EC's Official Blog
It’s not too late to take an English course this summer! We can accept your last-minute bookings, but hurry because we only have a limited amount of places left. Improve your English Visit new places Schools in great locations Make new friends Courses start every Monday Minimum course length is only one week. Contact us today for a free quote
Wednesday 5th June is the United Nations World Environment Day, and at EC we’re celebrating in style! Staff and students will be wearing green to raise money for environmental charities, teachers will be delivering lessons on environmental topics and most centres are ‘going paperless’ for the day. In other centres, there are environmental competitions, ‘eco’ film festivals, and even an ‘urban forest’ of environmental commitments! Look out for updates on Yammer. Make sure you get involved (and wear green)! http://www.unep.org/wed/
We have some thrilling news! Our completely refurbished Oxford English school is sitting fresher and prettier than ever on Gloucester Green, in the heart of Oxford’s tradition, history and culture. Hurrah! If you happen to be studying in Oxford this month or planning to do so throughout the coming summer, be prepared to discover all sorts of things to do, places to visit and events to enjoy. Fancy a sneak peek? From the 4th to the 27th May… Oxford Art Weeks – Known as Oxfordshire county’s most important arts festival, this will be your chance to mingle with local artists and craftspeople in their own studios, surrounded by their own work. Inspiration is calling! From the 30th May to the 3rd June Bonn Week – Oxford’s twin city, Bonn, will bring you a week of cultural celebration including: an illuminated canoe tour a Free Showcase Concert starring performers from Oxford and Bonn at Oxford Town Hall Free Burgerfest in Bonn Square with live music and dance Traditional and baroque music performances On the 6th July… Alice’s Day – A jubilant commemoration of the children’s classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’, which celebrates the first telling of Lewis Carroll’s much-loved story and characters. More than 20 of Oxford’s most beautiful and prestigious locations will be participating: the Bodleian Library, Botanic Gardens, Oxford Town Hall, Museum of Oxford, Ashmolean museum, Oxford Castle, Christ Church Library and many more! …and on the 7th July The Cowley Road Carnival will also be bursting the city’s streets with comedy, music, fundraising activities and lots of fun and colour. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears pricked up – there will be much more for you to look forward to! Find out more here: Oxford Events
Improve your English at EC Malta and get a discounted flight ticket! We’ve teamed up with Lufthansa to offer you discounted flights when you choose to learn English in Malta. Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline, has a comprehensive route network connecting major cities around the world to Malta. Making your reservation is easy: 1 – Go to www.lufthansa.com/education and look out for the ‘Access to Event Booking’ area to the right. If you’re travelling from Malta, enter this access code: MTZSXGQ If you’re travelling to Malta, enter this access code: MTZSXGC. 2 – An online booking platform will automatically calculate your discount, or provide you with an even better offer should another promotional fare be available! Make sure pop-ups are enabled for the booking platform window to open.
Our Malta English school recently welcomed students from South Korea’s prestigious Hanyang University, who studied with us for six weeks. As part of their time on the island they got real-life work experience as they practiced their English in a business environment as (unpaid) interns. In this nice video, they share their feelings about being students at EC Malta.
Our new Oxford English school welcomed its first students today at its official opening. Oxford in England is home to the world-famous university which makes learning English there a special experience. It’s easy to be inspired by city’s strong academic where learning is all around! Oxford’s beautiful college blend well with its great mix of restaurants, pubs, theatres and tourist attractions. Like all of our schools, EC Oxford has a great location in the heart of the city. It’s also equipped with all the modern facilities you need for an enjoyable and comfortable stay. At EC Oxford you will improve your English, meet other people from all over the world and fall in love with an amazing city. See more of EC Oxford →
It’s a very, very special time to visit The City by the Bay. This year, the famous symbol of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, celebrates its 75th anniversary! The well-loved bridge is one of the modern Wonders of the World and something you must see during your life! In celebration of this beautiful structure, San Francisco is going festival mad in 2012! The 75th anniversary public celebration will be a spectacular event on 27 May 2012 all across the waterfront from Fort Point to Pier 39. Activities include live music in Fisherman’s Wharf, gallery of historic images and vintage automobiles, 1930s-era music and dance festival at Pier 39 and many others. Come and be a part of history! Take a course at our San Francisco English school. Summer Events in San Francisco Here are another 5 great events happening in San Francisco this summer: 1 – Union Street Festival June 2, 3 One of the largest art fairs in the country with hundreds of great artists, gourmet food vendors, live entertainment on two stages and much more! www.unionstreetfestival.com 2 – Haight Ashbury Street Festival June 10 Dance parties in the street, and a return to the 1960s “Summer of Love”. Three stages host live entertainment, six-block street fair with arts and crafts, food and merchandise. www.haightashburystreetfair.org 3 – North Beach Street Festival June 16, 17 The event will feature over 125 arts and crafts booths, 20 gourmet food booths, three stages of live entertainment, Italian street painting, beverage gardens, children’s activities and more. www.sresproductions.com/north_beach_festival.html 4 – Stern Grove Music Festival June 26 – August 26 This music and performing arts festival starts in June and has weekly performances throughout the summer and it is completely free! www.sterngrove.org 5 – Fillmore Jazz Festival July 7, 8 Thousands of music lovers … Read more
Our first EC Community Day was a huge success! EC students and staff at our 15 schools volunteered their time and energy to a variety of good causes, with each centre doing something unique and special in making positive contributions to local communities. The past few years have been very busy for EC: new schools have opened in cities across the world, giving our students new opportunities to travel, integrate and have unforgettable experiences. In such forward-thinking times, it’s important for us to take a moment to consider our place in the world, and to think about how we can give something back to the local communities that welcome and host thousands of our students every year. As well saying a big ‘thank you’ to the cities and communities that take such good care of our students (and the chance to do something worthwhile), the day was also dedicated to the memory of Frederic Gonzalez, Centre Director at EC Boston, who sadly passed away in 2008. At EC, we are committed to giving something back to the communities in which we live and work. Here’s what some schools did on our inaugural ‘Giving Back For Fred Day’: Malta: held classes for 71 asylum seekers who voluntarily enrolled to learn various skills to help them better integrate into Maltese society. Cape Town: visited the Barcelona Children’s Home where staff planted vegetables and maintained the existing vegetable garden as well as read stories, played games and made crafts with the children. Bristol: Spring Fair with games and activities to raise money for UK homeless charity Shelter. Events included sponge the teacher, tug of war and an egg and spoon race. New York: handing out food at a food pantry. Boston: cleaning up at the Boys & Girls Club, an organisation which offers … Read more
We are very excited to share with you some fantastic stories where the EC family has been responsible for making a positive impact in our local communities and environments! EC San Francisco Did you know that EC San Francisco is a LEED Gold Certified building? This means they generate greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing 270 vehicles from the road, and use 36% less water than minimum government standards. Something for us all to aspire to! EC London In London the team have recently re-evaluated their stationery, leading to the use of 100% recycled photocopy paper. Also, after some careful negotiating with the supplier, used whiteboard pens are now being recycled. This is a simple change that could also have a big impact on your school! EC Montreal In December 2011, EC Montreal held its annual Charity Bake & Sale Raffle, this time raising a simply amazing $855 for the local Shreiner’s Hospital for Children. The hospital was amazed by the efforts of EC Montreal. To find out more and to get some ideas for your own fundraising event, have a look at the blog. EC Bristol So as to reduce their carbon footprint, the team at Bristol are looking into joining a network of organisations that are working towards a 10% reduction in their carbon emissions. You can find out more here. There may be an initiative just like this near your school, and it’s a great way to become more environmentally responsible. EC Malta EC Malta have been busy supporting our local charity Inspire, a charity that works towards the better inclusion and integration of people with disabilities into society. Four separate teams have recently put in some ‘back-breaking but fun’ gardening work helping to renovate gardens and play areas to kick start what we hope will be … Read more
At EC Malta English school, Haruka, our Asian Welfare Officer along with EC’s Korean students organised an afternoon of events to celebrate the new year. Our Korean students in Malta really helped make it a day to remember! At 15:30 students congregated in the Student Lounge to celebrate the Korean New Year along with their colleagues and learn about their traditions. Everyone had the chance to taste traditional Korean foods of Wanja (a meat and onion dish), Kimchi (pickles, which Koreans eat with most meals) and Kaktugi (another type of pickle). As everyone walked into the lounge they were given a name tag with their names written in Korean orthography as a souvenir, and a print out with the numbers and Happy New Year written in Korean so that everyone would be able to greet each other in the traditional manner. The countdown took place just before 16:00 with everyone participating and champagne being popped! The following hour was filled with a presentation on Korean culture by Jin Sarang and Byon Sujong, who explained to us that Korea is divided into North and South Korea and is an independent country with 5000 years of history. At this time of the year Koreans travel to their home town to spend time with their families. Youngsters pay respect to their elders by bowing and they are then rewarded with a cash gift. Two students gave a demonstration of the proper way to bow… however they didn’t get their cash reward! A typical dish is dduck-kuk (rice cake soup) which is eaten to represent eating away another year. They also play the traditional games of yut (board game) and kicking the shuttlecock, and enjoy kite flying. The students had a make shift version of the yut game and the shuttlecock for others to … Read more