Newsletter April 2015 Issue 7

Contents

3…….Welcome

4…….The Term in Pictures

6…….Term Timeline

8…….INTERVIEW: Meet out new teacher, Marie

9…….STUDENT REVIEW: Java Jazz

10…...Letters and Exam Results

11…...Quizzes and Games

13…...Next term

Welcome to the Excel College April newsletter.

Here at Excel College, we are settling into our new building nicely. Students are enjoying having

more space and brighter classrooms and the teachers are very pleased that they have a much

bigger staff room! This is especially important because last term we welcomed another new

teacher to the team. Marie starting working with us in March and you can read an interview with

her, including her tips for practising your English, on page 9.

Last term, we also announced a new Excel College course. The International Foundation Year

course is for students who want to study at a university in the UK. The course gives them the

English language and study skills they’ll need to study at a degree level. Students can start an

International Foundation Year in September this year and we are now accepting applications.

Out of class, there has been lots happening too. Some of our students took part in a

language college football tournament. The Excel College team played brilliantly and got to the

final where they lost on penalties. It was a very close match! Students also enjoyed a day trip to

Liverpool with Mike (one of our teachers). Mike comes from Liverpool so he knows lots about the

city and was able to take students to see the best bits. They went on a boat trip on the River

Mersey and visited the Cavern Club where The Beatles famously played. You can read more

about what we have been doing this term in our Term Timeline on page 6.

This term will be as busy as always. We are planning trips to go kayaking on the canal, to go

bowling, to visit the Museum of Science & Industry, and to visit historic Quarry Bank Mill in

Cheshire. You can find information on all of our trips on the College website or the notice board

in reception.

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. For those of you who are back at

home after your Excel College experience, tell us what are doing now and how you are using

your English! We’d love to see your photos and videos too!

Anna Bartholomew

Admissions and Student Services

3

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.

Th

e t

erm

in

pic

ture

s

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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Kuwait National Day

25th February

Our Kuwaiti students

planned an amazing

party to celebrate

Kuwait National Day.

There was a quiz,

games and lots of food!

Chinese New Year

Celebrations

19th February

Manchester always has big

celebrations for Chinese

New Year. This year, we

visited the Chinese food and

craft markets on St Ann’s

Square.

Manchester Beer Festival

21st January

We went on

a trip to the

beer

festival. It’s

the second

time the

festival has

been held in

the National

Cycling Centre so we saw

some bike races as well as

trying lots of different beers.

The Whitworth Gallery

reopens

14th February

After a massive redevelopment,

The Whitworth Gallery reopened

with some amazing exhibitions

and a firework display.

Start of term

5th January

We started the new term in

our new building on busy

Oxford Street.

Pancake Day

17th February

Instead of Mardi Gras,

Manchester celebrates

Pancake Day!

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Northern Quarter Tour

12th March

We went to explore

Manchester’s Northern

Quarter, a creative area with

lots of independent bars,

galleries, cafes and shops.

Trip to Liverpool

21st March

We went to Liverpool for the

day and visited museums,

took a boat trip on the River

Mersey, went on a tour

through Victorian Liverpool

and went to The Cavern.

April Fools’ Day

1st April

On April Fools’ Day,

people play tricks on

each other. There are

also usually funny,

fake articles in the

newspapers.

Football Tournament

1st March

The Excel College team

played in a football

competition against other

colleges in Manchester and

came second!

Manchester Irish Festival

6th March

Every year, around St.

Patrick’s Day, the city

celebrates with Manchester

Irish Festival. There were

Irish music and dance

performances, comedy

shows and a parade on St.

Patrick’s Day.

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An Interview with Marie

Why did you become a TEFL teacher?

I first taught during my year abroad from

university and I enjoyed it so much that I

decided I wanted to carry on teaching when I

finished my degree. I love meeting people

from different countries and learning about

other cultures - I learn a lot in class too! I also

love languages so it's the perfect job for me!

Tell us about your first ever teaching job.

It was in Belgium - I worked in three different

colleges teaching students who were doing

degrees in Hotel Management or studying to

become secretaries. It was a lot of fun!

In what countries have you taught?

Belgium, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.

What advice would you give to students

who want to practise their English out of

class?

Make the most of the English around you - for

example read newspapers, watch TV,

listen to the radio, go to the cinema,

go to museums and read the signs,

but most of all, find people to speak

English with!

What is your best teaching

memory?

One of my favourite memories is when

a class I taught in Belgium prepared

breakfast for me as a surprise. We had

been learning food vocabulary and I

cooked a traditional English breakfast

for them one day (sausages, eggs,

beans etc.) so they decided to do the

same for me, to show me what they

usually ate for breakfast. Each student

brought in something different and we had a

great feast of croissants, eggs, orange juice,

yoghurt, fruit and coffee. It was delicious!

What is your worst teaching memory?

I worked in a Korean school in Australia and it

was so disorganised. There were no books for

the teachers to use, no photocopier or

computer or printer - it was extremely hard to

prepare lessons! One day I had spent hours

preparing my own materials and my manager

Marie joined the Excel College team last term. She is currently teaching Elementary and

IELTS Advanced level classes. Read her tips for practising your English and find out why

she became a TEFL teacher in our interview.

said she would print out the worksheets at her

office and bring them to the school for me, but

she forgot! So I had to teach a 3-hour lesson

without my materials - it was a challenge!

Where's your favourite place in the UK?

I love the Lake District because the scenery is

so beautiful and it's really quiet and peaceful. I

grew up in a small village in the countryside so

I'm more used to being surrounded by nature

than the noise of the city!

Can you think of a question to ask yourself?

What’s your favourite place in Manchester?

I really like Castlefield - I love walking by the

canal and seeing all the boats. It's also a good

place for picnics in summer and there are lots

of places to have a coffee or a drink outside in

the sun.

Java Jazz Student Review Competition:

Last term, Hazel’s intermediate class all took part in a review competition. All of the

entries were very good and included reviews of a trip to Las Vegas, lunch in a Nando’s

restaurant and of a football match between Manchester City and Barcelona. However, the

winner of the competition was Shinta with her review of a Java Jazz concert. Well done

Shinta! Well done to Hayfa and Salem too—their entries came second and third!

In July 1995 I was watching a fantastic live

music show. It was the Java Jazz Festival. It

was held in one of the great cafes in Jakarta. I

was there with my husband.

The café is a fascinating place for its shows. It

was a nice place to have this event. The

musicians played instruments very well and it

was amazing. The combination of the

instruments was harmonious so that all the

people there felt relaxed. We were fascinated

because it was the first time in our lives that we

had been to a jazz show.

We liked this fantastic show because my

favourite jazz group “Karimat A” played at that

time. We really enjoyed it and all of the

audience applauded at the end of the show.

I recommend my friends to see this show some

day. You can enjoy an interesting and fantastic

combination of sounds and also a very

professional singer and I think it will astonish

you.

9

10

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

Quizzes and Games

11

The Great Outdoors

2

4

5

Now the weather is getting

better, it’s time to go

outside! Can you name

these outdoor activities? a. We ________ (have) lots of fun in the Lake District.

b. I ________ (go) on a bike ride last night.

c. Last summer, we _________ (stay) on a campsite in

France.

d. We __________ (walk) for 15 miles yesterday.

e. My brother __________ (catch) a fish from the river.

f. They ___________ (see) lots of wildlife in the national

park.

g After the boat trip, I __________ (be) very tired.

h. She ____________ (take) some amazing photos of the

mountains.

i. I __________ (love) our trip to Wales.

j. He told me that he ___________ (spend) £100 on his

new walking boots.

k. It __________ (rain) every day when we went on

holiday to Ireland.

1

4

1

3

4

5 6 7

Can you use the verbs to make past simple sentences?

Culture Vulture Crossword

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 9

10 11

12

13

Down

1 A play that includes singing, dancing and acting

2 A painting of a person

5 A person who designs buildings

8 The place you go to see a film

9 The place you go to see an art exhibition

11 Equipment photographer uses to take photos

Across

3 Someone who plays music in the

street for money

4 The place you go to see a play

6 Some people call this vandalism,

others call it street art

7 A painting of an object or a collection

of objects (5, 4)

10 A live music performance

12 Another name for a writer or author

13 The words of a song

This term, a new arts centre called Home opens in Manchester. It will be the biggest

multi-arts venue in the UK outside London with a cinema, theatre and art gallery.

But how cultural are you? Test your cultural

vocabulary in our Culture Vulture

Crossword!

Everyday English:

Giving Opinions Are these informal opinions on cultural

events positive, negative or neutral?

1. Musicals aren’t really my cup of tea.

2. The exhibition wasn’t bad.

3. The last book I read was a real

page-turner.

4. I thought the firework display was

excessive.

5. My two-year-old niece could have

painted that picture.

6. The music they play is really up my

street.

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What’s happening this term? Manchester always gets very busy in the spring. The weather is getting warmer and there are

lots of things to do. This term there will be two arts festivals (in Chorlton and Didsbury), the BMX

bike world cup, the Great City Games with professional athletics in the city centre and a charity

rubber duck race! This spring, Home, a new arts centre (the biggest in the UK outside London)

will open in Manchester, and Salford will host it’s annual music festival, Sounds from the Other

City.

At the College, we have trips planned to visit MOSI, to visit Quarry Bank Mill (where you can see

a working cotton mill from the 18th century), to go bowling and to go kayaking on the canal.

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!

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

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Quiz Answers

The Great Outdoors

1 Camping. 2 Horse riding. 3 Hiking. 4 Climbing. 5 Fishing. 6

Sailing. 7 Cycling. a had. b went. c stayed. d walked. e caught.

f saw. g was. h took. i loved. j spent. k rained.

Culture Vulture Crossword

Across: 3 Busker. 4 Theatre. 6 Graffiti. 7 Still life. 10 Concert.

12 Novelist. 13 Lyrics. Down: 1 Musical. 2 Portrait. 5

Architect. 8 Cinema. 9 Gallery. 11 Camera.

Everyday English: Giving Opinions

1 Neutral. 2 Neutral. 3 Positive. 4 Negative. 5 Negative.

6 Positive.