Monday, September 29, 2008

LTM Star Work Experience Provider 2008

TWIN is proud to be the LTM Star Work Experience Provider 2008!

We offer Internships, Graduate Training Programme, International Work Trials and Paid Work Experience within the Hospitality industry.

Karola Rajoo
Placement Officer

Monday, September 22, 2008

My London Experience

My name is Mara and I am an intern at Twin. I have been here for 3 weeks now and I truly love it so far.

My first impressions of London have actually been pretty good; warm weather, sunshine…however I learned fast that the English weather is unpredictable and you should not leave your house without an umbrella. But whether the weather is good or not there are lots things to see in and around London. Although I have been to London several times before, every time I go there I learn about new things and new places. This is one of the main reasons why I chose London as my destination for my internship. On the one hand you have all the sightseeing places you have heard about, like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Madame Tussauds etc. Whereas on the other hand there are always different festivals or events you can join. For example I went to the “Colourscape Music Festival” in Clapham with some friends last weekend and it was so much fun. It was in a huge inflatable structure with almost 100 brightly coloured chambers of variable shapes arranged in a labyrinth with different music everywhere. And if you are lucky you get the chance to go to some secret hotspots only urban Londoners know about.

Beside the rush of this pulsing city, you can still find a lot of places to relax. Just enter one of the big parks in central London and from one minute to the other you will forget that there are millions of people and cars around you and you get the impression of being somewhere in the country.
Talking of which, the English countryside is also absolutely worth a visit. Kent, Brighton and other nice towns and areas are not far away and easy to reach by national train. You can spend either just a day there or a whole weekend.

But I am not just here to explore London, the main reason I am here is for my internship and I can honestly say I am absolutely happy with my placement. All my colleagues are really nice and though they are working a lot there is always time for some joking, which keeps the working atmosphere really good. My tasks are split half in the Work UK sector and half in the marketing sector, and because I have a lot different things to do it never get bored. Everybody is also very supporting and they give me the feeling of being not just an intern but part of their team. Another good point is that the Twin English School in London is only 10 min to travel by bus from my host family’s house. The English School in London offers English Courses for foreign students to learn English.
By the way they are really nice people and because they had over 50 students staying at there home over the years they are used to the situation and very open minded about people from all over the world.
They also told me wrong about thinking that everybody in the UK only eats fish and chips or beans on toast. You can get food from all over the world in London.
I could go on talking and talking but its weekend time and there are still so many things I have not seen yet…
All in all I am absolutely enjoying my internship and it is definitively going to be one of the best times of my life.

By Mara Anastassopoulos, a German Intern at Twin

A Night Out In London


My name is Martin and I am from Argentina but now I live in Catford. I arrived in London one month ago. The reason for my trip is that I want to study and work in England, so I applied to join one of Twin Group's English Schools in London. I prefer to speak and to know people of different countries to improve my English, so I thought that going to an English Course in London.

I went to the Salsa Bar with my friends from my English School in London last week. The adventure started at 7 o’clock in Lewisham, where the Twin English School in London is situated. We had only one rule this night but very important. We couldn’t arrive at the Salsa Bar after 9 o’clock because if we did that we would have had to pay the entrance fee. So we waited next to “Little Ben”, the Clock Tower in Lewisham that is compared to Big Ben, for my friends. My friends arrived soon after I did, so we went to go to the Salsa Bar by bus at 7.30pm.

Our situation was very complicated because we didn’t know which bus we had to take after the first bus. The journey was very funny because we stopped all the time and we spoke with everyone we passed. We took pictures at London Bridge and St’s Paul Cathedral.
After that, finally we arrived to the Bar at 8.55 pm. We almost had to pay the entrance. When we entered the Bar the people were learning how dance salsa.

In my case, I am not a good dancer for Salsa. I tried but was very difficult for me. I preferred to drink and talk to new people. My friends from Ecuador knew how dance to this music, and they danced very well.So, the experience from that night was great. I danced and spoke with interesting and fun new people from different countries. Some of them were also attending English Schools in London. These are some of the other things London has to offer other than the many great excursions that I went on. My experience in London has been great, and I am truly happy that I attended Twin’s English Schools in London.

By Martin Almodovar, from Argentina

Thursday, September 18, 2008

My Multi-Cultural Food Experience

Hi! My name is Mayoumi. I am from Japan, and currently living in France!
I’ve been in one of the Twin English Schools in London for one month now. When I worked in Paris, I always felt that English was incredibly important for my work, however I couldn’t speak it. One day, one of my colleagues, who was an ex-student from the Twin English School in London recommended the Twin English School to me.

My first impression of Twin was really positive. All the students and teachers were very friendly, even though I found it difficult to communicate with them because I could not speak any English. I liked this English School in London on the first day.

In the Twin English School, there are many events organised nearly every week so I’ve been able to do activities such as going to a traditional English pub with my classmates.
Today, we had an international food party. As I was a willing participant in the party, I cooked some traditional Japanese food: Sushi. I worked very hard in preparing the Sushi, and it took me several hours to finish making it.


There were some students who came from different countries and brought their own cultural, delicious food, for example: Chinese, Polish, Turkish and Venezuelan. However, not only did the students bring food in but the teachers also brought in their very traditional English food.

I was pleased that we tasted and exchanged our food, as well as our cultures. This day I saw all of the students embracing each other’s cultures, which Twin English School in London gives the students the opportunity. I hope we will have another opportunity during my stay in Twin English School in London. Thanks Twin!

By Mayoumi Horikoshi

The International Food Affair

Hi! My name is Anna and I am currently attending an English course at one of Twin's English Schools in London.

One of the things that connect people is different food cultures in the world. There is a tradition in Twin Group that, from time to time, students prepare meals from their countries. This fantastic idea helps us to get to know other students and establish new friendships. Moreover, this meeting gives us an opportunity to polish our English conversation too.

We practised this yesterday as well. The students and the teachers gathered again trying dishes prepared by people from: Spain, the Czech Republic, Japan, China, Venezuela and Poland. The English Teachers and the managers also brought their own contributions: London meat pie with mash potatoes, mushy peas and parsley sauce, served with a traditional ginger beer.

Every dish looked appetizing and was absolutely delicious. We took the opportunity to eat: Spanish sausage- chorizo, Czech potato salad with mayonnaise made by Susanna, traditional homemade sushi made by Mayoumi, oriental noodles by Xui Fu, original Venezuelan bread called “arepa” by Marrizio and Polish Summer fruit caked baked by… me!

The rest of the students came with good appetites and a friendly mood. Many of them were interested in the recipes, products and ingredients. Many of them tried oriental or European food for the first time.
I can safely say that everybody enjoyed themselves and we believe that the next International Food Affair will be as successful as this year, all thanks to the Twin English School in London.

By Anna Wilczkowska

What about London…

I’m an Italian girl who is having her work experience in London for a month and I’ m going to talk about it.

I wrote… What about London... I have never had the experience to live in a city so busy, so full of life and so exciting!
I started my stay attending an English course that I found as something completely new for me because my classmates were nearly all-different nationalities.
It was not only interesting, but also above all educational and important; I met people with different cultures and lifestyles and it’s interesting to learn more about them. The English course was general so it was good to prepare me for my internship. I didn’t feel ready for work experience abroad because I wasn’t enough self-confident but when I thought about having a job in the centre of London at 18 years old I was excited and happy to have this experience... it’s my time!

I’m in London and London gives you an opportunity for everything. Being here is important for me because not everybody has the opportunity or maybe the determination to spend a month in a foreign country far from his or her own family. So… I’m satisfied with myself.
This is a city rich of wonderful sights; I was enchanted when I visited inside Buckingham Palace, the breathtaking Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, without forgetting St. Paul’s Cathedral. In London you can enjoy yourself in a thousand ways, going on a great tour on The London Eye, spending a day shopping or going to pubs or discos with friends… How can’t you have a good time here?!

Anyway, in my opinion, the most important thing that London can offer you is the right opportunity in your life.

Everyday that I spend in London means a lot to me. I am increasing my self-confidence, improving my English and my personal skills at work and of course, enjoying my self.
What more could I ask for? Thanks London!

By Ambra Da Dalt, Italian intern at TWIN

The importance of learning English

English is widely acknowledged as the most widely used language in the world, with an estimated 330,000,000 primary English Speakers in the world, only bettered by China. English is spoken in an astounding amount of nations, 115 of the 194 countries in the world, be that 84 of those a mixed version of English. Therefore, English appears to be a very useful language to learn for foreign students, and surely the best possible way to learn English is to learn in its country of origin; England.

There are tens of thousands of foreign students studying abroad, many of whom are attending English courses in English schools. Many of the best English schools for foreign students are situated in London. Not only is excellent education offered to the students studying abroad, the richly cultural and historical city has a huge amount to offer in terms of sights and sounds to the students attending English schools in London. Whether the student is attending the English course for their university degree, or they simply want to learn English from native speakers, London is widely accepted as the most forward, trendy and beautiful city in England, therefore London is the best choice of location to choose your English Course. Twin Group has an English school in London, located near the centre and offering an excellent quality of education.

By James Ong-Fox

Monday, September 15, 2008

Me, Myself & London

I was born and bred in London. I’ve never lived anywhere else. When I meet new people, the initial question is “What's your name?” However, the following question is always asked later in the introductions; “Where are you from?” I always reply proudly “London”. Maybe I should respond with “England”, however I guess why I say London is because I believe that London is the best example of Englishness in England, and that London, in my eyes, is the most interesting, diverse and beautiful city in the world.

Although I have lived in London for 18 years, every time I visit Central London I find a new intriguing place and learn a new fact about this richly historical city. For example, a few weeks ago I went on an excursion with a group of French students to London Bridge, and we found ourselves in St. Catherine’s Dock. I was blown away by the peacefulness and beauty of the dock, surrounded by the busyness of London. It was as if someone had pressed the eject button on a stereo playing an ACDC album and replaced it with Vivaldi. Little gems like St. Katharine's Dock can be found all around London. It seems strange to say that I have fallen in love with this city, but to be frank it’s the truth. London never loses its appeal, its intrigue or its history.

London’s diversity provokes the image of a multi-cultural melting pot. Almost every culture in the world is represented in London, and openly celebrated with examples such as Notting Hill Carnival as a celebration of Caribbean culture where around one million people came to enjoy the party. London’s appeal increases its diversity, as many tourists from across the world flock to see London’s sights and sounds. With these tourists, students also come, to attend one of the many English Courses in one of the many English Schools in London. These English courses in London provide students with the opportunity to experience the English culture and also experience what real English schools in London are like.

By James Ong-Fox

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

English courses and internships in the UK with TWIN GROUP

TWIN’s blog: Articles on travelling and learning English in the UK, personal experiences, travel tips and ideas.Twin’s blog shares the experiences of our former and current students as they learn English in London, Eastbourne, Salisbury or take an internship in the UK.