Newsletter January 2015 Issue 6

Contents

3…….Welcome

4…….The term in pictures

6…….Exam results

7…….Interview with Matthew

8…… Term Timeline

10…...ARTICLE: The Greatest Invention Ever

11…...Quizzes and Games

12…...This term

Welcome to the Excel College January newsletter.

Happy New Year! And welcome to a new term at Excel College! Last term was busy, especially

at the end of the year, when the College moved from Cedar House to a new building on Oxford

Street. Classes in the new building started on 6th January. We’re enjoying being in a more

modern building with better facilities and a great city centre location.

Last term we also welcomed two new members of staff, Jill and Matthew. Jill is teaching

IELTS Advanced class at the College and Medical English at the Royal Manchester Infirmary.

Matthew is our new Academic Manager. You can read an interview with him on page 9.

There were lots of wintery events to enjoy last term at the College. Manchester celebrated

Halloween, Bonfire Night and, of course, Christmas and New Year. Throughout the term we went

on trips to see fireworks at Platt Fields Park, to go ice skating at Manchester’s winter ice rink and

to visit the Christmas Markets. We also continued our Conversation Club which now takes place

at a different café every week. This is so students can discover new areas of the city and practise

their English at the same time! Take a look at the Term in Pictures to see more of what we’ve

been up to this term.

As always, if you’d like to practise your writing skills by writing a review, a recipe, a letter or an

article for the next newsletter, send an email to admin@excel-college.com or send a message to

the Excel College Facebook page. We’d love to see your photos and videos too!

Anna Bartholomew

Admissions and Student Services

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If you’re looking to meet new people in Manchester, join Meet Up! You can

find lots of different groups in the city who host regular activities, with

something for every interest: hiking, reading, international exchange,

dancing and cycling to name a few!

You can also keep up-to-date with Excel College social activities by joining

our Meet Up group.

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in

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Exam Results and Letters We love hearing about students’ exam results and their experiences at Excel College.

You can send your results or letters to admin@excel-college.com

Student: Mohamed Country: Libya IELTS: 5.0 Course: IELTS Advanced Preparation

Listening Reading

5.0 4.5

Writing Speaking

5.0 6.0

Congratulations to Dayana, Mohamed and Salem on their results and good luck to

students taking exams next term!

Student: Salem Country: Qatar IELTS: 5.0 Course: IELTS Foundation Preparation

Listening Reading Writing Speaking

4.5 4.0 4.5 6.5

Student: Dayana Country: Colombia IELTS: 6.0 Course: IELTS Advanced Preparation

Listening Reading

5.5 5.5

Writing Speaking

6.0 70

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An Interview with Matthew Last term Matthew joined the Excel College team. He is our new Academic Manager so he

is always around to help students with any questions they have about their classes. Here

you can find out a little bit more about him...

Name: Matthew

Job Title:

Academic Manager

Favourite food:

Steak and chips

Favourite drink:

Real ale

Favourite place: The Alps in winter

Special skills: Cooking—people say I’m a

good cook and I love hosting dinner parties.

Why did you become a TEFL teacher?

I love travelling and for me TEFL is a way of

“travelling without moving”.

Tell us about your first ever teaching job.

This was at a school in London called Avalon.

I had great fun there. It had a reputation for

being a bit of a “party” school.

In what countries have you taught?

UK (London and Manchester) and Italy.

What is your best teaching memory?

Teaching kids on a skiing camp in Italy—we

were skiing all morning and teaching for a

couple of hours in the afternoon. It was like a

paid holiday.

What is your worst teaching memory?

Well, to be honest, those kids on the skiing

camp weren’t interested in learning English,

so it was hard work in the lessons!

Where’s your favourite place in the UK and

why?

Snowdonia, North Wales. I love the outdoors

and this place also brings back happy

childhood memories.

Can you think of another question to ask

yourself?

“Do you support Manchester City or

Manchester United?” Neither—I support

Bolton Wanderers, the best team in Greater

Manchester!

Term Timeline What happened at the College, in Manchester and in the UK last term?

Have a look at our timeline to find out.

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Classical Music Concert

Trip

29th September

At the start of the term, we

went to a free lunchtime

concert at the Royal College

of Music.

Manchester Christmas

Lights

7th November

Every year in the city, there is

a big party to celebrate the

night when the Christmas

lights are switched on. This

year there was music,

comedy and fireworks in

Albert Square.

Bonfire Night Trip

5th November

On Bonfire Night we went on

a trip to Platt Fields Park

where there were fireworks

and a funfair.

Manchester Literature Festival

6th - 19th October

Writers from the north of England

and around the world came to

Manchester to talk about

reading, writing in events around

the city.

Halloween

31st October

The College

was decorated

with spooky

cobwebs and spiders. In

Manchester, there were lots of

parties where people wore

fancy dress.

Manchester Science Festival

23rd October - 2nd November

The city’s annual science

festival returned in October.

Scientists from around the

world came to talk about their

discoveries and there were

lots of interactive exhibitions.

College Christmas Party

12th December

Our annual Christmas party was

lots of fun. We all tried some new

food from around the world, played

some games and said some sad

goodbyes to the students who left

us at the end of the term.

Moving Day

29th December

Excel College moved from

Cedar House to its new

address on Oxford Street.

We’re enjoying the new

term in our new building!

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Ice Skating Trip

19th November

We went ice skating at

Manchester’s winter ice rink.

Manchester Christmas

Markets

14th November

Manchester’s famous

Christmas markets opened in

November. This year there

were more markets than ever

with stalls selling food, drink

and gifts from around the

world.

Class trip to MOSI

14th November

The Beginner,

Elementary and Pre

Intermediate

classes had an

exciting lesson at

the Museum of

Science and

Industry!

of All Time

The Greatest Invention

Last term, Manchester Science Festival came to the city. In honour of the

festival, our writing competition was science based; we asked our students

to write about the greatest invention of all time.

Here is the winning entry from Fatimah At Qattani.

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Congratulations to Fatimah for her submission. She has won 15 hours free English classes!

Today I want to talk

about anti-bacterial

hand gel. I have

chosen this invention

because I think it is

very important in daily

life.

This product was

launched maybe five

years ago. It went on

sale in supermarkets and lots of people

soon found out about it. Before this

invention people used Dettol wipes, but

I prefer hand gel because the bottle is

very light and very small. You can carry

it easily and it is easy to use.

How to use it

Just put a little anti-bacterial gel on

your hands and rub, rub, rub for a few

seconds to allow it to dry, then clean

your hands with a tissue or put on a

little hand cream.

There are one or two small problems

with this product. Firstly, with some

varieties, your hands sometimes feel a

little bit sticky and you have to rinse

your hands with water before you can

touch a pen, a mobile phone, or any

other object.

In my opinion it is very important to use

anti-bacterial gel whenever you are

going to touch something which

requires clean hands. For example, it

should be applied before eating or

before feeding a baby.

From my perspective as an overseas

student, using anti-bacterial gel is a

matter of basic personal hygiene. In the

modern world, where regular air travel

in particular makes infection and

disease much more common and much

more difficult to combat, everyone

should do what he or she can to create

a clean and healthy environment.

Quizzes and Games

11

Animals and Idioms

1

2

3

6 7

Do you know the names of

these animals?

4

5

Put the animals into these idioms.

Then match the idioms to their definitions.

a. I heard it straight from the __________’s mouth.

b. There isn’t enough room to swing a __________ in here.

c. He’s the black ___________ of the family.

d. Don’t count your ____________s before they hatch.

e. You can’t teach an old ____________ new tricks.

f. There are plenty more __________ in the sea.

g. I could carry on eating this chocolate until the __________s

come home.

i. Very little space.

ii. For a very long time.

iii. From the person directly concerned.

iv. Don’t be too confident of success before it is certain.

v. You can’t make people change their behaviour.

vi. A member of a family or group who is seen as a disgrace to

that family or group.

vii. There are many other people that you could find to a have

relationship with. (Often used when your friend has broken

up with their boyfriend or girlfriend.)

a b c d e f g

1

3

2

4

What’s happening this term? The first few months of 2015 are filled with festivals!: you can try beers from Manchester and around the world at Manchester Beer Festival, watch new plays at Re:Play Theatre Festival or celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Manchester Irish Festival. You can also enjoy a more arty Manchester. Home, a new theatre / cinema / art gallery, will be opening later in the year. It will be the biggest multi-arts venue in the UK outside of London. While they wait for their new building to be ready, they are presenting theatre and art in interesting locations around the city. Also, one of Manchester’s most important art galleries, The Whitworth, is due to reopen in February after a big redevelopment. At the College, we have trips planned to visit the Beer & Cider Festival, the National Football Museum and the Imperial War Museum. We will also be having lots of movie evenings and coffee mornings. Our conversation club will now be taking place on Monday afternoons at a different location every week. Have a look at our events calendar for more information.

To all students returning to Excel College after the break or starting classes for the first

time, we hope you have a fun and successful term!

EXCEL14

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Write for the Excel College Newsletter!

Put your writing skills to the test!

Want to review a book, film or restaurant? Love or hate something about Manchester?

Want to give a big thank you to your favourite teacher?

We’d love to hear from you!

Send articles, photos or ideas to admin@excel-college.com

Quiz Answers

Animals and Idioms 1. Chicken, 2. Horse, 3. Dog, 4. Fish, 5. Cat, 6. Cow, 7. Sheep. a) Horse, b) Cat, c) Sheep, d) Chicken, e) Dog, f) Fish, g) Cow. i) b, ii) g, iii) a, iv) d, v) e, vi) c, vii) f.

31/12/15