Activities

Greenwich’s football team wins its first game of the 2012 season!

Last week, the Greenwich College team won its first game of the 2012 season! The team captain/coach, Jorge, tells us about the game:

Congratulations on the great match we played last game! We were very good and we scored 4 goals!!! I knew we can play well and win.

We were regular and consistent all first half and for twenty minutes of the second half. Thanks to that effort, we created a lot goal chances, we got  4 great goals and most importantly, Navitas didn’t score.

We opened the match with the fantastic play of Jun, then we put things out of reach with Alan’s 2 goals. Finally, we closed the match with the penalty scored by Eddy in the second half.

Important things:

In the first half, we played with a lot of concentration and mantained our positions in the field. In this way, we created a lot of options to score and we didn’t give options to Navitas to create danger to our goal area. In particular, our transitions from attack to defence were very good.

In the second half, we continued well until after Eddy’s goal. After that, we started to lose our concentration in the field and everyone started to play individually instead of playing as a team. The result was 2 goals of Navitas in this period of the match.

The match was good, but if we want to win more games we can’t play like the last 25 five minutes of the match, we need to be consistent during the 90 minutes.

I think this game gave us a lot of confidence and showed us that if we play as a team, it will be very difficult for another team to beat us.

In my opinion, this week’s players of the match were CHACAS, KUN, RODRIGO AND ALAN

Don’t forget! TOMORROW WEDNESDAY IS OUR NEXT TRAINING SESSION¡¡¡

I hope to see all of you there to prepare FOR our next match.

As usual we will meet at reception at Greenwich at 3:15pm.

Thank you,

Jorge Castro

Team Coach

Why EAP is so fantastic

EAP or English for Academic Purposes is a very popular course at Greenwich College. Pat who is currently studying CAE, tells us what she thought of it.

“EAP is a fantastic course for me because after I finished this course I
think my English skills have improved a lot. This course has been designed in
order to prepare students to attend a university but I think every student can
attend.

Although EAP is an intensive course as you have many assignments to do
such as current affairs, seminars, summaries and weekly tests, you will not feel
really stressed as Justin and Andrea, who are the teachers, have excellent skills
to teach us and both of them are very kind, empathetic and helpful. As a
result, three months of attending this course was very short.

I would highly recommend EAP for students who would like to improve their English skills, and especially for students who would like to study at a university. I hope you
will enjoy studying EAP as much as I did.”

H.E.L.P Club

Help with English Language Practice

Our General English students can now attend HELP Club every Thursday afternoon from 3pm to 4pm. During HELP Club our teachers are available for all General English students who might be having difficulties with the grammar point discussed during the week. Students can discuss the structure, uses and examples of that particular grammar point and also revise any difficulties they would have experienced during class activities or even the test. So remember, if you are having trouble with the new language point this week, go to HELP Club!

The Scavenger Hunt winning photos!

Scavenger Hunt

In March, our General English students participated in a Scavenger Hunt around Sydney. Each group consisted of around 4 members, who had to take photos of landmarks around Sydney CBD in the morning session and Darling Harbour in the afternoon session.

However, it wasn’t that simple! Not only did they have to take photos, but they also had to do so creatively while following specific rules. Some of the landmarks in Sydney were Queen Victoria Building, Town Hall, the Harbour Bridge and Manly ferries in Circular Quay. In Darling Harbour students went to Pyrmont Bridge, the Powerhouse Museum, the Aquarium and other exciting venues. All the General English teachers were at different locations to help out the students and sign off each task.

There were some great photos to choose from and it was really hard to pick a winner! After hours of debate we finally made up our minds and the winners are Karyn, Sumumu and their other two team members. Congratulations – you took some really amazing photos! We hope you enjoy your $100 food voucher together and don’t forget to take some more creative and funny photos for us

Check out some of the best photos of our Scavenger Hunt on Facebook and in the Greenwich College Student Newsletter – pick up a copy from reception!

Australia, I thank you

Planning one of the most important travels of your life is not a piece of cake, especially when the chosen destination is 16.000 kilometres away and is called Australia. However, what you definitely can’t plan is the multitude of experiences that are waiting for you.

After having visited Australia for the first time in 2003 as a tourist, I decided that I’d be back here one day, and it happened. For all of the last year I’d been brainwashing my parents until they understood that I was a lost cause. As a result, on the 28^th of September 2012 the airplane landed Down Under. Once I arrived, I needed to look around and organize myself in a new situation: different people, cultural background and, as a cherry on the cake, a different language as well. Even if I had been studying English for several years, I had never had the possibility to practice it in daily life. For this reason I was quite scared. First of all, I had to open a bank account and deal with stuff like rent for my new house.

How could I do that? I wasn’t so confident with my English, so I had a daily “Gaffe of the day”! However, thanks to my mistakes and my willingness to talk as much as I could, I met many people like me in search of their own “Aussie-selves”. Clearly, they weren’t all from San Marino. In addition, when I traveled around the South of Australia and Tasmania too, Brazilian, French, Spanish, German and Asian people surrounded me, and the only way to communicate with them was using the English language.

Fortunately, it wasn’t as hard as expected! Now, only after having attended IELTS and CAE courses at Greenwich College, I recognize a huge improvement in my language skills. Moreover, to cope with normal things that happen during a typical day like having a beer with my new friends, sharing interests with someone from the other part of the world, or simply planning a trip is more natural than before. I definitely feel more confident about my English. Don’t worry about making mistakes because they are useful to break the ice – everything is part of this beautiful experience!

Loris De Angelis aka “San Marino”

My TECSOL experience

One of our TECSOL graduates, Jin, shares her experience learning to teach English to children….

Jin enjoys teaching practice during the Certificate IV (TECSOL) course

I finished the Certificate IV (TECSOL) course at Greenwich College 6 weeks ago. It was a really good experience for me and lots of fun. I learned lots of teaching skills and techniques to use in a classroom with kids.

The ‘kindy’ experience was the best. In the last week of the course TECSOL students go to a kindergarten to assist and teach the kids. I went to Bondi kindy. It was so nice and a beautiful environment. There were great teachers and really cute kids aged from 4 to 6 years old. I helped them to learn some new English expressions, and I also taught them how to say “Mom” and “Dad” in Korean. I think they really enjoyed it and I certainly did too! I miss the kids so much now….

This experience in TECSOL is something that I won’t forget for a long time.

Now I am taking the Certificate IV (TESOL) course at Greenwich too. I want to learn how to teach adults so that when I return to Korea I’ll be a qualified teacher with the skills and knowledge to teach all ages. That’s my dream for the future…

Kim HyungJin (Jin), Cert IV (TECSOL) – Korea

Impressions of FCE

FCE, First Certificate in English is a Cambridge test and this week Tomomi tells us about the course.

“I would like to share my experiences about this great course. In FCE, we have been dealing with phrasal verbs, verb patterns, collocations and some interesting expressions. We also practice our skills, like Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

Everything we learn is useful for improving our understanding and communicating with native speakers because they use a lot of phrasal verbs. We also get to create a lot and write essays. I think the FCE course gives me the English skills I need for daily life.

I chose to study FCE to improve my accuracy and fluency, as I would like to study TESOL and one day, become an English teacher.

Although our course is not easy, we are all having a brilliant time because of an amazing teacher, Kerry, who is hilarious!!  Her classes keep us on the edge of our seats, like for example her pig story. We have good relationships with each other and the teacher, but the atmosphere in the classroom is a bit more serious. This is because the students are a lot more motivated to study hard, improve and maybe even get a better job.

I hope to pass FCE exam in the end.”

Student of the Month Award

Akane is currently an IELTS 1 student at Greenwich College. Last year she studied General English for a few months and she was awarded Greenwich College’s “Student of the Month” award. This is given to students who attend class on a regular basis, are always motivated during the lessons, do their homework and also help other classmates whenever they can! Find out about her experience at Greenwich College and in Sydney.

1. How long have you been in Australia? When will you go back to Japan?
I’ve been here for 9 months and I’ll go back to Japan in June. It’s going to be quite sad to say goodbye!

2. What courses have you studied at Greenwich College? What’s your favourite course so far and why?
I’ve studied General English and IELTS. To be honest, in my case I prefer General English. IELTS is a great way to improve your English too, especially if you need a high IELTS score or if you need to improve your English writing skills. However, General English really appealed to me because teachers gave me a variety of classes and other activities such as a karaoke and picnics. General English still remains vivid in my memory. If you need a particular certificate like Cambridge (CAE/FCE/PET) or IELTS, then an Academic course will surely help you achieve what you want. Some of my friends also really enjoyed TESOL and TECSOL because they want to become English teachers!

3. Has your English improved? What tips do you have for other students?
Yes, it has improved! I don’t know exactly how much my English has improved but if I gave a piece of advice to students who start studying English, I would say “don’t be afraid of speaking English”!

4. Have you made lots of friends at Greenwich College?
Yes, I have! I met a lot of friends who are from many different countries. Greenwich College has a good atmosphere, so it is easy to make friends.

5. Do you enjoy living in Sydney? Why?
Yes, I do. My life in Japan was stressful, so I sufferd from allergies. In contrast, the life in Sydney makes me feel more relaxed – consequently, I overcame my allergies. In addition, there is a beautiful cove near my house. I often go there and have dinner, which I prepare – it’s my favourite time.

6. Why do you think you were one of Greenwich College’s students of the month?

I’d like to know the reason as well, however, I think it is entirely due to my teachers. I’ve acquired good English skills from them and they also encouraged me a lot when I felt disappointed. That’s why I was able to keep studying English – it might be one of the reasons. I’m proud of being their student!

So what should you do to win this award? Write some ideas below…  who knows, it might be you next time!

Diary of a Certificate IV in TESOL student – Week 7

Ian’s class had another eventful TESOL week.

I began the week by observing Andrea’s Upper-Intermediate class. The lesson was on ‘Addictions’ which created debate, discussions and questions among the students. There were wide-ranging views on each of their addictions. It was a great topic as students were interested and were open to contributing their thoughts.

‘I wish and I hope’ was the topic of Tuesday’s lecture. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, as a native-speaker, deciding when to use ‘I wish or I hope’ is instinctive, not much thought goes behind it. Though, when Patricia was explaining the differences on when to use either, a non-native-speaker must become incredibly confused. The class was given some useful worksheets and ways in which to explain the varied usages of ‘I wish and I hope’. After the lecture, Ian allowed us to focus on finishing our teaching lesson plans. Personally,it was of great benefit as I had my teaching lesson the day after (Wednesday).

I had a bitter-sweet feeling post-teaching lesson number five. I recognised that I had made some improvements from my previous teaching lessons but not as much as I expected or would have liked. The theme of the lesson was ‘Employment History’. Students were to describe their work history (creativity was encouraged) while using either the Present Perfect or the Past Simple. Despite some minor hiccups, my students were so patient and helpful in making the lesson go as smoothly as it could have. Patricia was my superviser and after the lesson she outlined the positives and negatives of my teaching which are always helpful.

For the Thursday lecture, Ian gave a class on ‘Comparatives and Superlatives’: Cars are faster than pushbikes and planes are the quickest mode of transport. Ian provided us with worksheets to explain how to transform an adjective into a comparative structure. After the lecture, Ian ran through ‘Timetabling’ and the ‘Principles of Testing’. We then dedicated the last hour of the lesson to work on our third and final assessment of the course. At that stage of the evening I was close to being brain-dead!  My teaching lesson took more out of me than I had expected! However, with some brainstorming help from Carla, I managed to get some productive work done to finish week seven of Certificate IV in TESOL.

On a final note, congratulations to Jenny and Wenny in completing the TESOL course, they had a graduation ceremony on Friday and have now departed Greenwich College. Ian’s TESOL class wishes them all the best in their future teaching endevours!

 Rod