What a great season if Greek Language and Culture courses in 2022! We would like to thank all our students that joined the programs,
as well as those
purchasing the Omilo Publications,
taking online lessons,
supporting us on social media,
writing thank you emails,
etc…
Ευχαριστούμε πολύ!
Τι περίοδος! Θα θέλαμε να ευχαριστήσουμε όλους τους συμμετέχοντες που πήραν μέρος στα μαθήματα Ελληνικών του Ομιλώ για το 2022, καθώς επίσης και όσους αγόρασαν τις δημοσιεύσεις του Ομιλώ, παρακολούθησαν διαδικτυακά μαθήματα και μας υποστήριξαν στα social media, έγραψαν ευχαριστήρια emails, κ.λπ…
After two difficult Corona years, 2020 and 2021, and working a lot in front of the computer, we are happy we could welcome our students again in Greece, in Nafplion (Easter), Lefkada (June) and Syros (July-August-September). In 2022 we were back to 70% of our usual programs. Unfortunately, it was still too risky to organize the Athens programs in spring 2022, but in a month we will also welcome students in our beloved Athens again.
Μετά από δύο δύσκολα χρόνια κορωνοϊού, το 2020 και το 2021, κατά τη διάρκεια των οποίων δουλέψαμε πολύ στον υπολογιστή, είμαστε πολύ χαρούμενοι που μπορέσαμε να υποδεχτούμε τους μαθητές μας πάλι στην Ελλάδα, στο Ναύπλιο (το Πάσχα), στη Λευκάδα (τον Ιούνιο) και στη Σύρο (από τον Ιούλιο μέχρι τον Σεπτέμβριο).
Το 2022 καταφέραμε να επιστρέψουμε στο 70% των συνηθισμένων προγραμμάτων μας. Δυστυχώς, ήταν ακόμα πολύ επίφοβο να οργανώσουμε τα προγράμματα της Αθήνας την άνοιξη του 2022, αλλά σε έναν μήνα θα υποδεχτούμε μαθητές στη λατρεμένη μας Αθηνά ξανά!
What our students say!
Before we will announce the 2023 course dates (still brainstorming and working on it at the moment, and you will hear more about it in November) and before we will show Athens to our next group, here a small selection of some comments and feedback we received during the 2022 courses, from students as well as teachers !
Πριν ανακοινώσουμε τις ημερομηνίες των προγραμμάτων του 2023 (ακόμα δουλεύουμε πάνω σε αυτό) και πριν δείξουμε την Αθήνα στο επόμενο γκρουπ, εδώ θα δεις μια μικρή συλλογή από μερικά σχόλια και ανατροφοδότηση που πήραμε κατά τη διάρκεια των προγραμμάτων του 2022, τόσο από μαθητές όσο και από καθηγητές!
Thank you so much, and wish you a very nice autumn and winter.
Ευχαριστούμε πολύ και σας ευχόμαστε όμορφο φθινόπωρο και χειμώνα.
Maya και Δημήτρης
More Testimonials….
PS.1 Below just a few comments/feedback per course location.
If you want to read more feedback from students from all over the world, then click here and visit our “testimonial webpage”
ΥΓ 1. Παρακάτω θα δεις λίγα σχόλια για την κάθε περιοχή. Αν θέλεις να διαβάσεις περισσότερη ανατροφοδότηση από τους μαθητές μας από όλο τον κόσμο, μπορείς να επισκεφθείς τη σελίδα με τις κριτικές μας.
Photos and Video’s
Many photos have been posted on social media, and every group received their special Photo Album, with a facebook link. All photos are still available on Facebook.
PS2. We are very happy so many students are willing to say something on video, so you can get a better idea, with a nice background from Greece! Click here and listen to different students on the YouTube Channel.
(Note; If you like what the students say, do not forget to “LIKE” the video as well, or add your comment under the video.
The last videos of September are not included yet, since Maya did not have time yet to edit and subtitle them, but they will be uploaded during winter.)
ΥΓ2. Χαρήκαμε πολύ που τόσοι μαθητές ήταν πρόθυμοι να πουν κάτι σε βίντεο! Έτσι, μπορείς να πάρεις μια καλύτερη ιδέα, με όμορφο φόντο από την Ελλάδα . Άκουσε διάφορους μαθητές μας στο κανάλι μας στο Youtube.
(Σημείωση: Αν σου αρέσουν αυτά που λένε οι μαθητές, μην ξεχάσεις να πατήσεις “LIKE” ή να γράψεις το σχόλιό σου κάτω από το βίντεο.
Τα τελευταία βίντεο του Σεπτεμβρίου δεν συμπεριλαμβάνονται, καθώς η Maya δεν είχε ακόμα χρόνο να τα επεξεργαστεί και να βάλει τους υπότιτλους).
Why students speak in their mother tongue on the video and not in Greek?
Γιατί οι μαθητές στα βίντεο μιλάνε στη μητρική τους γλώσσα και όχι στα Ελληνικά;
Although students know Greek, and could also say many things in Greek, we usually advise them to talk on the video in their mother-tongue. The reason is that they can express themselves much better with the vocabulary and expressions they like to use, and they also feel better to be in front of a camera. Another reason is that sometimes “unwanted visitors” , who are not related to Omilo, watch those testimonials and write nasty comments under the video, in case the person makes a mistake in Greek. Unfortunately we can not control the internet, but we would like to protect our students from unnecessary comments. At Omilo, we all know your Greek is good, you improve, you try to speak, you love the language, but there is no reason to prove it for the entire digital world.
Αν και οι μαθητές ξέρουν Ελληνικά και θα μπορούσαν να πουν πολλά στη γλώσσα αυτή, συνήθως τους συμβουλεύουμε να μιλήσουν στο βίντεο στη μητρική τους γλώσσα. Ο λόγος είναι ότι μπορούν να εκφράσουν όσα θέλουν πολύ καλύτερα με το λεξιλόγιο και τις εκφράσεις που τους αρέσει να χρησιμοποιούν. Επίσης, έτσι αισθάνονται καλύτερα όταν βρίσκονται μπροστά από την κάμερα. Ένας άλλος λόγος είναι ότι μερικές φορές «ανεπιθύμητοι επισκέπτες» που δεν έχουν σχέση με το Ομιλώ, παρακολουθούν τις κριτικές και γράφουν άσχημα σχόλια κάτω από τα βίντεο, σε περίπτωση που ο μαθητής που μιλάει κάνει ένα λάθος στα Ελληνικά. Δυστυχώς δεν μπορούμε να ελέγξουμε το ίντερνετ, αλλά θα θέλαμε να προστατέψουμε τους μαθητές μας από περιττά σχόλια. Στο Ομιλώ, όλοι ξέρουμε ότι τα Ελληνικά σου είναι καλά, ότι βελτιώνεσαι, ότι προσπαθείς να μιλήσεις και ότι αγαπάς τη γλώσσα! Οπότε δεν υπάρχει λόγος να το αποδείξεις σε όλο τον ψηφιακό κόσμο.
Ready to Travel with our students to Nafplion, Lefkada and Syros?
1. NAFPLION
Greece is the most fantastic country. Wherever you find yourself you discover a myriad of diverse places, history and nature – it is ever giving and I love it. In Nafplion, the week leading up to the Orthodox Easter, was the week of my intensive language and culture course with Omilo.
“What a wonderful week I had, nervous to begin with, we were set tests to determine our level and I found myself in a lovely group with five other participants from Germany, England, Norway, Austria and France. We had two sessions of teaching every morning, conducted in Greek, really testing my concentration and listening skills and by the end of it I wanted to continue as I felt I was just beginning to loosen up. I so want the language to flow and it’s not there yet. After the moment, when I have time to think, I know exactly what I should have said but that doesn’t help. I become a bit tongue tied in class and forget the simplest, most common verbs. The teachers were empathetic, clear and inspiring. I loved the dancing and singing and finding more about the Easter traditions and of course meeting such interesting people, all with a common love for Greece.”
Jinti, UK
2. LEFKADA
Dear Omilo team!
You would also get 10 points from me 😀!!!
The course on Lefkada was beautiful! Learning Greek in such a great atmosphere with competent, funny teachers, super nice people from different countries and the beautiful ambience of this cute hotel overlooking the sea is a dream!!!
We learned a lot, talked and laughed. You really had a lot of work with the many groups and were always super nice and in a good mood!
The evening events were very interesting and it was also very nice that you could get in touch with all the students. It was all a lot of fun! I’m already looking forward to the next time 🤗!
Many greetings to all, from Uschi, Germany
3. SYROS
JULY
I attended several courses with Omilo over the last 4 years. I prefer the 2-week courses as it gives me enough time to practise my speaking skills and really achieve a better level of fluency. Omilo does not only offers excellent language lessons but a full cultural experience during the course. Although some programs are on the schedule every year (like there is always a walk in Ermoupolis at every course), the experience is never the same! There is always a new fact to learn, a new joke to laugh at, the company is excellent, and the programs are well organised. So, I keep attending all of them every year.We also had regular updates about the local events and places to visit throughout the whole island: This year, on the top of Omilo s`s own events, I attended a concert in a lovely village, a spectacular theatre performance in an old factory, in Ermoupolis and another brilliant concert in Azolimnos. Maya and Dimitris do not just provide the information about these events but give all the information about how to get there or arranges the tickets if it is not easy to buy. At Omilo, I always feel very well looked after but at the same time I have to freedom to choose what I would like to do, how much I would like to rest or go out: perfect combination for a language learning vacation. I am truly grateful for my Greek learning experience with Omilo in Syros. It is a holistic cultural experience, not just a language course. I feel so welcome that arriving at Azolimnos in July feels like coming home. Maya is always ready to help whether I need accommodation, or local travel advice. The Omilo teachers are fantastic, they prepare they lessons and teach with professionalism, but they treat me as a beloved friend. I also like the “international” atmosphere of the course as the students are coming from all over the world and it is great to make acquaintances or even friends.Krisztina Paladi-Kovacs, Hungary
PS. I like the Omilo newsletters too: they are very informative and great reminders to continue my learning journey during busy month at home.
SEPTEMBER
After 18 years in love with the country I finally made it there. My dream came true. I did have very high expectations, as they increased over the years, but Greece indeed didn’t disappoint me at all. I went with my mum for the first days in Athens and that was already the best gift I could have. She’s the one who’s been madly in love with Greece, the language and the culture since a teenager and because of her I became like this. I’m not sure who enjoyed more but I know we were both over the moon while discovering Athens. Also speaking Greek in front of her made her so happy, she’s living her life dream through me as she could never study it properly. In Canary Islands there weren’t any places to study Modern Greek and there aren’t many places in Spain as a whole (if any) to this day. During my stay, I think I fell even more in love with the country and the people. After 3 years studying Greek I could finally speak and put what I learned into practice. I did think I could get shy and not speak a word but It was totally the opposite. The moment I landed my Greek language adventure started. I spoke to everyone in Greek from the taxi driver to the pharmacist and they were so happy to hear a foreigner speak Greek.
My lessons at the Hellenic Centre in London have truly paid off and then my intensive lessons in Syros with the Omilo school have made me be much more confident, especially while speaking which is my weakness. The 1-week course I went for was proper intensive (the name did say so but I didn’t understand fully the meaning
). My teachers didn’t speak to us at all in English while on the lessons or even outside, except for occasions where we didn’t understand a word and we couldn’t get the meaning while they explained the meaning in Greek. Of course I didn’t have all the vocabulary and I was lost many times, but what matters is that you get the context of what they are talking about. It was very intensive and pretty scary initially but very efficient at the same time. I loved the challenge and I’ll definitely repeat next year. It was full immersion in Greek language and culture. We were taught also few Greek traditional dances and I absolutely loved it.
