I am KOUKI and I am a student blogger here at Monol. I will talk about all the unforgettable things I had in my Monol life.
I sent off my friends several times, but I couldn’t imagine myself leaving. What I realized is three months is too short to stay in Baguio, Philippines. I feel like I just arrived at Monol yesterday.
There are a lot of things which I could and couldn’t do. Actually, it is hard to succeed in everything not only studying in the Philippines. Therefore, I really want to advise those who are coming to the Philippines to set a “Clear Goal” and visualize a “Clear Image” before coming to the Philippines.
I would like to share the following: ①Real life in Monol ②Studying in Monol ③Advice to people coming to Baguio to study.
① Real life in Monol
My first impression when I arrived in Baguio City was, “It is too cold!”
I went once to Manila and Naga City, which is a small town. But the temperature in Baguio is too cold compared to other cities. Even I couldn’t believe I was in the Philippines. However, I realized this temperature is better than a hot one because you don’t need to use the air conditioner (there is no air conditioner in Baguio). Moreover, heat wouldn’t be a disturbance in studying.
In fact, I asked my friend who is studying in an academy in Manila and he told me air conditioner is working 24/7 there.
Since most of the academies have a system wherein students have to share their electricity and water fee, it is economical to stay in Monol because there is no need to use air conditioner! But sometimes it is too cold, so you should bring some jackets. No worries because you can even buy something second hand here.
You can enjoy a comfortable life in Monol. As I mentioned in the previous posts, there are a lot of services offered in Monol. Three meals every day (even during holidays), room cleaning, changing of beddings, building clean-up, security for 24hours etc..
They maintain an environment where students can focus thoroughly on studying.
And about my room, I stayed in the room for 6.
A bit dirty…hehe
I thought it will feel cramped to use a room with 6persons, but it didn’t!
I was lucky because I didn’t have more than four roommates even I stayed in the room for 6!! I don’t know if the season matters or not.
Of course, I had complaints about my roommates, the toilet is dirty after using and they talk loudly on their phones. However, it is inevitable because I had to live together with foreigners who grew up having a completely different culture. If you really don’t like it, you can solve those problems if you talk to them directly in English.
I think I was able to learn how to communicate with foreigners in my room.
② Studying in Monol
There is a seven-hour class in Regular ESL course. In addition to that, I had grammar class. Except for grammar class, there are a lot of free optional classes, such as TOEIC Speaking, IELTS Speaking, Job Interview and Working Holiday Program.
In addition, there are optional classes for sports, such as Yoga, Pilates, Golf, Muay Thai and Boxing. ※some classes fall at the same time!
If you cannot choose one of them, you can take it next term. And there is one class (6:30 am to 7 am) which you don’t need to apply for.
In this class, you can learn idioms or phrasal verbs which aren’t taught in regular classes. (Show off, Drop-in etc..)
What I have learned in the morning class is really helpful, especially, when you write an essay in English!
And there is a lot of homework, which take around two hours to finish.
You can review the lesson you’ve learned in a day by doing homework, making it an efficient way to study because what you study will automatically accumulate in your brain as knowledge.
Of course, it was hard to study for 10 hours a day…
But, three months passed since I came here, and I can feel an improvement of my English skill. I don’t have any difficulties living in Baguio at all.
In fact, since I can feel my improvement, I am determined to go to the next step for a working holiday in Canada without any hesitation!
③ Advice to people coming to Baguio to study
Studying English in the Philippines is not really challenging compared to other countries because it is much cheaper than studying in Europe or U.S.A.
But it doesn’t mean that the quality of education here is low. Rather, there are more man-to-man classes, and there are a small number of people in the group classes, so you can have more effective lessons in the Philippines (Monol).
However, I guess you have heard many times, “I screwed up when studying in Cebu or Manila. My English skill didn’t improve at all.”
Why is that??
It is because you can hang out with a low price as tuition fee is cheap.
If you cannot control yourself, like me, I strongly recommend you to study in Baguio.
The environment is comfortable and the hang out places which can possibly distract you is limited.
The studying period is too short. So if you go there, you should maximize your time to study!!