Newsletter.Volume.6.En

Slide 1: UD - UQ ELI NEWSLETTER │January 30th 2008│VOLUME 6 LETTER FROM UD-UQ ELI MANAGEMENT SPECIAL PROMOTION 2007 was a remarkable year that was full of exciting events at the UD-UQ If you enroll and pay from ELI. The UD-UQ ELI management and staff are very proud of what we have 2 January to achieved during the first year of operation. Since our presence in Danang in 15 February 2008, you January 2007 where we started with just a moderate number of students, can get more than 700 people have come to the UD-UQ ELI to learn in a high quality English training environment. Many of them have come back after finishing 5% discount for enrolling in one 45 or 60 hour class their first course for further advancement. It’s really encouraging for all of us. 10% discount for enrolling 2007 at UD-UQ ELI was marked by the Grand Opening on the 16th June in two 45 or 60 hour classes 2007 that officially established our presence in Danang and our commitment in providing high quality education and training to the residents of the Central Region of Vietnam. Soon after the Grand Opening, on the 20th August 2007, UPCOMING the UD-UQ ELI was awarded accreditation by the National ELT EVENTS Accreditation Scheme Limited (NEAS) - Australia's international Open courses: accreditation scheme for English Language Teaching Centres. We are the - General English only English language centre in Vietnam which has NEAS accreditation and - IELTS/GE - IELTS/EAP only 1 out of 3 outside Australia with this accreditation. - English Pronunciation Quite a number of exciting events (such as Discovery Days, IELTS - Conversational English - Presentation sk ills Information Sessions, English for Hospitality Seminar...) were organized at the UD-UQ ELI during the year with the aim of giving people a better International Tests: understanding of a professional learning environment and the wide range of - IELTS Test on 16/2/08 programs and services that the UD-UQ ELI can offer. This also helped to inform people of the necessity of being equipped with English language skills INSIDE THIS ISSUE to take up future opportunities. More than that, we also focused on creating a 2 The final round – playground for those who love English and want to practice English. The UD-UQ ELI Idol 2007 Speaking Club, Movie Club, and especially the UD-UQ ELI Idol were really 4 Discovery Day on 6/1/2008 enjoyed by everyone. 5 New courses and special As the Year of the Rat is approaching, we would like to take this opportunity promotions at UD-UQ ELI to express our sincere thanks to all UD-UQ ELI students, clients and friends 5 IELTS – the leading English who have played key roles in our success. We believe that 2008 will be a language test in 2007 fruitful year for UD-UQ ELI in fulfilling our mission of opening the doors of 6 Student’s writing opportunity. 7 Talking to teachers at the Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Resource Centre UD-UQ ELI University of Danang – University of Queensland English Language Institute (UD-UQ ELI) 158A Le Loi Street, Danang City Tel: +84 511 3849 123 Fax: +84 511 3849 124 Email: enquiries@elidanang.edu.vn Website: www.elidanang.edu.vn 1

Slide 2: NEWS UD-UQ ELI The UD-UQ ELI Idol - Final Round and Christmas Party for Staff and Students By James Edwards, English Language Teacher and Tran Thi Huyen Trang, PA The atmosphere was tense and the nerves were on full show as the six finalists, who had fought tooth and nail to get through the previous rounds, were presented with the unique double opportunity to show off their vocal talents to a packed audience and potentially to win one of the three great prizes on offer. The night began with the lively and famous song “Feliz Navidad” performed by Performance of staff at UD-UQ ELI staff of the UD-UQ ELI. One after another, the six finalists sang. The standard was so incredibly high, even the judges looked anxious as a lot was at stake. Dreams were delicately balanced between being realized and being shattered into a thousand pieces. The first round of singing was a bag of nerves and missed high notes but all contestants settled down to give marvelous renditions of some great pop and rock classics in the second round. All performed so well but in the end, as in so many life situations, there had to be both winners and losers. All six contestants gave the crowd an aural treat. Well done to all involved. The six contestants The night became warmer with a lot of enthusiasm when Santa Claus appeared with a big bag of gifts. Most of the audience had a chance to take photos, and receive fun gifts from kind old Santa, even Idol candidates. 2 Opening the doors f t it

Slide 3: NEWS UD-UQ ELI It was a great honor for Santa Claus to announce the final result. Santa took the laurel wreath from the top of the Christmas tree for the prize winner – Hoang Phuong Anh. Anh also won a scholarship at the UD-UQ ELI worth US$270. The second prize of a scholarship valued at US$135 went to Nguyen Thi Bich Tram cost and the third scholarship prize of US$90 went to Vo Hoang Thuy Trang . Santa Clause giving flowers to the winners At the end of this very cheerful night, all UD-UQ ELI Staff, the audience and Idol candidates took photos with each other and with Santa. They all enjoyed the Christmas party, sang, danced, and turned the night into an unforgettable Christmas season at UD-UQ ELI. Congratulations to all candidates and we hope to see you next year at the UDUQ ELI Idol 2008 … who knows? Next time it could be you! Opening the doors of 3 t it

Slide 4: NEWS UD-UQ ELI Discovery Day at the UD-UQ ELI on 6th January 2008 By Peter Morcom, English Language Teacher th Sunday, 6 January 2008, saw the UD-UQ ELI open its doors to the general public for the first Discovery Day of 2008. Once again current and potential students turned out in force to discover what the UD-UQ ELI is about. On the day Despite the perfect weather after what seemed like three months of continuous rain, around 150 people came and experienced demonstration lessons in, Speaking and Listening, English for Hospitality English, IELTS skills. In addition, there were movies in English, Speaking Club, IELTS counseling and Placement Tests for people to discover their English level. Welcome to Discovery Day How to win the Lucky Draw? A new addition to Discovery Day was the “Treasure Hunt” - which proved immensely popular with patrons, as was the “Lucky Draw” at the end of the morning’s activities. The first winner of the Lucky Draw received a scholarship of an US$50 Pronunciation course. A 2GB and a 1GB USB were given to the second and third winners. As usual, all attendees thoroughly enjoyed the friendly, professional You are winner! environment of Danang’s premier English Language training institution. Movie Club Speaking Club Treasure hunt winners Interview for We always consult at the Resource Centre Placement Test the best courses to you 4 Opening the doors f t it

Slide 5: COURSES UD-UQ ELI New courses and special promotion at the UD-UQ ELI in the New Year 2008 In the New Year 2008, UD-UQ ELI has some new activities and will open some special courses: Free demonstration classes for: Learning English with English Language Software on 31 January 2008 This is a great chance for those people who want to sample the best of what UD-UQ ELI has to offer. After experiencing these classes, it will help them make the right choice by registering for a course. In order to maximize your time, UD-UQ ELI has opened some short 15 hour courses in such as Presentation Skills, Business Writing Skills and English Pronunciation that will help improve your professional skills. In particular, UD - UQ ELI has a special promotion for students who register and pay from 1 Jan 2008 to 15 Feb 2008: 5% discount for enrolling in one 45 or 60 hour class and 10% discount for enrolling in two 45 or 60 hour classes. If you have ever studied at UD-UQ ELI, and re-enroll in a second course within 3 months, you can get 10% discount off the cost of your second course on your total payment. Also, if you register and pay one week before your class starts, you can have a free course book. Visit us now to register for your course at the UD-UQ ELI, 158A Le Loi Street, Danang City. 938,000 take leading English-language test in 2007 By IELTS Australia An international English test, run by educators in Australia and the UK attracted over 938,000 candidates in 2007. Entries for IELTS - the International English Testing System – have almost doubled in the last three years, driven by university entrance requirements, new immigration policies and professional recognition throughout the English-speaking world. IELTS is already recognised by educational institutions, employers, organisations and government agencies in over 68 countries, and recognition has grown significantly through 2007. IELTS is now used by over 6,000 organisations worldwide, with recognition in the US now topping 1,300 institutions. Beryl Meiron, Executive Director of IELTS International in the USA said: “The feedback we get from universities and government agencies around the world is that IELTS is a particularly good test of how well a person knows English, because it gives a thorough picture of their skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing, in a way that’s relevant to how the language is actually used for work and study. This means that they can rely on IELTS scores when selecting candidates for courses or ensuring that potential immigrants have the language skills they need in order to succeed.” IELTS is jointly managed by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. IELTS tests are available up to 48 times a year at authorised test centres. They include a face-to- face interview with a trained examiner to assess each candidate's ability to communicate effectively in English. Opening the doors of 5 t it

Slide 6: STUDENT’S WRITING UD-UQ ELI My experience when studying at UD-UQ ELI By Nguyen Thi Hop, Student of IELTS/EAP Class I have a plan to study in Australia so IELTS is the first condition in order to apply to any university in Australia. I really worried about my English skills because I may not have enough knowledge or capacity to get a high mark in an IELTS test. Months ago, I decided to enroll in IELTS/EAP, 120-hour course at the Upper Intermediate level. I feel that I was completely satisfied with my choice when I studied at the UD – UQ ELI. According to my accumulated experience during studying time, I find that UD -UQ ELI has brought to me many advantages such as the modern facilities at the Resource Centre and Multimedia Lab, an English-speaking environment, professional staff and, respectful and friendly native English-speaking teachers. However, in this article, I want to concentrate on teaching methods at the UD-UQ ELI only because it will be the first and an essential reason to determine the success of English learning for every student at an English language institute. Fortunately, I studied with three different teachers including Steve, Peter and Bea and all of them always taught us many lessons concerning IELTS preparation. Apart from the main lessons, teachers also taught and advised us on some useful hints and tips for every language skill such as Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary… Furthermore, during the lessons, my classmates could ask the teachers to explain to us any parts that we were not sure or didn’t understand well. Especially, I think that our teachers seem to put us in the center of the course; they always listen and encourage our thinking instead of pushing the learning pressure. As a result, we received from them necessary advice and willing help to show us how to study IELTS effectively. So that my classmate and I extremely enjoyed every lesson throughout the course. In my opinion, when studying at UD-UQ ELI, I think you should set up a good relationship with your teachers or please ask them anything that you don’t understand clearly. One of the most important things that I advise you is “Don’t be shy when you want to ask something!”. This was a sentence that a teacher told in my first class. Lastly, I am quite convinced that everybody will be satisfied with the quality of teaching and studying at UD – UQ ELI, and I wish all of my IELTS/EAP5 classmates a successful exam and I myself do believe that my IELTS score will open doors and create opportunities for me to a universities in Australia. Preparation course – My right choice for my future By Nguyen Thi Thuy Phuong, Student of IELTS/EAP class When talking about studying English at UD-UQ ELI, there is an unique word to use that is “great”. I took part in a course focusing on IELTS listening and speaking for 60 hours but I realize that course is extremely effective for me and for all my classmates to improve not only listening and speaking skills but also the other skills. Before participating in that course, I have never imagined that I can watch TV programmes in English and I am not confident to speak to foreigners but now I can do these. That course actually made many changes in my study process. Thanks to communicating with foreign teachers regularly in class as well as in extra classes at ELI, I have improved my English quickly and substantially. Therefore, after 6 months studying English by myself and at the UQ-UQ ELI, I gained 6.5 IELTS scores in 13th December 2007. That is incredible for me! Besides knowledge, my teachers have made me change my study style, not learning word by word but learning a group of words or collocations. Moreover, the library system and study-assisting devices are also useful tools for me to practice and prepare carefully for the IELTS test. In addition, there are a lot of the other benefits such as enlarging my circle of friends, improving my communication in English and enjoying a good studying environment. In fact, studying at UD-UQ ELI was a great choice that helped me gain one of my important targets in my life. 6 Opening the doors f t it

Slide 7: ENGLISH CONNER UD-UQ ELI An activity at the UD-UQ ELI’s Resource Centre: TALKING TO TEACHERS By Huynh Thi Nguyet Thi, Resources Centre Officer At least twice a week in the afternoons, a UD-UQ ELI teacher will participate in student discussions in the self-study area of the Resource Centre for an hour. This is one of the ways that UD-UQ ELI supports students outside the classroom. This is an opportunity for all students at every level to join in and seek help from native English - speakers for their language learning. They can freely ask for any advice or any questions. This is also a great chance for students who are studying in courses like General English, Conversation, or Pronunciation…or for those who are preparing for IELTS exams at UD-UQ ELI to talk to a native English- speaking teacher, discuss a topic with others and improve their fluency by doing so without paying extra fees. Through this activity, UD-UQ ELI aims to encourage all students to come to join us and enjoy the activities at the Resource Centre. WORDSEARCH Tet in Vietnam is the biggest holiday of the year. This is an occasion for all members of a family to get together in order to welcome the New Year of Rat 2008. Please find 10 words describing things in Tet holiday. The words can be vertical or horizontal. Opening the doors of 7 t it