Give your New Year’s Goals a boost!

Goodbye December 2018, welcome February 2019.

Who said that new year’s resolutions must start in January? If procrastination is something you want to get rid of this year, then February sounds great (you know, baby steps).

We are all capable of coming up with new year’s resolutions in January but let’s be honest, after the Holidays stress, thinking about new projects isn’t at the top of our list of priorities.

Good thing is that we have another 11 months to get back on tracks! Sure, the first month is filled with good intentions, from the Veganuary, to the Dry January challenge, if you decide to follow the newest online trends. But your New Year’s resolution doesn’t need to be advertised, posted, tweeted or shared to be effective.

Taking up a new hobby, subscribing to the gym, drinking more water, bullet journaling…you name it!

As far as English is concerned, though, allow us to give you some ideas.

Independently on what your needs are, at ELA we can create tailored courses accordingly:

Are you considering enrolling into University but have some doubts about your English Level? Don’t have the chance to travel? Give our Distance Learning IELTS a go!

Our 4-week online distance learning course allows students from all over the world to reach their IELTS goal through an immersive experience, while comfortably sitting at home or at the office.

Do you work in the Tourism and Hospitality field? Are you a manager or a receptionist working in the Tourism and Hospitality sector? Would you like to step up your game and aim at a higher job position? We offer a wide range of courses approved by the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality.

Would you like to be employed in the education system? Would you like your teaching experience to be recognized and used to enhance your career opportunities? Enrol now in our Trinity CertTESOL course. Little time on your hands? Don’t worry: we also have part-time lessons! Our Director of Studies will answer your questions at dos@elacademy.co.uk.

You’re new in town and fear to be judged for how you speak English? Difficult for you to attend an English course in the morning? We got you covered with our Free English Lessons. You’ll only have to commit for a couple of afternoon hours, from February (Monday to Friday), for a month. What are you waiting for? Contact us to learn more.

Remember that you always have time to grow as a person and in your profession. Whatever English level you start from, it will always be a powerful weapon to carry.

And since we are approaching the world’s most famous romantic love’s celebration, gift your partner with an English course by taking advantage of our exclusive 25% discount! Contact us now!

The Importance of Training for Cambridge Exams

A question that we are asked on a regular basis is ‘How does this exam reflect my level of English?’.
It is a very fair question, and, unfortunately, the answer is that it actually might not.

Whether it is for university, work, or just for the personal challenge, the Cambridge exams often represent the pinnacle of difficulty in English language development.
They are not easy to achieve and bring with them a sense of satisfaction unobtainable in any other area of language development.

But does it reflect your level of English? Not necessarily…

Passing an exam is somewhat different to achieving the language to enable you to order dinner at a restaurant.  Most language development occurs to improve communicative ability, not impress an examiner.  Unfortunately, that is not what is needed to pass the Cambridge exams.

The exam is divided into the four skills – Speaking, Reading (and Use of English), Writing and Listening. Each skill will test your ability to use/understand various areas within each skill but they follow a very specific structure.

The reading paper will test your understanding of general information and ask you complete multiple choice questions – along with completing a text by inserting multiple paragraphs.
The writing paper will ask you to write two pieces of text – typically one will be a report and the second one will be a choice. The listening paper, much like the reading paper, will ask you to analyse spoken texts and to fill in empty spaces. All of which aren’t really skills we utilise in our daily use of English, therefore, in order to pass these exams, specialist training is a must.


This does not mean that it is impossible to achieve a high standard of English without doing an exam, but it does mean that it is remarkably difficult to achieve a certificate of fair representation of your English level without first studying the nuances of the exam.

Glossary

pinnacle – the most successful point; the culmination.

nuances - a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.

---Sign up for the Cambridge English Exams at ELA-Edinburgh.

Whether it is Preliminary, First, Advanced, Proficiency or Business Certificate, preparing for a Cambridge English exam does not need to be an arduous task.

At ELA-Edinburgh we will provide you with the training and support required to achieve your desired score.

Trinity CertTESOL - Your Gateway to the World

Challenging, engaging, fun, intensive, inspiring, rewarding, enlightening, fast-paced and multi-faceted!!
These are just some of the adjectives volunteered by our trainees.

Do they make it sound appealing?
Do you want to travel?
Are you looking for an international English language teaching qualification?
Can you cope with an intensive four week course?
If you answered YES to all the above, then the CertTESOL is for you.

Our next course runs from 8th October until 2nd November 2018 and there are still a few places left.

Participants enrol on our CertTESOL courses for different reasons:

• some are looking to launch a career in language teaching 
• some want to work while on their gap year
• some already have teaching experience but need a qualification
• others just want a career change

Whatever your reason, the Trinity CertTESOL can help. It’s one of the main qualifications in English language teaching and recognised world-wide by schools, governments, NGOs as well as multi-nationals. Doing our ELA/Trinity course means you can move into the next phase of your career with confidence or move abroad knowing you’ll work for a reputable school.

What we offer:

• 6 hours of assessed teaching practice
• the opportunity to profile a learner by interviewing him/her, analyse their language and subsequently give a 1-2-1 lesson
• experience in creating and producing your own materials
• a competitive price: currently it’s £925 at ELA-Edinburgh

Course Content:
The CertTESOL is made up of 5 units and involves 130 timetabled hours, ten of which you will spend observing qualified teachers and teaching volunteer students from many different countries. You need to pass all five assignments to be awarded the qualification, but our experienced and highly qualified trainers will support you every step of the way.

At ELA-Edinburgh your day will normally be:
09:00-12:15-methodology and language input sessions with your trainers
12:15-13:00 Lunch
13:00-18:00 Lesson planning, teaching and observations.

Nearly everyone who has done a CertTESOL course remembers it as an intense but extremely rewarding 4 weeks. Reading between the lines: expect a great experience but be prepared to put in a lot of hard work!

Non-native teachers
We have many non-native speakers on our course, but they need to do a pre-course interview with the Course Director, before being accepted on to the course. Trinity trainees need IELTS 7.0 in all skills, or equivalent, to participate, but it’s the CD who has the final say.

If you feel your level of English may fall short of this, don’t worry. ELA has purposefully designed intensive courses to prepare you for the CertTESOL.

Remember, as you’ll be participating in an educational course you might qualify for the Erasmus+ Programme, specifically designed for lifelong learning.

If you still haven’t made up you mind, have a glance at some of our earlier blogs for ideas of great places to jet off to when you’ve finished your course at ELA-Edinburgh.

The CPE exam

There are a variety of exam options for learners of English. The market is full of exams from different providers. However, for highly advanced students one exam stands out: the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)

ELA-Edinburgh is an authorised test centre for Cambridge English

The CPE is a C2 level exam, meaning it is suitable for near native level users. It is certainly a challenging exam and a genuine accomplishment for anyone who achieves this level in English.The exam features four papers designed to test all elements of English:

Paper 1- Reading and Use of English (90 minutes)

Use of English tests grammar and vocabulary

Paper 2-  Writing (90 minutes)
Candidate must write two papers and a total of around 500 words

Paper 3 - Listening (Approx 40 minutes)
4 separates tasks that will be played twice

Paper 4 - Speaking (Approx 16 minutes)
Candidates will do the speaking tasks in pairs

Once you have the CPE exam, it is valid for life and is proof of the exceptional level of English that you have reached. It will boost any CV in a competitive market.

Often candidates for the CPE have reached an excellent level of English through living and working in the UK over a number of years and need a qualification that will prove their skills. If this is your case, the CPE may well be your answer.

As a test centre for Cambridge English, ELA-Edinburgh will run the computer based CPE exam on July 14th, candidates will receive their result in justtwo or three weeks. For more information email info@elacademy.co.uk or call 0131 226 6182.

Paper or Computer?

For many people taking a Cambridge English Exam, the most important decision is whether to do the exam on paper or on computer. Here are some of the reasons why more and more candidates are taking Computer Based (CB) exams for KET, PET, FCE, CAE and CPE.

1) Listening.

Make sure your exam isn't hard to hear

One thing all candidates fear is poor sound quality in their listening exam. There are many stories of one pair of speakers for 100 candidates and a hall full of echos. With the CB exam each candidate has their own pair of headphones to ensure sound is crystal clear and at the perfect volume.


2) Writing

If you're worried that your handwriting isn't neat enough for the examiner to read the CB exam is for you. Setting out and organising your writing is a lot easier on a computer where you work automatically appears relatively neat and tidy.

3) Crowds

As every candidate must have their own computer in CB exams, numbers are limited so centres are less crowded and less stressful on exam days. It's an altogether less stressful way to sit your exam!

4) Results

We all know that waiting for exam results can drive you mad and with paper based (PB) exams you'll be waiting 4-6 weeks!!With the CB exam you'll have your result in around 2 weeks, a crucial difference if your entrance to university or job application depends on the result.

It's important to remember that PB and CB exams are exactly the same exam presented in a different way. The speaking format is identical for PB and CB. At ELA-Edinburgh our newly refurbished Exam Centre offers you great conditions for CB exams from A2 to C2.

Our newly refurbished exam centre

Increase your reading speed with a top-down approach

Time is your enemy in an exam.  The  Cambridge ESOL and IELTS reading papers both require candidates to complete many lengthy tasks in a severely limited time-period.  How can we make the most of our precious time?

A top-down approach is one technique that can be used to increase your ability to gist-read (reading for general understanding) as it allows you to make use of your pre-existing knowledge of a topic. 

Let’s look at a newspaper article.  Newspapers are wonderful sources of authentic content and should be read regularly to help increase vocabulary.  Before we even open the newspaper, we can make some assumptions about the story we are going to read:

·      *    it will have a clear headline

·       *   it will probably have a sub-heading

·       *  the opening paragraph will probably be an overview of what the story is going to be about

·        * there might be a picture it may be written entirely in the passive voice

Opening a newspaper, we may read a headline like:

Computer Firm’s Share Price Drops

As we read the headline, our mind is automatically associating the words we have previously absorbed on the subject.  It happens instantaneously.

Now that we have an idea of what the story could be about, we read the opening paragraph.  This should affirm our prediction and allow us to read the whole story relatively quickly as we combine the words on the page with the knowledge we have activated.

This means that if you have an idea where the story came from, it can help you predict something about the content.  This in turn allows you to train your mind into linking contexts with your own knowledge.

The message is clear and simple. Before you start reading, take a moment to make predictions about the text and allow your brain to start making connections. The time it saves you could be invaluable.

Contact us to see how we can help. 

info@elacademy.co.uk +44 (0)131 226 6182 

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IELTS Top Tips: Part 2

Following on from our IELTS Top Tips: Part 1 covering listening and reading, this week we bring you our guide to the productive sections of the exam: speaking and writing

Speaking

• Build a library

Collect your favourite phrasal verbs/idioms and make sure they can be used in a variety of contexts: e.g. describing likes and dislikes. Remember, you have a limited time to impress and it is vital you show off your knowledge

• Start your preparation early

Don’t leave speaking preparation till the end of the course. Start using your favourite expressions soon and try to use them every time you practise. The aim is for you to be able to produce a range of grammar and vocabulary that will impress the examiner and not seem forced.

• Use your voice

Don’t make the mistake of thinking pronunciation is only about vowel and consonant sounds. While accurate production is important you should also remember to change the speed and pitch of your voice to add emphasise, and enhance meaning.

Writing

• What’s true for speaking is true for writing

Like speaking, start your writing preparation early aiming to collect advanced grammar and vocabulary that you will be able to use in part 2. One possibility is to prepare a model for part 2 into which you can insert the details of your particular topic.

• Be practical in part 1

Remember that while part 2 is literary, part 1 is more scientific. You do not need beautiful vocabulary or a wide range of advanced structures to succeed here. Rather, ask yourself if a reader could recreate the graph/diagram/chart from your description. Focus on accuracy and detail.

• Tactics, tactics, tactics

You should be able to do well in writing as it is so tactical. Learn the rules and follow them. Pay close attention to the word count and most importantly: ANSWER THE QUESTION and resist the temptation to alter it to suit your interests or knowledge.

Contact us to see how we can help. 

info@elacademy.co.uk +44 (0)131 226 6182 

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Give Your CV a Little TLC

The transformation of English as the language of international business, in our global age, means effective communication has never been so essential.  

Studying a Business English course, for anyone wanting to keep up and take part in the modern world and workplace, can be a great advantage for personal growth and career opportunities. 

We’ve created a solution. 

Improve your language skills and showcase your achievement through our Business English course and BULATS exam at the end. Students can choose any number of weeks to study and can enroll on any Monday, choosing from full or part time hours. 

And, if you are unable to study consistently during the week, enroll on our evening and weekend courses to suit your schedule. 

The benefits of BULATS

• Exam is sat at the end of the course in school

• Results are given automatically in school

• Schedule the exam to suit you

• Prove your language expertise and skills - boosting your CV with a certificate 

With a decade in this industry, we understand that each customer has different needs and driving factors for wanting to improve their language skills. We are an experienced provider of tailored courses, to meet changing needs, contact us to find out how ELA-Edinburgh can help today. 

info@elacademy.co.uk  +44 (0)131 226 6182 

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