The best way to learn English quickly is to be immersed into both the langauge AND culture. Regular trips around the region are a great way to do this and you will be sharing the experience with other teenagers from around the world in a safe and supervised environment.

The programme is intensive with 21 hours in the class and then afternoons and weekend visits to cities around East Anglia. On top of this, students will go to evening social activities and afternoon sports, drama and art sessions to involve everyone – all in English!

Summer Teenager English & Activities Overview

A Great Cultural Experience

Become a Host

Do you have a spare bedroom available?  

Would you like to share your language and culture with others while also learning about theirs?  

If so, why not consider hosting an international student?

Download BLS Host Information here

Our students come from all over the world and are of all ages.  Whilst studying at the school, they stay with carefully selected local families.  Staying with a host family gives them an unparalleled opportunity to fully dive into a new culture and the English language.

The experience is rewarding for both students and hosts alike.  Students benefit enormously from chatting in English in a relaxed, natural situation, practising over dinner what they have learnt in class.  For hosts, the benefits include:

• the chance to meet students from all over the world
• experiencing different cultures and traditions
• the opportunity to share your traditions and cultures
• swap culinary ideas!
• the safety of accommodating an overseas student via a reputable school, rather than accommodating lodgers or tenants
• an active, experienced and caring team of people to rely on for advice and support
• flexibility of having short or long term students to fit in with your personal situation

We are committed to the highest standards of student care and support.  Students stay from as little as one week up to a year in some cases, and our accommodation team takes great care in matching suitable students and hosts.

We always like to hear from new prospective host families – further information is available here, or please call Sally on 01284 765511 or email hosting@blsenglish.co.uk with any questions.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Derick 6.0 overall score
Chen 6.5 overall score

Derick (Hong Kong) and Chen (China) recently sat their academic IELTS after studying on the Intensive 23 hour programme. The programme consisted of Intensive General English in the mornings between 9.30 and 12.30 followed by intensive exam skills from 1.30 to 3.45. Daily homework and Friday IELTS test papers allowed Derick and Chen to quickly develop the skills necessary to perform well in the IELTS. The two BLS English students worked incredibly hard and were producing a lot of extra work for their teachers to check and comment on.

Scores of 6.0 and 6.5 will enable these two students to apply for courses at Colleges and Universities in the UK.

Everyone at BLS English wishes them very success in the future.

13 Spanish students and their teacher, Eva Martínez, visited Bury from 20 – 27 January. The students, aged between 12 and 15, were from the IES Manuel Gutierrez Aragon school in Torrelavega in Santander, northern Spain. Their arrival was slightly later than planned because of all the snow. Many flights that day were cancelled, but fortunately theirs was still able to land. The students found our weather quite a shock and it was the first time they had seen so much snow!

The students were here to improve their English. For most, this was their first trip to the UK and their first opportunity to try speaking English in the real world. They had English lessons each day at the BLS Junior School on Springfield Road, with afternoon projects, visits to the town centre gathering information about Bury to present on their return to Spain. They explored the town – buying food and asking questions to stall holders at the Bury Market as well as having a traditional roast at the Wetherspoon’s Corn Exchange, visiting Bury Bowl and encountering squirrels for the first time in the Abbey Gardens!

Read more…

Closed Group Visit

English UK East is the newest regional association and the official launch was held at BLS English, Bury St Edmunds.

The group represents members from over several counties in the East of England, including Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Northamptonshire.

The association has around 20 members so far, including a university, FE colleges, a boarding school and private language schools including specialists in young learners.

The group intends to create a promotional website and run Fam trips to the region, as well as other marketing activities.

Why study in the English UK East region?

Association chair John Barnett says:

“There’s great historical and cultural interest in this area, with beautiful towns and cities including Bury St Edmunds, Norwich, Colchester and Ely. It’s a very non-industrialised area of the country which does set it apart. There’s a slightly different community here and students have a good opportunity to become part of it. It’s easier for them to make contact with local clubs and native speakers.”

To find out more about English UK East visit www.englishukeast.com.

“The school exceeds expectations for the quality of the curriculum,teaching and learners’ achievements.

Arrangements for student welfare, including health and safety, exceed expectations.”

BLS English was inspected by ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) between 13th and 15th November 2012. The school, its students, teachers and hosts are all very proud of the results and believe it will drive the school forward. It is certainly an integral part of the school development plan.

ISI Report November 2012 BLS English

Join BLS English to meet interesting people from all over the world

All BLS students become members of the BLS Social Club as soon as they step into the school. At BLS English we believe in creating an atmosphere that encourages and includes all students from all backgrounds and all countries. This is the philosophy of the BLS Social Club. When students meet interesting people and are socialising on a regular basis, they forget that they are actually improving their English at the same time. Learning is not just happening in the class rooms, but also in the evenings and at the weekends too.

BLS Social Club October Events

• Conversation club
• Film Night
• Pizza Evening
• Football competition
• London Trip
• Pub visits
• International Food Evening
• Japanese culture and language lesson
• Knitting club
• Paintballing
• Bowling

BLS Social Club: International Food Evening

Great nationality mix

Courses on offer

Our students choose from Intensive or General English. Which one is right for you? BLS recommends that if you want to make serious progress you need to be in the class morning and afternoon. This also gives you the opportunity to explore the different exams on offer and perhaps work towards the IELTS.

Accommodation

Learning is from inside and outside the classroom. Immersion is the key. Host or residential accommodation will provide different ways of exploring the language and most importantly giving you the confidence to speak, listen and learn.

Social Programme

We will offer you a fun and varied activity programme during the year. Dinners, parties, barbeques, theatre, music and dance are just some of the ways we will help you meet other students and real British people. Bury St Edmunds is a friendly town where people do want to speak to you and learn about you and your country.

Varied activities to speak, listen and learn English

BLS Football Team league table

Other activities this week included a barbeque, cinema, a visit to Ely Cathedral, tennis and hovercrafting

Watch video here

“Friends are one of the most important things in life. They are always there if you need help for example when you are in trouble or you need advice. It doesn’t matter where they are from, which religion they have or which lifestyle they prefer. The main thing is that you can rely on them, also in the middle of the night.

I was so glad to make international and German friends at the great mixed classes at BLS after my arrival in the UK.  I enjoyed to live at Springfield House (nice rooms and comfortable beds!) and to join the lessons. They were a lot of fun and humorous and the biscuits / drink in the break were a pleasure. If you were in need for help- just ask! All at BLS love questions!

The school gives its students also a wide choice of curricular activities. For example, we had great fun to improve our English while learning more about someone else’s lifestyle, their eating habits or the Asian tee at an evening event at Springfield House or while meeting up for a Rugby game. They also plan trips to other towns and it was a shame that I was always prevented. You are never bored at BLS if you had a look on the black board!

After my short time at BLS I can say that it is a wonderful school for improving your English, meeting different people and enjoying your life. I would love to come back again to finish my course but my time is too rare.”

Johanna (Germany)

Make friends, speak lots of English and stay central

Springfield House is a beautiful Victorian villa situated in a leafy road in the centre of the town 15 minutes from the school. Spring Lane Cottage is a separate smaller house in the grounds.  The residence was a three star guesthouse and provides a high standard of accommodation for students studying at BLS English who prefer living with other students on a self-catering accommodation basis.  We have a good mix of nationalities. You will be welcomed on arrival and supported by our welfare team to help you settle in and resolve any problems you may have whilst staying in the houses.

Fees

Low season £105 – £185 per week

Summer season (17 June to 31 August 2013) £130 – £225 per week

Second or third person occupancy £60 supplement per extra person per week

Click here for Springfield House room plan and rates

Facilities

Springfield House and Spring Lane Cottage are fully furnished and comprise 16 bedrooms.  All the bedrooms in Springfield House, and two bedrooms in Spring Lane Cottage have their own WC and shower facilites.  There are communal kitchens / dining areas in each house.  In addition there are large private gardens and car parking for up to 9 cars. The residence has individually controlled central heating in all rooms. There is a wide range of room sizes to fit the budget of the student.  Every room has its own hand-basin.  Six bedrooms in the house, and two bedrooms in the cottage have en-suite facilities.  There is WI-FI internet access throughout the building for students bringing their own laptops. (Students may also use the WI-FI in the school). Both kitchens are equipped with fridge / freezer, microwave oven, electric oven, toaster, kettle, washing machine (clothes), tumble-dryer, iron /ironing board and vacuum cleaner. The cottage has a dishwasher.  In addition there is a clothes-line in the courtyard. There is a TV and DVD in both the house and the cottage.

Here are the details of last year’s programme which illustrate that BLS English is the ideal destination for your summer course in 2012.

Summer Stats 2011

Programme Options:

General English 15 for Adults
Intensive English 23 for Adults

Nationalities 30
Average stay in weeks 4
Average Age 26.5

Students from the following coutries:

BANGLADESH
BRAZIL
CHINA
COLOMBIA
CROATIA
ESTONIA
FRANCE
FRANCE
GERMANY
IRAQ
ITALY
ITALY
JAPAN
KOREA
LITHUANIA
OMAN
POLAND
PORTUGAL
QATAR
RUSSIA
SAUDI
SENGAL
SPAIN
SPAIN
SWITZERLAND
TAIWAN
THAILAND
TURKEY
UAE
UKRAINE

BLS philosophy is to provide group courses where students feel like individuals. We can arrange group courses to meet your needs. Courses can include host family accommodation, sports or cultural activities and excursions at any time of the year.

Registration procedure for group booking:

• Send us an email to tell us you are interested
• We issue a group course questionnaire
• Complete and return the questionnaire
• We will provide a quotation and proposal
• Send deposit and registration form
• Make final payment
• Receive host accommodation details

• English for Business
• Medical English
• Sales and Marketing
• Specific Exam requirements
• ESP

Courses are available throughout the year and students may start on any Monday for a minimum of one week, though we advise at least two weeks.

Classes are designed to develop your’ command of English in the four skills of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing and are available at your personal level, with special consideration of your individual needs and goals.

Through techniques such as presentations, role-play and discussions as well as a solid core of language work and grammar, students develop the ability to communicate more effectively in everyday life and professional activity.

Individual English Code: NI 15

This course is for 15 hours per week (5 mornings or 5 afternoons). The rest of your time you will spend studying extra projects or visiting local places of interest such as Norwich Castle or one of the many colleges in Cambridge. This is ideal if you want to combine study with sightseeing, family or business.

Contact BLS office for a quote

Individual English PLUS: Code NEP 25

This is our most popular course with students who want a period of concentrated study combined with some free time to explore the town and surrounding countryside. This course is for 25 hours per week (mornings and afternoons).

Contact BLS office for a quote

Individual English MAX: Code: NEM 30

This is our super-strength total immersion course of 30 hours (mornings and afternoons) for students who want the maximum teacher/student contact time. Ideal for a short intensive stay.
Contact BLS office for a quote

The Cambridge FCE is a well regarded University of Cambridge Examination (CEFR B2). Students may start on any Monday during term time for a recommended period of 4-10 weeks. The Cambridge FCE Exam can be arranged throughout the year – usually 6-8 times per month. BLS English is also an authorised University of Cambridge Examination Centre. We will use our experience to help you succeed.

View our Fees

The syllabus will include:

Reading Skills

Understanding semi-authentic texts of various kinds (informative and general interest) and deducing meaning through gist, detail and text structure.

Writing Skills

Learning the skills of writing letters (formal and informal), articles, reports and emails for a given purpose covering a range of topics.

Listening Skills

Learning the skills of listening for detail and gist in order to understand meaning. You will practise by listening to short extracts and longer monologues. The syllabus includes:

Chats, conversations, discussions, interviews, quizzes, radio plays, transactions, talks, reports, stories, lectures, speeches, public announcements etc.

Speaking Skills

Interacting in conversational English in a variety of contexts; demonstrating this through appropriate control of grammar and vocabulary; discourse management, pronunciation and interactive communication. The syllabus includes:

Introductions, descriptions, comparisons, agreeing, disagreeing, discussing, problem-solving and questioning.

Grammar Skills

• present tense review: simple and continuous
• past simple, continuos and perfect
• future tenses: will, going to and present continuous
• present perfect: simple and continuous (for/since)
• modal verbs: can, could, needn’t etc.
• relative clauses: relative and non-relative (which, that etc.)
• conditionals, zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd
• ‘make’ versus ‘do’
• phrasal verbs

• prepositional phrases
• gerunds and infinitives
• word formation: verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs

Courses are available throughout the year and students may start on any Monday during term time for a minimum of two weeks.

Click here for course fees

The syllabus will include the following:

Reading Skills

Understanding notices and signs that are seen in everyday situations. Reading short authentic texts to understand the structures of the language. Scanning factual materials to pick out key ideas and to disregard unneccessary information quickly. Reading texts of an emotional nature and to understand the key themes and the attitudes of the writer.

Writing Skills

Giving information, reporting events and describing objects and people. Reacting to situations and expressing feelings of hope, regret, pleasure etc. Being able to write simple sentences in different ways.

Listening Skills

Understanding and responding to announcements and dialogues. Extracting information from conversations (time, date etc.) and to learning to appreciate the attitudes of the speakers.

Speaking Skills

Asking and understanding questions whilst making appropriate responses and speaking freely to express emotions and reactions.

Grammar Skills

• modal verbs
• present simple and continuous
• past simple and continuous
• present perfect / past perfect
• future – will, going to and present continuous
• imperatives
• gerunds and infintives
• causative – have/get
• phrasal verbs
• prepositions
• conditionals – zero, 1st and 2nd
• reported speech
• question forms – what why where when how which etc.
• nouns pronouns determiners (a/the)
• adjectives (colour, size, shape nationality etc.)
• comparatives
• adverbs

Maximum number of students per class: 15

Part-time courses are for those people too busy with family or work commitments. These courses are designed to meet your English needs in the minimum time possible. We understand you are busy with day to day demands and can help you to achieve a certificate or just improve your general communication skills.

Click here for fees

Choose your Course Option:

• General English
• Cambridge FCE or PET
• IELTS – academic English for university entrance, citizenship or work in the UK
• Choose 1, 2, 3, or 4 sessions per week 6.00-7.30pm Monday Evenings or 1.30 – 3.45pm Mondays – Thursdays

 Courses available all year and you can start any week.

Small group intensive tuition is the key to successful preparation. The morning General English lessons will develop your Listening and Speaking, expand your range of Vocabulary and improve your Reading and Writing skills. Then in the afternoons you will also practise examination questions and learn examination strategies. We will teach you the essential exam techniques in the shortest time and help to maximise your IELTS score.

General and Intensive English Fees 2013

• Start any week
• Intensive tuition
• Polish up grammar
• Specialist IELTS teacher
• More than 15 years experience teaching the exam
• Fast progress
• We arrange the exam
• Personal study plan

BLS English Exam Results

International English Language Testing System (IELTS):

6% overall 4.0         19% overall 4.0      19% overall 4.5
44% overall 5.5        6% overall 6.5         6% overall 7.0

Total 16 candidates in 2012
Find out more 

Adult Intensive English Course (All year including Summer)

General English Timetable

15 hours per week (5 mornings + 1 afternoon)
Course Code G

9.30am-12.30pm Monday to Friday
Break 11.00-11.15
Progress Test Friday 1.30-2.45pm

Intensive English Timetable

23 hours per week (5 mornings + 5 afternoons)
Course Code S

9.30am-12.30pm Monday to Friday
Break 11.00-11.15
Monday to Thursday1.30-3.45pm
Break 2.30-2.45pm
Progress Test Friday 1.30-2.45pm

Click for Fees

17th June to 31st August 2013 start any Monday – minimum 2 weeks

Maximum 15 students per class Average 8 per class

Mixed Nationality Classes

Last summer we had more than 40 different nationalities on our courses. This is a fantastic course for adults serious about getting a high IELTS score. This intensive IELTS programme is for students wanting to attend university in the UK this year or next year. Small group intensive tuition is the key to successful preparation. The morning lessons will improve and polish your Grammar and Vocabulary as well as your communcation skills. The afternoons wil target skills such as reading and writing. You will also practise examination questions and learn examination strategies. We will teach you the essential exam techniques in the shortest time and maximise your IELTS score. Students will also be able to join the social and cultural programme and live with an English host.

View Adult Summer Fees 2013

• Start any week
• Intensive tuition
• Polish up grammar
• Specialist IELTS teacher
• Experience of teaching for exams since 1995
• Fast progress
• We arrange the exam
• Personal study plan

Intensive English with host accommodation, excursions, sports and evening social activities.

13-17 years
17th June to 31st August 2013
(Minimum 2 weeks start any Monday)
Maximum 15 students per class
Students arrive on Sunday and leave on Saturday

A Safe Environment

Bury St Edmunds is not only beautiful, it is also very safe. This provides the perfect environment to encourage students to rapidly learn about both the British language and culture. Students become part of a friendly English home and will quickly develop their English communication skills.

New for Summer 2013

University of Cambridge Examination syllabus. For those higher level students, you will learn about this CEFR B2 level exam. You could sit the exam while in the UK or when you return home.

English Course Fees Include -

• Carefully inspected native host accommodation
• Easy walk to school from accommodation or host will drive and collect
• Care and support from Welfare Officer
• Full level testing on arrival
• 21 hours of lessons per week
• University of Cambridge FCE syllabus
• A weekly half day excursion to towns and cities around Bury St Edmunds, e.g. Ipswich, Cambridge and Newmarket
• Saturday full day excursions with activity staff and teachers
• 2 evening activities – supervised social programme with BLS staff
• Sports every week – modern local leisure centre
• All meals – 3 per day (packed lunches Mon – Sat)
• Course certificate and student stationery
• Use of internet – with host family or wireless available

Click here: Summer Teenager English & Activities 2013 Fees

Homestay

We strongly believe that our homestay families are an important part of our success. They are carefully selected and checked for safety and for their understanding of international students. The welfare officer and principal regularly checks that each and every student is happy throughout the course.

Airport Transfer

Chauffeured airport meet and greet can be arranged but is not included in the fee. We can also help to check students in for the return – see details.

Nationalities

BLS English encourages a mix of nationalities in the classes. We encourage only English to be spoken in class. Students of the same nationality are, wherever possible, not together.

Junior Syllabus

The focus is on grammar and communication. We cover all of the main skills of Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening using the most modern resources. Our aim is to significantly boost every student’s English in a short time ready for school or university in September.

Evening Social Programme

There are 2 evening activities arranged and supervised by BLS staff each week of the summer programme. These include Teenager Discos, British Food Evening, Summer Games, Bowling, Film Evening, Laser Quest plus much more. The idea is that our juniors are given the opportunity to practise their English in a safe, multi-cultural atmosphere.

Typical Timetables

Summer Junior English Timetable

Summer Junior English Timetable

NB: Homework is set every day and tests are given every week.

Intensive Courses with Residential or Host Accommodation

16th June to 31st August 2013 – 2 weeks minimum (Arrive any Sunday and start any Monday)

Most Popular Adult Summer Course

Intensive English, Social and Excursion Course (Course Code “A”)

• 23 hours per week
• IELTS option
• Evening social programme – theatre, music concerts, dinners, parties and more.
• Saturday full day excursions – London, Cambridge, Norwich and more…
• Great International mix of students
• Choose between host full board or self-catering residential accommodation
  

View Adult Summer Fees 2013

BLS Summer courses are designed for adults wanting a serious hard-working mixed nationality atmosphere. Choose from a minimum of 2 weeks and learn intensive English for university or your career.

The course focuses on grammar and communication while covering all the main skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. You will be in small groups of maximum 15 students and your native teachers will be full of passion and there to motivate you to achieve your goals.

Your course can be taken with residential or host accommodation – standard or executive (private bathroom). Also while here you will be able to choose excursions and activities. Some social events are free for adults.

If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud.

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

English Pronunciation by G. Nolst Trenité