ELA-Edinburgh Returns from Russia

Posted on September 4, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

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 for everyone, because once out in the country, this had a bonding effect on the group as everyone was out of their comfort zones. For ELA-Edinburgh, it was a chance for us to showcase what we can provide through one of our experienced and 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

ELA-Edinburgh Announces New Evening and Weekend English Courses

Posted on August 28, 2017 by 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 a 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.

Choose between evening courses from Monday to Thursday 6pm – 8pm or a Saturday morning course 10am – 2.30pm

To find out more visit our website or contact us on email dos@elacademy.co.uk or phone 0131 226 6182

Academia Meets Theatre at ELA-Edinburgh

Posted on August 17, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

As part of a Combined English language course, a group of 14 Chinese students from Beijing have worked on an excerpt 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 terminology and skills associated with stage theatre and performing drama. Performance skills were integrated into our workshops, with each rehearsal beginning with a physical warm up, working on use of the body, channeling energy and increasing vocal volume 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 sanatorium named The Cloisters, a home to several of the play’s characters. Mrs Ethel P. Savage, the centre of the storyline, is taken to 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 share the wealth amongst the children.

The excerpt our students worked on charts the arrival of Mrs Savage to an already established group of residents at The Cloisters, showing them encountering one another for the first time. 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 learnt about theatre vocabulary, and 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 allowing the students to work in small groups, rotating the roles they played and really getting to grips with reading aloud from scripts. Based on the group work, the play was cast, and students given their parts. Work continued, including working on ‘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 scenes.

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!

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

Lost in translation – 8 English words that can trip you up

Posted on July 10, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

First impressions. It’s a topic that is explored by a number of course books at a variety of levels and it is often interesting how different people contextualise it. Most people think of a professional environment – such as a job interview or starting a new job. This is not always the case.

“I made a bad impression when I met my boyfriend’s family.”

Having spent time with this particular student, I found it difficult to comprehend that such a positive person would make anything less than an exemplary first impression. So I asked her how. The answer is not too surprising. There was a discussion between her and one of the members of her boyfriend’s family and she translated a Spanish phrase into literal English where the meaning was the opposite of what was intended.

‘Está bien si yo no te caigo bien‘ she said, which translates (literally) to ‘It’s ok if I don’t like you’ but what it actually means is ‘It’s ok if you don’t like me.’ A small difference, but one which drastically changes the meaning. Needless to say, the conversation went downhill after that.

It got me thinking about other situations where there could be a potentially catastrophic misunderstanding. One of the most common culprits are False Cognates (false friends) and they can lead to some difficult situations. Here are some that have appeared in class:

Spanish

One the student’s friends was embarazada, but she wasn’t ’embarrassed’ by anything. In fact, she was pregnant. I asked her if she had recently bought a new carpet and she said yes, and pulled out her carpeta – which turned out to be a ‘folder’.

German

We learnt about a brav friend of one of our students. We asked her why she was brave, and she told us that was wasn’t, she was ‘honest’. We asked her if she ever gave her friend a present, or a gift, and she was shocked! She wanted to know why she should ‘poison’ her friend.

Italian

One student remarked how his friend was very educato, so we asked if he had a PhD. It turns out that he left school early but was very ‘polite’. He had some dry skin on his wrist and another student asked him if he wanted some moisturizing ‘cream’. He laughed, wondering why he was offered crema (custard) for his skin.

French

At the end of class, we were told to have a bonne journée, but we weren’t going on a journey. We were just told to have a nice day. One of the other students remarked that he was going to have a grand day, which caused confusion. Why was his day big?

To recap:

Original Word	English False Cognate	Meaning
embarazada (Spanish)	embarrassed/ashamed	pregnant
carpeta (Spanish)	carpet/rug	folder
brav (German)	brave/courageous	honest
gift (German)	gift/present	poison
educato (Italian)	educated/schooled	polite
crema (Italian)	cream/ointment	custard
journée (French)	journey/trip	day
grand (French)	grand/expensive	big

Free English Lessons at ELA-Edinburgh in June

Posted on April 21, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

Would you be interested in receiving free English lessons from enthusiastic teachers in top class facilities? Normally it would be too good to be true but at ELA-Edinburgh this June it is our reality!

Those of you who regularly read our blog will know that ELA-Edinburgh is putting on a Trinity CertTESOL course from June 5^th-30^th. This teacher training course will give our trainees a great qualification as they start their teaching careers. An important part of the course is teaching practice; our trainees will do at least 6 hours of teaching during their course. This is where you and your friends can benefit!

We are offering free lessons for students who will be taught by our trainee teachers. Every weekday from June 6^th -June 29^th you could benefit from two hours of free lessons! This is an offer that we can only run during CertTESOL courses so don’t miss out! We only have a certain number of places available so don’t wait too long before applying.

All levels of English are welcome, when you apply we will send you a level test to complete and find the right class for you. All you need to do is pay a £30 deposit, which you will get right back if you attend all the classes! Plus, as a bonus, you will get an hours’ free lesson with a highly experienced teacher at the end of your course!

This is a unique opportunity to get lessons in one of Edinburgh’s premier private language academy and benefit from our fantastic teaching resources. As the saying goes, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

For more information, or to ask for a placement test, email dos@elacademy.co.uk phone 0131 2266182 or come and see us at 71 George Street!

Learn to Learn to with ELA-Edinburgh

Posted on April 5, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

Here at ELA-Edinburgh we see helping our students become better students as one of our main goals. With this in mind we include ‘learning to learn’ sessions at the start of all of our courses and the feedback from them is always great.

Make sure this isn’t you!!

Earlier this year we brought you tips on how to study more effectively, just look back in our blog to check out the details. Today we present some advice on how to learn vocabulary. If you sit at your desk and repeat irregular verbs to yourself, we are here to help!

Flash cards

You can make them at home and study them on the bus, at lunch or in front of the TV. Here is an example to get you started that shows some of the information you might want to include.

Don’t forget to mix up the order of the cards and take a moment to guess before you turn over your card!

If you’re more into technology you can try some of the great learning apps, such as Quizlet, which let you build your own personalized vocabulary lists

A notebook
Perhaps the next stage from flashcards is a notebook with your organized class notes. Teachers often notice that students write down vocabulary in a lesson but then do not organize it. Successful students generally have a well ordered notebook with different sections for phrasal verbs, idioms or grammar notes. This involves re-writing your class notes at the end of every week but you will soon notice the benefits.

Dictionaries
Whether online or print, dictionaries will define a word, help you spell it and explain how to pronounce it.
Word Maps

Word maps give you the freedom to link words in groups or categories and the chance to illustrate your diagrams. If you’re a visual learner and enjoy learning through pictures, they could be perfect for you.

Learn ChunksMany people find it easier to learn phrases rather than individual words. For example, ‘do homework’ or ‘make your bed’ are chunks of language. Other examples of chunks might be phrasal verbs, ‘to get on well with somebody’, or idioms, ‘to get on like a house on fire.’
Learn to take words apartMany language students find that analysing a word helps them to guess it’s meaning without turning to a teacher or dictionary for help. For example; the word ‘unimaginable’ might look long and complicated but let’s try taking it apart:
Viewed like this the word has three clear parts; the prefix, the stem (or route) and the suffix. If we remember that ‘able’ refers to ability and that ‘un’ is a general prefix to make something negative, we can guess that unimaginable means impossible to imagine. This technique is particularly useful for speakers of other European languages.
Review OftenYour goal is to transfer your new vocabulary from your short term to your long term memory. There’s no point learning words in class today and not being able to use them a week later so make sure you look back over your notes regularly. With the help of a well-organized workbook you can make sure that vocabulary doesn’t slip out of your head.

Building English Language Skills – With a Twist

Posted on March 14, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

ELA – Edinburgh Broadens Horizons!

Last week, at ELA, students of the Liceo Scientifico Statale Galileo Galilei of Trieste participated in a 35 hour course . Unlike our standard array of activities however, they also took part in a series of Model UN (MUN) workshops with the Edinburgh University Model UN Society (EdMUN). Model UN seeks to simulate the activities of the actual UN, and teach valuable life skills such as public speaking, debating and negotiation through that medium. It was a new and innovative way of engaging advanced students with the English language and judging by the feedback we have received it was a huge success.

More than any simple classroom activity, MUN has the capacity to draw students into engaging with current affairs as well as improving their English skills. The workshops contained over 15 hours of lectures and training in public speaking, negotiation, conflict resolution with a healthy dollop of international politics. The whole thing was capped by a one day Model UN Conference taking place on Saturday, which allowed the students act as an ambassador for a country in a simulated UN. It was remarkable to see the progression of students over one week from being shy and reluctant to speak; to giving full two minute speeches by Saturday. We very much hope that this is only the first of many new and interesting activities we can bring to our students.

Aside from thanking our wonderful students from Liceo Galilei, we also have to extend our thanks to EdMUN and the Edinburgh University Student’s Association for working with us on this exciting new project. It has been a true pleasure!

New Year’s Resolutions to help you study in 2017

Posted on January 6, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

As Edinburgh welcomed 2017 in style at our world famous hogmanay street-party, the ELA team are here to help you start 2017 with an academic bang!!

Edinburgh started 2017 with a bang and so can you at ELA!!

Make sure this is the year you make the improvements you want in your English; take control of your learning and become a better student. All our teachers at ELA encourage our students to take responsibility for their own learning. We know it is our job as teachers to make our students better at learning.

Here are some resolutions for 2017 to make this come true:

Be Prepared

Come to class with a pen and a notebook for new vocabulary and grammar. It’s amazing how many students expect to remember language without writing it down! Sadly, most people do not have such good memories….

Write down new vocabulary!

Don’t be shy!

Tell your teacher what you need and what you want to study. Be ready to give your teachers feedback on the lessons and let them know if you want to change anything.

Move your cultural life into English

Remember that most language is learnt out of the classroom so the most important thing is exposure to the language. Learners who become fluent all really enjoy using English to socialise, read, watch TV or listen to music. Even if you don’t think you’re learning anything, your brain is busy remembering things.

Take advantage of the UK

Here in Edinburgh you will be surrounded by English. You can never understand all the new language you meet everyday but be prepared to guess its meaning. Use the context to help you and don’t be afraid of making a mistake!

Use your teacher as a resource

Will you be the teacher’s pet?

Write down some of the new words you have met in your cultural life and check their meaning with your teacher. You’ll soon be the teacher’s pet!

Set yourself targets

When you study a new piece of grammar look for opportunities to use it! Remember that satisfaction you feel when you use the 3rd conditional perfectly. After all, what’s the point of using the language on paper but not being able to produce it in conversation?

Be Honest

When you don’t understand something or get confused please do tell your teacher. Mistakes are good because we can learn from them and they give your teacher an idea of how to help you.

If you follow our advise and take advantage of the great teachers we have here at ELA, we’re sure 2017 will be a successful year for you!

You will be as successful as this young student

Our New Home in George Street

Posted on December 15, 2016 by ELA-Edinburgh

We have some exciting news to share: ELA has moved to a brand new location in the heart of the Edinburgh city centre: 71 George Street, 4^th floor.

Our new location at 71 George Street

While we will miss the building on Melville Street, this new location offers incredible views of the city from every room! Who needs a decorative poster of Edinburgh Castle or the view to Fife when they can simply look out the window? Our new classrooms get lots of natural light and have a far more modern layout, offering our students and staff more comfort and convenience. We still have our fantastic interactive smartboards as well as classrooms perfect for groups classes, individual lessons or business English

The Castle meeting room

Our morning class make use of of our smartboards!

Additionally, the new site is in a far more central location, surrounded by a great variety of shops, cafes, restaurants and more. It is easily accessible from any direction of the city and perfectly situated for our students to go out and discover the best Edinburgh has to offer once their classes end for the day.

We are so thrilled to share this news with you – stay tuned for a special invitation to come see it for yourself and help us celebrate!

Introducing….. IELTS

Posted on September 23, 2016 by ELA-Edinburgh

There can be no doubt; IELTS has largely cornered the market for universities and visas. It’s a safe bet that if you want to study in the UK, or move here from the outside the EU, IELTS will help you on your way.

IELTS is recognised at universities and governments all over the world. In the UK it is one of only two exams recognised by UK Visas and Immigration. Students; IELTS will help you get your tier 4 visa to come to the UK and enjoy our fantastic colleges and universities. Remember that ELA is always happy to arrange short term Visa and TIER 4 Visa letters for candidates who qualify for them!

Clearly IELTS is more important than ever. So what is it????

Unlike most other exams IELTS can be taken by students of various levels, the exam is designed to evaluate a range of abilities. As such there is no pass or fail; instead there are bands from 1.0 to 9.0, with half scores also possible. You can see how it compares with the Common European Framework below:

IELTS tests the four skills of reading, listening, writing and speaking. Most candidates are relieved to find there is no grammar section! You also have the luxury of choosing from General or Academic IELTS, though the vast majority of people take the academic exam as it’s what universities and colleges want. Although the language in IELTS reading and writing can be quite formal there is plenty of room to produce phrasal verbs and idioms in the speaking! Just remember not to beat around the bush!!!

At ELA we have had a decade of teaching IELTS to highly motivated students. We have had the pleasure of seeing countless students from all backgrounds achieve the score they needed to progress in their academic or professional lives. As teachers this gives us the kind of job satisfaction that keeps us motivated!

We have a library stuffed with IELTS materials

Various different course books
Official IELTS practice tests
Listening materials
Interactive smartboards in classrooms
Writing and speaking guides
Vocabulary books

All of these resources are put to good use by our experienced teachers to make sure you’re given support in the areas you need. At ELA you can study for five hours a day. In the morning (9-1230) you’ll focus on expanding your language skills as well as academic English. In the afternoon you can produce the language you’ve learnt in our IELTS course (1330-1530.) Longer-term students will have regular tutorials with our director of studies, who will keep an objective eye on your progress.

If you’re ready to take on the challenge of IELTS then we’re ready to help. Contact us at dos@elacademy.co.uk to get started!

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