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Hi,

Our blog is moving. You can find us at http://live-language.com/blog/

Best regards,

Live Language Team

Why do you need to have a certificate for Spanish as a Foreign Language?

Nowadays, Spanish is among the 3 most spoken languages in the world and the number of native speakers as well as the speakers of Spanish as a foreign language is growing every day, to the extent that Spanish is meant to be the predominant language in the USA in 2050!

A lot of people in countries where there are speakers of English as a foreign language or as a second language consider extremely important to have a certificate or a qualification that can show their level of English and their skills speaking this language. I believe that in the future if you already speak English you are going to need another language to add to your skills as a professional or for life.

If you are already learning Spanish or thinking about learning it soon, why don’t you start thinking about taking an exam to prove your level of Spanish as well and to add it in your CV? The DELE certificate (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) is a qualification that evaluates your level from A1 to C2, so no matter where you are in your learning process, you can have a certification about it. The famous Instituto Cervantes is the one in charge of the DELE and your certificate is signed by them. This exam reviews the four language skills: speaking, listening, writing and reading; and it is accepted all over the world and it is the most international certification you can have for Spanish.

If you are thinking about taking the DELE or would like to have further information please check this link

Saludos y buena suerte

Fernanda

The top 5 reasons for attending an International Foundation Programme

1.  It bridges the differences of education systems. Qualifications vary in each country and not all of them are in line with the entry requirements of the British universities.

2. Provides a transition from a national secondary school to a British university. It helps students understand higher education’s standard and the requirements properly. Furthermore, students can familiarise with various academic skills, such as: writing essays, taking note and giving presentations.

3. It devotes a full module to improve the students’ English level. International students need to have an IELTS score 5.5 + (some universities require IELTS 7.0). Obviously, not many secondary school leavers can achieve these scores. During the International Foundation Year, students’ IELTS score can improve by developing techniques for all the sections of the exam.

4. Acquire learning techniques. That is what most international students need to improve. The objective is to help students think in the British way (critical thinking, individual learning and participating in research and projects).

5. Students would be clearer of their future learning directions and job prospects afterwards.  Every student has a different idea about what profession and carrier to choose, but the Foundation Programme can give them a more realistic approach towards their dreams. Moreover, our Admission Advisor can help you make the right choice of course, university and help you through the application process.

Spanish, one of the most spoken languages in the world

On Saturday 22nd June all the Spanish speaking community celebrated “El día E”, a day that has been created to celebrate the importance of the Spanish language nowadays. Spanish during the past decades has started becoming one of the most spoken languages in the world, along with English, for the number of native speakers and speakers of Spanish as a foreign language. This is the official language of 22 countries and in the United States is the language most spoken after English. If you want to know more interesting facts about Spanish, check the link bellow:

http://www.speakinglatino.com/13-cool-and-interesting-facts-about-the-spanish-language/

What Steve Jobs taught us about making presentations

1 “This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for 2 and a half years….” Relax and enjoy it. Be happy to be there and say that you are. No jokes about things going badly.

2 “Every once in a while…a revolutionary product comes along…that changes everything.” Take your time. You don’t need to finish a sentence in one breath. Even if you don’t need time to think, your audience will.

3 Keep your visuals simple. Pictures and words are much better than words alone. Remembering the ‘rule of six’ (maximum of six lines per slide, six words per line) can be helpful here.

4 “A wide-screen iPod with touch controls…a wide screen iPod with touch controls… ” repeat yourself – if it’s important, say it more than once and give people a chance to remember it.

5 “Sort of like the baby internet…not so smart” Speak in simple language wherever possible. Do not assume that people have your vocabulary or understand the concepts that you consider simple. Many people will tell you they understand when they don’t. If your audience had your knowledge, you wouldn’t be doing the presentation.

6  “Well…so” Signalling language will keep people attentive and orientated

7 “Are you getting it?” Be interactive. Ask questions (even if you are going to answer them yourself) – it will get people’s attention

Things to think about before you implement iPads in your school.

Connection checklist

In order to implement the iPads successfully you will need to:

• Ensure the school has a robust and reliable wireless infrastructure.
• Ensure Wi-Fi signal is distributed evenly in all the classrooms and in the teachers’ room.
• Ensure that your network can sustain a large volume of devices connecting at the same time.

Pedagogical checklist

In order to ensure that the teachers are ready to use the iPads you will need to:

• Ensure that all teachers know how and why the use of the iPads will be integrated into the overall development of the school and as part of their own professional development.
• Schedule training sessions, either in-house or at the Apple store, to help teachers become more confident in using the tool.
• Ensure that professional development doesn’t only focus on “how to” use the technology but also on the aims and objectives for using the technology i.e. developing digital literacy, developing research skills, promoting collaborative work etc.
• Identify and test apps that will enable learners to practise specific skills such as: recording themselves, taking notes, creating presentations.
• Develop a bank of iPad activities before implementing the tool.
• Further reading: Apps linked to specific learning goals How to review an App.

 Logistical checklist

Before purchasing the devices you will need to have a clear procedure on how the devices will be managed and you will need to decide:

• Where the devices will be stored and charged. Will you use an iPad cart?
• When the devices will be charged and who will be responsible for ensuring that the iPads are ready for use.
• How you will identify each iPad.
• Whether you need to purchase iPad protective covers headphones and headphone splitters.
• Whether you will purchase, manage and synchronize apps to the devices with one central account or different accounts.
• If you want to allow teachers to add Apps.
• Who will manage the Apps? Will you use the Apple’s Volume Purchasing Plan?
• If you need cloud based storage to save students’ work when they are working on a project. Will you use Dropbox, Evernote, GoogleDrive to name a few?

 

 

 

What’s your preferred learning style?

Learning strategies or styles are terms used to describe identifiable individual approaches to learning situations.

J.W. Keefe (1979) defines learning styles as “cognitive, affective and psychological traits that are relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment”.

Reid (1987) identified six major style preferences:

1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. Kinaesthetic
4. Tactile
5. Individual
6. Group

Learning style preference depends on the personality, age, level and cultural origin. Learning works best when the learning opportunity matches the learner’s preference.

Learning Style Quiz: http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/pages/vak_quest.htm

5 FREE resources to practice your IELTS

EssayBuilder

This is a fantastic resource for students who want to improve their IELTS writing task 1. It shows you the vocabulary and the grammar that you need to describe a graph, chart, table or diagram.

iPass IELTS videos

IELTS speaking test practice videos showing real candidates doing mock interviews; includes full transcripts and language analysis.

dcielts.com

This site is a really useful reference to help you develop your academic writing. It has interactive exercises that allow you to develop topic specific vocabulary.

Canadavisa.com

Canadavisa has 8 free IELTS practice tests available – 2 Listening, 2 Reading, 2 Writing, and 2 Speaking. These tests were prepared by IELTS professionals and will give you a good sense of what the IELTS test will be like.

ielts-exam.net

This site has a lot of free practise resources along with useful advice. Highly recommended.

Can you recommend any other sites?

7 good reasons to study in Glasgow

1) Glasgow is Scotland’s biggest city, but with a population of just 600,000 people, you won’t get lost!  You can find everything you need here, it has the second biggest shopping area in the UK, (London is number one, of course!).

2) Glasgow and Scotland have a smaller population than London and England, so are less crowded, with more green spaces, more natural beauty, and a slower pace of life.

3) Living in Glasgow and Scotland is much cheaper than living in London – sometimes up to four times cheaper!

4) Live Language in Glasgow has 13 Points of Excellence in our recent British Council report, including for our accommodation and our excellent student care.  Our school has multi-national and multi-lingual staff who you can speak to if you need some advice, or have a problem.  Our staff are available 24/7.

5) There are 60,000 students in Glasgow, which means it a vibrant, energetic, charismatic, soulful, friendly city which most people fall in love with.  10% of these students are international, which is one reason Glasgow is nicknamed ‘The Friendly City’!

6) Unlike every other city in the UK, Glasgow has a different festival every single month, meaning you will never be bored.

7) Did you know European students can study at Scottish universities for free?  We will be posting more about this on our blog soon.

I am sure the students who already study in Glasgow have even more reasons. What do you say?

7 tips to improve your IELTS speaking

• Don’t echo the examiner. Try to use different vocabulary by paraphrasing and using synonyms. Learners with a high band score demonstrate a wide range of vocabulary.

• In IELTS Speaking Part 1, give a little extra information for each question.In Part 1, add information about who, what, why, when, where or how often. In Part 3, give reasons or examples.

• Don’t prepare or memorise answers at home. The examiner is testing your ability to provide spontaneous answers using natural English.

• In IELTS Speaking Part 2, use the one minute of preparation time to note down useful vocabulary that will improve your answer. Don’t write sentences to read aloud, as this makes your pronunciation unnatural.

• Watch for common ‘fossilised’ errors with present and past simple. It is a part of your grammatical accuracy to use -ed endings and past simple irregular verbs consistently, and also to remember the -s for third person and plural nouns.

• Don’t speak too quickly – fluency is not all about speed. Make sure you are clear, and that you leave brief pauses between different pieces of information. Stress important words. Learners with high band scores in pronunciation speak in a way that causes little or no strain on the ear of the listener.

• Don’t tell the examiner “I’m finished” – use intonation, body language (by sitting back or lowering your hands) or linking words (Anyway…).