Some testimonials

I am happy to have the opportunity to speak about my homestay experience in London at Stefan’s house.
Having decided that I really needed to polish my English which had gone rusty over the years, I searched the Internet to find a suitable yet not too expensive solution.
What I needed was an intensive one-to-one course of English covering all aspects (fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, writing, comprehension of written and spoken texts) with a special focus on speaking and pronunciation
I had first thought of looking for a cheap accommodation in an English family where I could practise English. Later I decided that I needed proper private tuition supplied by a trained teacher. It was then that I found Stefan’s website and watched with interest the video he has put on line. After a few mails I understood that Stefan could be the right teacher for me. And I was right.
Living with Stefan and Cecile for three weeks has been very pleasant and fruitful from a linguistic point of view and from a personal standpoint. Stefan had organised everything in detail. Classes were from Monday to Thursday, 5 hours per day and free Friday to allow me to go to London.
During the classes Stefan and I went through a lot of material regarding all aspects of language learning that he had prepared beforehand. I had quite a lot of homework to do but I found everything, nearly everything, very useful and interesting.
I stayed at Stefan and Cecile’s house for three weeks but we had one-to-one intensive lessons only for the first two weeks. The third week I had more time to myself to relax and enjoy the family life and the city of London.
In addition to providing intensive tuition over the first two weeks Stefan organised several occasions for me to meet people and practice my English: we visited a friend and his family, he had friends coming over for a drink, we went to church and met people there, we helped at a soup kitchen and he brought me along when he went to teach English at a small school he founded and direct.
Stefan also arranged further experiences such as visiting an area of London together with one of his friends and going for a walk in the countryside followed by a nice and traditional lunch at a local pub that I liked very much.
Everyday life with Stefan and Cecile was so enjoyable that I would have liked to stay longer. Food at home was healthy, fresh and good. Cecile’s cuisine was varied and she prepared also traditional dishes. As I had said that I eat a lot of fruit, I always had a bowl full of fruit at my disposal.
I had a cosy room with everything I needed and the fact of having a wire-less internet connection available at all times allowed me to stay in contact with my work connections and do also a little bit of work.
I could not ask for more, could I?

Alessandra Boninsegni

I have been to Stefan’s home in April 2011. It was a good experience. I had a professional English teacher and also a very good person. I spent two weeks in his home and in that time my level of English grew up very fast. I spoke with him and with their family and friends all time that I have been there. 

We made lesson sit in a comfortable armchair. We used a big LCD screen for exercises. We tryed to speak on the telephone with home’s cordless. The lessons were very interesting and not boring. 

During the free time sometime I went with him to visit his friends or make a tour in the park.

The room was comfortable with private bathroom. 

Thanks Stefan.

Stefano Adorisio

Dear Stefan,

Here are my promised words for your homepage. If you are happy with it, feel free to put it in the net.

All the best and thanks again for your hospitality.

Margareta

I recommend Stefan Anstis for everyone who wants to learn the english
language with being involved in the british way of life.

During my stay I really felt like a member of the family. Stefan and his
wife Cecile created a very comfortable atmosphere for me. For example, the smoothies and the excellent food. Regarding my studies I was really surprised how modern and interested Stefan works with the technical achievements of today. It was very helpful for my studies that I was introduced to friends of the family. This gave me the opportunity to use my new vocabulary.

I had so much fun even being 46 at age and still beginner with the english language. Stefan is a great teacher for every level.

Margareta Weisbrod

My first time in London: simply unforgettable! Thanks to Stefan and Cecile.
Before going I was a little scared: I had never spoken English before.
I knew about Stefan’s English courses from his internet site. But all that I’ve lived there during ten days was much better than that I could expect from this journey: before everything, very intensive and concentred English courses. Each day Stefan taught me about all the aspects of English language: grammar, vocabulary, speaking, listening and understanding.
What an elegant and clear British pronunciation he has!
He is a very scrupulous teacher, just the person I was looking for.
I’ve worked very hard and under his guide I jumped two levels of my English knowledge and I wrote a presentation of a project about the Balcony Scene of Shakespeare!!
I could also make experience thanks to him of many other aspects of English life like playing scrabble and having picnic in a nice garden of an old English College in the countryside of London.
I felt very well in their house thanks also to the kindness of Cecile, his wife and to her very tasty lunches. An Italian word to the wise!

Silvana Torto

Hello Stefan

Things have been a bit tougher these days and I have been working very hard day and night.

It’s a pity that I haven’t had enough time to study English and everything.

Maybe now is the time for work.

I wrote some blog-type memoir which you requested. I fear that it may be different that you expect.

 I will have completed the two thirds of my life by this June, so my mortal days will be numbered day by day.

I decided to draw a line here so that I could have a new start for the rest of my life.

I had no hesitation to come to London for this cause because London has long rested in my heart, since I spent my younger days here 35 years ago.

I just spent two weeks with my homestay teacher’s family. One reason was that I wanted to brush up my English.

Another reason was that I wanted to talk with English speaking people so that I could broaden my rather narrow way of thinking.  I had been so used to Japanese way in everything which is so comfortable and easy. However the world

has become so globalized nowadays that narrow way of thinking might be considered to be a selfish, one sided stance as an individual person.

The lessons were very different ones that I had expected in Japan. The main point was featured on pronunciation, rhythm and grammar. Nevertheless, as I was involved deeply with them, I began to realize how important these points were to express my ideas and feelings correctly. I learned that the basic idea of communication should be clear and precise. This gave me a great impetus for studying communication skills. In speaking, we tend to use as many words as possible in order to make ourselves understood.

However, watching carefully, one cannot but discover that there are so many useless words in it.

The lessons covered the translation of Romeo and Juliet into modern English and the presentation of the history and development of English language. These subjects were quite tough to tackle with. Nevertheless I was enthralled by them and studied very hard to reach the essence of the subjects. Shakespeare’s English and Old English enlightened my English world. It was really a precious enlightenment that I have got interested in English language further more. 

During these hard works, I was very happy to be given many exciting opportunities.  I had several occasions to talk with my teacher’s acquaintances, to go on a walk in beautiful English country side, to spend an Easter Sunday with the family and so on.

All these experiencies are quite precious and unforgettable for me. Although my duration of stay was only two weeks, I felt as if I had been to an “Treasure Island.” Each experience is still shining brightly in my memory today.

 With these trasures, I think I can make a fresh new start for the rest of my life with a dream and a hope.

Thank you very much.

                                                                                             Kenji Hasegawa

My name is Karolina Krebs and I was a student at the Acton college where I was studying English classes ESOL. One of my teachers was Stefan, which is very nice person with the positive and calm attitude. I have really enjoyed my classes with him as a teacher because he has got a wide knowledge and good idea how to improve his pupil’s language skills. He can be funny and serious at the same time, his classes have never been boring to me. I remember him as a patient teacher who always had time for me. His passion of teaching is unbelievable and this is something I admire him for. I also think it was this passion that made me learn and try to prepare myself to exams extremely well, which, in fact, I did. I remember being very confident and relaxed at that time, so I would like to praise my favourite teacher – Stefan, because if it wasn’t for him…

Karolina Krebs

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