Student reviews

Amanda

“My experience in CIE was amazing and unforgettable. Firstly, because all the teachers are fantastic, which definitely makes the class even better. I passed 2 weeks without talking, because I was really afraid to make a mistake. All the teachers tried to help me, making me talk more in the class and outside of the class, and now, I’m not afraid anymore. After you lost that fear of making a mistake, you can see how everything changes and how much you improve your English. Secondly, after all that help, they become your family in Oxford. I think that this closeness with the teachers and students is what makes CIE so special. Thirdly, but no less important, the classes are incredible. You have the chance to improve your English skills, speaking, writing, listening and reading. Certainly, all the classes and projects that I made helped me to improve even more. And to finish, I only have good things to say, I love CIE and I would love to come back. This two months were the best months I ever had.”

 Claudia

“Hello I’m Claudia,
I’ve been living in Oxford for 2 and a half years and have been studying the whole time at CIE.
I started with a general class the first few months. This was an excellent opportunity to improve my language skills and to learn more about the English culture. Studying in a foreign country was a wonderful experience.
I’m grateful to all the fantastic teachers at CIE. It was such a friendly welcome when I started here and I absolutely enjoyed the familiar atmosphere at this international language school.
My specially thanks goes to Irma, who always organised my private lessons and her priceless support with absolutely gorgeous topics – and Hisashi (who never complained) for writing every month a new bill with a new calculation. I’m really pleased.
For me, the team of CIE was a huge help and I liked the central location in the heart of the city. Oxford has a vibrant city live, dozens of historic buildings and also an international cuisine.
The friendly environment at CIE – attending various activities (managed by Amy)- meeting people from all over the world– this all will make the time at CIE unforgettable.
I have to go back to Germany, but I’m looking forward to working for CIE as an agent! Let’s fingers crossed that I will come back soon!”

Pedro

“Imagine a pretty city with a student atmosphere, now add to it English and not too big and not too small. So this description fits with Oxford, one of the best cities to learn English around the world.
Now I am going to talk about my experience in Oxford. The truth is that I have learnt a lot in two months here. I remember my first day in Oxford perfectly. My favourite spot in Oxford is called Christchurch meadow and it is situated in front of the college, which has the same name. I usually go to walk or run because it is a very beautiful place and it’s close.”

Maria

“During my visit in Oxford in March I did a one week course at CIE.
I used the opportunity to improve my English knowledge while I was a guest at my daughter who is a student in Oxford.

CIE had a friendly and positive atmosphere and the team of teachers was very nice. The one-to-one lessons in the afternoon were my most helpful and successful experience. This was a very good training to speak more fluently and confidently.
It was a pleasure for me to go to class every morning to meet other students and young people from the whole world.

When I have another opportunity I would like to do a course again.”

Julio 

“Before come here I was a little bit afraid, British people are know to be moody! However, when I arrived at CIE I had found a group of very kind and friendly people!
Classes are great and I am sure I could improve my skills in English. Also, lots of different activities helped me to feel as I was in my own country.
I just want to thank to CIE for all the opportunities I had here and for all the new friends I had met.
Thank you CIE!!!

Ehtibar 

During 8 weeks in my CIE life I have made lots of friends. Teachers is so kind to students. You feel that all Staff is your friend with you.

In this College student do not feel sad or bored during education time. Teachers well trained for IELTS and English learning.

Every Wednesdays Students going to pubs and having conversation with other students and teachers and having fun. Fridays is The most exciting day In CIE playing games and having fun after classes.

College providing with students charity programs and trying to raise a fund for Child Brain Injury and I think this small and nice College did very well on raisin funds. If my friends will ask me to prefer the college for English I will tell them CIE. Finally I have changed 6-7 colleges during 4 years and Its on of my best colleges in UK.

 Atsumi 

“I have studied nearly 6 months at CIE. When I started studying English here I only understood little grammar, reading and writing. I couldn’t understand what teachers and other student said to me and also I didn’t speak at all. However my English skill has been improving little by little.
Now, I understand in my class what teachers and classmates say. Even if I can’t understand something my classmates help me. CIE has a lot of wonderful teachers and staff. I have learnt many things from them.
Normally we are a small school but in the summer we have many students who come from all over the world so if you want to make friends I recommend that you come here in the summer.
I think studying abroad changes my life. I have learnt lots of things and expanded my possibilities. Before I came here I was so nervous if I come or not, but I have really enjoyed my life in Oxford so if I have an opportunity again, I will absolutely come here once more.
My favourite spot in Oxford is the Oxford canal which you can see in the middle of the city centre and outside of Oxford.
I punted this canal, there are ducks, swans and also there are many trees along the bank. This place makes me relax so I like it a lot.”

Turki 

I am Turki from Saudi Arabia and I have been a student at CIE for more than 8 months.
I started in intermediate level and by the end of the course I reached the advanced level.
It was fun to be here and a great experience with my qualified teachers.
Everything was perfect such as classes, friends, accommodation, activities and the whole staff ( just ask and they will go out of their ways to help).
I recommend this school to my friends and for my job to send more students here.
The student number in the classes is perfect and they try to mix different nationalities with each other, which is great to get the maximum learning benefits

When I wanted to change my host family they helped me immediately and found a new host family in one day with my special requirements.
Everything, like bus passes, maps, transfers, accommodation, application forms, insurance, etc., was arranged for me before my arrival to school.

Gleb 

“The Accommodation Officer of CIE always helps student to choose the most favourable place for living. Also at the school student can meet the highly qualified teachers from different countries who speak English fluently. They are working as a team and always help the student master the material he does not understand. Also CIE provides summer program for students in large groups to bring together students from different countries and to allow them to feel comfortable.

I can say that CIE is one of the cheapest among others colleges, which makes it more accessible for customers. In my opinion, CIE is a great place to study at, as it is located in the heart of Oxford, letting you quickly reach it. As for my wishes, I would recommend to find larger premises,in the rest I was very happy to study at this wonderful college and I wish to it further prosperity.

As for me, I really liked to study at CIE with John, Luke and other members of staff.”

Ismat 

“Life in Oxford has been funny. I Study 5 hours a day in CIE. I have different classmates. I am learning English in CIE. I live in Kennington in a homestay, it is a very comfortable. I like Oxford city centre, it’s beautiful. Last summer I was in Oxford studying English, all day we went to lessons, after we did some activities like cream tea, punting and cooking cookies. I love Oxford’s summer! My favourite spot in Oxford is the Bodleian Library. I visited it last summer. It is very beautiful!”

Adriana 

“I realize that my English have been improving day by day. I can read more and faster and talk fluently.
Everyday I’ve been learning something new and one of the most excitating thing about the school is that all of the teachers told me that I’m really better than before and they really give me all support to learn more and with good knowledge.
I’ve known different people from different countries and I really could enjoy this kind of experience at school. I really like all the teachers who have been teaching me. All of them have a special place in my heart.
If I had more time, I would have stay here for months. If I had known CIE before, I would have been here for a long time more.” – Adriana, Brazil

Jean 

“I stay in CIE for 5 months. I have had lots of fun. Every week, we have activity such as play football, ice skating, bowling etc. There are funny teachers. They will tell jokes. We can be friends.”

Dario 

“CIE is very nice, and has a relaxed atmosphere with nice students. The Oxford nightlife is also good.”

Bruno 

“I’ve been at CIE for seven months and I’ve improved my English a lot so I’m very satisfied. I believe CIE is going to improve my qualifications because at CIE there are good staff and it is really organised so CIE is successful.”

Yi 

“I’ve been at CIE for 2 weeks. Both teachers and students here are very nice. I love the way the teachers teach and the atmosphere in class. CIE is like a big family. I love CIE very much.”

Mohammed 

“I studied at CIE for 6 months last year and I really feel that my English is much better now.”

Osama 

“Meeting people from around the world was such a great experience!”

Clayton 

“It’s a really good location. My teachers at CIE keep my motivation very high!”

Bsher 

“I have been studying at CIE for 7 months and my English has improved a lot. The teachers here are nice and I have a good time with the other students.”

Sandra 

“I came to CIE to take an intensive course because I need to speak English for my job. When I arrived for my first school day, I was very surprised. It was in August 2011 and there were a lot of young students from everywhere in the world! After a few hours, it wasn’t a problem anymore: I found people very interesting and I particularly appreciated to learn things of others countries during the week I stayed. The courses were funny and friendly. Teachers were very nice and approachable. It was so good that I wanted to return ASAP, and I did 2 months later for 2 weeks. I chose a mixed course: General English in the morning and private courses in the afternoon. I advise this kind of course for people who want to improve their English more quickly and I advise that period (out of summer) for adults because there are less young people. We can be closer to teachers and we can focus on our difficulties. I’m very convinced by this college and its staff so I decided to send my son, who is 17, for the next summer… I hope he’ll get the same pleasure as me!”

Lourdes 

“CIE is a very friendly school but serious. I learned a lot of English in a short period of time. Thank you teachers, I am going back to Spain very happy.”

Rosario 

“Our times at CIE were very exciting, I remember the moments with our teachers and friends, when we played ping pong and when we watched a movie completely in English, I remember all the times spent at CIE and I think that if I could return I would not think twice about it. I want to say goodbye all the teachers that helped me to improve my English. Bye bye.”

Yu 

“The teaching at CIE is good, because I had many opportunities to talk with other people in class unlike Japanese education”

Giacomo 

“What about CIE? In CIE I found a very friendly environment, the teachers are dynamic, the other students are funny and every week somebody organises a new event. The last week we walked along the Oxford canal, the week before the students brought their own country’s food”

Feng 

“CIE (College Of International Education) is a really nice school, it’s located in centre of Oxford. It’s not big but quite cozy.
Every morning, I get up and have breakfast,then I go to CIE by bus. I always get to CIE when half pass eight, the class start at 9 o’clock.
Maybe you will think I have 30 minutes free, nothing to do,must be bored.Actually,I quite enjoy these times,because there is a nice kitchen in CIE.
The school offers some drinks,and you can make everything you want to eat or drink there. I always make a cup of coffee,this is the perfect start for the day.
Coming to the classes, there are three lessons in the morning, and 2 lessons in afternoon. The classes is over at 3:45 PM.
I really enjoy the classes.Why? Because teachers is quite nice and really interesting. You can’t feel the time lapse,You will feel why I started just now but it’s over now,so fast. Why I said that because you will forgot the time during the class.By the way, all of teachers are so friendly.
Sometimes we have classes outside.Maybe in street or a church and so on, the teachers can teach us English everywhere. We study English by playing games, by watching films, by finding out new words in outside. I feel my English make a obvious progress. So I am really happy, going to CIE is my best choice.
After school, sometimes school have some activities, for example go to the park, go to the pub and football games and so on.
I really enjoy these days in CIE,these will be my nice memory,so I want to thanks for every teacher.
So come to CIE, tasting the pleasure come from studying English.”

Linke 

“I want to improve my English for preparing my high school life in UK. So, I came to Oxford CIE for the summer school. I enjoy the lessons here and the class is funny helpful as well. We study in a big classroom. When you look out of the window you can see the beautiful building and many flowers and trees. The teacher is friendly and patient. come here and you will have a happy summer”

Other Testimonials

“We applied to CIE by recommendation of English teacher who already visited this college with the group of young students. This summer a small group of our students of different age (from 9 to 29) spent 3 weeks in Oxford studying in CIE. We started preparing a study tour programme 5 months before arrival. We wanted to make this trip as rich with various activities as possible, so the group had many interesting excursions in and out of Oxford. At first we had many worries and questions about living, host families, and asked endless questions regarding accommodation, excursions, arrival and etc. But everything was organized excellent and even better then we could expect, everything – host families, accommodation, meals, the college and its friendly teachers, excursions and various activities. And of course convenient location at the centre of the city is also one of the merits. Should we have a possibility to come to the Great Britain again for studying, our company would apply to CIE again without any doubts, because I know that I can entirely entrust children to CIE and be sure that everything will be well-organised. And I would definitely recommend CIE for their friendly attitude, prompt replies and their willingness to help.” – Katherine

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“My 16-year old daughter is still nostalgic about the time spent at CIE in Oxford last summer. She enjoyed literally every minute of it – the school staff, friendly and helpful, the interesting and involving classes in an international environment, the week-end trips to Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick Castle, Winchester and Stonehenge. As a mother, I appreciated the personal approach we were given: we received exhaustive information about the course, all my enquiries were promptly answered. I felt I was entrusting my daughter to people who cared and were responsible. She came back with a nice British accent, photos of her teachers and classmates and a dream to go back one day.” – Julia

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“What about CIE? In CIE I found a very friendly environment, the teachers are dynamic, the other students are funny and every week somebody organises a new event. The last week we walked along the Oxford canal, the week before the students brought their own country’s food.” – Giacomo

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“I feel very good in CIE. I think the class in CIE is very funny. I like a teacher called Jon. I never distracted in his class. I think he is a successful teacher. When I’m in Chinese class, I always distracted because the class in China is very boring. Also I like the air in Oxford. It’s very fresh and the view in Oxford is very good. And I have a lot of new friends. They’re funny, friendly. I like Oxford.” – Fan

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“I have been staying at CIE for 2 weeks. I could get along very fast. Every Monday, some new friends come to each class. Everyone is so friendly and really nice and we always have a great time in class.” – Kaz

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“I have been staying at CIE in one month and two weeks. My classmate always make a lot of laughs. It can make me feel happy every day. I stayed at home and watched TV last weekend. It may sound boring but it was very relaxing. But this weekend, I plan to go to London because I want to go shopping and buy some clothes for summer.” – Elena

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“At CIE I studied grammar and how to pronounce words. I enjoy exchanging opinions during class. Thanks to this course I can pronounce words and make sentences. All the teachers are very kind and the way they teach is very easy to understand.” – Risa

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“The teaching at CIE is good, because I had many opportunities to talk with other people in class unlike Japanese education.” – Yu

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“In this week I learned a lot of interesting things. The teachers were lovely and the subjects they chose were very useful for my knowledge.The most interesting part for me was learning phonetics. Also, learning grammar was one of my favourite things because I want to learn how to speak without making embarrassing mistakes.” – Maria

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“We have been studying lots of things at CIE like pronunciation, vocabulary, listening and speaking. The teacher has been nice. I think she worries about us, the students, and wants us to learn as much as possible. An important thing for me is that I finished the day tired, with a lot of things in my head. I think that I need the weekend to study!” – Jorge

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“I’ve been living abroad for about 16 years, so I could call myself a native speaker of the English language. My objective was to go back to the basics and revise my English here in Oxford because I was taught American and Australian English.” – Hirotaka

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“Our teacher and lessons were very beneficial. We’ve done some grammar titles like present perfect and present continuous. The speaking lessons were enjoyable. They were the best of the lessons. Furthermore, our teacher is talented in terms of teaching and communications. In short, I am happy with my class.” – Kutay

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“I liked the courses with Sophie very much. The atmosphere was very nice. It was fun, but we also learned a lot of useful things. I like that we learn in class very much because I don’t have time to study at home.So, I would warmly recommend CIE’s courses.” – Carmen

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“My favourite part of the course is reading and conversation. The class was very exciting, I have fun every day and the teacher is very good.” – Mizuki

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“This Spring, I’m going to go back to my country. Before going back there, I could spent a really good time here. The first day, I was really nervous. But now I’m not. Because I could make friends here. In the break time, I told with them about each country, Oxford, CIE … etc. I could really enjoy those times.
If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have made friends who lives all over the world, and I couldn’t have known lots of things about them. For example there’re a people who doesn’t like carnival in Brazil. I can buy lots of things really cheap price in Libya. The time in CIE s an unforgettable and pleasant experience for me. When I go back to my country, I want to keep in contact with my friends.
If I found foreign people in my country, I’ll speak to them and I want to be friends with them.” – Mizuho

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“CIE (College Of International Eduaction) is a really nice school, it’s located in centre of Oxford. It’s not big but quite cozy.
Every morning, I get up and have breakfast,then I go to CIE by bus. I always get to CIE when half pass eight, the class start at 9 o’clock.
Maybe you will think I have 30 minutes free, nothing to do,must be bored.Actually,I quite enjoy these times,because there is a nice kitchen in CIE.
The school  offers some drinks,and you can make everything you want to eat or drink there. I always make a cup of coffee,this is the perfect start for the day.
Coming to the classes, there are three lessons in the morning, and 2 lessons in afternoon. The classes is over at 3:45 PM.
I really enjoy the classes.Why? Because teachers is quite nice and really interesting. You can’t feel the time lapse,You will feel why I started just now but it’s over now,so fast. Why I said that because you will forgot the time during the class.By the way, all of teachers are so friendly.
Sometimes we have classes outside.Maybe in street or a church and so on, the teachers can teach us English everywhere. We study English by playing games, by watching films, by finding out new words in outside. I feel my English make a obvious progress. So I am really happy, going to CIE is my best choice.
After school, sometimes school have some activities, for example go to the park, go to the pub and football games and so on.
I really enjoy these days in CIE,these will be my nice memory,so I want to thanks for every teacher.
So come to CIE, tasting the pleasure come from studying English.” – Feng

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“I’m studying English in Oxford for a week and a half. I met new people, saw new places. Oxford is wonderful town with great architecture. I have a group with one Chinese, one Saudi and 2 Spanish students. Teachers in CIE are so friendly and handsome. After school I went with my friends to shops or other places in Oxford. I travelled in Bath, Stonehenge and London. We were in places where Harry Potter was filmed. My host mother is very lovely and polite. I live with students from Japan and Pakistan.” Greg

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“Hello I’m Nasser I’m from Saudi Arabia. I’m very happy in CIE because the teachers are very lovely teachers. I came to Oxford 3 times and 2 years ago I had many good teachers and this year I have new good and lovely teachers and CIE give me a good host family they are from India but they speak English well. I have a very happy life in Oxford and in CIE but this is the last year for me in Oxford. And then I will go to study in America next year.
I will miss CIE and Oxford. I have good friends in my class from China and Spain and Russia.” – Nasser

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“I want to improve my English for preparing my high school life in UK. So, I came to Oxford CIE for the summer school. I enjoy the lessons here and the class is funny helpful as well. We study in a big classroom. When you look out of the window you can see the beautiful building and many flowers and trees. The teacher is friendly and patient. come here and you will have a happy summer.” – Linke

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“Oxford is a very cool city but has one big problem: all the shops close very early. I love my classes because in those 15 hours I never speak Italian because I am the only one and it is good for speak English. The teachers are fantastic they are very funny and prepared and they help a lot us. In the end I want to say that I have energy myself and this is one experience that I recommend it everyone wants to study English and enjoy himself.” – Lorenzo

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“I have been in Oxford for ten days during these days we had classes with a foreigner and visited Oxford. I think Oxford is a small old town.
In the weekdays we come to a college to have three classes every morning, the most wonderful thing is that I can study with three Russian, two Spanish and an Italian person. We can talk a lot in the class and chat after classes. The teachers are funny and very easy-going. I think they are a little crazy but I like it because they are the foreigners.” – Frank

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“I really enjoy afternoon activities! It’s always something interesting or funny. We don’t only visit museums we also go ice-skating or having picnics. Great way to make friends from different countries.
Oxford is a great place to study English. Here are lots of colleges, museums and other beautiful places. I like parks in Oxford. Park is the best place to spend your free time.
P.S. teachers are wonderful! They make every topic understandable. We’re playing games and having fun every lesson.” – Darya

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“I have been in CIE for one year. In my opinion, CIE is a good language school actuaaly and I
like it so much. I have met lots of friends of different nationalities and learnt about diverse cultures. The atomosphere in class is so nice.
Because the students in class are not too many, the teacher can notice everyone’s condition. I remember when I met one Arabic guy and Japanese
girl in the same class this year, we talked a lot in class and we sometimes went outside of the class together as well.We became good friends now and I
do not want to lose them. Especially I met lots of Japanese people that they have a passionate character, and I get on with the Japanese girl very well
untill now. I think she is a person who I talk well and I will never forget her. The life in CIE is so happy, I mean students always joke and play with
each other and you can learn English in a relaxing enviornment . If you want to learn English , CIE is a good choice I think.” – Shu-Wei

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“The first contact I had with CIE was by email. I enquired about private lessons and I received all the information in a very short time.
The first impressions I had of it were confirmed when I had my lessons.
CIE is a friendly, small college. The atmosphere is relaxing and everyone is cheerful and helpful. I feel at ease. The lessons are interesting and the teachers are encouraging.
I will recommend to everyone who wants to study English in Oxford.” – Francesca

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“The school had two floors: the ground floor was reserved for Hisashi Chida, the CIE’s finance manager and his team instead the first floor was for students. The first floor had five classrooms, one bathroom, a common room and a little kitchen. the first day we arrived the teachers divided our group in two classes so we principally used only two classrooms.
The kitchen was very important for the students in general because in our break-time we could prepare and drink a cup of tea or a coffee or some water. For the Italian students, especially for our group, the kitchen was fundamental. The food in England was not very good so the kitchen sometimes became a place where we could prepare special Italian sandwiches with Italian prosciutto and sometimes mozzarella, both bought in Tesco supermarket in Oxford city centre.
There was free wifi available, too. The common room sometimes became a place where we did many games with our teachers, games like mafia or telephone wire. the teachers also organized a little “party” in which all CIE’s students played many games. After this party the teachers gave us a certificate of completion. Then, in the afternoon, we did a presentation of a general topic to improve our speaking abilities for the exam. It was the last day at CIE school.
The English lessons were very different from Italian lessons. We did not study the “boring” English literature but we did some exercises to improve our speaking, listening, writing and reading abilities. We also learned many things having fun. In fact, The teachers made up some games so that we could remember a lot of things. We saw one film and listened to many songs. The film we saw was called: “UP”. We learned many things using concept maps, too. Before leaving the school, the teachers suggested three methods to remember what we learned and continue to improve our English abilities:

– listening to English songs

– watching TV in English with English subtitles

– talking with English tourists.

I will always remember one thing, maybe the most important I learned: “All the world was there: black, white, red and yellow”.” – Francesco

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“Life in Oxford has been interesting. My name is Hanke, now I’m studying in Oxford, I study language such as reading, writing, listening and speaking. I think it’s very useful and important.
I like lots of activities in Oxford I like playing basketball, skating and watching films.
In Oxford I have many friends. They come from different countries. They are kind and friendly, we always chat with each other. I like them very much.
Oxford city centre is very large and has lots of shops and colleges. There are many students staying here. If you want to travel you can go by bus to London or Bicester. I love Oxford very much.” – Hanke