Cambridge Academy Basel

I have been studying at Cambridge Academy Basel for about 5 months and I'm so satisfied.The on-line program is very good and dynamic, the teachers are very effective, and I usually have class with teacher Mary Peters. She is very kind and teaches me with patience and joy. This is important to me because I’m a beginner student.The receptionists are always gentle and help me with everything I need, especially dear Marcie.I like so much this school and can only recommend it.

I took the CPE course with Ron and could not have been more satisfied. The school offers a variety of classes, conversation events and self-study material. Also, the teachers are truly committed. Ron went through piles of mediocre writings for an entire year and gave feedback to every single essay before we were finally ready to tkae the exam and, of course, passed! I can definitely recommend the school!

Trotz dem eher schlecht ausgewählten Zeitpunkt mit Studium und Arbeit, bin ich froh das ich diesen Englischkurs bei der Cambridge Academy besuche. Die Lehrer*innen/ Teacher sind sehr freundlich und nehmen sich die Zeit offene Fragen zu beantworten. Ich habe mich stets wohl gefühlt und mein Englisch hat sich um Einiges verbessert. Hätte ich genügend zeitliche und finanzielle Ressourcen, würde ich nach der Beendigung dieses Kurses auf jedenfall weiter machen.

Hatte vor einigen Jahren für CHF 4000 einen Kurs gebucht. Die versprochenen Leistungen wurde in meinem Fall nicht erbracht. Geld wurde mir trotz Nachfrage und Begründung bis heute nicht zurück bezahlt. Hatte später mit anderen Sprachinstituten bessere Erfahrungen gemacht. Daher kann ich Cambridge Institut nicht empfehlen.

I highly recommend the Cambridge Institute Basel for improving your language skills.From August 2019 to November 2020 I joined the 'Cambridge Proficiency Exam' course and managed to get my C2 certification.My weekly classes were held in a fun and lighthearted way by Ron Garry the headteacher. In the beginning we met in the classroom and then went online with Zoom due to Corona. There were 4-8 students per class, mostly young adults.Mr. Provenzano, the manager, was a great support for the paperwork as I had my company pay for my course.

I highly DON'T recommend the Cambridge Institute Basel. In my opinion, apart from teachers, this institute has no advantages. Having studied in other language schools, I can compare the quality of education with the Cambridge Institute Basel. If I could turn back time, I would never go to this institute.First of all the online learning program Dolphin is a very old fashioned. Quite often audio with bad sound. There is no audio control function. For example, if you want to listen to only the middle of the audio, this isn’t possible. The system only allows you to listen to audio from the beginning. You cannot work with Dolphin without a computer as there is no mobile phone APP. It’s all very uncomfortable.Secondly, the Grammar book isn’t informative. I have to search the internet for detailed grammar every time.Equally important, the contract with the institute is enslaving. If you find another better institution, move to another country or have other changes in your life, the institute won't return the remaining funds to you. I didn’t expect that in the 21st century in the center of Europe there is financial slavery. In order not to lose your own money, you must continue your studies at this institute.Also, the institute doesn’t provide APP for learning words on a phone or tablet. It’s also very inconvenient.Also during the coronavirus pandemic, the institute suspended ONLINE conversational classes for about half a year. Although other language schools continued such lessons. In my opinion, this case doesn’t mean that taking care of students is the institute’s priority.These are my impressions of the Cambridge Institute Basel. Perhaps this information will be useful to someone.

Today a year a go I was still in the middle of the CPE course at the Cambridge Institute in Basel. I’ve been a student for many years, since my professional trajectory had changed over and over again. So I’ve seen many classrooms from inside and experienced an extremely wide range of teaching styles on a great variety of subjects. However, only very few courses and teachers have had such an incredible positive impact on my skills and contributed to my personal development, as my lessons with Ron Garry.I was lucky enough to enjoy both, classes with other students as well as private lessons. The former were enriching for many reasons. I got to know new, interesting people, providing a perfect platform for discussions on various topics and views. It was exemplary how Ron managed to balance between leaving us enough space for joking, socializing, without ever losing the subject and language goals out of sight. I hardly ever met someone who could give a corrective feedback in such a benevolent manner as Ron, always interfering when necessary but never ever humiliating anyone and always putting meaning before form. The course contributed a lot to everybody’s motivation and was still fun even after it continued online.In hindsight though, I think, it were the personal lessons with Ron, that really gave me the extra boost I need, having entered the course almost half a year late and with the exam coming closer and closer. In those sessions, I used to write and rewrite essays, ask about specific language rules and patterns I didn’t feel too confident about yet, as well as hold monologues and engage in lively discussions about politics, psychology and history with Ron. Time was always flying by and I was literally looking forward to those meetings. I became more and more optimistic over time and Ron pushed me gently towards my goal, always being supportive and positive until the very end, sometimes even answering E-mails in the middle of the night or on weekends. I’d be lying though, if I said I wasn’t nervous before the exam at all. With the deadline nearing I noticed more and more mistakes I’d make and started having second thoughts about the whole exam. It was in times like these, when Ron skilfully and kindly used every tool in his toolbox to keep me going- and succeed in the end. That being said, I think of him not only as an extremely committed and excellent language teacher but also as a a mentor, a scholar and friend and I will always be grateful for what he taught me about English and life.

I started my CPE preparation with the Cambridge Institute Basel in March 2020. Due to COVID-19 outbreak we changed to online classes and it was one of the best learning experiences I've ever had. The school has an efficient way of working and adapted very fast to all the challenges we faced due to the pandemic. No matter what kind of question or issue I had, the team of the Cambridge Institute Basel always tried to find the best solution. What I particularly appreciate and enjoy are my classes with Ronald Garry. He is a very talented teacher and always knows how to explain difficult topics in a simple way. Ron not only helps to prepare for an exam, but actually he reminds you that learning languages goes beyond passing the test. Thank you, Ron! Can only recommend this school!

Working with Ron (one of the teachers) was a wonderful experience. Especially, because I came to The Cambridge Institute Basel after having failed the exam once and I wanted to take it for the second time. The tips I got were very helpful and above all, I was able to apply them in the exam itself. I received authentic exam material to practise and work with. What I really found helpful was that we analysed every single exercise, so I knew what went wrong and could correct it the next time. I am very grateful to Ron for the lessons that led me to pass the exam.

I had a great time at Ron Garry's class. He always supported us and was a great teacher. Thanks to the Cambridge Institute I was able to successfully achieve my C2 English Diploma. Thank you very much.