LETTER OF REFERENCE
RE: Friends Language School, Mongolia
To Whom It May Concern:
It is my pleasure to express my gratitude for finding such a good language school in Ulaanbaatar. I started my Mongolian studies in Friends School July 1996, and continued after returning to Mongolia in January 1997, studying 4 x 2 hours a week for the first half year, then 3 x 2 hours a week for a year. After this I was able to start teaching Dental Assistant students in the Mongolian language, and I have been using my language each day ever since, not needing a translator even in official visits to the Ministry of Health.
The Friends School provided an individual curriculum based on my special needs and desires in the language studies. That was the key issue in learning the language so fast. I always took my lessons on a one to one basis, which no doubt also contributes to the efficacy of the studies. I could not have used any more time for my language studies, so I am indeed grateful for what I was able to accomplish in a relatively short time in Friends School.
There are different teachers in Friends School. In my experience the Director of the school, Mrs. Uranchimeg, was able to take my individual needs into account the best, so that I gained the most from her lessons.
In case there would be any questions, I will gladly give any additional information about Friends School.
Sincerely,
Salla Salmenkivi
DDS (Finland)
Project Coordinator, Oral Health Promotion Project Mongolia
LKA Finland (A Christian NGO)
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
November 2000
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Robert Keroack. I am an American and my stateside residence is in Manchester, New Hampshire. I came to Mongolia in August 1999 to engage myself in humanitarian and development aid work in this country. Concerning working overseas in this capacity, it has always been my personal conviction that such work can be done most effectively only if one succeeds in learning the language. Language is the key to understanding any culture, which opens the door for lasting change. Therefore it was one of my first priorities to locate a language school in the capital city which was dedicated to the same goals and yet flexible enough to fit into my work schedule. Last year I was the manager of an NGO sponsored eye hospital in Ulaanbaatar. My time for language study was limited and I had to be accessible during my lessons for any needs that might come up. That meant that the school had to supply the following criteria:
All this meant that my teachers would have to have inexhaustible patience and at the same time meet my expectation of consistent progress. After inquiring at several schools I decided to enroll in the “Friends” school. The director T. Orenchimeg told me that her school had experience teaching people with demanding schedules and yet would charge no more than other schools which limited themselves to classroom only style teaching (ostensibly to maximize the earning potential of each teacher.) My classes were scheduled for Monday through Friday, four forty-five minute lessons each day with a total time range from 9am to 12:15pm with a fifteen minute break after the first two classes. I also was given the opportunity to engage in bi-monthly extracurricular activities ranging from cultural field trips to group sporting events. Even with the tight schedule and unceasing interruptions, by year’s end we managed to adequately cover 85% of the basic grammar and the beginnings of syntax.
I have since completed my first year’s study with the “Friends” school and this year I have chosen to enroll again to continue my education in the Mongolian language. I have decided to take this year and devote it entirely to language study and so am able to study on the school’s premises. The school is situated in a large apartment and therefore its rooms are best suited for small classrooms or one to one tutorial style teaching. This has enabled me to see and appreciate the planning and interaction that takes place on a personal basis with each student. I have found the chief strengths of the school to be:
I fully expect my language learning experience to be execrated this year and feel confident that the “Friends school can provide me with the foundational knowledge I need to continue in this challenging language. Because true language learning is an ever ongoing part of life so I know it will be here with me in Mongolia. Knowing this, I believe I have made the correct choice with the “Friends” school because the educational level of the teachers enables them to continue to help me into university levels of the language; both ancient and modern and culture and history if I so choose. I have recommended this school before to those who are “serious” about the language and to those who only require “survival phrase” knowledge and will continue to do so. They are well able to handle the Mongolian language learning needs of any student’s level, from abc’s to literature, art, and culture.
Sincerely,
R.L. Keroack
Mongolia 2003
To Whom It May Concern:
I am just beginning my third year here at Friends school. Having spent so much time sitting at one of the school’s desks I thought it would only be proper to say a word or two on its behalf.
“Friends” was recommended to me by a friend of mine who had already been here several years. I had been looking at a different school in Ulaanbaatar but, trusting my friend’s judgment, I decided on attending “Friends.” I have not found reason to regret this decision. Throughout the past two years I have worked with International Support Services, an NGO established to help sight and hearing impaired Mongolians, and I have been very busy working, traveling, and learning the language. “Friends” has been extremely understanding throughout and has scheduled around my work, I am sure, to the discomfiture of the teachers. Nevertheless, I never observed a “grumbling” attitude on the part of my various teachers but quite the contrary.
Perhaps the things that I like the most about “Friends” school are
1.) The friendliness of the teachers. Quite frankly, the classes have taken on a more friend with friend role rather than the usual student with teacher aspect, which has allowed me to work on their sympathy and get out of some homework assignments for which I have never lost my schoolboy repugnance—much to the consternation of my director Uranchimeg.
2.) The one on one teaching method. This method of teaching allows those of us who do not happen to excel at language learning not to be left choking in the dust of the other students, who seem to have an uncanny knack of picking up the language much faster than we ever could—I put it down as witchery on their part but perhaps doing homework actually has its benefits. There is nothing more frustrating than having the person next to you converse with the teacher in seemingly fluent Mongolian while you are still trying to learn how to count up to ten in order to impress the Mongolian children who live in your building.
Another benefit of this one on one teaching method is the ability to change the lessons to accommodate the particular direction you are taking as you live in Mongolia. As your ideas, goals, and language ability start to mature you find your language learning taking a somewhat different route then the other people who started at the same time as yourself. The goal may be the same, but a doctor is going to experience life here different from someone who is teaching English, and the different situations require different responses with different vocabulary. The teachers here are interested in what the students do and are quick to make helpful suggestions. They also have shown themselves happy to change the lesson plan to encompass the different language needs that are naturally going to rise.
3.) The extreme helpfulness of the staff here at “Friends”. Coming to Mongolia has its pleasant surprises and some, well . . . unpleasant surprises. Until the language is properly learned simple things can become a real trial in a foreign culture, much more so if there is no one around to help. Going into my third year living here in Mongolia I have had the pleasures of experiencing culture shock and many of the other “lessons” along the way. Whenever a problem came up, which was too much for me to handle with the language ability that I had, the staff at “Friends” never hesitated to help in whatever capacity they could. There are more than a few times I would have been up the proverbial creek without them.
In short, I have recommended this Mongolian language school to friends and I would not hesitate to recommend it to whoever may read this letter.
Respectfully,
Craig FitzGerald
