Five Ways to Use Tech to Enliven your Studying

Posted on May 22, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

Technology has evolved considerably in the last few years at an almost terrifying pace. We are truly fortunate with the number tools at our fingertips. If anything, we might be a little too blessed with what’s available as it becomes difficult to identify a single tool that will suit your needs. It takes time to learn how to use a new program, and even longer to implement it effectively in the classroom. That being said, some programs are very student focused, need no input from a teacher, and can be used inside and outside the classroom.

Here’s five ways that students can use technology to help aid their language development.

Recording new vocabulary

There are many ways to record new words, but not many that will test your ability to remember them. One great (and free) tool for documenting any new content is ‘Quizlet’ (http://www.quizlet.com/). Quizlet gives you the opportunity to create unlimited study sets and it will generate quizzes based on your content. Quizlet is a great way to refresh your memory after a spending a few days studying new material. There is an app for both Android and iOS so there’s no need to bring a heavy laptop to school.

Listening Practice for Short Phrases

Sometimes the most difficult thing about a new phrasal verb is to apply it to a context. Take ‘look’ for example, the number of prepositions that could follow this verb is quite daunting for a student and remembering the different meanings can be quite a challenge. A really useful tool for seeing phrasal verbs used in context is ‘Play Phrase Me’ (http://www.playphrase.me/) which plays short video clips of people using whatever text you enter into the search bar. The website scans videos that have been uploaded into their database and looks for matches.

Collaboration with Other Students

Students love to share. In our experience, regardless of age differences, students love sharing new knowledge that they’ve come across – be it online or offline. The problem with sharing content is that it’s often difficult finding a platform that everyone can access without the need to sign up for an account, a process which can be quite time consuming. A quick and free solution is ‘Padlet’ (http://www.padlet.com/) which is a shared ‘wall’ where anyone with the address can share content without the need to sign up.

Speaking Practice

Speaking is a very difficult skill to practise alone. How can you give yourself feedback? You could record your voice and listen to yourself at a later date, but if you’re looking for immediate feedback then grab your smartphone and install Google Keep (http://www.google.com/keep/) which is a very handy app. Google Keep is a note taking application designed to allow the user to make quick notes on the go. However, it also has a very useful voice recording feature which will attempt to transcribe your voice. Simply speak into your phone and it will turn your words into text – if your pronunciation is not accurate then the software won’t transcribe it properly.

Reading and Listening

TED (http://www.ted.com) has become a wonderful source of content for internet users around the world. Language learners can take advantage of a really useful feature that is ignored when videos are played full-screen. TED videos come with an interactive tapescript which you can follow whilst listening to the TED speaker deliver his/her presentation. What makes it really useful is that you can select any piece of text, like a button, and the video (which plays in the top left corner of the screen) will jump to the text’s location and play it.

Enjoying Edinburgh

Posted on March 19, 2015 by ELA-Edinburgh

We love the capital city of Scotland for its beauty, unique atmosphere, fantastic architecture and great history.

We organise weekly excursions around Edinburgh and introduce it to our students coming to ELA from all over the world.

There is nothing more rewarding than showing them all the sights of our city, helping them to immerse themselves into its atmosphere and observing their enthusiasm when they learn about Edinburgh and Scotland.

Join us to learn more about ELA and our social programme.

https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghLanguageAcademy

https://twitter.com/E_L_Academy

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/107883963561637315922/107883963561637315922/posts/p/pub

Mysterious Rosslyn Chapel

Posted on October 7, 2014 by ELA-Edinburgh

Many of our students have read a famous book written by Dan Brown where he described secrets and beauties of the Rosslyn Chapel. It is a gorgeous building full of mystery and legends. This week our students are going to visit it and we hope they will enjoy their experience.

We would like to share some information about this unique place and building with all of you.

Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 as a place of worship and services continue to be held here weekly. The chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness of the Scoto-Norman Sinclair family. It is the third Sinclair place of worship at Roslin, the first being in Roslin Castle and the second in what is now Roslin Cemetery. The Chapel has also been a popular destination for visitors for generations. By the late 18th-century, it was starting to appear on popular itineraries and its popularity greatly increased after the publication of Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, in 2003.

After the Scottish Reformation (1560) Roman Catholic worship in the chapel was brought to an end, although the Sinclair family continued to be Roman Catholics until the early 18th century. From that time the chapel was closed to public worship until 1861 when it was opened again as a place of worship according to the rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Since the late 1980s, the chapel has also featured in speculative theories concerning a connection of Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, and the Holy Grail.

Among Rosslyn’s many intricate carvings are a sequence of 213 cubes or ‘boxes’ protruding from pillars and arches with a selection of patterns on them. It is unknown whether these patterns have any particular meaning attached to them — many people have attempted to find information coded into them, but no interpretation has yet proven conclusive. Unfortunately many of these ‘boxes’ are not original, having been replaced in the 19th century after erosion damage.

The chapel has also acted as a burial place for several generations of the Sinclairs — a crypt was once accessible from a descending stair at the rear of the chapel. This crypt has for many years been sealed shut, which may explain the recurrent legends.

The Chapel is still family-owned. Its owner, the Earl of Rosslyn, is a Trustee of the Rosslyn Chapel Trust, which was established in 1995 to care for the Chapel and oversee its conservation and public access. The Trustees run the charity through a Management Committee, under the chairmanship of the Countess of Rosslyn, who is also a Trustee. Other members of the committee are volunteers with relevant skills and experience.

You can get there by car or bus, by foot or by bicycle. All the information and details can be found here: http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/p/getting-here-I561/

Have you already visited the Rosslyn Chapel?

Share you experience with us.

ELA team

Dear Diary..

Posted on August 8, 2014 by ELA-Edinburgh

At ELA our students write diaries describing their emotions and impressions about the school, our gorgeous city and their host families.

We would like to share some of their thoughts with you.

Rosalia Anderi: “Tuesday, 22nd of July. It’s the first day in Edinburgh. ..The climate was fantastic and my first impressions were good. Edinburgh is fabulous.”

SarahVercelli: “Friday 25th of July. I like every day I go to school. At 13:30 I went to the Museum of Scotland. It is very beautiful.”

Chiara Bavastro: “Sunday 26th of July. We visited the zoo and we went up the Arthur’s Seat, from which we saw Edinburgh. Also this week we ate Fish and Chips. It was very good because it is traditional food of England.”

Charles: “Now it is August. We spent 6 days in Scotland. The weather is really cold here and it can rain three times a day. But this city is really beautiful and the air is fresh. I really like it in here.”

Alex: “We studied at ELA in the morning and visited some scenic spots in the afternoon. I live in a lovely house. The host is an old woman who is very kind. My teacher at ELA is Ewan and he is very patient.”

Frain: “Our host family was an old couple. However, the house is very beautiful and our bedrooms are very comfortable. Besides, actually the food we were served is better than anywhere else. As for school, ELA, is a professional school and it;s interesting to study there. The school is near the Princess street and it’s convenient to go to school and back home. Studying here is a brilliant choice.”

Dear students, we would like to thank you all for your kind words. You inspire us and keep us going. We will be preparing more interesting programs for you and amazing tours.

Edinburgh Language Academy #ELA