Anya, now a student at Yonsei University in Seoul, shares how her summers with Living Learning English shaped the course of her life – starting at age 11.
Have you ever looked back and realised a single decision shaped your entire life?
For me, that moment was when my parents discoveredLiving Learning English, and I spent my summers studying in England. My name is Anya. I am from Russia, but now I live and study in Seoul, South Korea, pursuing a bachelor's degree in International Studies at Yonsei University – Asia’s top private university.
Strangely enough, I had no intention of studying in Korea during high school, but thanks to my fluency in English, I was able to submit a last-second application and move all the way across the world.
My First Leap: The Homestay Adventure
I wasn’t the first in my family to do the homestay program; both of my older brothers had done it before, and at 11, I boarded a plane to the UK for the first time with one of them.
The experience of learning English in a British household is nothing like sitting in a classroom or attending a language camp. Sure, I had hours of one-on-one grammar and vocabulary classes every morning, but my real progress came mostly from constant, everyday interactions – talking over dinner, watching a movie, buying sweets from a local shop.
I was dropped into an environment where English was my only option, unless I wanted to play an endless game of charades to communicate my needs. Thankfully, as a kid, I learned to adapt quickly. Confidence became more important than perfection: I said “you is” repeatedly, yet everyone understood me just fine, marking my first step toward growth. After just a few days, my brain switched, and I found myself thinking naturally in English.
Learning English by Living It
While a couple of weeks in England may not have made me fluent overnight, they triggered a switch in my brain. When I returned home, I only wanted to watch movies in English, and after consuming hundreds of hours of content, my small mistakes faded away. I didn’t need to memorise grammar rules anymore – I just understood them from the countless times I’d heard them.
Sometimes I can’t remember the exact Russian word for some things, but I always know how to explain it in English, because I learned it from context, not just from a textbook.
It’s the little things that make the homestay model special. Every year I went was different – I got to interview local business owners, attend a graduation at Edinburgh University, live and study with a girl from Germany, and, of course, use every day to explore my surroundings. Each of my hosts made our lessons unique, whether it meant making a scrapbook of all my trips to improve my writing, playing Scrabble for vocabulary review, or baking cakes from old family recipes.
Ask and You Shall Receive
I can best describe my experience with LLE with the phrase, “ask and you shall receive.”
When I was 11, my biggest wish was to live with animals – so the administrators found me a host with a cat and a dog. The next year, I wanted to try horse riding – they matched me with a teacher just a ten-minute drive away from the stables. I asked for a backyard pool – and I got it.
Whether I wanted to live near the beach, in the city, or in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful hills of Scotland, throughout my four years with LLE, every single one of my requests was met.
A World of Possibilities
English became my safety net, opening doors I never imagined. Thanks to it, I can live and study in Korea, surrounded by people from every part of the world. We come from different cultures and backgrounds, yet we are united by a shared language.
Travelling alone as a teenager and learning independence through the homestay program gave me the confidence to move abroad for university and embrace every opportunity that came my way.
Final Thoughts
"If you ask me, spending a summer with LLE is the best investment you can make in yourself or your child. It’s not just about learning the language – it’s about discovering a world of possibilities."
Want to connect with Anya or learn more about Living Learning English? Please contact us directly at www.livingenglish.com and we’ll be happy to pass your message on.
