CertTESOL, A World at your Fingertips

Posted on August 25, 2017 by ELA-Edinburgh

ELA-Edinburgh’s next Trinity CertTESOL course begins on October 30th. Completing our 4-week intensive English teacher training course can open doors to exciting job opportunities around the world.

If the standard 9 – 5 and daily commute isn’t for working you, but you thrive from working with people, this could be just the ticket to changing your career around, finding peace of mind when looking for work overseas and becoming part of a creative and challenging industry.

The practical training and groundwork in teaching skills gives trainees the ability to find employment in a wide range of ways. Graduates of the Trinity CertTESOL work around the world for independent schools, further education colleges and universities and freelance: both face to face or online.

“An intense and rewarding learning experience leading to an international qualification. There’s not a country that doesn’t recognise it, it’s a passport”

– Douglas Mathieson, Teacher Trainer ELA-Edinburgh

What’s more; the Trinity CertTESOL is recognised internationally, is valid for life and opens the door to further skills and training.

What do you get from ELA-Edinburgh’s CertTESOL course?
Teaching practice with real English learners with different levels of English
Lesson planning experience and practice designing courses
Learner needs analysis experience
Teaching one-to-one class practice
Input and guidance from experienced tutors
Structured sessions to help you understand language teaching
Focus on professional awareness and development
A respected certificate to kick start your new career

So, what do you need?

The course focuses on practical training competence, so no prior teaching experience is needed. Time management, the ability to prioritise, working as a team member and a willingness to share ideas, are perfect transferable skills you will have gained from jobs and education, essential to becoming an English teacher.

Find out how to book your place on our October 30th – November 24th course by contacting

email dos@elacademy.co.uk or phone 0131 226 6182

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

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

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

Dear Diary..

Posted on October 13, 2014 by ELA-Edinburgh

Several weeks ago we have posted the first extracts from our project called “Dear Diary” where students are writing about their experiences in Edinburgh and at ELA.

It’s a great project and both our students and teachers benefit from it: students practice their English by using narrative tenses as well as other grammatical aspects, and vocabulary they have learnt or revised while studying at ELA; and teachers are provided with an opportunity to check students’ progress and receive their feedback.

We would like to share some parts of students essays with all of you.

Sara Baglivo wrote that her experience was amazing despite the initial fear of being in a new city. She was really looking forward to improve her English and had a strong desire to develop. Sara’s teacher, David, made the whole group feel very welcome and was involving each student in all activities. But, of course, as every person who travels to a new country Sara had some culture shock moments related to food that was different from her home town and getting on with her groupmates. However, all those troubles were insignificant and were solved within the first week of their stay; the group enjoyed their excursions to Loch Lomond, Arthur’s Seat, the Floors Castle and many other places. They were really inspired by gorgeous landscapes and medieval architecture. And Sara mentioned that she would love to come back to Edinburgh.

Enrico Emilio Diviggiano mentioned that he was enjoying everything: the weather was unusual for him but he got used to t very quickly; his lessons were very productve and enjoyable thanks to his teacher, David, who he called a “King of teaching”; various art galleries and museums stunned Enrico and Loch Lomons, Arthur’s Seat and St.Andrews impressed him and insired for new discoveries.

Fara Galeoni said that originally she wanted to go to London but when the teacher informed all the students about their new destination in the UK, Fara got really excited and started gathering information about Scotland and Edinburgh. There were some things that were unusual: public transport system was well organised, Scottish people were very friendly and welcoming, buildings were beautiful and full of history and, of course, lessons at ELA helped a lot to improve the level of English. And as Fara said: “I left a piece of my heart in Edinburgh and ELA.”

All our students enjoyed their experience and mentioned that their encounter with a new culture was very positive, even though they had to get used to several things such as food and the weather. Some of them even mentioned that this school trip changed their life and the way they thought of Scotland and the UK.

We would like to thank all of our students for all the unforgettable moments and a very positive experience full of new adventures and discoveries.

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

Let’s Read

Posted on September 17, 2014 by ELA-Edinburgh

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” — Ernest Hemingway

“A book is a device to ignite your imagination.” – Alan Bennett

Some people love reading, some loathe. But it even if you do not consider yourself a bookworm, it is still essential to learn and improve your reading skills as almost all ESOL exams are designed to check this useful skill.

So, let’s discuss the ways that might help you improve your reading skills.

First of all, you need to prepare for reading.

Find something to read, something that you know you will really enjoy.

Don’t forget that you need to choose interesting and easily read books such as comic books, as well as reading books containing formal words. Reading is about enjoying the experience as well as developing the skills.

Find a place to read where you can concentrate and where you feel comfortable. This may be your secret place where no one will bother you, or simply your home at a time when it is quiet.

Start reading with titles, names, or other larger print items that you may know or ever thought about. Read carefully and try not to rush, take your time.

Remember that you don’t have to be a great reader to get the point. It doesn’t matter whether you read quickly or slowly, the most important point is to understand the main idea.

Enjoy the process and remember why you are reading. Is it for entertainment or to learn something? If you decide from the very start, it will help you enjoy it and improve your comprehension.

Remember, you’re reading with a purpose, so focus on that purpose and the material. If you lose interest or keep losing your place, take a break or read something else. Scan the text before you read and if it is not to your liking, simply put it aside and choose something different.

Read as much as you are able. If you feel that you start getting bored or need a break, take one. After your break, return to where you were, and continue.

Read each item straight through. If you finish and have questions, go back and re-read those sections. If you don’t have questions and you understood what you needed, then you are ready to move on.

Use context clues to find out a word’s meaning. It means that you can figure out the meaning of a word by seeing how the word was used in a sentence. If you find a word that you cannot understand from the context, use the dictionary. If you want to save time, go to the online dictionary

Remember that practice makes it perfect. The more you read, the better reader you’ll become.

To each his own…

Posted on September 10, 2014 by ELA-Edinburgh

“Fashion changes, but style endures.” – Coco Chanel

Start here!

1. Look at the picture. Discuss and decide:

Which one(s) would you wear at school? Why?
When would the other ones be worn?
Which one(s) is (are) your least favorite? Why?
What is the meaning of this sentence:

“Ted always wears 5 different colors, but to each his own…”?

Vocabulary fun!

2. Work with a partner. Match the words and expressions on the left with their meaning on the right.

1.dropping names A. peppermint candy

2.bring me shame B. a picture taken of yourself that is uploaded to Facebook

3.YOLO C. try to make me feel bad because of something I did

4.coupon book D. dead

5.mints E. saying the names of famous people you know to impress others

6.selfie F. tickets for a discount

7.deceased G. you only live once; an excuse for doing something stupid

3. Match one of the words from the list below (a- i) with one of the images (1-9) in picture 2.

(a) stripes (b) plaid (c) glitter (d) sequined (e) fluorescent (f) belt (g) suspenders (h) crocs (i) Uggs

ROFL CU! (Read Once- Fun Listening Coming Up!)

4. Watch this video Video 1 and take 5 minutes to write down as many words as you know from the video. How many of the words from exercise 3 can you find?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Watch the video again. In what order do these characters appear?

6. Listen to the lyrics and fill in the gaps in this text.

It might seem (a)__________, wearing stripes with plaid

I instagram every meal I’ve had

All my used liquor (b)__________ are on display

We can go to see a show but I’ll make you pay (because I’m tacky)

Wear my belt with suspenders and (c)_________ with my socks (because I’m tacky)

Got some new glitter Uggs and lovely (d)_________ sequined crocs (because I’m tacky)

Never let you forget some favor I did for you (because I’m tacky)

If you’re okay with that, then, you might just be tacky, too

I meet some chick, ask her this and that

Like ‘Are you pregnant girl, or just really (e)________?’ (what?)

Well, now I’m dropping names almost constantly

That’s what Kanye West keeps telling me, here’s why (because I’m tacky)

Wear my Ed Hardy shirt with fluorescent orange (f)________ (because I’m tacky)

Got my new resume it’s printed in Comic Sans (because I’m tacky)

Think it’s (g)__________ threatening waiters with a bad Yelp review (because I’m tacky)

If you think that’s just fine, then, you’re probably tacky, too

Bring me shame, can’t nothing

Bring me shame, I never know why

Bring me shame, can’t nothing

Bring me shame, I said

Bring me shame, can’t nothing

Bring me shame, it’s pointless to try

Bring me shame, can’t nothing

Bring me shame, I said (because I’m tacky)

43 Bumper Stickers and a YOLO license plate (because I’m tacky)

(h)_________ along my coupon book whenever I’m on a date (because I’m tacky)

Practice my twerking moves in line at the DMV (because I’m tacky)

Took the whole (i)_________ of restaurant mints. Hey, it said they’re free (because I’m tacky)

I get drunk at the bank

And take off my (j)__________, at least (because I’m tacky)

I would live-tweet a funeral, take selfies with the deceased (because I’m tacky)

If I’m bitten by a zombie(k)________, I’m probably not telling you (because I’m tacky)

If you don’t think that’s bad, guess what, then you’re tacky, too

7.Work with a partner. Describe what these 4 characters are wearing.

Tips for Autumn Fashion

Posted on August 19, 2014 by ELA-Edinburgh

It is August and according to our calendar, it is still summer 🙂

However, the weather is no longer pampering us with nice and sunny days, and amazingly gorgeous and warm evenings. It is getting colder every day and we can feel the breath of Autumn every time we cross the threshold and step outside.

So, it high time to introduce our next lesson, during which you are going to learn more about autumn fashion trends.

1. Match the words and the expressions on the left with their definition. Form a sentence with each word and expression.

a) in full swing

b) earth tones

c) slather

d) mulch

e) gravel

f) fashionista

i. to spread a large amount of something over something else

ii. an individual obsessed with following trends in fashion

iii. moving rapidly

iv. a mixture of little stones and sand used on driveways

v. brownish colours

vi. straw used sometimes to keep moisture in the soil

2. Using concessive structures (“while, whereas, whilst; however, nevertheless, nonetheless”) form 6 sentences contrasting summer and autumn fashion in terms of colours, clothes, accessories (bags, scarves, hats) and essential items.

3. Watch the video and fill in the table below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX5-E8djI3s

Tip #1	Earth tones are a classic fall look.	Before leaving the 1.________, remember to slather yourself 2_________ of mulch and 3________.
Tip #2	5______ your summer clothes.	It’s time to put away those flip flops and 6______. 7________of your summer clothes.
Tip #3	Create your own 8______ backpack.	All 9_______ fall fashionistas can create a backpack by 10_______a pumpkin.
Tip #4	Find your perfect colours.	Send in pictures.
Tip #5	11_______are a great accessory.	Be careful not to get your 12_________ accessory caught as you could 13_________ hang yourself.
Tip #6	Avoid shopping 14________.	15_____ Just stay at home. Let yourself become totally 16___________.

4. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “Fashion is made to become unfashionable” ?

We would be happy to know your favourite autumn fashion trends! 🙂

ELA-Edinburgh EFL Blog

Tips for students who study English as a foreign language

Tag Archives: esl

CertTESOL, A World at your Fingertips

Five Ways to Use Tech to Enliven your Studying

Dear Diary..

Mysterious Rosslyn Chapel

Let’s Read

To each his own…