European Russian: Intensive Russian & Latvian Cultural Immersion

The teacher Victoria was wondeful. Everybody at school were very kind and nice. Teching was very thorough, almost as private teaching, since we were only tw pupils in the class.

I had an excellent teacher (Andrei) who really helped improve my confidence while speaking. I greatly improved my comprehension skills, because he talked to us solely in Russian. We usually did one grammar lesson every day or every two days, and then did activities to help make us use that knowledge. During every class, everyone could chime in and use their newfound knowledge. We usually ended class with a game or fun activity to make us enjoy speaking Russian.

I was in a language course for teachers in July for one week. Teacher and classes were very beneficial and good. Schools location was excellent - in the city center near the Old town. We had one extra activity during the week - an Old city tour. Our quide was excellent. I stayed in a russian-speking family during my staying in Riga. I liked i t a lot and it really helped me to improve my language skills. I really recommend language course for teachers!

The school is in a great environment to learn Russian in as the classes are organised in a way that you are with people of a similar ability to you and it is very easy to move classes to fit your level. The teachers are also extremely patient when you are struggling and the classes are always challenging without being overwhelming. Overall, I felt my confidence speaking Russian and my understanding of the topic we covered (verbs of motion) improved during my two weeks at the school.

Everything at Durbe School went according to plan. The staff and teachers are excellent people and professionals. After the course, I have improved my speaking skills in the Russian language.

To start with the location of the school, it couldn´t be better, it was close to almost all the important places including the railway and bus stations, right in the centre of the town. It was convenient during the lunch break, too.
As for the school, I found the school stuff very kind and helping, always in a good mood and ready to solve all your problems.
My teacher was highly professional - one of the best I have ever had in my life.
Facilities were quite satisfying, there was everything that we needed. I personally prefered individual activities with some other students and it was good.
As for the housing I was very pleased to stay in such a beautiful house with a very nice lady of my age, It was a good oportunity
to talk to her in Russian, she helped me a lot to improve the language.

At first I could only understand a few Russian words, as I had learned it by myself. I had never heard Russian spoken at a normal speed. I really thought I could never adapt to the level, but I persevered and after the second day, I was able to understand it a lot more even though all the explanations were given in Russian.
Speaking in a foreign language was forbidden in class, which is a good idea because we were obliged to speak in Russian.
Just after one week(18 hours), I was able to understand much better, to answer and to communicate in Russian in basic daily conversations.
It was a very good experience, I should probably had studied more outside after class, I only studied about an hour and a half every day.
The teacher was very professional and very helpful.
I was only there for a week so I started in the middle of the course and it was difficult to adapt because the others students had been there for weeks. Given that the teacher had already covered three quarters of the book, it would have been useful to have had the manual before the beginning of the course.
I really felt I made good progress in just a week and I am really glad I did it.

The classes were small so I got a lot of practice speaking. Any problem that came up with my residence or anything was dealt with immediately by the school's staff. Riga is a safe and easy city to go around.

I really liked my teacher, and it was good we had the same teacher every day, so you didn't have to get to know another teacher each day.
Another positive aspect was the little bit of homework we got each day, because this way the things we learned in the morning were able to settle a little more.
The location of the school is perfect, it is right next to the train station, and it only took 2 minutes to get to the old city center.

While I do believe this school can provide appropriate instruction for true Russian language beginners, they have some very skilled instructors that can help those who are familiar with the language perfect their linguistic abilities. The intensive one on one instruction offered in the afternoons is excellent for those quickly looking to pick up a language.