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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IELTS Top Tips: Part 1

We all know what an important exam IELTS is, and many of our students at ELA-Edinburgh come to us with a target score for entrance to a British university.

For all IELTS students, here are our top tips for every section of the exam!

This week we tackle the receptive skills: reading and listening

Reading

• Read the questions carefully

There are many different task types in the reading section so don’t assume you know what to do!

• Underline the words that gave you the answer

Always check your answers before transferring them to the answer sheet. When you do this, ask yourself why you chose that answer. Look at the words you underlined and check you agree.

• Only take information from the text

It’s tempting to allow outside knowledge to affect your answer but remember the only relevant information is that in the text.

Listening

• Focus at all time

Remember listening is active and requires 100% concentration. It is hard work but switching off will cost you valuable points.

• Predict

Use the time you get before the exercises well. It is vital, especially in gap fill exercises, that you guess what could be in the gap.

• Keep calm

The exam writers are not your friends. They know you’re nervous and likely to put the first viable answer you hear. If you know the answer is a number, it highly probable there will be two or three numbers designed to confuse you.

Check the blog next week for our tips on the productive skills: writing and speaking

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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ELA-Edinburgh Returns from Russia

ELA-Edinburgh’s teacher trainer, Douglas Matheson, has recently returned from hosting a three-day English teacher training course for the Study Centre Ltd, Moscow.

13 teachers from different schools across Moscow were brought together for the training based at a camp in Litvinovo Naro-Fominsk, in the middle of the Russian countryside. Five sessions over 12 and half hours were provided focusing on improving teaching skills. The group were trained in across a range of English teaching methods in reading, writing, debates, warm-ups and fillers.

The location of the training course was ideal because once out in the country, this bonded the group as everyone was out of their comfort zones. For us it was a chance to showcase what we can provide through one of our experienced and regularly one of our students favourite, teachers. Douglas is also our in-house CertTESOL Teacher Trainer.

The chance to share knowledge and skills, between two cultures, created some new friendships too.

To find out more visit our website

Contact us on email or phone +44 (0)131 226 6182

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New Evening and Weekend English Courses at ELA-Edinburgh

ELA-Edinburgh is excited to announce its new evening and weekend English courses, for all those busy people unable to study during normal class hours. If you want to improve your English for confidence, your studies, or for the work place this is the perfect opportunity to take your English language skills further.

Until June 2018, we are offering affordable part time classes with experienced English language teachers during weekday evenings and on Saturdays. With our school based in the heart of Edinburgh city centre, it’s an ideal location to find some time to fit in English lessons.

“ELA-Edinburgh is by far the most enriching experience I have ever had in terms of language studies. In this school, you will learn a lot not only grammar, useful English expressions, but also about Scottish culture. The staff is very welcoming and they always make sure you receive the best attention. Despite all the stereotypes you hear on the grapevine, Edinburgh is the best city in which you can learn English and what a better option than learning or improving your English at ELA-Edinburgh”

– Raul Melendez (ELA-Student, October 2016-March 2017)

Whether it is an English course in General English, Business English, Cambridge Exam Preparation or IELTS Exam Preparation, ELA-Edinburgh has something for everybody wanting to brush up and improve their skills.

We are offering 

Evening courses Monday to Thursday 6pm - 8pm or 

Saturday morning's at 10am - 2.30pm. 

Visit ELA-Edinburgh to find out more 

Or contact us by email dos@elacademy.co.uk or phone 0131 226 6182

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CertTESOL, The World at your Fingertips

ELA-Edinburgh’s next Trinity CertTESOL course begins on October 30th. Graduating from our 4-week intensive English teacher training course can open doors to exciting and creative career opportunities across the world.

If the standard 9 – 5 and daily commute isn’t for working you, but you thrive from working with people, our ELA-Edinburgh’s Trinity CertTESOL could be just the ticket to changing your career around, finding peace of mind when looking for work overseas and becoming part of a challenging industry.

The practical training and groundwork in teaching skills gives trainees the ability to find employment in a wide range of ways. Graduates of the Trinity CertTESOL work around the world for independent schools, further education colleges and universities and freelance: both face to face or online.

“An intense and rewarding learning experience leading to an international qualification. There’s not a country that doesn’t recognise it, it’s a passport”

– Douglas Mathieson, Teacher Trainer ELA-Edinburgh

What’s more; the Trinity CertTESOL is recognised internationally, is valid for life and opens the door to further skills and training.

• What do you get from ELA-Edinburgh’s CertTESOL course?
• Teaching practice with real English learners with different levels of English
• Lesson planning experience and practice designing courses
• Learner needs analysis experience
• Teaching one-to-one class practice
• Input and guidance from experienced tutors
• Structured sessions to help you understand language teaching
• Focus on professional awareness and development
• A respected certificate to kick start your new career

So, what do you need?

The course focuses on practical training competence, so no prior teaching experience is needed. Time management, the ability to prioritise, working as a team member and a willingness to share ideas, are perfect transferable skills you will have gained from jobs and education, essential to becoming an English teacher.

Find out how to book your place on our October 30th – November 24th course by contacting

email dos@elacademy.co.uk or phone 0131 226 6182

For more information about our school, check out our website ELA-Edinburgh 

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Theatre Meets Academia at ELA-Edinburgh

As part of a combined English language course, a group of 14 Chinese students from Beijing have worked on an act of the play, The Curious Savage. Working alongside ELA-Edinburgh teachers and a drama workshop facilitator, their one hour daily classes were dedicated to learning the techniques and language associated with stage theatre and performing drama. Performance skills were included in our workshops, with each rehearsal beginning with a physical warm up using the whole body, channeling energy and working their vocal chords in anticipation of performing in a large space.

The Curious Savage, by John Patrick, set and premiered in 1950’s America, takes place in a residential home called 'The Cloisters', a lodgings to several of the play’s characters. Mrs Ethel P. Savage, the main protagonist, is taken to the home by her step-children. They think she has lost her mind, having used her late husband’s money to set up a memorial trust fund, rather than distribute the wealth between the family.

The act our students worked on depicts the arrival of Mrs Savage to an already established group of residents at The Cloisters, showing their initial encounters. We also meet her family, whom she clearly dislikes, and the ever-patient and caring staff who work at The Cloisters.

In the first week of classes, students developed their theatre vocabulary, and worked on the language of the text. At times, this was a challenge, as its context is in colloquial 1950’s America.

The following classes were dedicated to performance techniques and practising short scenes. We used a text excerpt which allowed the students to work in small groups, rotating the roles they played and let them really get to grips with reading aloud from scripts. From this group work, the play was cast, and students were given their parts. Work continued, including ‘blocking scenes’, where we collaborated in working out where set items will be positioned, where characters are on the stage when they deliver their lines, and general movement of the individuals on stage.

After five weeks of morning English classes, afternoon drama classes, rehearsals, poetry and singing, the students have a challenge ahead as they take all of this back to China to perform. The theatre practice will continue, with their lines and set design, without the help of our teachers.

They will be required to learn their lines and work together to stage the piece without the help of ELA-Edinburgh staff. The final sessions with the students were focused on ensuring that each student felt confident in their own part, and with grasping vocabulary and pronunciation.

We wish them all the best!

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For more information about our school, check out our website ELA-Edinburgh

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