Ben has made all the partitions ready to paint

here in rooms 4 and 5, the smallest rooms.

Michael has painted some of the partitions

here in rooms 1 and 2, the biggest rooms.

Mark has finished the kitchen

which is now ready to use.

Tim has boxed a lot of the electricity and sound cables and fitted many sockets

which takes a lot of consultation with Vicky.

This is starting to look like the loveliest language school in the world!

The post Some of the finishing work at unit 7 appeared first on Modern Language School.

Tim, Mark and Ben are working hard this week to get premises ready for the Modern Language School.

Mark has been fitting the sink and the cupboards for the kitchen area.

Ben is finishing some of the partitions in a classroom.

The post Our artisans are hard at work appeared first on Modern Language School.

Courses start w/c 10th September.

Enrol now to receive 15% discount off our annual fee!

I’m looking forward to teaching these classes in our wonderful new school! Unit 7 Queens Square Business Park Honley, Huddersfield Road, HD9 6QZ. Remember if you can’t find the course you are looking for or the right day/time, then please contact me and I’ll see what i can do.

Vicky Addy

italian@modernlanguageschool.co.uk

07958789808

The post Stop Press! New Italian Courses! appeared first on Modern Language School.

The MLS move is getting closer: The new school is taking shape as work on our new premises is going apace.
The 3 larger classrooms are partitioned and the 2 smaller ones partly so. Partitions built by Ben and his team at Full Circle Ceilings & Interiors.
Tim, the electrician from J.T. Repairs & Maintenance, and Vicky are discussing cables for the projectors and speakers in the smaller rooms.

The post The MLS move appeared first on Modern Language School.

We took a leap of faith in 2012 with renting at Meltham Mills, but we’ve had 6 wonderful years here. Also, we have been very proud to offer a space dedicated to language learning to over 300 students in the region.

However, as the numbers of our students is growing and we have introduced another 3 languages, our original 3 rooms has seriously been restricting our scope. We even lost potential Japanese students because we simply had no room available at 7pm. Some of our classes are quite “cosy” in the smallest room.

Finally, after an extensive search, we have found the new premises we were looking for: Unit 7, at Queen’s Square Business Park, Honley, will house 5 classrooms, a kitchenette and a breakout area. Without stairs!

At present, the unit is a vast space with 2 toilet and shower cubicles. Extensive work is starting this week to be ready by the September term and will include:

• partition walls creating 5 classrooms
• suspended ceilings for better acoustics and heat retention
• overhauling the electric circuits and lighting
• bringing in a gas supply
• installing a central heating system
• installing ventilation
• fitting new flooring throughout
• fitting a kitchenette and creating a breakout area.

Our team really believe in the school and love our work with our fantastic students.

We are convinced the new premises will transform the Modern Language School from a great place to learn to the great place to learn in the region.

We will keep you posted with progress reports of the renovations and look forward to welcoming you all to the new school in September.

The post Up and up without stairs at our new premises! appeared first on Modern Language School.

The post Le piazze italiane appeared first on Modern Language School.

Italian stuffed chicken

Why limit your Italian cuisine to just pizza and pasta? Why not take the tried and tested Italian combination of cheese and tomato and fuse it with succulent chicken breasts to create this mouth-watering dish? The delicious blend of herbs tomato and garlic will have you getting that Mediterranean summer feeling even in the coldest Yorkshire winters. The best part is it can be on your plate in under 25 minutes!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp chopped olives or sundried tomatoes

1 garlic clove, crushed

½ tsp dried mixed herbs

200g tub full-fat soft cheese

4 plump boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 ripe tomato, sliced

olive oil, for drizzling

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Method

1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Beat the olives or sundried tomatoes, garlic and almost all the herbs into the cheese, then season. Cut a slit along the side of each chicken breast, then use your knife to open it out into a pocket.
2. Stuff each breast with a quarter of the cheese mix, then press to close. Lift onto a greased baking tray. Season the top of the chicken, then overlap tomato slices over the top of each piece of chicken. Season, then scatter with the remaining herbs. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Roast for 20 mins until the chicken is golden around the edges and the tomatoes look a little shrivelled. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9593/italian-stuffed-chicken

The post Savours of languages – Italy appeared first on Modern Language School.

Nicholas Hellen

April 23 2017, 12:01am, The Sunday Times

Learning a second language can delay the onset of some kinds of dementia by six years, according to new research.

Even five hours a week of learning can build up a “cognitive reserve” counteracting the effects of brain disease and boosting function in all age groups.

Thomas Bak, a neuroscientist at Edinburgh University, found that people benefited by attempting a second language even if they were far from fluent.

It defers the onset of a type of frontotemporal dementia by six years, Alzheimer’s by 3.2 years and stroke-related dementia by 3.7 years. “Compared with anything that drugs can do, these are very long periods,” he said.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: “We are told to eat five-a-day to keep our bodies healthy and now we know that spending five hours a week learning a language in later life helps to keep our brains healthy, too.”

Mary Hobson, 90, who learnt Russian aged 56 so she could read War and Peace in the original, has won awards for her translations. She said: “It has transformed my life.”

An interesting article. If you would like to learn a language locally check out our courses at www.modernlanguageschool.co.uk we teach Italian, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Japanese so plenty of choice!

The post Learn a language to delay dementia appeared first on Modern Language School.

Nel primo giorno della vacanza abbiamo fatto una passeggiata sotto le mura molto famose di Lucca e abbiamo esplorato la città. Abbiamo anche visitato una chiesa e abbiamo ascoltato il sacerdote e le canzoni cantate dalle suore.

lunedì 7 aprile

Lunedi c’era la prima lezione alla scuola di Lucca. Abbiamo avuto una prova orale, che è stata un po’ stressante. Nella nostra classe ci sono sette studenti.

martedì 8 aprile

Oggi abbiamo salito duecento scalini della torre Guinigi. Poi abbiamo guardato un film in italiano e infine abbiamo bevuto due aperitivi in Piazza San Michele. Ci siamo divertite molto.

mercoledì 9 aprile

Oggi siamo andate a Viareggio in treno. Abbiamo fatto una passeggiata sul lungomare. Poi abbiamo visitato un museo – il Palazzo Mansi – e abbiamo ammirato tanti quadri.

giovedì 10 aprile

Questo pomeriggio Carole ha bevuto un litro di birra! Guardate questa foto! Alle tre abbiamo incontrato le nostre amiche e abbiamo fatto un’altra passeggiata lungo il fiume. Questa sera andiamo ascoltato un concerto di Puccini e Verdi nella chiesa vecchia.

venerdì 11 aprile

Oggi è stato il nostro ultimo giorno. Dopo la lezione siamo andate con il gruppo alla vigna “Fattoria Fubbiano”. Qui abbiamo assaggiato i vini, abbiamo mangiato una cena davvero abbondante al ristorante dal nostro amico Michele.

Ci siamo diverite molto a Lucca, un posto meraviglioso! Il corso è stato  bello e abbiamo imparato molto.

The post Una breve presentazione della nostra settimana in Italia – Carole Kay & Catherine Morris appeared first on Modern Language School.

At my first ever lesson (which was nearing the end of the second term so it was much more advanced than I initially thought), I felt so out of my depth that I almost wasn’t going to return, however my concerns were eased by Vicky (and the other students!) who assured me I would be fine if I put the effort in to learn- and started thinking in Ital

In those 7 months, Vicky committed herself to really helping me when I needed it- whether it was during the weekly class or during our 1-1 lessons. She would plan activities, which would put me in situations as a local living in Italy. Considering I started with no knowledge of the language, by the time I moved the following year, I spoke better Italian than my husband!

Her advice and support before, during and even after my move to Milan prepared me immensely. I knew she was just a message away if I had any questions or if I generally wanted a chat about living here.

After I moved, I put the Italian I learnt into practice as well as enrolling onto a course through the Commune. The teaching was nowhere near the same standard as at the Modern Language School; the teachers at the Commune speak very minimal (in some cases no) English meaning they couldn’t answer any questions or explain any of the theory, so I continued lessons with Vicky through Skype. She was a great support and was able to answer all my questions and prepare me for the final exam.

However, I still struggled to find a job (many companies will not consider an applicant unless they can speak fluent/professional capacity Italian) so I decided to continue studying. After a suggestion from Vicky, I approached Scuola Leonardo da Vinci and after taking the entry exam, I enrolled onto the A3 course for one month, 5 days a week. The intensity and variety of the lessons were great and I met many people who were in a similar situation as myself. The teachers were qualified to speak fluent English, which was a huge support.

Fast forward 10 months and I’m now working in a company where we speak both English and Italian. Being in an environment where everyone is speaking Italian is what helped me the most. I realised even if I am unable to speak perfectly (which is most of the time), if I try to communicate and go for it, they will understand what I’m saying- and luckily Italians are so welcoming and understanding!

The post My language journey from Huddersfield to Milan appeared first on Modern Language School.