Hi everyone, Did you have a nice weekend? What did you do? Where did you go? Did you know that Bristol has its own dialect? It’s called Bristolian! A dialect of English is spoken by some Bristol inhabitants, known colloquially as Bristolian, “Bristolese” or even, following the publication of Derek Robson’s “Krek Waiters peak Bristle”, as “Bristle” or “Brizzle”. Bristol natives speak with a rhotic accent, in which the post-vocalic r in words like car and card is still pronounced, having been lost from many other dialects of English. The unusual feature of this accent, unique to Bristol, is the so-called Bristol L (or terminal L), in which an L sound appears to be appended to words that end in an ‘a’ or ‘o’. The “-ol” ending of the city’s name is a significant example of the occurrence of the so-called “Bristol L”. A similar form of this pronunciation quirk has been in existence for centuries, even as far back as the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the Domesday Book, compiled by the Norman-French. In those days before the printing press, the city’s name – “Bruggestowe” at the time – was rarely written. Consequently the Domesday Book information gatherers had to rely on oral answers to their questions and the city name was recorded as being “Bristolle”. Stanley Ellis, a dialect researcher, found that many of the dialect words in the Filton area were linked to work in the aerospace industry. He described this as “a cranky, crazy, crab-apple tree of language and with the sharpest, juiciest flavour that I’ve heard for a long time”. Nowadays the people of Bristol represent a diverse mix of race and cultures however the distinctive local dialect or ‘Brizzle’ is still very much alive. You may hear for example the addition of the letter ‘I’ to the … Read more

Hi everyone, Did you have a great week? Tell us more about your favourite places in Bristol…where do you often go? The bowling activity has been a HUGE success this week. A large number of EC students participated at that session and it was great fun. Takahiro, one of the EC students, had the victory with a score of around 180 points. What's more, on Friday we organised our first Book Club that went very well. Did you know that Bristol is known for its art? In particular Bristol is world renowed for its graffiti art. For your information: The Bristol underground scene is the culture surrounding trip hop, drum and bass, and graffiti art that has existed in Bristol from the early 1990s to the present. The 'bohemian, multi-ethnic' city of Bristol in the UK has spawned various musicians and artists, and is typified by its urban culture. The city is most associated with a group of artists such as Massive Attack who emerged during the 1990s, called the "Bristol Sound". So as we just said the Bristol scene is characterised by a strong relationship between music and art, especially graffiti art. Many graffiti artists work in Bristol; one of the most notable is Banksy, who has also designed album covers for bands such as Blur. Banksy is a world renowned artist who uses his original street art form to promote alternative aspects of politics from those promoted by the mainstream media. Some believe that his graffiti helps to provide a voice for those living in urban environments that could not otherwise express themselves, and that his work is also something which improves the aesthetic quality of urban surroundings; others disagree, asserting that his work is simple vandalism. Banksy has produced work all over the world, including in Barcelona, New York, Australia, London and the West Bank. Bristol has long been a multicultural city. In the 1950s and 1960s there were … Read more

Hi everyone, How are you? We'd like to remind you that tonight on BBC ONE, AFRICA will be on. It's such an interesting programme and well worth a watch. Check the trailer out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011pdmt Recently (every mornings to be more specific) we have had the pleasure of being welcomed to work at EC Bristol by a special friend. We are all thinking of a name to give to our seagull. If you have any suggestions, please share it on our EC Bristol Facebook Page. What can you study at EC Bristol? English! So if you are living abroad and you are interested in taking some courses, why not come to study at EC Bristol?! Today we would love to teach you a typical English expression: To be Taken Aback suggests someone has been taken truly by surprise and stopped in their tracks. 'Aback' is the nautical term for sudden wind change, in which the sails flatten against the mast. In some cases, out on the high seas, tall square-rigged ships may not only be slowed down by a sudden wind change, but also driven backwards by strong gusts. The phrase used in such circumstances in 'taken aback'. The weather here in Bristol is changeable but the snow is falling and the sky is still grey. Winter is not ready to leave. How funny is it to see all the students standing up from their desks and chairs to start taking pictures of the snow. What are the activities this week? On Thursday we are organising an EC Social. It’s a time for you to try typical English afternoon tea. Have you ever had scones and tea? or did you enjoy them so much the last time you had them that you can't wait to have another one? You can join the activity on Thursday and spend a … Read more

Hi everyone, Two days ago was a special snowy day…we all had fun in the SNOOOOW !!! Snowball fighting and snowman making…and today the snow is still holding up strongly on the rooftops of Bristol. The students at EC Bristol come from a variety of different countries and in many of them it never snows. For many of our EC students it was the first time they had seen and touched snow. Fun Fact: Snow is precipitation in the form of flakes of crystalline water ice that fall from clouds. Snow is a granular material and has an open and therefore soft structure, unless subjected to external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Here is a picture taken from the following website (Credit NOAA): http://www.noaa.gov/features/02_monitoring/snowflakes.html  Even recovered in snowflakes, EC Bristol is still active. On Thursday evening, we had a Bowling session for the EC Bristol Team. All the staff enjoyed themselves. Pictures coming soon on our EC Bristol blog and Facebook page. The Director of the School, Ingmar Albig, beat all the teams and won 1st Place with a score of 146, closely followed by the Director of Studies, Dan Steward, who had a score of 144. Finally the third place went to teacher Kyle Davies who reached a total of points of 121.  We have lots of other activities being organised over the next months for our EC Bristol Team, so stay tuned to the blog and Facebook page for future news and photos.   EC Bristol has started to work in partnership with the organisation AFT for the organisation of trips (London, Liverpool & Manchester, Edinburgh and many others). What does AFT stand for? Absolute Fun Times! Please click on the following link to see their website for more information: http://www.aftbristol.com/index.htm  EC Bristol always strives hard to offer the best to its students. Would you like to study English … Read more

Hi everyone, A new week has just started at EC Bristol, new students, new activities, and we also have a new member of staff, her name is Kirstin Schneider and she will be among us until March. We wish her a very nice stay with us. A warm welcome to Kirstin! What are the activities that EC Bristol is offering this week? On Thursday we are organising an INDOOR CLIMBING session. If you’ve never tried it, you really should join this activity. It’s great fun trying to beat your mates during the ascent (who will be first touching the top of the wall?). It’s indoors so you will be in the warm with a friendly coach who will be there to explain how to climb and of course you’ll be accompanied by our EC Activity Leader. On Friday we are organising a GRAFFITI TOUR where you will be able to take loads of pictures of Bristol’s graffiti and in particular the Banksy ones. Plus, for the lovers of FOOTBALL, we are organising one session just after the graffiti tour. If interested please sign up at Reception and remember to bring your trainers with you. On Saturday we are organising a trip to OXFORD. You must have heard of OXFORD! The City of Dreaming SpiresHave you ever heard of OXFORD? I’m sure you did! Oxford, the City of Dreaming Spires (a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford’s university building), is famous over the world for its Universities/Colleges and place in History. For over 800 years, it has been a home to royalty and scholars and an established town since the ninth century. Nowadays, the city is a bustling cosmopolitan town, still with its colleges and with a growing hi-tech community. For the latest news, sports info or even great music (rock, pop rock, indie, hip pop…), … Read more

Hi everyone,   So how did you spend your first week at EC School? New students, did you have a great time in Bristol and meeting all the EC Bristol Team?   What a surprise it should have been for you to see the school with some changes. We are making the space bigger  for our friendly and talented teachers and we are increasing the size of the student lounge room. We also added  a new office for our Operations Manager Jools Horton-Lakins. The library will be changed and will be moved to the 4th floor. The 4th floor will soon be finished and new classes will be opened. EC Bristol is constantly striving to improve itself as an amazing school, full of new and good facilities for our international students and for our great team. See some pictures below. The weather is getting a bit colder but the sunshine is here to keep us smiling and to give us loads of energy. Do you want to watch some TV, improve your listening skills and your English in general? Here is a recommendation for you. Do you love documentaries? Showing on BBC One at the moment is a powerful, touching and magnificent programme called AFRICA.  If you want to watch it, it’s next showing on Wednesday 16th January at 21:00. It makes you aware of the importance of nature in the world and shows you the magical landscapes of Africa & the life of the animals that inhabit it.  Check this link out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011pdmt This week our teachers, back full of energy, were ready to teach their lessons and spread their knowledge to the students. Here is a comment from teacher Benjamin Archer: 'While the classroom will always be for learning, I believe there is great value in adding a cultural dimension to the experience, and having … Read more

Hi everyone, We hope you had a good holiday. What did you do? And what did you get for Christmas? HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 New start, new friends, new adventures, new resolutions, new activities and a focus on English. At EC Bristol we have loads of new students who are starting their new experience among us. We will make their stay as great, memorable and rewarding as we can. You can now find Christmas carols videos with our amazing EC students on our EC Bristol Facebook Page. Yesterday was the date of birth of Elvis Presley. And I’d like to mention one of his quotes: ‘Rock and roll music, if you like it, if you feel it, you can’t help but move to it. That’s what happens to me. I can’t help it.’  Now let’s talk about the weekly activities calendar. What’s on at EC Bristol this week? On Thursday we are organising an EC Social special English cream tea afternoon. Have you ever tried cream tea? No? What a shame! You should join our EC Social on which you will be able to talk with our Activity Leader and meet new people from the school. It’s a great opportunity for you to chat in English…ONLY! and have fun. What is a cream tea? It is also known as a Devonshire tea, Devon cream tea or Cornish cream tea. It is tea taken with a combination of scones, clotted cream and jam. Cream teas are offered for sale in tea rooms throughout the United Kingdom. So who’s up for it? On Friday we are organising an Art Afternoon (art gallery/museum visit). The Museum chosen for this Friday is the BRISTOL MUSEUM & ART GALLERY. The EC Team really advise you join this activity. In particular it will be great to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition that is on at the moment. … Read more