Testimonials and references

Most of our over 1000 participants since 1993 have chosen an individual program that fitted best the particpants individual needs. Since 1993, we have established numerous contacts with American Universities (Washington, Alberta, Seattle, Millikan), institutions from Japan and Europe (Hokkaido University, University of Lausanne) and different companies (e.g., Siemens, McKinsey & Co, Software Management Inc.). And the best reference of course, is that we are an officially listed agent of Moscow State University. Our students mostly come from Switzerland, Germany, the UK, the United States, Japan, Korea and various other European countries. The following is a non-representative list of recent participants who have agreed to be contacted as references. We would be glad to add your name after your successful completion of the language course.

Some people prefer not to have their email address published. We are happy to indicate their contact email address for personal inquieries and references.

• Television Report on Arte 5/1999
• Article in Toaster from 5/1999 (german)
• Featured (Travel and Recreation recommended site) in Yahoo Internet Life Magazine, Vol 6, Nr. 5, page 167 in 5/2000
• Article in magazine 'Punts' in 05/2003
• Article in newspaper "Züricher Unterländer": Abenteuer Transsib in 2/2004

What previous participants in our language courses have said:

"During the 12 weeks I spent in Moscow, I accomplished alot and I feel I was very successful in my studies there. Thanks to the program, I am fairly proficient in basic Russian and continue to study on my own. I'd love to return if I had the money. The family I stayed with were absolutely wonderful and I remain in contact with them and my teacher that I had there. hello to Farid from me too, thanks! I also thank you for all of your patience and help in answering my questions and the speedy preparations that were undertaken for me to get to Moscow. The only thing I would have liked is for the driver to have helped me with my luggage to the customs area. (I had no money for a luggage cart). All said, this was by far one of the best experiences of my life and I look foward to returning in the future. bolshoe spacibo za fso!" Ms Michelle Jewell, California

"Dear Dr.Ziegler, Almost by accident I have known your homepage address while I have been browsing through internet links. The result of my stay at your language Center was excellent. I have little to say about the way you have arranged the course for me. Perhaps, I can only say that I have not yet fully digested the substances of the course you have provided. Only my regret was that I had to shorten the course due to my research activities at Moscow. By the way, you are free to use my name as one of referees for future language course students who would like to hear about the courses. Sometime in future, I wish I could take your language courses again. Please send my warm regards to Prof. Akishin (language teacher). Sincerely yours" Prof. S.M. (Japan)

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all and above all, my Russian teacher Tatiana Ivanova. Without her I wouldn't have passed the exam. I neglected my Russian for nearly 10 years and she has been of great support and help. I appreciated her patience and initiative within the class. I have learnt a great deal in two weeks thanks to her. Classes were never boring and time flew by as it were only few minutes. She had the talent to make every class unique and extremely interesting. Should I had had the opportunity to stay longer, I am sure even my final score would have been higher. I am very grateful for the amount of information I have learnt and I cherish those moments.
Ms. Simonetta Palazzi (Italy)

"I thought the teachers were excellent - I ended up with even two because the first one got the flu. Even now, as I converse or read Russian, I hear the reminders, the grammatical tips, etc. Thanks again for hospitality!"
Ms. D. Bailey (US)

"I was there only two weeks which I found to be too short to learn a whole lot, especially for someone who was also trying to see Moscow. The people who I interacted with the most -- my tutor Marina and Tatyana in the language office -- They were both great and everyone associated with the school was helpful and competent. I just didn't get to know the others all that well I would be happy to serve as a reference for your program!"
Prof. Don Wilson, Arizona (US)

"I'm writing this unsolicited letter to say how much I enjoyed studying in your program this summer, and especially to sing the praises of Olga, the intermediate Russian conversation teacher who I have been studying with this month. Olga possesses an outstanding combination of knowledge, enthusiasm and energy that makes the very difficult task of learning the Russian language actually pleasurable. .. Her enthusiasm and commitment to teaching were evident in her willingness to give us every minute of the class time for which we had paid; for instance, she led a field trip to the Tretakofskaya Gallery one weekend to make up for the class time we missed because of the national holiday. Olga is an outstanding language professor and a great asset to your program. I hope you will make every effort to keep her on your staff, so that I will have the opportunity to study with her next summer again.
Prof. Richard Zinober, Minnesota State University Moorhead

"The experience was wonderful. The arrangements convenient. Farid made it that much more enjoyable with his attention to the needs of a foreign student. I can't thank you enough. Others who enrolled without the assistance of your company were at a great disadvantage. Once again, my heartfelt thanks for making the trek seemless."
Patrice Noe-Johnson, Canada

"I just want to thank you for all your good work. We are safely back in Norway, and everything worked according to plan. I would like to especially mention the guide Tomas in Ulan Bator, who was exellent in how he did his job: Fluent in english, knowledgeable and a very nice person and he did all he could to make the most out of our stay. The nomad family we visited was actually his grandmother!. The guide in Irkutsk was also very nice and good and we enjoyd the stay in Bolshie Koti very much. We even had Siberian sauna and a swim in Lake Baikal. Again thank you very much, and it will be a pleasure to recommend you to others."
Eivind Berg, Norway

Some students and magazines have made references to our courses (even without us asking us :-), spasiba bolshoe, e.g.,