Staff at Embassy

Study to be an English teacher at Embassy Cambridge with our CELTA course

Teaching English as a foreign language is an exciting profession, which opens the door to international travel and a lifetime of experiences!

A CELTA qualification will put you head and shoulders above other applicants (in many schools it is a requirement) while preparing you for the classroom. Presenting classroom methodology, giving you a firm basis in grammar, and exposing you to classroom practice, the CELTA course at Cambridge is taught by passionate and experienced teachers.

If you are considering a profession in TEFL, see the Embassy website for more details.

 

 

 

Melbourne teachers share their Smart Express experience at a conference

Embassy teachers Gareth Hughes and Neil McRudden made a presentation about Study Smart, our online study environment, at a recent Moodle conference in Australia, with over 450 people in attendance.

Gareth and Neil teach on Embassy's Smart Express course – an integrated and innovative face-to-face English language course (officially launched this year), where the learning outcomes are supported by the use of Interactive whiteboard, networked student laptops and Study Smart (run on the popular learning management system Moodle).

Their Study Smart course site has evolved over the past eight months from a blank canvas to a popular resource for students. Students use Study Smart both in class on their laptops and netbooks, and for homework activities; and the site includes various games, quizzes, blogs, assignments and web-quests.

They also have used programmes such as Hot Potatoes and Wix to further enhance the functionality and appeal of their site. "Overall, teaching with and developing Study Smart for Smart Express has been an incredibly rewarding learning experience," says Neil.

Find out more about Smart Express or meet Melbourne staff including Neil.

Student-centered lessons

Staff and students at Embassy Oxford enjoyed a training session on lessons with a student-centred approach, using the technology of interactive whiteboards (which are now found in all Embassy schools). Andrea Paschoal, Head of Teaching writes:

The workshop was very hands-on and using the laptops was a great idea. Thankfully, everything worked well without any technical hiccups and teachers were engaged and motivated.

Interactive whiteboards are a big part of most teachers' lessons nowadays and it's not often we get an opportunity to reflect on how efficient they actually are as a tool, and how to use them in order to make our lessons more student-centred.

Not sure what an interactive whiteboard is? This video should make everything clear.

Aga's last cake sale

Peter Madams, ICT teacher at Embassy Oxford, writes:

A special mention must go to our departing Accomodation Manager, Aga Kaleka, who has been our most active fundraiser in her time at Embassy Oxford - her speciality has been fantastic cake sales.

Aga is leaving us to study to become a teacher, and so this was her last cake sale. She is pictured here, in the middle, flanked by summer student activity leaders Ruth Otiotio and Romas Sostakas.

£60.80 was raised, which will be doubled by the company, and this goes towards the charity Building Futures via Plan International.

We'll miss Aga, her cakes and her good spirit. Good luck.

Embassy Cambridge starts A Level taster courses this summer

In July and August, Embassy Cambridge and our sister college Bellerbys will be working together to provide a number of A Level taster courses in July and August. These taster sessions follow a successful trial of the programme in 2009, and will provide students with English tuition in the mornings, followed by sample A Level lessons in the afternoons.

Frank Pinner, the Centre Director for Embassy Cambridge explains more about the courses: ‘We have two A Level taster groups coming this summer. The students will do 20 50-minute lessons of English tuition and 10 hours of A level subjects per week. They will sample a wide range of A Level subjects including Politics, Art, Psychology, Physics, Business Studies, Sociology and Chemistry’.

The taster courses are based at our beautiful and historic Queens Campus, where the students’ lessons will be between 9am and 3:15pm. In addition to their English tuition and sample A Level lessons, the students will learn more about universities in the UK.

Moreover, the students will have plenty of things to do after class, as Frank Pinner explains: ‘After class, the students will be able to explore Cambridge and visit many different attractions including museums and the Cambridge Botanic Gardens. At the weekends, there will be organised excursions to other fun and exciting places in the UK such as London, Stratford and Warwick’.

Finally, at the end of the taster courses, the students will be able to enjoy a leaving ceremony and take photos with all of their new friends.

To find out more about Embassy Cambridge, visit the Embassy website to see our photos, read the local information and find out what our current students and staff think about the school. Also, you can join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more news, photos and updates.

Award-winning student video!

Embassy staff are always thinking of new and engaging ways to help their students improve their English. That's why staff at Embassy Cambridge asked some of their students to make a video to introduce new students to their school, the town of Cambridge and life in England in general. The video has been so well received that teachers at Embassy Cambridge have used it during induction sessions for their new students, and the video was the winner of the 2009 Embassy Learning Award.

Take a look at the shorter version of the video here:

Celia Short Version

Many thanks to all of the students involved in the making of this great video! They are: Fahad Alkaabi, Ahmed Almaghthawi, Nestor Barros, Chien-chi Chou, Carmen Daniels, Malory Jublot, Sang Woo Lee, Xin Liu, Diego Sanchez, Mariana Santos, Kiri Shakir, Inthira Tangjaroensutth, and Dominga Del Campo Salina.

Would you like to see this video in full? If so, join or log on to our Student Club, a website designed to provide further information and resources for our current students and those considering studying with Embassy. Or, to find out more about our school at Cambridge, take a look at the accomodation available, the courses offered and read what our students and staff think about Embassy Cambridge.

A new way of learning English

Embassy is buzzing with excitement at the new and exciting ways of learning that have come into our classrooms!

Over the last few months, all Embassy schools have installed an amazing piece of technology.

An old-fashioned piece of classroom equipment - the whiteboard - has become an incredible interactive computer screen. Teachers and students can now use the internet, video clips, sound, and immersive exercises, all at the touch of a mouse.

The best way to understand the potential of the interactive whiteboards is by seeing them in action - and you can do just that right now. Just click 'play':

75% of our classes worldwide now use interactive whiteboards, and by 2010 we are aiming for 100%.

This is all part of our exciting mission to bring the power of modern technology to your English learning. Watch this space for news on our Online Learning Environment, our use of blogs and podcasts, and other innovations that will speed up your learning and make it more fun at the same time.

Read more about interactive whiteboards on the Embassy website news page.

Teachers' conference

Peter Madams, from Embassy Oxford, writes: Teachers from UK Study Group (the parent company of Embassy) schools and affiliated institutions gathered in Brighton recently for a teachers conference.

The conference is a chance for teachers to exchange ideas and learn about new topics relevant to their subject. Short lectures included: Powerpoint and Interactive Whiteboards, Wikis, digital cameras in teaching and Visual Dictogloss. If you don't understand these terms, don't worry, but rest assured you may benefit from them in the classroom.

I'm glad to report that Oxford won the Learning Awards Scheme for 2008 which involved staff learning to develop a response to the rise in number of Middle Eastern students present in Oxford.
 
We all had a great time in Brighton - it was nice to combine meeting our colleagues from around the country and learn something new to help us become better in our jobs.

Embassy Fort Lauderdale's own election

Lelie Lott, Director of Embassy Fort Lauderdale, writes:

I thought I'd let you know about something educational and fun we did here in the Fort Lauderdale school.

As you can imagine, the US presidential campaign has been a theme of great interest among our students. The students have had lots and lots of questions: questions about how much money candidates can spend, why there are only two main parties and more. Our teachers took sample ballots to the classrooms and discussed the basics of how voting works in the US.  Students talked about how voting works in their countries (or how the leaders are chosen if there is no voting). 

Before doing any of this, we reminded teachers how important it is not to show our personal political preferences in the classroom. We also stressed the need to keep up with the regular curriculum, keep the classes student focused, etc.   

We ended the election season with voting today in the 9:00 am classes.  Each student was given the opportunity to cast an Embassy Fort Lauderdale Presidential Election Ballot.  I've counted up the ballots and will be announcing the results to the school tomorrow morning!!

We had several students turn in empty ballots with a note stating they don't know the candidates well enough to vote. A few others voted for themselves or a favorite teacher, Bart Simpson, or Mickey Mouse... but most took it seriously.

The comments the students gave were interesting. Those who chose McCain listed experience, security, and more free trade as their reasons for voting as they did.

Those who chose Obama listed more diverse reasons including among others: change, end to war, better relations with other countires, youth and intelligence, no connection to current president, want to see a black person as president, environment.

Our students loved having the chance to be involved in this election, they have had lots of English practice during all of the discussions in English on the theme, and we all learned a bit more about world politics. 

We'll wrap things up with the announcment of the school's choice for President on the front information board at the reception desk in the morning.

(FYI:  Our students voted to elect Obama.  Ballot count: 12 for McCain.  76 for Obama.  Remainder chose "other" or opted not to vote.)

Teachers' conference in the UK

Every year, teachers from Embassy CES UK and our sister school, Bellerbys college, come together for a conference to discuss new innovations and best practice in teaching.

This year it was Cambridge's turn to host. A very productive couple of days were held at New Hall College, one of Cambridge's modern university campuses. The theme of the conference was e-learning and technology in the classroom: seminars, discussions and lectures covered topics such as blogging, podcasts, interactive whiteboards, online training, and much more.

Here is a photograph of the attendees - click to see it bigger.