Momoko, Japan – 2016
“One of my favorite places in Portland is Powell’s bookstore. A fun PELA activity is the summer BBQ!
My favorite teacher was Chris, because his pronunciation is easy to listen to for me.
Sidneia, Brazil – 2018 & 2019
A fun festival I went to was the Rose Festival and Rose Parade. We helped to decorate one of the floats.
I remember all the presentations in class, the conversation group, playing foosball, and all the books we read. I had more than one favorite PELA teacher. Hailey was awesome; she taught me a lot. Katie was very happy, funny, and she has a great teaching style. I loved being Dianne's student as well; she was very caring and patient. Laura was super friendly. Teacher Michael was nice, kind, and fun.
Saud, Saudi Arabia – 2019-2020
"My favorite place in Portland was Pioneer Square. The best part about living in Portland is the people; they are the kindest people in the planet!
I had a lot of fun time at PELA, like in the conversation group and at the chess table. I also remember when we visited a pumpkin farm, and I knew the story behind this tradition. I will never forget the fun time that I had in the pumpkin event and Thanksgiving. I remember on Thanksgiving we had a big lunch with traditional food for this day, such as turkey and mashed potatoes.
All of my teachers were a great teachers, but if I have to choose one, I would choose Katja because she was so close to her students, and she was giving so much in her class. Also, teacher Michael was a great person. He was a father for all of us. All the time that I spent at PELA was great and wonderful time due to the great and the wonderful people there. We weren’t just a friends group, we were a family from all the world. We have chosen PELA as a home for all of us!
I’m now working in a firm which has employees from different countries, and our communication language is English; that would never have happened without PELA’s help!"
Hao “William”, Taiwan – 2012
"What is best about living in Portland is the environment and atmosphere. My favorite places are Lake Oswego, Cannon Beach, Florence, and Crater Lake. What is best about living in Portland is the environment and atmosphere.
I got to go snowboarding with PELA, and all the classes which Chris was teaching were fun. He was my favorite teacher, of course!
Rosa, Spain – 2014
"I am in love the forests, waterfalls and mountains of Oregon. To be honest, I can't choose just one place!
In Portland, I found a charming and nice café. It's called “Behind the Museum Café". In this café I tasted the best Japanese matcha-latte of my life. I miss it! I had the opportunity to attend a couple of NBA matches and have the Halloween experience. It was so fun to carve pumpkins. The best part of my weeks in Portland was the experience of living in other country, meeting people, visiting new place and tasting different foods.
All the teachers were fantastic, but if I have to choose one, I say Eric. He taught me in Integrated Skills and I remember his classes were fun, because he always had activities to encourage us to interact with each other. Oh yeah! I remember one activity specially: the teacher, Eric, divided us in groups of three students to look for a real apartment in the city to rent. And then we had to expound on and explain to classmates what apartment we have chosen and why, such as its features, utilities, etc. My group was formed of 3 girls: Reiko, Narjes and I. We met one day after the class and we spent the whole afternoon/evening looking for an apartment. And finally we found it. So as proof we had do it, we took a photo at the entrance door of the building. I really liked with this project.
Thanks to the course in PELA I improved my listening, vocabulary, grammar rules and also to overcome a little my shyness when I speak in English. It was a pity I wasn't able to do the full course."
Miho, Japan – 2020-2021
"When I studied in PELA, it was just Covid time. For that reason, I couldn’t experience many activities, but I Joined Thanks giving, Christmas, and Easter parties in my host family’s home. However, I could play a variety of English Board games with my classmates and teacher. It was so excited and one of my favorite game is Apples To Apples.
My favorite teacher was Michael Bess! He is very kind , generous and the best teacher for me. He always encouraged me. Thanks to that, I was able to continue learning English and I was looking forward to going to PELA every day.
Fortunately, after returning to Japan, I was able to get a job at a foreign-affiliated company that had been the goal for me. Finally, I got a job offer from this company. Thank you for everything, teachers!"
Kassandra, Mexico – 2022
"My favorite place in Oregon is the coast. A fun festival I went to had Jazz music. I had a fun time making school activity plans with Sable. Michael is the best teacher!"
Azzam, Saudi Arabia – 2012
"My favorite place in Portland was Pioneer Square. What is best about Portland is the friendly people.
The activities was in the classes very helpful for the students so we enjoyed learning. My favorite teacher was Vonna!"
Diego, Paraguay – 2016
"My favorite place in Portland was Pioneer Courthouse Square. There was a beer festival that I enjoyed a lot, because I love craft beer and it was a very good opportunity to share with people and talk about beer in your home country. My favorite thing about Portland is the nature. In my country we don’t have many parks or green places. I really liked going to the Rose Garden and the Chinese Garden.
We played “Wink Murderer” in class once, it was so funny and useful because we talked and learned a lot playing that game. I don’t have a favorite teacher because everyone was very good and I got along with every one of them. But I really miss having class with teacher Kenneth; he was the funniest one!
My English level at PELA helped me with getting a very good job because in my home country it’s very important and you make a difference if you can communicate with people from other countries through English."
Ridha, Saudi Arabia – 2014 – 2015
"My favorite place would be probably the waterfront area! There was a festival every summer but I can't remember the name. This festival took place next to the downtown river. It was fun and so many games and food were there. The people in Portland are so friendly and the nature of the city is just amazing, that must be why they call it the City of Roses!
I had so many memories of fun class activities. One of them was a presentation that I had to on PowerPoint but instead I came up with a recorded video. My teacher was astonished. He said, 'How could you not be shy when you were doing those things!'
To be honest I had more than one favorite teacher and they all helped me out especially with my speaking!
I speak English fluently now because of PELA, where it started."