Study abroad testimonial | A second attempt and the joy of reunion | Bob tells us about 3D ACADEMY, “the school you want to go back to”

Hello. We are the 3D ACADEMY team!

This time we introduce the story of Bob, who decided to study a second time in the Philippines, on Cebu Island, after his first experience in 2024. Finding a study destination you truly want to return to is actually something very valuable. Of course, the price, the location and the quality of the classes matter, but what really pushes you to come back are the encounters with people and the experiences of everyday life.

Bob, who gained English level and confidence on his first stay, came back to 3D ACADEMY once more and, between reuniting with old classmates and meeting new ones, enjoyed even deeper learning and growth.

In this article we tell you in detail the reasons that led Bob to return, how he experienced the classes and the weekends, his relationship with the teachers, and even his dreams for the future.

Bob visited 3D ACADEMY for the first time in the spring of a year ago. Searching the internet with the goal of learning English, he came across the 3D website by chance, and that is what attracted him from the start.

“It said that the tuition was very affordable, that the location was convenient and that the classes were truly one-on-one. I thought: ‘This is the place!’”

When he actually arrived, what surprised him most, even more than the information he had researched, was “the people.”

The teachers were cheerful and friendly, and the classes were easy to understand. In addition, the closeness among students was such that he was able to make friends naturally with classmates of different nationalities and ages.

“I made friends right away; I think after class I always ended up talking with someone (laughs). In Japan it was hard for me to talk to strangers, but here I found myself approaching people all the time.”

After finishing that intense experience and returning to Japan, some time later, one day he started thinking: “I want to go back to Cebu.”

“I had gone back to my work routine, but I couldn’t forget that feeling of growing that I had there.”

So, in 2025 he decided to study at 3D again. The first thing that surprised him upon arriving for the second time was the new dormitory building that had been built behind the school.

“I was surprised that it was completely new. The rooms were clean and quiet. It was so comfortable that I almost didn’t want to go out (laughs).”

Even so, when he saw the familiar atmosphere of the school, the same classrooms as always and the smiles of the reception staff, he naturally felt that reassuring sense of “having come home.”

After finishing his first study stay, Bob organized a trip to Guam with a friend to test how much English he remembered.

There he had to manage everything in English: the transfer from the airport to the hotel, the conversation when checking in, ordering in restaurants.

“At first I was nervous, but the words came out more smoothly than I expected. When I naturally said ‘Could I take this one?’ instead of just ‘This one, please,’ I thought, ‘Wow, I can do this!’ and I got excited.”

He also says he was very happy when, chatting with a foreigner in a local cafe, questions like “Are you traveling?” or “Where are you from?” flowed naturally.

“In Japan it takes courage to talk to a foreigner, but thanks to having trained in Cebu, I came to simply think ‘I’m going to try talking.’”

For Bob, that trip was not just a vacation, but a major turning point in which he truly felt “the joy of connecting with people using English.”

“Confirming that what I had learned really worked in real life was a success experience that truly gave me confidence.”

Classes at 3D center on up to 7 daily sessions of one-on-one classes, and cover a wide range of skills: conversation, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.

This time, Bob set himself the priority of strengthening his speaking. Compared with his first time, he paid more attention to the rhythm of conversation and the expressions he used.

“Last time I was afraid to speak, but this time my goal changed to wanting to speak more naturally.”

In class he repeated pronunciation exercises, phrase memorization and practical conversation with texts every day. Sometimes he also trained everyday conversation thoroughly in free chats with the teachers.

“We did a huge amount of practice telling in English what had happened the day before. Since the real goal is to ‘tell it to the teacher,’ it stops being a simple writing exercise and becomes something genuine.”

In the classes, besides English itself, he was also able to touch the essence of communication: how to convey your own opinion and how to understand what the other person says.

“All the teachers valued the idea of ‘having a dialogue’ more than simply ‘teaching,’ and that made me look forward to every class.”

He also says that the class style, with casual chats and laughter along the way, helped him develop the feeling that “learning equals having fun.”

“The teachers made jokes and brought up topics of conversation, so I went to class every day full of enthusiasm.”

In the life of studying abroad, time outside class is also a valuable space for learning. Bob gave his own personal touch to “self-study” and worked day by day to improve his English level.

The first things he used were his favorite grammar books and collections of English conversation phrases that he brought from Japan. Apparently he mostly reviewed practical content, such as “useful English for traveling abroad” or “examples of everyday English conversation.”

“In Japan those reference books were just for ‘reading,’ but here I went to ‘memorizing them to use them.’ If you imagine the situation and say it out loud, it sticks better.”

However, Bob didn’t feel comfortable shutting himself in his room all the time to study alone. In fact, where he concentrated best was in the school cafeteria.

“Surprisingly, the cafeteria helps you concentrate. There are other people studying around, and that motivates you naturally. It’s like feeling that ‘you’re working hard together with someone.’”

Sitting next to a friend to work through exercise sheets, write a diary, or ask each other questions on the spot as they came up: that “relaxed and natural learning space” was, for Bob, a place where he felt at ease.

He also says that the daily assignments the teachers gave him helped him set the rhythm of his self-study: fill-in-the-blank exercises, speaking practice and the habit of writing a diary every day.

“The diary became a practice of building English with my own words, just as I was at that moment. And since the teacher corrected it well each time, I could understand ‘ah, this sounds more natural.’”

This diary assignment was also especially rewarding for him because it let him “see reflected” his own growth in the form of text.

“When I compared the texts from the first week with those from the third, I truly felt: ‘Wow, now it sounds a little more like English!’ and that made me very happy.”

After getting through a full week of classes and self-study, the fun of the weekend arrived. For Bob, the weekend was at once a “reward,” a moment of “switching off” and also an “adventure.”

His classic plan was to go out for a drink with his classmates at PINO.

“Phrases that never come up in English classes were flying around there, so we jokingly called it ‘PINO-style English’ (laughs).”

Toasting in English, joking in English, and sometimes mixing in a bit of Japanese or Korean: a lively atmosphere that, he says, was like a “multinational bar.”

“In Japan, it’s not easy to have the chance to chat with foreigners in an atmosphere like that, over a drink. For that alone it’s already a valuable experience.”

In addition, on weekends he often went to a nearby billiards hall.

“You could play for 80 pesos an hour, so it was cheap and great. Since I love competing, it suited me perfectly, and I’ve lost count of how many games I played (laughs).”

Not only outings for drinks or billiards: he also took adventure trips farther away. One he remembers most is his getaway to Camotes Island.

“The nature was truly beautiful, with the sea, the sky and the stars forming a single landscape. The starry sky I saw at night was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in my life.”

...although his biggest mistake happened there too.

“I went without booking a hotel and, when I arrived, I didn’t know what to do (laughs). It was high season and there wasn’t a single room available; I went around several places until I finally found one.”

This experience taught him how dangerous it is to “not prepare” when traveling, but, at the same time, he says it helped his “spirit that everything works out” and his ability to react on the spot grow.

“A small stumble also gives a trip some flavor (laughs).”

When studying at a language school, something that surprisingly causes worry is the quality of the food. However, says Bob, he was very satisfied with the food at 3D.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect much, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The flavor and the variety were good, and I enjoyed it every day.”

One of his favorites in particular was the pancakes served at breakfast on Wednesdays and Sundays.

“Those were really delicious. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They lifted my mood from the morning (laughs).”

And in addition, what could be called the greatest charm of 3D ACADEMY is “the bonds with people.”

“It’s not only in class: in the cafeteria, in group classes, on outings after class, every day there is a chance to talk with someone somewhere. And, what’s more, it happens naturally in English.”

On this second time too, he had many encounters with new classmates. And with his “batchmates” (the students from his intake) he met on his first stay, he is still in touch to this day, through social media and calls.

“I think 3D is not just another language school, but something like a ‘crossroads of lives.’”

People of different nationalities and ages, but with the same purpose, gather there, and that makes it possible to connect naturally beyond the language barrier. That is one of the reasons Bob loves 3D.

After his time at 3D ACADEMY, the motivation for a new challenge sprouted in Bob. His next goal is to do a Working Holiday in Australia.

“Actually, I had been interested in the Working Holiday for a long time, but I thought: ‘since I don’t know English, I surely can’t.’ But when I came to 3D, I gradually gained confidence and the desire to try grew stronger.”

What Bob is looking for is to work on a farm (“farm”). It is physically demanding work and living in an English-speaking environment also makes him a bit uneasy, but he says his desire to “give it a try” is stronger than that unease.

“When you hear ‘farm,’ you get the impression that it will be very hard. But you can practice English working with people from different countries, and I think the experience of ‘working with your body’ is very valuable.”

A Working Holiday is not simply “working”: it is a “training ground for life” in which you forge yourself. Especially in farm work, besides English, initiative, communication skills and patience are required.

“Honestly, I still have worries. But ‘the experience at 3D’ is my support. Both the English and having lived alongside people from so many countries make me think: ‘first, just take the leap.’”

There, days of physical work from morning to night await him, learning the trade while overcoming the language barrier. But for Bob, that is, once again, a new “real stage for English.”

“At 3D I learned ‘classroom English.’ Now I want to take on ‘workplace English.’”

And beyond the Working Holiday, although still vaguely, he says he is already beginning to glimpse a vision of the future.

“I’m still not clear on it, but someday I’d like to live abroad for a long time. When I came to 3D I felt that ‘living abroad is not something special, but can become everyday life too,’ and I feel the Working Holiday is along the same lines.”

“At first I thought that going once would be enough.”

That is the reason Bob gave us to explain why he visited 3D ACADEMY again. And it is that, as he says, it was not simply a place of learning, but “a place where I can be myself.”

“Studying, of course, is important, but more than that, the greatest charm of 3D is the closeness with people. The staff, the teachers, the friends, everyone is friendly, and just by being there you fill up with energy.”

On his second stay, being in an environment he already knew, Bob was able to experience it more naturally. He got along well with the new classmates right away, and his days after class and his weekends were always full of laughter.

“All you need is to take the first step; after that, the world opens up by itself, naturally. And this time it was the same.”

Bob says that, in studying abroad, what matters is not so much language level, but “the courage to talk to someone” and “the flexibility of not turning down an invitation.”

“The trick to making friends? It’s easy. ‘Don’t be embarrassed’ and ‘dare to say yes.’ Even if sometimes you feel a little lazy, go when you’re invited. Small actions like that shorten the distance to others all at once.”

A stay at 3D full of smiles and countless “first times.” For Bob, that was a time that left him, beyond English, a precious “clue for life.”

“I’d like to go back again. Well, rather, I think I will go back (laughs). Next time I want to improve my English even more and take on new challenges.”

A message for Bob

Bob, thank you so much for your effort on this second stay at 3D!

We are sure that the experience and confidence you gained at 3D will also give you strength on your upcoming Working Holiday in Australia. Our whole team supports you wholeheartedly. And don’t hesitate to come back to Cebu whenever you like!

We look forward to the day we see each other again.