CIA Interview with Noriko

CIA stands for “Cebu International Academy.” It is an ESL school situated in Mandaue City of Metro Cebu. It is now about 12 years in the academe and has been serving students of various nationalities–Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese among others.

In one of my visits to this school, I had an opportunity to interview one of its students. Her name is Noriko, a Japanese student.

HER ADJUSTMENT TO CIA ENVIRONMENT

On the day of that interview, she had been studying in CIA for already less than a month. At first, she felt uncomfortable with her stay due to the shifting weather in the Philippines. Sometimes, it was just too hot or too cold for her. However, gradually she adjusted.

She also mentioned that she was normally a shy type. But the friendly approach of her teachers and some students in CIA changed that. Consequently, she has also become friendly. In her second week of stay in CIA, she finally became comfortable with her environment, especially around her friendly and approachable teachers.

SEMI-SPARTAN ENGLISH LEARNING

When she is not studying, she spends her time listening to music, watching movies and of course, taking a rest. She said resting was mostly what she would prefer to do. Probably, this has something to do with the “spartan” discipline the school employs in teaching their students.

CIA is a “semi-sparta” school. This is a term employed by any Korean-owned ESL school. Students in a semi-spartan school go through semi-strict discipline in learning English. One way CIA has implemented this is through the use of the English-Only Policy. This policy mandates all students, school staff, and teachers to speak ONLY English in all areas of the school building . (Fully spartan schools require students to speak English not only within the school building but also in the school dormitory. As CIA is a semi-spartan school, the school dormitory is exempted.) Noriko was positive about this policy as she said it was a good way to help improve her English skills.

Noriko is probably now in her last few weeks of stay in the school. I hope that with the friendly environment and semi-spartan way of studying English, she will continue to both enjoy her experience in this academy and improve her English skills until her graduation day.