mackdonald language academy´s blog

 After having had breakfast with the host family everyone meets at school at 9 am.

First day is test day, which enables us to find the right class for each person.

The classes are divided into different groups: Beginners, Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced.

Before school starts many kids are have fun playing table tennis in our gym or listening to music or just relaxing before classes start.

When the bell rings at 9:00, everyone strikes off on the way to their classroom.

Our teachers have elaborately prepared every lesson, which can include work with our mackdonald language academy exercise book, creative writing or talking about certain topics in class.

In our experience, students benefit greatly by taking part and enjoy interacting with people from different countries.

The first lesson ends at 10:45, which is the start of an active, half an hour of break time, Here, students chit chat with friends, play kicker, table tennis or billiard. Teachers prepare for the next class, while enjoying a well deserved cup of coffee and a nice treat.

11:15, break is over, the bell rings and is met with an array of sounds – grunting, cheering or whatever the mood is that day :)

The second lesson is also well chosen by our teachers to improve everyone’s English.
At 13:00, our big lunch break starts and everyone is happy to unpack the host family’s lunch package. Mostly, this contains a cheese-ham sandwich, some kind of fruit (apple, banana, orange), a small pack of crisps and something to drink. Some students visit the local diner or supermarket to see what delights are in store for them there.

The lunch break is also a good time to get to know the other students, make new friends and enjoy the nice atmosphere at school.

At 14:00, our afternoon activities start: Bowling, Sight Seeing, Sports, visiting the Castle/Cathedral, minigolf, just to name a few.

On Friday, for example we went bowling. Everyone was served a drink and popcorn, Neon lights and the loud music, made for a very enjoyable afternoons activitity.

At 117:00, another day was already over and the host families came to pick up their students for a little more interaction.

:)

We had an adventurous week in Kilkenny with motivated and funny kids.

On the City Sightseeing Tour on Monday we walked around the beautiful park with it’s lovely flowers, which surrounds the huge Castle of Kilkenny, we spend some time in the city centre and we got to know the city and it’s best places to go shopping or having some nice food.

Tuesday was the day to get to know the castle better.  After finishing class, we were guided through the old, historic castle, which was built in 1391.
This castle was inhabited by the Butler family from 1391 - 1935. Today, the city of Kilkenny is it’s owner and tries really hard to conserve it in it’s original state.

On Wednesday, all students were excited to do some sports after class. Everyone gave his/her best in playing football, basketball, hockey or badminton in the local Leisure centre. In the evening, everyone went happy and exhausted home to their host families.

The program for the Day-Trip on Thursday was visiting Cork: Fota Wildlife Park and Cork city centre.

During the first half of the day we were able to admire a huge amount of different, wild and tame animals. Giraffes, tigers, zebras, monkeys, penguins and beautiful birds…

Everyone was really happy, took lots of pictures and enjoyed their stay.
The second part of Thursday was spent in Cork’s city centre, which is a lovely town with much charm. Many souvenirs for home were bought: T-shirts, pullovers, postcards, bracelets or sweets and the girls enjoyed to have a good shopping.

On Friday everyone went to the Dunmore Caves and completed a nature walk though the Jenkinstown Woods located on the outskirts of Kilkenny.
The Dunmore Caves is a limestone solutional cave in Ballyfoyle and it’s known for it’s rich archaeological discoveries. Unfortunately, it was raining but the nobody seemed to care. Fun was had by all J

Sautrday, we met at 11:45 at school to tak part in the Dance workshop – this week we learned Line Dancing to “Pitbull”. It was great - really fun and the videos are gtreat. Maybe we can upload one or two for everyone to enjoy. 

Sunday, sadly is our departure day and many students had to leave. Some student had been with us for 6 weeks so tears were flowing freely, many new friends were made and a lot of fun was had by all. 

All students in Kilkenny went on a full day-trip to Cork today. Giraffes, lions and monkey were walking around. Luckily, the weather was excellent, so everyone had a great time. After the wildlife park, we went to Cork city centre for sightseeing and shopping!

In our English school in Kilkenny, we also offer an English PLUS programme.

Students learn English in our school in Kilkenny in the morning. In the afternoon, they have extensive coaching in either Tennis, Golf, Badminton or Golf.

Today, I am going to present mackdonald´s English PLUS Golf programme in Kilkenny:

Most of the golf coaching / practise takes place in Newpark Golf Centre. It has multiple cubicles to practise their drive, a putting green and pitching area. Newpark Golf Centre is one of the best golf practice facilities in Ireland, outdoor grass bays, pitching area and excellent putting green.

With our English PLUS Golf students,we go there 2 times per week. This is where our PGA accredited coach Keith is based. Keith will coach your students for 2 hours per week, driving, putting and pitching. 

Readers of the Australian online magazine news.co.au have voted Kilkenny as the 9th friendliest city in the world!