(Thanks to photographer Adriano Elisei Silva)

To whet your appetite for the upcoming series on How to Improve Your English Outside Class, we have some advice from last term’s Intermediate students for making the most of your stay in Dublin.
They have arranged their useful words of wisdom into four categories: practical advice, transport, cultural information and how to improve your English.
So, here’s what they recommend.

Practical

• You should bring an adaptor so you can charge your devices.
• You’d better bring warm and waterproof clothes, especially in the autumn and winter.
• If you are staying for more than three months you have to get insurance.
• You might have to bring a lot of money – to enter Ireland from certain countries, you need a minimum of €3,000 in a bank account if you come from Brazil, Korea, Japan on an Academic Year course.
• If you smoke you should probably bring some cigarettes with you because they are very expensive in Ireland.
• Don’t drink alcohol outside walking on the street.

Transport

• You should get a Leap Card for public transport

• If you don’t have a Leap Card, you have to pay the exact fare for the bus in coins.
• You can’t stand upstairs on the bus.
• Remember when you are crossing the road – they drive on the left in Ireland. But, be careful! There are a lot of one-way-streets.
• If you ride a bike, wear bright clothes and obey the rules of the road.

Improve Your English

• Make friends with people from other countries.
• You shouldn’t use your own language if you can avoid it.
• You should listen to the radio and watch TV and movies in English (with English subtitles if necessary).
• You should go to the cinema on Tuesday afternoon. You can see a movie for €5.
• You should try to go out and meet people. Atlas has several excursions each week, so you have plenty of opportunities to meet and chat to other students.
• You have to practice what you have learnt after school and at the weekend
• It’s a good idea to go to the free Pronunciation class on Thursday afternoon.
• Be prepared to hear people speaking quickly. Don’t be afraid; you’ll get used to it
• You can study for free in the Ilac Centre Library. They also have free language exchanges.
• You should study in Atlas!

Culture

• You should say: “Thanks a million”.
• If you like beer, you might like to try a Guinness.
• If you eat pork, you’ll probably like a full Irish breakfast.
• You have to go to the pub where you can listen to Irish music.
• You can listen to buskers playing music on Grafton Street and Henry Street. Give them a euro or two if you like what you hear.
• In Ireland, a lot of people like sport (football, rugby and Gaelic games), so you should try to enjoy them. You could join a team, or just go to watch a match.
• It might be interesting to learn about Irish history.
• You could take a tasty trip to the chocolate factory.

(Thanks to Michelle – Atlas teacher and activities leader – for the photo.)

Places to Visit

• You should go to Howth to take a walk around the cliffs and try some fish near the harbour or on the pier

(Thanks to Thiago and Sandra for the jump and to the anonymous photographer for the pic.)

• You can see deer in Phoenix Park.

(Thanks to Serena S for the photo. That’s the deer in the distance.)

• Galway is a must – from there, you can also visit the Aran Islands or the Cliffs of Moher.

(Thanks to Maria C for this photo of Elena (taking a photo!))

If you find any of this advice helpful please leave a comment and thank our wonderful Atlas students: Ayse, Berna, Min Soo, Na Young, Rafaelo, Rim, Roberta, Ssuyu and Taeko.
And if you have any ideas of you own to share please let us all know.