EC London English Language School

I went to Scotland for the first time last weekend for a wedding and discovered much about the countryside, the culture and the language. The Highlands are spectacularly beautiful, the people are friendly and laugh a lot and the accent is not as difficult to understand as many people might think. I would certainly like to return to see more of the country and would definitely recommend a visit.

What do you think the following pictures represent about Scottish culture?
(The vocabulary focus below may be useful!)

Learn English – Scottish vocabulary focus:

• wee (adj)  = small e.g. When I was a wee child, I used to play games with my neighbours.
• a ceilidh (n) = a traditional Scottish dance where everyone can join in
• shinty (n) = a Scottish game, similar to ice hockey but played on grass
• tartan (n/adj) = a type of pattern used to make kilts
• a kilt (n) = traditional dress for men in Scotland. A skirt for Scottish men
• a loch (n) = a lake in Scottish English

I took part in the hat making workshop on Thursday afternoon. Corinne, our teacher, who is an artist too explained to EC London students how to create hats. She brought lots of different stuff (tissues, buttons,…). Students were really creative but there were no boys, where were you???

Written by Julie

EC London students, afraid of freezing? No? So go to the ice bar in London and you will get a new freezing experience. I came to the bar with my friends; it was really funny and cool. I suggest you go for a drink to this pub.

It costs £12.50 (drink included) BUT take with you a warm cardigan, otherwise you will freeze.

Written by Julie

Yesterday was the first day for the new students and like every Monday afternoon, we went to the White Hart, a typical British pub. It was the first time for me because I am at EC London’s reception and it is a good opportunity to have a drink together.

So why not come again?? I will be waiting for u next Monday at 4.15 p.m

p-s : don’t forget to give your opinion

Written by Julie

Hello!

It’s Dan here, your friendly Academic Year Coordinator.

When I speak to students about how their studies are progressing, they often tell me that they would like to improve their speaking. No surprise, really –  speaking English well is important for careers, studies, and of course, living in London.

So, what advice do I give? Well, here’s a quick run down:

1. Practice all day, every day – if you only speak English in class, that’s only a few hours a day. Speak English from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed

2. Try to engage others in conversation – speak to classmates, other students, teachers, shop assistants and anyone that doesn’t look dangerous. Try using tag questions to start a conversation – ‘It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?’

3. Listen and copy – watch TV, watch movies, listen to the radio and listen to native speakers. Try to copy the phrases and intonation used.

4. Perhaps most importantly, try to have confidence in yourself. Making mistakes is a great way to learn – if you only say a few words because you’re scared of making mistakes, people can’t correct you and help you improve.

Finally, if you live with people who speak the same language as you, or if you don’t know many people, try the fabulous Social Programme here at EC London – find out what’s happening from your teacher or outside the cafe.

Speak to you soon!

Dan.

Grammar Spot

Look at the phrases in bold above – what’s the difference between TRY + INFINITIVE and TRY + -ING? Here’s a clue – which one is an experiment – the first time you’ve tried it – and which one is an attempt – something that might be a little difficult?

Paolo, one of our EC London teachers, recently held one of our weekly FREE! coffee and conversation classes. Here is a quick summary of  what they talked about:

Initially there was only one student (Sandra from Brazil) and as we both come from developing countries the conversation was mainly about the contrast between rich and poor (and the resulting problems) in cities like Rio and Johannesburg.  As more students started arriving our conversation changed to accommodate the rest of the students.  We then started talking about socialising with other students and how much easier it is to communicate when you are in a relaxed environment and with people you feel comfortable with.  the conversation then turned to careers and the interesting subjects that the students had all studied.  By this time there were seven students from a number of different countries who had all studied something completely different.  We talked about chemical engineering, teaching, social work and photography.  We also discussed typical interview questions and how important it is to have answers to difficult questions prepared.  A lot of new vocabulary came up for example the nouns weakness, industry and field.

If you would like to join our Coffee and Conversation classes, come to EC London’s Study Room and sign up! There are usually two or three sessions a week, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. All the information is on the sign-up sheet and on the Social Programme posters.

See you there soon!

Have you travelled outside of London recently? Try it – you might like it!

We all know that London is a fantastic city (that’s why we’re here) but sometimes it’s nice to get out and explore the rest of the country too and what better way to do it than by train?

Last weekend I travelled by train up to the Lake District, a beautiful rural area in the north west of England, for the long bank holiday weekend with some friends.

We booked our tickets on www.thetrainline.com and we even got a group discount because there were 4 of us travelling together! The website is great – you can type in the name of the place you are in and the name of the place you want to visit and it will give you the price, journey times, station names and everything else you need to plan your journey.

Happy travelling!

The White Hart pub on Drury Lane replaced Waxy’s as the new Monday welcome event venue this week when Laura B took the new students along for a celebratory drink and chat at the end of their first day.

The welcome event is designed to allow students to spend some time with each other and an EC London staff member in a relaxed environment outside of school. It gives everyone a chance to mingle, to practise speaking and to ask staff all those questions that they were too afraid to ask in public!

Come along and join us any Monday from 4:15 onwards – existing students and staff all welcome!

Would you like to visit the Moon?

Would you like to live on the moon?

If living on the moon meant living for 200 years, would you consider moving there?

Does anybody know why so many of the London overground stations are located just north of the river Thames ? the trains come from the south, cross a bridge and then stop. I would have thought it would have been much cheaper to locate the stations south of the river and have a footbridge to take people over the river. The following stations are all just north of the river : Cannon Street, Blackfriars, Charing Cross and Victoria