Deutsch | English

My name is Damian and I’m from Lucerne, Switzerland. After finishing highschool I couldn’t start to study immediately as every Swiss guy has to do either military or civil service. So, for this gap year before my studies I wanted to travel, learn some more English and get a better feeling for the language considering the university lessons that lay ahead.

Even though we were taught quite a lot of English in school and my level was already quite high, I still felt like my speaking skills were not that good. As I knew some people in New Zealand and was curious about this country, I researched some language schools and finally chose Languages International as it seemed very friendly.

Damian posing for a family photo with his Auckland host family and the family dog

After my brother and I arrived Auckland airport, we were picked up and brought to our host families. I was warmly welcomed in my new family and immediately began to feel in good hands. My host mom helped me to organise the bus card as we lived in a suburb and the city centre was about half an hour away by bus.

On the first day of school, Nick, the Director of Studies, figured out our English level and the right class for us. Besides those small tests we got to know the school and its facilities.

The following day we started to attend class and we were positively surprised by the vibes in class. The lessons really teach you something, but at the same time, are quite diverse and interesting. But a huge part of this nice class ambience were the teachers. We could really feel their motivation and that they love their job. That made school different from other language schools. Beyond that, they don’t just teach you normal school English but more lifelike and practice-oriented English in order to sound like native speakers.

During the whole stay we met lots of interesting people from so many countries and cultures and made friends from all over the world, it was simply amazing. I highly recommend choosing Languages International if you want to learn English in Auckland, the experience will be unique. I definitely don’t regret it; in fact, I had the best time of my life in NZ and was truly sad when I had to go home.