Staff at Embassy

Taylors College Skating Team

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

At Embassy CES we pride ourselves on developing the body and the mind so we decided to go to a skating rink to test our skating prowess and our balance. Teachers Ray and Elena took a group of around 30 students to West Auckland on Friday travelling there by bus and returning by train.

Someone dubbed us the "Taylors College Skating Team" and you can see Eugene and Daniel proudly holding the sign between them. The group photo shows our multi-cultural group (Brazil; Korea; Japan; Colombia; Russia; Saudi Arabia) before we set off.

Elena learnt to skate when she was young and Ray still has to learn although he isn't that young anymore! It was truly amazing how even the ABSOLUTE beginners found that they could balance on skates and there was only one twisted knee out of the whole time spent there. A few bruised egos maybe.

The day concluded with a trip back to the city by train and you can see us all waiting at the station for the commuter train. Trains in most countries are slow and these ones are no different.

When is the selection for the Winter Olympics I wonder?

Elvis lives!

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

To put to rest the rumour that Elvis Presley died 30 years ago, Embassy CES (Auckland) brought him back to visit for a special guest appearance!

Appearing at around 8.30am, Elvis handed out lollipops to arriving students but only to the good ones who could produce their IDs... “I had no idea that my visit would be so popular” he said as he posed for photo after photo after photo…

The multi-cultural community that is Embassy CES instantly recognised him. Interestingly Elvis was told by one student that in China he is called “king of the cats”. Elvis was thrilled to know this!  “I’ve always loved cats!” he beamed a big smile of perfect teeth.

Next stop for The King was to visit his “subjects” studying hard in class and answering their questions about him and his music. Many requests were made for him to sing and he was able to oblige although his memory of some of the words was a bit lacking.  “I guess when you get to my age the memory starts to go a tad” he said.

Elena Kelly’s class produced easily the best poster to promote the afternoon Elvis film and Jill Kouremetis’ class made some wonderful rosettes to wear.

All General English classes watched the film GI Blues in the afternoon and Elvis introduced the film and handed out the prizes to those who were there.  More photos and a few autographs as well!

Summing up his visit Elvis said that he had always wanted to come to New Zealand but that he had “just never had the time” and as for visiting Embassy?  “Both myself and Embassy CES are institutions and have stood the test of time. Sure, we’ve had our hard times but we are still here and still popular long after the others have gone!”  Elvis said that he had hoped to work on his diction and spelling during his visit but decided that that could wait for another time.

In all, a successful visit and one that will be remembered for some time to come.  All staff and teachers got into the spirit of things although Teacher Ray missed his morning class and didn’t appear in any of the group photos with Elvis.  “Just my luck” he said “always in the wrong place at the wrong time”. Never mind Ray, we’ll tell you all about it later over a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich…

Click the pictures to see them bigger!

Learning English through poster design

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

Last Friday Ray and Elena's Certificate of English classes learned all about the history of posters and then put into practice what they had learned by designing a poster to promote forthcoming class activities.

After about an hour the room ressembled an art class more than an English lesson!  Paul (Germany) and his group from Brazil and Korea made a very professional effort and also used up all the yellow paint to make a desert scene for "Snow Planet".

We could wonder how Embassy CES will fund a trip to the Middle East, particularly as the admission price is set at $10 but that didn't detract from the aim of the exercise which was to have fun and learn as well.

Their entry was a clear winner but you can see from the line-up that all the entries were of a very high standard although it looks as if Teacher Ray has attempted to get in on the strength of someone else's artwork and is also trying to win the favour of the patriotic element......

The added challenge was that the groups had to present their entry to the class and were then judged on their presentation.

The pictures also show just two of the famous "international clock collection" only a couple of which actually work but are at least it's better than throwing them out and it's great for lessons on telling the time!

Antiques Roadshow

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

A much smaller version of that well-known TV programme "Antiques Roadshow" was held at Embassy CES Auckland campus last week.  Armed with a variety of objects both weird and wonderful, teachers Ray and Elena introduced their classes to the "thrill of the old"!  Teacher Ray is arguably older than some of the items shown here but nevertheless everyone had a good time.

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After viewing a clip from the programme, students picked up an object from a table and then had to ask each other questions about it as well as make up a story that matched the object in question. A toy cannon, an old jewel box, a fake whale's tooth (from a fake whale....) and Ray's grandfather's letter scale were some of the items that came to light.

Jim wondered if this old grenade would still work and if you look at Ray's face he isn't exactly sure either.......

Victoria, Celia, Jim, Young and Judy (Taiwan) stand holding their "treasures" and Horst (Brazil) and Azooz (Saudi Arabia) seem happy just to look on.

Embassy CES teachers always like to try to make the language "real", and not just words in a book - this was another chance to learn to make the language live.

A trip to Muriwai

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

Last Friday a group of around 16 Taiwanese students boarded a bus and travelled to Muriwai (a wonderful beach about 30 minutes from Auckland) to experience a little of what this country is all about: fresh air, wide open spaces and animals.

Most of the students had never seen a horse up close before, let alone ridden one, but they weren't going to let this put them off. They were equally brave when the weather did its best to spoil what was otherwise a great day out!

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Half the party set off on a two-hour horse trek while the remainder went to the look-out above Muriwai Beach.

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You can see some of the tremendous power of the water in some of these photos and the groups of umbrellas to ward off the rain!

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This is a fantastic place in summer, but even in winter there is a lot to experience and just look at the coastline with no houses or shopping malls to ruin the view!

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Plans for the rest of the group to follow the first one were wisely cancelled and we met up at the Muriwai Golf Club whose members more than lived up to the Kiwi reputation for hospitality by providing free coffee and really inexpensive snacks and gas heaters.

Teacher Ray also managed to meet the Muriwai Golf Club cat called "Girlie", a female brown tabby adopted by the Club. What other cat has her own cat door and is fed every day by the manager, Sandy Andrews?  I wonder what Girlie's handicap is?  18 over "paw"?

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So even on a bad day, New Zealand is good.....

Motat and cats

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

Last Friday, teachers Elena and Ray (sometimes called the Mum and Dad of GE) took 23 members of their multi-cultural, multi-lingual, pleasantly rowdy "family" to MOTAT. This Museum is well-known to most Aucklanders but was new to most of the students.

MOTAT stands for Museum Of Transport and Technology and is a varied collection of transport, buildings and history reflecting the vibrant past that is both Auckland and New Zealand.

A feature of several of these trips has become the wearing of hats supplied by teacher Ray (where does he get them from?) so you can see a group photo of Rudinei, Jeferson, Mariana and Ray before they went in through the gates (click to see the pictures bigger).

Once inside they were able to see old trains, planes, cars and the technology of yesteryear.  No, we don't make you print your own English text books but it looks as if Mariana would like to try!

Augusto finds that the penalities for not doing his homework are much tougher than in Brasil,

and Elena demonstrates an old-fashioned approach to teaching English.  Embassy CES classrooms are much more modern now as we do not use chalk or blackboards.....

Teacher Ray is talking to two men who really need help with their English particularly if they want to fly that big plane behind them.

Finally, a ride on a tram back to the main gate of MOTAT passing by Auckland's wonderful zoo (with real live Kiwis!), but a visit there will have to wait for another time.

Even the weather (wet, wet and wetter) could not dampen our enthusiasm or determination to enjoy ourselves, speak a lot of English and wear some silly hats....

And in cat news... Raymond introduces Tiggi. You might meet this beautiful tabby too, if you study at Embassy CES Auckland.

Tiggi is one of my teaching aids and appears with regularity in lessons on definite and indefinite articles ("I like cats" "I have a cat. The cat I have is very clever") and a lot of other stuff. I am also without equal in cat cartoon-drawing.

My students get to know a bit about me and end up learning that I love
military history , speak French and love all cats.

My ideal must therefore be a French-speaking army cat...

Auckland Maritime Museum

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

Embassy CES students in Auckland have one of the best harbours in the world at their doorstep! These photos (below) were taken on a visit to our Maritime Museum and included a trip on an old ship. Yes, the water is this blue and the sun is really warm! That island in the background is Rangitoto and on past trips students have climbed right to the top. Will you join them on the next outing?!

Auckland has one of the most amazing harbours you can imagine and here you can see why we call ourselves "The City of Sails" or why Waitemata means "sparkling waters". The water was like blue glass and the sun was warm and gentle. No trick photography or colour filters. Don't you wish you were here?

There isn't a better place to study than Auckland and these photos prove it! An amazing harbour and as much sun, sea and sailing as you can handle!

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A trip to North Head

Raymond Butler, our Auckland Activities Manager, writes:

Auckland isn't just sea, sun and fun - it is also history!  Although only founded in 1840, it has had some great events to mark its lifetime. Our latest trip sought to find out more about this by visiting North Head, to explore what was once an old Maori village or "pah" and then turned into a fort by the settlers to fight a invasion from ...the Russians!

Well, it was back in the 1880s, so maybe we did tend to be a little more gullible back then. In any event, it was a wonderful ride on a ferry over to the North Shore and a good long walk through tunnels cut out of volcanic rock with the chance to take some silly photos on the way. Notice the students on the beach with "TAYLORS AUCKLAND*" written in the sand. They're from Korea and Brazil, although one is a Japanese Brazilian!

As a footnote, this is actually our early winter but as you sit in sub-zero temperatures wondering where to study English, think of us in our 12-14 degrees centigrade won't you?

Photos - click to see bigger.

Glossary

Note: We have added a few definitions below to help you. If you need more help, why not post a comment below?

ferry  (noun) A boat that carries passengers across a river or water.

fort (noun) A strong building built to defend land from enemies; a small castle.

founded (past participle) From the verb 'to found' - to establish or begin.

gullible (adjective) Easy to fool. A gullible person believes everything.

sought (past form) From the verb 'to seek' - to look for.

Maori (proper noun) The indigenous people of New Zealand.

* Taylors is the sister school of Embassy CES.