English language teaching for foreign students has returned to Marian College. A school ran there from 1966 to 2005 but closed because of the difficulty of finding host families.
This year it has opened again, running from the end of June to the end of July and targets those who want English as a second language.
Heading up ‘Dublin for English’ or D4E are Kathy Donovan, pictured above with Donal Donovan and Marian College’s Deputy Principal Kevin Lawlor (on right).
Numbers at Marian summer school were up to 600 at one stage. This year there are 75 students from Spain, Italy, France, Russia, Belgium, Germany and Poland. They stay for 2 to 4 weeks and are between the ages of 12 and 17.
Kathy also runs a year-round education facility called ‘Shandon Language Solutions’ where, during the academic year, she brings in third-level teachers in training who want a generally broadening experience while honing their English.
It was through Kathy’s contacts that D4E was able to overcome the problem of finding host families. Host families receive approximately €165 to €175, depending on location and seasonal factors. The main locations found are Sandymount and along the Dart as well as Foxrock, Deansgrange and Cabinteely.
Classes start at 9.30am and go on till 1pm with a half-hour break. The first morning they start at 9am so that an assessment of the student’s standard of English can be made. They are placed according to their level from beginners to advanced, with classes bigger for beginners and intermediate and smaller for advanced.
All D4E teachers are university graduates with qualifications in TEFL and have 26 classrooms at their disposal with full modern teaching methods and aids. Classes have a maximum of 15 students and centre on reading, writing, listening and speaking.
There is a cultural trip in Dublin once a week using public transport and a full excursion outside Dublin in a private coach on Saturdays. Evening activities include discos, debates and a cinema club where the DVD’s subtitles are used.
One particular group of Italian students came with the express intention of improving their rugby skills and come from seven different Italian rugby clubs. The school recently organised a match between Marian College under 15s and Italian under 15s at St. Michael’s School in Ailesbury Road.
Normally they would use the back pitch at Lansdowne but can’t this year because of the Lansdowne Road redevelopment. Next year they hope to be able to avail of the new synthetic pitch at the back of the new Aviva Stadium.
Afternoons are generally given over to sport with games including basketball, volleyball, badminton, soccer, rugby (coached by Kevin Lawlor), swimming, handball and unihoc (hockey played on a hard surface with a plastic stick and plastic ball). Indoor activities include table tennis, snooker, table soccer and the movie room.
The team started planning for D4E back in 2007 and argue that education is recession-proof, with language skills in particular important to career progression.
However, bookings came in quite late this year and numbers were down on what they anticipated back in 2007. Marian College was the first educational establishment in Ireland to run a language school way back in 1966. It is to be hoped that D4E will be with us for another forty years.
They can be found on the web at www.dublin4english.ie and can be e-mailed at info@dublin4english.ie
