Month: March 2019

Welcome to our new intern, Alexandra!

Category: Getting to know the EC Oxford Team / Tags: , , ,

Welcome to Alexandra, she is from Russia but lives in Germany! Q: What did you do before you came to EC English School Oxford? Before coming to Oxford I was an Au pair in Gloucester for a half a year. Before that, I was a student in an economy college. Q: What is your role here in EC Oxford? I am an intern of Student Services. Q: What have you enjoyed about working at EC Oxford so far? I like to meet the students with different cultures and meet people from all over the world. I like this job, because every day is different, and you don’t have something the same. Every day you have a new task that is very interesting. I have very beautiful and friendly colleagues who help me with all and made a wonderful welcome area. I feel very relaxed next to my colleges. Q: What do you like about Oxford as a city? I find it’s very nice to have so many options in this city. There are so many different people with their own culture, history and nationalities . You can meet really nice people who know different languages. Also if you walk in the city you can see many different food and things from other countries. I very like the buildings in Oxford, they are very beautiful and have very interesting history. Q: What’s your hometown? Can you describe it to us? I was born in Germany in the city Koblenz. During my childhood I was in Russian in Sant Petersburg, It’s very beautiful country and city. I studied in Germany and would fly to Russia only to visit my family and friends. After the seventh class I moved from Andernach where I lived before, to Dusseldorf. Q: Our school is all about … Read more

EC Oxford, English, Social Media, Global Awareness

“We became happier” – what happened when we changed our social media use for a week

Category: Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Recently, the Global Awareness at EC Oxford English school class took on a challenge which Rob set them to adapt their social media use. Here’s what happened, the impact it had and how you could do the same!   The activity   What do you think if your EC Oxford teacher challenges you to reduce your social media use? Do you think it is difficult? We are writing this blog to share with you our experiences of this activity. Last week some students decided to reduce their social media use for a week. For example, one student whose promise was to not use Facebook and Instagram. During the week we realised that our goals weren’t as easy as we thought. At the end of the week, we noticed that we are slightly addicted to social media – more than we imagine. However, this activity helps us to see our capability to change our habits in social media.   We became happier   Using less social media can affect your life in different ways. You will interact more with your surroundings. You will make new friends and improve your communication skills. It’s also better for your health because it keeps you safe from infra-red rays from your screen. Instead of using social media, you can read newspapers in the language that you want to improve your skills. You can start some good habits such as reading books or doing outdoor activities.   What about you?   Do you think you spend too much time using social media? Are you addicted to social media? How much time do you waste on it? It will be hard for you not to use it at all. But how about starting to use social media 1 hour per day less than usual? This little change … Read more

One pound for a better future

Category: Student Testimonials / Tags: , , , ,

As part of our Giving Back Week, Melissa, Isabella and Abdul Nasser prepared a compelling and heartfelt blog post for one of the charities we were supporting, United World Schools. Thanks to all the hard work of the students we raised nearly £65!   Have you ever imagined a little girl waking up very early to go to work dreaming all day about how it would be to study instead of working? Maybe you have never thought about it because you have good opportunities. Let’s start with the £1 challenge. How can you spend £1? Maybe chocolate or just a sweet. That will end in a couple of minutes. If you don’t spend that pound and you give it to the charity. You can build the future of a child. What I’m saying is that with £1 you can support a child education for a week. How can we deliver £1 to children? Well, there is a charity called United World School (UWS). UWS has been working hard in favour of childhood education since 2008. Their purpose is to increase the number of schools in remote villages in poor countries.   It’s time to change the way you see the world. Your small action will make a huge difference.       By Melissa, Isabella and Abdul Nasser

EC Oxford Story Competition

Category: EC Oxford Social Programme, Featured blogposts by EC Oxford students / Tags: , , , , ,

  Two weeks ago at EC Oxford English School, we had a Story Competition! The stories have been truly fascinating to read! It’s been a tough decision as there were so many wonderful entries, but we’ve managed to pick our winning 3 stories.     The Castle – By Serin Kim   Once upon a time there was a castle in a village in England. The castle was inhabited by a Princess Grace, a King Oliver and his new Queen Amelia. When the princess was 11 years old, her mother Olivia died from eating poisoned food. No one has been able to find out who killed Olivia, and the King Oliver couldn’t stand the loneliness so remarried Amelia. Grace always missed her mother, so she often reads a book in Olivia’s study room. The new Queen Amelia doesn’t like that, so they had an argument every day.   One day Grace heard about Amelia’s plan to destroy Olivia’s study room. So Grace made a plan to prevent Amelia. But Amelia knew everything, she locked up Olivia in castle dungeon. Grace lost her mind for a month because she was shocked.   After one month, she woke up and found a small door. She tried to open the door, pushed the door, punched and using a long hard stick. But the door never opened. When she tried to give up, she remembered Olivia’s saying.   ‘There is no door you can’t open. When the door wasn’t open, try to find the key’.   She tried to find the key, and found it. She opened the door and her face became frozen. Her mother Olivia was in there. It was all about Amelia. She wanted to be Queen, so she locked up Olivia for years. Grace rescued Olivia and succeeded in getting out … Read more

fundraisingatEC

Giving Back Week at EC Oxford

Category: EC Oxford Social Programme / Tags: , , ,

Last week at EC English Language School, Oxford we were very busy fundraising money for two very important charities; United World Schools and Crisis Oxford. United World Schools are a charity whose primary focus is ensuring that children in poor and remote areas of the world are given the opportunity to have an education. EC and UWS have been working together since 2016 to provide education, build schools and support teachers in rural parts of Cambodia. Currently there are 9 members of EC Staff in Cambodia who are helping to build a new school, train teachers and teach students. With just £1 donation, a child can be educated for a week! Crisis are a charity who support people out of homelessness for good. They do this by providing educating and training for them to get in to work, helping them find jobs and housing as well as campaigning for changes which help stops people becoming homeless in the first place. Bake Sale In true British style, we started off our fundraising extravaganza with a Bake Sale! There was a selection of delicious cakes, biscuits and pastries which sold out by lunch time.. No surprise there! The students and staff provided cakes, and some were even homemade! Thank you to all the students who contributed to the success of the bake sale. Crisis Cafe Visit & Talk On Thursday we went to enjoy some tea and cake in the Crisis Skylight Café in Oxford. We learnt a lot about what the charity Crisis do to help people in danger of becoming homeless and where the money goes that is raised for the charity. It was very interesting to learn that with just £25 Crisis can provide healthcare and counselling to vulnerable people. How many M&M’s in the jar? We also raised money by … Read more

English, Learn, TV Shows, EC Oxford

5 TV shows to watch to progress in English!

Category: Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , ,

A real social phenomenon, TV series’ have invaded our screens! So much so that it is difficult to find your way around. How to mix the useful with the pleasant? By knowing how to choose, according to your level, a series that will not only spark your interest but progress your English as you binge. Here is a small selection of series and some tips for while you watch.     1. Desperate Housewives: impeccable pronunciation   The pitch: Desperate Housewives takes place in a classic suburb of American residential neighbourhoods. It follows the hilarious daily lives of Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, four “desperate housewives”, who also embody stereotypes. Why this series? Underneath a rather classic summary are very engaging plots and very well written dialogues. Undoubtedly because they must embody a certain bourgeoisie, actresses articulate particularly well, and their English is both impeccable and very accessible. For who? For those who are new to the game, who like the thriller side and, why not, who are looking to learn a little more about American middle-class culture.       2. Friends: English for the repartee   The pitch: Friends is the story of a group of friends, 3 women and 3 men, divided into apartments and roommates. Why this series? Friends is timeless. The level of English remains accessible, as is the American accent of the characters. In addition, Friends English is a common English, for everyday life, and a lot of jokes! For who? Those who want to laugh, progress in repartee and who do not have a very high starting level. Ideal for oral progress.           3. Mad Men: commercial and sixties   The pitch: Don Draper is a mysterious and troubled man, a gifted advertiser … Read more