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Pines Info from Guatemalan Student

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Pines reaches ESL learners in other parts of the world, and having the first Guatemalan student is a great start. Check out his insights as this is his first time in Baguio City and the Philippines.

My name is Hugo Teni. I’m from Guatemala. My work is focused on the generation of electricity and I’ve worked in government institutions for 9 years.

What things do you like the most in studying here?

First of all, I like the learning system in the Philippines specifically in Pines Academy. I like having 1 on 1 class because in my country, we only have group classes for English learning.

Second is the teacher’s accent and how they teach us. In my case, I decided to come here because Filipino teachers have neutral accent. This makes learning the language easier. It enables me to easily communicate with people from different countries.

The last thing that I like in studying here is having a wide knowledge about the different customs of various countries. In my work, I need to talk with people from different countries such as Korea, Japan, China, etc. So I thought maybe if I go to Pines, I would be able to understand them. We, Latin Americans, are very friendly. I made a lot of friends in Pines, and I learned something about their cultures. For example, in my country we kiss someone when we say hello. However, this is not so common in Asia. In addition, I came to understand that sometimes physical contact is not necessary.

ell us something about your teachers.

The teachers’ approach here is professional .They focus on doing their job well. They have different teaching methods. When we talk about some topics, I ask them if my answers are correct or not. Then if we have more time, we discuss and analyze my errors. Sometimes, they help me understand the meaning of some words that I don’t know.

How do you start your day in Pines?

Normally, I take a shower first thing in the morning, and then I go to the dining hall to eat breakfast. After eating, I prepare for all of my classes.

Tell us something about your favorite class.

My favorite class is the discussion (4:1) class. In this case, I think this class helped me improve my communication skills because of having Japanese, Korean and Chinese classmates. I get to listen on how they speak and understand them. We need to understand that different countries have different accents. If I listen to people with different accents, it’s easier for me to communicate and comprehend when I go to other countries.

Share about the best part of your stay in Baguio City.

The best part of staying here is that I learned English easily because the environment favors my learning style. Also, I made a lot of friends. I talked with local people like the taxi drivers, and I learned some words or phrases that are helpful in a daily life basis communication.

Over- all, what are the things you have learned in your study duration and include your insights about the Philippines in totality.

In my stay here for 10 weeks, I learned that studying English is not that easy because you need to work hard. I realized though that if you study in the Philippines, it makes learning English easier. Filipino teachers are very friendly which I think is one big factor on why studying here is more efficient and fun.