29 June 2009

English for University Class Treats Teacher

Last week was the end of term, and a lovely group of students from an English for University class decided to treat their teacher to thank her for all her hard work. They brought along delicious food for a shared morning tea, and gave their teacher a special keepsake to remember them by - a model boat with the Saudi Arabian flag on it. Once word got out that there was a celebration going on, friends from other classes soon joined in. There was music, food and lots of conversation. A good time was had by all!

English for University students and their friends at the end of term


A gift for the teacher

You can see more photos of the celebration here on Flickr.com

Posted by Hannah Robinson at 3:48 PM 0 comments
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27 June 2009

Our Graduates: Elena's Success Story

Elena Chernova, a former student of Languages International, has recently visited the school to share with us her “post-LIL” experience. Elena is now doing her Graduate Diploma in Computer Science at AUT (Auckland University of Technology) and says the study skills learned during her English for University course here have helped her a lot with fitting in to the AUT student community. She does not find academic and technical vocabulary difficult either and is coping well with the group projects (very much like here at LIL, Elena continues to show very good academic results at the university – her grades for semester 1 are all B’s which is fantastic!) Elena is very excited about having her graduation later this year as this will give her an opportunity to get straight into the workforce in the IT industry. In the meantime, Elena has been working at a local supermarket to help pay for living costs and earn some extra money, and she has now saved enough to buy herself a well deserved present – a shiny new bike (to match her sparkling blue eyes!) The other great news is that Elena has already found a volunteer position in Information Security (which was her major subject back in Russia). The IT company she works for in Auckland is quite happy to wait until Elena gets her diploma in July so they can employ her full-time. Best of luck with pursuing your career Elena and we look forward to receiving more exciting news about you!

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26 June 2009

Reflections on the EU Course

My name is Ali and I’m from Saudi Arabia. I have a bachelor’s degree in science. I have taught for five years in my country. I would like to study a master of Education at Massey University. I have taken the EU course at Languages International to improve my English language and develop my academic language. In addition, I thought this course would help me to enhance my academic performance at university in the future.

The EU course is very informative. I have been taught nearly two hours a day. After that, I have to review what I have learned in class for at least an hour daily. Moreover, I have done some useful homework weekly as well as one assignment per fortnight. Interestingly, this course covers different types of topics such as culture, economics, politics and energy resources. One of the most interesting and beneficial topics was developing listening and note taking skills.

Studying at university requires good academic English skills. Consequently I have decided to do this excellent course. My main role and responsibilities as a student were attending classes regularly, doing my homework and assignments, as well as revising what I have been taught at class on a daily basis.

The major English language skills consist of reading, listening and writing. These skills should be developed by students who want to study English language effectively and efficiently. Firstly, students might want to read about topics which interest them and write down some useful words in their field to improve their reading skills and vocabulary. Secondly, from my point of view, watching documentaries and scientific programmes especially with subtitles is one of the most useful ways to improve listening skills.

Also, listening to news such as the BBC is another excellent thing. The BBC is a famous news channel which broadcasts various kinds of interesting topics and the formal English is used.

There are some common difficulties that Arab students face. Writing skills are considered one of the biggest problems. For example, in Arabic we write from right to left, but in English it is the opposite. Also, in Arabic verbs come before nouns. Furthermore, we do not have capital letters like English does. Arab students should be conscious of these points. Learning English grammar is essential when learning to build the writing skills. As a result Arab students should focus on it. They can find a lot of useful books in the Learning Centre, for example, Grammar in Use.

Finally, the EU course is important for most students who plan to study at university. It prepares students for the university environment. This course is taught by professional and highly experienced teachers. For example, I was afraid on my first day because there were a lot of Arab students in my class. However, my great teacher solved this obstacle wisely. For this reason I would like to say thanks to the EU course teachers and administrators.

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12 June 2009

Languages International Nominated for LTM Star Award in 2009






Languages International is delighted to have been shortlisted again in this year's LTM Star Awards as one of the top 5 language schools in the southern hemisphere. Thank you very much to all our partners for your ongoing support and your votes. The winner will be announced in September.

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08 June 2009

Business English Students Put Theory into Pizza-selling Practice

Let me introduce my experience in Christine’s business marketing class. We had studied the theories of marketing in business marketing class. One day, the teacher said we were going to sell pizzas the next Friday at the school. I was so excited because I wanted to apply the theories that I have studied to a real situation.

Firstly, we visited other classes to survey other students’ taste for pizza, and it was a kind of promotion because we could announce that we were going to sell pizzas. After this survey, we chose kinds of pizzas that we would sell, and we discussed a reasonable price and specific details. And then we made various flyers to advertise this event on the computers in the Learning Centre.

Finally, on the D-day, the pizzas were sold out, and we made some profit. Every student in this business class really enjoyed this special experience. It was so exciting because we planned and promoted and sold it by ourselves and especially, everything was in English.

I would like to thank Christine for letting us make a special memory and recommend that you take this class!


by Mi-so Kim,a student at Languages International 

Posted by Languages International at 8:53 AM 1 comments
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05 June 2009

Great Achievement of Our Staff Members

Congratulations to Languages International staff members who graduated from Auckland University this month


















Our Marketing Manager Brett Shirreffs has completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration.



















Three of our teaching staff also graduated: Derene Els, with a Master of Professional Studies in Language Teaching; Charlie Eng, with a Master of Arts in Language Teaching; and Clare Stirling, with a Bachelor of Arts. Well done to you all!

Posted by Languages International at 1:46 PM 0 comments
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Business English Class and Preparation for Cambridge BEC Exam at Languages International

We chose the business morning class, because we wanted to prepare for BEC exam and improve our business vocabulary. This course is useful to someone who has a job in global market or wants to learn for the future.

In the class, we studied not only the textbook but also reading business news articles, discussion, role playing and practiced listening with business reality shows (like Dragon’s Den). We think it is good to improve your skills because it is real and includes everything like grammar, vocabulary and reading as well.

In the afternoon, we joined the BEC class. We were very pleased because of the small class. It was really helpful for us due to the teacher dealing with each students more than big class.
We did lots of tasks connected with the exam and the teacher was supportive when we had a problem. We got homework everyday to improve what we have done in the lessons. In addition, we could study with particular books which Karen recommended.

Unfortunately, the exam day came too fast. We studied every free minute, but we were so nervous. In the speaking test, we totally forgot every useful language. The examiners were kind, but the atmosphere was tense. In part 3 of the speaking test, we had to discuss something for two minutes, but because of the tension the time felt quite long. It is hard to discuss difficult topics when you feel nervous.

The day after, we did the other part of the exam and it was more relaxed. We think we didn’t have enough time to get nervous because it was in the morning.

Anyway the exam is finished and we are waiting the result. We are free!! We just relish our remaining New Zealand life!!!!

We’d like to recommend this course to everyone because we totally satisfied with our improvements.

Big thanks to the best teacher, Karen ☺

By Stefanie (Switzerland) & Michelle (Korea), students at Languages International

Photo: Stephanie and Michelle at school

Posted by Hannah Robinson at 11:56 AM 0 comments
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