were eased into the lesson with a couple of ice-breakers, which included greetings and a fun bingo-style number game. After a short space of time, I felt comfortable piecing together short sentences in French to my allocated partner and then onto the whole class.

We covered a lot of ground in the next few weeks, from learning nationalities to describing what we do at work. However, we eventually had to cover the most formidable subject matter for a native English speaker… le grammaire! It turns out that I had nothing to worry about – our teacher guided us through the different conjugations clearly and concisely, testing us on our new-found knowledge every so often. I can now proudly say that I have the ability to conjugate all (regular) verbs… magnifique!

Learning French with Cactus has been such an enriching experience. Yes, two hours of French on a Wednesday evening after a long day at work can be a little daunting, but the time flies by once you’re in the classroom. If you are thinking of joining an evening course, I would highly recommend committing to a couple of hours a week of self-study outside of the lessons.  It is very important to reinforce the information you take on in class.

I am now enrolled on the Beginner 2 course with the same teacher and I am greatly enjoying it. Although I struggle with certain aspects (such as gender – seriously, why is a table a woman…?!), I really feel like I am making great progress. So much so, I will be trying my luck communicating with others in Paris next month, where I have enrolled on a week-long intensive course.

Merci beaucoup, Cactus!

Laura is Corporate Client Liaison Officer at Cactus and she took a 10-week French evening course in Brighton. Cactus offers part-time and evening language courses in a variety of languages and at various levels across the UK and the US.

German course in Brighton: Cactus staff review

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Language Course Advisor Alessia Ungari tells us how her German evening course has given her a real passion for the language

Since I was at primary school I’ve been learning foreign languages and over the years I’ve become a more and more dedicated learner. When I heard that Cactus was offering me the chance to take a language course I was really excited. I speak Italian and Spanish fluently and wasn’t sure whether to brush up my French knowledge or to start with a completely new language. I decided to enrol on a German course, although I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to learn a word.

Why German then? Mainly because my relatives live in Switzerland and I’m used to hearing the language since I was a child. But I never learned more than a few words and expressions, such as “Danke”, “Auf Wiedersehen” and “Kartoffeln”. I wanted to surprise them, and the idea of being able to communicate with my little cousins made me very eager to begin lessons.

One of the advantages of Cactus courses: the timetable. As I’m a full time employee, I couldn’t really find time during the week, but studying one evening per week can definitely fit into everyone’s schedule.

The day of the first lesson arrived and I left my work place a bit anxious to meet my classmates and teacher. All I knew about my course was that the tutor was a native German speaker and that there were 6 students in total, including me. All students were in the room at 7pm and the teacher had already prepared the materials necessary to start. For the first hour we had to fill in a questionnaire and played a warm-up game to get to know each other and very soon the atmosphere became pleasant and enjoyable. The lesson went smoothly; Rebecca, our tutor, showed us the lesson plan and asked more about our preferences and expectations from the course. It was a nice feeling to know that we all could express our personal needs and that Rebecca was flexible regarding the course content.

After the first session passed I felt much more relaxed, and despite my tiredness, I was already looking forward to the second lesson.

I couldn’t expect to understand everything at beginner level, but I was really surprised to notice my quick progress over the 10 weeks. My understanding improved, I was much more confident with my speaking and I enjoyed the variety of activities and the great interaction with the group.

In short, my overall experience has been awesome and I haven’t stopped learning since: I’m currently attending the German Elementary 1 programme and all the concerns and the anxiety I had on first day have gone.

My Wednesdays are now exciting and I can’t wait to do my homework during the break to get prepared for the next lesson!

Alessia took a 10-week German evening course in Brighton. Cactus runs evening and part-time courses in a variety of languages and at many levels in locations across the UK and in the US.

The best of Europe: our top locations for 2014

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There are few places that outshine Europe when it comes to the sheer variety of culture, languages and food on offer in such a compact space.

And for those looking for a break in the early months of the year, this is exactly what you need – warm, welcoming cafés, museums chock-full of treasures and galleries brimming with cutting edge art, all ready to work their charm regardless of the weather outside. Then as we creep towards spring these same European cities come into their own, offering up delightful mazes of cobbled streets, large green spaces and riverside or beachside walks to help us make the most of the longer days.

Look no further if you need inspiration for a European break over the coming months: here are our top 4 recommendations for the best language learning destinations in Europe.

1. Valencia, Spain

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Spain’s third largest city sits on the Mediterranean coast and is blessed with a glorious climate, fun-loving inhabitants, delicious food (being the birthplace of paella) and an innate ability to throw a good party. Time your Spanish language holiday in March and you’ll be utterly mesmerised by the explosive Las Fallas festival, one of the world’s most impressive pyrotechnic displays accompanied in all its glory by sculptures, traditions, music and satire. This year’s dates are March 15th-19th. Outside Las Fallas, make sure you don’t miss a walk through the labyrinthine cobbled streets of El Barrio del Carmen, not just to admire the imposing medieval buildings of this charming district, but because by night this becomes one of the liveliest places in the city to go out. Frequented by tourists and students alike, this is the perfect place to practise your Spanish over a plate of tapas! Valencia also boasts a long list of must-sees (including Veles i Vents by the port and the Cuidad de las Artes y las Ciencias), a flourishing restaurant scene, lively nightlife, great shops and, of course, miles of golden beach. Little wonder this is fast becoming our hot new place to learn Spanish.

Spanish courses in Valencia

2. Berlin, Germany

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It’s over twenty years already since the fall of the Wall, and although Berlin will always have huge historical and political significance, this is a city that has unreservedly thrown itself into its future with barely a backwards glance. What we have now is an energetic, modern and edgy capital city that is the epitome of ‘cool’. Whatever you want, you have it. An open-air museum with famous landmarks at every turn, world class museums and galleries, striking street art, insatiable nightlife, hip flea markets, food of all ethnicities…in Berlin you can do what you want and, above all, be who you want. The great thing is you can take a German course in Berlin for as little as a week and this will give you a brilliant insight into this fascinating city – even more so if you stay with a local family. This is our most popular place to learn German and you’d be hard pushed to find somewhere more exciting to learn a language.

German courses in Berlin

3. Aix-en-Provence, France

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Ohh, we sigh, as we think of Aix. As the days start to stretch out, thoughts of a languid provençal lifestyle trigger something deep in our psyche, the part that yearns to pluck sun-warmed fruit from a local market, sip steaming coffee from an umbrella-decked ‘terrasse’ and wander carefree down cobbled streets and leafy boulevards. Artists such as Cézanne have long been known to settle in Aix for its stunning landscapes and light. Linguists have long been attracted here as you cannot help but want to learn French in Aix’s inspiring surroundings. Find out what all the fuss is about with our French & Discover Provence Course, the perfect opportunity to learn the language and meet like-minded people whilst enjoying all that the city has to offer. Or why not indulge your passion for French cuisine with a French & Provençal Cooking course (next start date 17th March) or enjoy the finer things in life with our French & Wine Tasting course. Santé!

French courses in Aix-en-Provence

4. Paris, France

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Paris has, and always will be, a magical city. It’s a chic European capital often chosen as a weekend escape, but scratch the surface and you’ll find it’s so much more than the picture-postcard Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe we all know and love. Bohemian Montmartre, avant-garde Montparnasse, the high-brow Latin Quarter…each arrondissement tells a different story, local bistros and hidden bookshops as essential to Paris’ personality as the high heels and short skirts of the Moulin Rouge. Year after year Paris is one of our most popular locations to learn French, partly thanks to our vast range of French courses across three schools which ensures we have the right course for you. From intensive mini-group courses to Saturday courses and A Level Revision courses (next start date February half term), studying French in its iconic capital city has never been so easy.

French courses in Paris

Cactus offers language courses for all ages and levels in locations across the world.

Las Fallas: not your average fireworks display

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If you’ve not heard of Las Fallas, let its meaning of ‘the fires’ in Valencian give you a clue. True to its name, Las Fallas is a spectacular pyrotechnic festival like none you have seen before; it is one of Spain’s most famous and certainly one of the world’s most unique. Taking place in the usually calm city of Valencia each March, be warned that this is a fiesta for those who like noise and little sleep.

Dates to note for this year are 15th – 19th March 2014, which mark five wild days of fireworks, fires, explosions, parades and, in true Spanish style, partying long into the night. All this is held in honour of St Joseph, which marks Father’s Day in Spain, and in celebration of the arrival of Spring as the long days of Winter draw to a close. Paella contests and beauty pageants even find their way into the celebrations.

Centre stage at Las Fallas, however, are the ninots, giant papier-mâché figures that are paraded through the streets and left to tower up to 20 feet over the crowds for the duration of the festival. Often exaggerated and ranging from playful to grotesque, these figures satirise political figures, bullfighters and all kinds of tv, sports and film personalities, who appear in colourful caricature across the city for all to see – at least, that is, until the final night.

Having been pain-stakingly created in the months leading up to the festival, the climax of Las Fallas is the burning of these monumental effigies in one fell swoop at the very end. Known as the cremà, this ritual sees some 300 firemen on standby and ambulances ready to whisk the faint-hearted off to hospital – a dramatic but necessary precaution, given the extent and exuberance of the fires.

It is a similar situation with the mascleta, which takes place in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento at 2pm each day of the festival. In this event different neighbourhoods of Valencia compete for the most impressive display of fireworks, firecrackers and rockets, culminating in the terremoto (literally, earthquake), as everything explodes simultaneously. It may come as no surprise that pregnant women are unable to attend the mascleta, for even regular healthy people have been known to succumb to the ‘heat’ of it all.

Valencians wouldn’t have it any other way though. This is their festival and they are rightly proud of it. Each year they channel energy, life and extravagance into Las Fallas, resulting in a 5-day-long fireworks party matched by no other. You could take your ear plugs, but then that would ruin half the fun…

Cactus offers Spanish courses in Valencia and in other locations across Spain.

Language course review: a week of German tuition before Christmas

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Ernesto Forner, Head of Corporate Language Training at Cactus, tells us about his German course in Berlin in December

This was probably the best time to spend a week of German immersion in Berlin, enjoying the celebrated Christmas markets around the city and all the winter delicacies like Lebkuchen, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts or Stollen to name a few. The school is strategically situated in the district of Prenzlauer Berg, just walking distance from Mitte, the centre of Berlin, and very near different means of transportation. When walking around the streets near the school, one gets the feeling of a vibrant young city which is orderly and designed to be lived in and enjoyed. Bicycles, trams, pedestrians and cars all share a very well defined structure in a harmonious and respectful approach. It is far from the madness, chaos and overcrowding that can be experienced in the bigger European cities of Moscow, London, Paris or Madrid. Berlin is a city made for its citizens: it is ample, green, quiet and harmonious.

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(Image: Ernesto’s favourite shop in Berlin – Ritter Sport chocolate!)

When you walk into the school, you also get a feeling of efficiency and harmony. The staff are very friendly, helpful and pro-active and I always felt I knew what I needed to do and be. The building is modern and quite original, with an inner courtyard (a common and famous type of construction in Berlin) consisting of gardens and residential buildings for students. The rooms are also modern, big and clean, creating the perfect environment for learning the language.

I took a 20 hour general language course. I had 2 hours of learning with a teacher, a 30 minute break and another 2 hours or learning with a different teacher. This exposed us to two different teaching styles, accents and approaches to language learning. I was placed in a level a bit higher than what my level really is, and even though this took me out of my comfort zone, I must say I learnt probably more than if I had been placed at my right level. Once you reach Intermediate level, it is easy to follow the language being taught regardless of whether you are placed higher than where you really belong. It’s a way to push yourself harder and it is important not to lose self-confidence when realising everyone else in the classroom has a better level than you.

After 5 full days of lessons, I was impressed at how much I had learnt and I would have loved to have been able to continue learning such an amazing language in such a great school with such fantastic teachers. Unfortunately, it was time to leave, but I will most definitely be going back to the amazing city Berlin is, and make sure I continue with my learning experience at that same school.

Ernesto took a German course in Berlin with Cactus. Cactus offers German courses in other locations across Germany, as well as part-time and evening courses in German in the UK and the US.

Cactus Teacher Awards, Jan-March 2014: WIN a course & reward your teacher

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The Teacher Awards are your chance to let everyone know how great your teacher is!

The Cactus Teacher Awards were launched in January 2013 and run each term of our evening and part-time language courses in the UK and the US.

If your teacher wins, he or she will receive a £100 or $100 voucher prize and you will receive a FREE 10-week evening language course!

The winning teacher will also receive a certificate stating that he or she has won the Cactus Teachers Award.

teacher_awards_certificate

To enter your teacher in the Teacher Awards, simply visit and ‘like’ the Cactus Language Teacher Awards page on Facebook and submit your comments on:

“My teacher deserves to be nominated because…”

Terms and Conditions Apply.

The closing date is Friday 28th March 2014.

Good luck! We look forward to receiving your comments and to awarding the course and prize money at the end of term!

Cactus Worldwide Monthly Blog: January 2014

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ollie_small

Hello, and welcome to the first 2014 edition of the Cactus Worldwide blog! My name is Ollie, and I am the Product Manager for our agency – Cactus Worldwide. Our team of experienced course advisors are here every day to discuss options with you and help set up a varied range of unique language-learning experiences, all over the globe, throughout the year, for all of our wonderful students.

This month’s blog is aimed at letting you know about some of the best special offers and early bird discounts that are available to you this January, including some big birthdays and the birthday deals available to help celebrate them! If you have any questions about anything you read here, please feel free to contact me directly via oliver.donovan@cactusworldwide.com and I’d be happy to help.

1.       Thinking about taking a German course in beautiful Vienna this summer? Call or e-mail us to book any adult course for between June 1st and August 31st this year, and we’ll give you a discount of £100! Valid until the end of January.

German Courses in Vienna with Actilingua and Cactus Language

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For anybody out there thinking about taking some time out to learn German abroad this summer, this is a deal well worth checking out! Our partners in Vienna, Actilingua, are offering a discount of £100 off any adult course booked during January for the summer months of June, July and August – and all you have to do is call or e-mail Cactus quoting ‘Early Bird’ and we can apply the discount to your enrolment straight away.

vienna_school2

The must-visit city of Vienna has a historic cultural tradition and the Actilingua Academy can help you learn not only the local language, but also find out much more about Viennese literature, famous Austrian painters, the local film scene, and the fascinating architecture of what is perhaps also the safest and cleanest city in Europe.

vienna_residence

To make things easier, the school also own and operate their very own clean and modern student residence, which consists of 20 tidy en-suite apartments in a renovated Art Nouveau building just 10 minutes away from the school on foot (photo above and below). The residence fills up quickly, so it’s worth book early to avoid disappointment. Click here for more info.

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2.       Happy 25th Birthday to IH Lacunza in San Sebastian, Spain! Call or e-mail us and say ‘Happy Birthday Lacunza!’ before booking, and we’ll discount £30 off the total price – on all bookings until the end of April.

Spanish in San Sebastian, Spain, with IH Lacunza and Cactus Language

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Perhaps one of the most significant birthdays being celebrated amongst our colleagues in Europe this year is that of IH Lacunza in San Sebastian on the northern coast of Spain, who are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their inception in 1989! To celebrate, they themselves are giving away the presents, by offering Cactus students an immediate discount of £30 off the course price just for wishing them a ‘Happy Birthday’ – and then a further surprise birthday present on arrival at the school, which could be a free dinner, tour, excursion, or ticket for a local activity! The offer is valid on all courses starting in 2014, and is valid on all bookings until the end of April – so plenty of time to get organised.

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Lacunza is just 5 minutes’ walk from the centre of San Sebastian, a town less well-known than some of its bigger counterparts, but growing in popularity for its sandy beaches, surf, nightlife and a generally cool, laid-back and authentically Spanish atmosphere. The school itself offers everything expected of a large and successful language school, including 10 bright air-conditioned classrooms and an excellent range of study facilities. All Spanish teachers are native speakers and work alongside school staff to help students get the most out of their stay in San Sebastian via the social programme, and encouraging students to join their intercambio programme, to meet other students and local people! Lacunza’s success is in their experience, and they are well worth joining for a party this year if you find a spare week or two. More info here!

3.       And finally, Happy 20th Birthday to Intercultura in Heredia, Costa Rica! To celebrate, we can offer our students a discount of $50USD per week – again, just call or e-mail us to say ‘Happy Birthday Intercultura!’ and we can discount your booking for you (Heredia only, not valid for courses on Samara Beach).

Spanish in Heredia, Costa Rica, with Intercultura and Cactus Language

costa_rica_heredia

Throughout 2014, our partners in Costa Rica are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of their school in Heredia, in the capital area, close to San Jose. To share the celebrations with their students, they are offering a discount on all adult group courses of $50USD (approx. £32/37EUR) per week regardless of how long you stay in the town. Better still, this offer is valid all year long! You can call or e-mail us anytime, and as long as your course starts in 2014, the discount is all yours.

costa_rica

Why visit Intercultura in Heredia? From the second floor roof terrace of the school you can see the mountains to the north and the valley to the south; from the balcony you can see the colonial church spires and the palm trees of the central park, 4 blocks away, where bright green parakeets gather at sunset, singing so loud you can sometimes hear them all the way from the school! Nearby you also have Barva volcano, the Ojo de Agua natural spring pools, and the La Paz waterfall gardens, where you can hike down a path right next to 6 giant waterfalls. Enough said? Click here for more info.

We hope this selection has been of interest, and may have given you some ideas for some bargain study options for the year ahead. Any Qs at all, please feel free to contact me directly and I’d be happy to help.

Happy planning 😉

Best Wishes,

Ollie

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Oliver Donovan

Agency Product Manager

Email: oliver.donovan@cactusworldwide.com