Meet the ih-hi magazine team

Some of our English language students - and their teacher Caroline - have launched ih-hi a new student magazine for IH London. All the articles are written by students from study advice to tips on places to see in London to horoscopes.

Watch this space for an online edition of the first issue of ih-hi and details of how IH London English language students can get involved.

For now check out this great video for an introduction to the magazine team:

IH London students sample a Brick Lane curry

From the Wimbledon Tennis Championship to a mouth-watering night of curry. Social Programme Co-ordinator James takes IH London students to one of east London's most famous streets....

"Last night, we set off for Brick Lane in search of a traditional ‘British’ curry. There were 15 of us and we worked out that there were eight different nationalities. We had made a reservation at Tayyabs, a famous Pakistani curry house.

On the way we stopped off at Tesco to buy some beer to wash our curry down. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the restaurant our hearts sank as it was very busy and there was a very long queue down the street. Even though we had a reservation for 7:30pm, we still had to wait a further 20 minutes for our table to be ready. While we were waiting, the students had to look through the window at the other diners enjoying their curry. Poor Ahmed was so hungry that he was ready to eat someone.

We finally got a table downstairs for 15 people. We all had poppadoms and samosas for a starter. Everyone decided to each choose one dish and then dig in to everyone else’s. We all tried naan, which is a traditional bread, and pilau rice. JJ decided to have a garlic naan, but luckily he wasn’t planning on kissing anyone that night.

Ahmed suggested we should all eat with our right hand as is the custom, but everyone opted to use a knife and fork. Susanna had to drink a lot of Coke and water because she found the curry very hot. The service was very good and the waiters were all really helpful. The food itself was excellent and everyone was extremely full or as Ahmed put “completely stuffed” at the end.

After eating a lot, everyone took a stroll along Brick Lane to let our food digest and to soak up the atmosphere of the area. All in all, it was a most enjoyable evening."

Students enjoy an 'ace' day out at Wimbledon

IH London runs a busy Social Programme for our English language students. There are events nearly every evening and weekend - from theatre trips to football games, and cream teas to club nights.

This week we slapped on our sun cream and went to Wimbledon to see the world’s most famous lawn tennis tournament....

Pamela decided that she really didn’t understand the British fascination with “queuing”. Once inside the grounds, everyone took a rest on Murray Mound (formerly Henman Hill) to watch Venus Williams go crashing out on Court Number 1 on the giant screen, which was a big shock.

Most students then decided to do some more queuing at the ticket re-sale to get tickets for the main show courts. Laura and Federik went to Centre Court, where they saw the Byran brothers play.

Meanwhile most of the others opted for Court Numer 2 to see Ana Kournikova (Esteban didn’t mind missing Spain against Portugal in the World Cup as he got to see Ana in the flesh) and Martina Hingis in doubles action against two British players. Unfortunately, the British players didn’t have much of a chance. Afterwards, Neval had her cap signed by the players.

Next, everyone did a spot of shopping in the Wimbledon shop and bought some souvenirs to take back home. Margot bought a giant sized tennis ball as a present for her brother.

Mia tried some strawberries and decided to wash them down with some Pimms. Finally, after a good day out, everyone went back home contented.

Cultural events in London this March

March has started in style with two beautiful sunny days that feel like the beginning of Spring. With the evenings becoming lighter and longer, it's the perfect time to get involved with the huge variety of cultural and foreign language events happening every day in London.

If you're not sure where to begin, have a look at IH London's cultural events guide. Every month, our dedicated Modern Languages Social Programme Co-ordinator puts together this useful guide to help you get the most out of learning a language or experiencing another culture.

Highlights this month include Moliere’s The Misanthrope starring Keira Knightly; Europe's largest Taiwanese film festival; wine tasting evenings at the Institute Français; a photography exhibition by Iraqi, Syrian and Palestinian teenagers (ends tomorrow!); and the sensational Cuban dance show Havana Rakatan at Sadler's Wells' theatre.

Meanwhile, we will be welcoming the Year of the Tiger in school with a talk and demonstration on the Art of Chinese Calligraphy at 6.30pm on Friday 5 February. Over a glass of wine, Mr Kam-sang Law - a master of Chinese Calligraphy - will introduce us to the 3,000 year old art form, with an opportunity for us to have a go at the end! Please email paula.fitzgerald@ihlondon.com if you would like to come.

If you hear of any more exciting cultural events in London, please let us know and share with other blog readers!

Hello from Modern Languages

Hi bloggers!

I'm Claire the UK Sales and Marketing Manager at International House London. I've just started blogging so thought I'd write a 'hello' message.

There are lots of languages being spoken around the school and not just from our overseas students. You can learn 7 languages at International House London, which includes Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, as well as train to become a teacher of French, German, Italian or Spanish.

I currently study Spanish in the evening and have proudly progressed my way through the levels for the last year (from Elementary Continuation to Intermediate Continuation). I enjoy learning Spanish as it's such a useful language and the classes are really fun and dynamic. There is also the Modern Languages Social Programme to take advantage of, keeping you up to date on the latest foreign and cultural events in and around London.

London is a great place to speak another language and there are always opportunities to practise. Did you know that there are 312 languages spoken in London? This makes it easy to pick up a language exchange partner. International House London has its very own Language Exchange Programme which is where I found my partner to practice espanol with.

We are coming to the end of term now for the current evening programmes, but I'm looking forward to taking the next course in April.