The Slaney Language Centre - Blog http://www.wexford-language.com/blog Thu, 13 May 2010 11:29:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 How about learning English and working on an Organic Farm in Ireland? http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/05/how-about-learning-english-and-working-on-an-organic-farm-in-ireland/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/05/how-about-learning-english-and-working-on-an-organic-farm-in-ireland/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 11:04:46 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/?p=53 Ever heard of Wwoofing?
WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and is basically an exchange - in return for volunteer help WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyle. Bea from Switzerland was the first Slaney Language Centre student to try out wwoofing. She had a great time and now more and more people of all ages and many different nationalities combine their English language course with working on an organic farm in Ireland. The language course will help you to improve your English and all you need then is a bit of enthusiasm and love for nature and the outdoors. You can even choose your own farm at Wwoof Ireland and optain more information about courses and more from the Slaney Language Centre.

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/05/how-about-learning-english-and-working-on-an-organic-farm-in-ireland/feed/ St. Patricks Day Newsletter http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/03/st-patricks-day-newsletter/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/03/st-patricks-day-newsletter/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:06:38 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/?p=46 Hi Everybody,
here some news from the Slaney Language Centre:

Special Offer for Easter Family Course

If you have children between ten and fourteen years of age we would be delighted to offer you a 20% discount on our Easter Family Course which will take place from Monday 29 March to Friday 9 April.  Why not get away for a relaxing and educational break for you and your child?  We guarantee that it will be an experience that neither you nor your child will ever forget.

July and August Family Courses

Hurry!  There are ONLY two children’s places left on the August family course and a few more for the July courses, so book immediately to avoid disappointment!  Family courses offer you the chance to have an enjoyable, relaxing and educational, family holiday.  They allow you to improve your English skills while providing your children with the opportunity to learn and develop their English in a fun, child centred approach to second language acquisition.  This is an experience that will benefit your children’s future.

More infos: www.wexford-language.com/courses/parents%20and%20children.html

First Certificate Exam Results 

Congratulations to our evening class students, Sonja, Joanna and Marcin, who recently took their FCE in Dublin City University.  They passed with amazing results.  We are so proud of you for your hard work and dedication to the course.  Well done also to Alfonso who also recently passed the FCE.  He has been with us twice on Summer courses and we hope to see you again soon.  We will have another evening course for the June FCE exams starting soon and a Fluency Development and FCE preparation programme in Summer.  If you have been working towards doing your First Certificate Exam this course would be ideal for you as we give advice and guidance on all five papers and tips to answer each question.  A breakdown of the marking scheme is also valuable to achieve the highest results possible.  Please note that it is now possible to take your FCE exam in Ireland in August.  Check out our brochure for further details. 

More infos: www.wexford-language.com/courses/first_certificate_exam.html

Review your experience

You now have the opportunity to tell the world about your experience with us in the Slaney Language Centre!  We would love you to share your memories and experiences with others who have not been as lucky as you to spend time in Wexford and in our school.  Please let them know that there are no strangers at SLC, only friends you haven’t met yet!

www.my-language-travel.com/language-school/THE-SLANEY-LANGUAGE-CENTRE

Internet Addicts

Don’t forget that we are now on facebook and twitter and we would love you to join us and keep us up to date with what is happening!

www.facebook.com/Slaney.Language.Centre

www.twitter.com/Slaneylanguage

How Irish are you???
Take the Irish test, if you’re brave enough!

www.wexford-language.com/misc/quiz.html

Results:

Score 0–5: Quick!  Book a flight to Ireland – we need to educate you!

Score 6-14: You’re learning but you still need to visit us!  There’s so much more you need to learn.

Score 15-19: You must have had a few pints of Guinness or a few hot whiskeys.  You’re almost Irish!

Score 20: Well done! You’re an honorary Irish person!  St. Patrick would be proud of you! (and Sinéad)

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and we celebrate his life on 17 March.  This is a national holiday.  We have parades in every town and city in Ireland dedicated to his memory.  The biggest celebration in Ireland will take place in Dublin but parades also take place in America, with one of the biggest in the world held in New York each year.  On 17 March everyone wears shamrock and green clothes.  We also paint our faces, drink green beer and eat green ice-cream.  Everybody sings and dances and celebrates on the street.

If you miss Ireland – watch this!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGWMC6wOuSY

Video – Mary’s Bar
 

On Saint Patrick’s Day,

May God grant you always a sunbeam to warm you,

A moonbeam to charm you,

A sheltering angel so nothing can harm you,

Laughter to cheer you,

Faithful friends near you,

And whenever you pray,

Heaven to hear you.

Lá Fhéile Phádraig shona daoibh go léir!

Wishing you peace and happiness from all at the SLC on St. Paddy’s Day.

Sinead

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/03/st-patricks-day-newsletter/feed/ Anna-Lena from Germany http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/03/anna-lena-from-germany/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/03/anna-lena-from-germany/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:02:43 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/?p=38 Me, Rocío and Mariana at The HookHello!
I want to tell you about my experiences in Ireland:

If I look back on my last month in Wexford, Ireland I throughout remember positive things.
I stayed with a hostfamily and I really lost my heart for the Irish way of living. There is NO better possibility to make your English fluent than with a hostfamily.
But especially the Slaney Language Centre does a great job. Lisa is the best manager you can imagine for a language school and Anita arranges everything so lovely. I liked the small classes and my teachers Emma and Susan just taught us in such a sucessful way. I enjoyed every single day! ( I can’t remember that I liked my school in Germany so much ;-) )
It’s just so pleasant to work with a small group and to learn so many things day by day! To my mind Wexford is a perfect place to stay. There are lots of possibilities for activities in your freetime. One of my class mates worked as a volunteer in an Oxfam-Shop in her freetime after school. I think, it’s a great thing: You can combine the voluntary work with meeting lots of Irish people and you learn to understand the different accents. Her English was getting better so quickly!
Another thing that I liked were the activities in the afternoon. One day Jim, the bus driver, took me and the other two girls of my class to the Hook, the last operating lighthouse. We had a nice walk on the cliffs and Jim told us lots of stories and legends. I really enjoyed it - THANK YOU JIM!
After a three-weeks language course I did a work experience in the office of the Slaney Language Centre.
I’m quite sad that the beautiful time in Ireland is over now :-(

But I think I will come back and have another great time here!

Kind regards.
Anna-Lena

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/03/anna-lena-from-germany/feed/ Huge Humpback Whale spotted at the Hook Head in County Wexford http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/01/huge-humback-whale-spotted-at-the-hook-head-in-con/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/01/huge-humback-whale-spotted-at-the-hook-head-in-con/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:11:16 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/?p=32 The biggest animal on this planet has been spotted in Wexford and no it is not me!!!!   Great excitement here in Wexford and lots of people with cameras and videos heading for the coast at the Hook Lighthouse .  Slaney Language Centre students were only down there last Wednesday and not a sign of anything in the water!!!  But we’ll be going down again tomorrow maybe hoping to catch sight of this wonderful and amazing event in natural history.

Have a look for yourselves via the link provided

All the best

Anita

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2010/01/huge-humback-whale-spotted-at-the-hook-head-in-con/feed/ English and Activities http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/09/english-and-activities/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/09/english-and-activities/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/09/english-and-activities/ Language-Plus courses, which combine English lessons with leisure activities are gaining popularity in Ireland. Some language centres provide English lessons in the mornings and a specialised activity programme in the afternoons. Other providers start the programme with intensive language courses of one to four weeks duration. Following the course the students will then take part in an intensive programme of a specialised activity. The combination of English lessons with pastime activities gives the student the opportunity to improve his or her language skills by practising a favourite hobby. Examples for activities are horseriding, surfing, golf, fishing, rugby, drama, music, Irish culture and more. The Slaney Language Centre has designed a course called ‘English and Culture’ around the renowned Wexford Festival Opera. Participants of the English and Culture course will combine their English lessons with music, art and theatre events. The course starts on 19 October and runs for two weeks. It targets the more mature students - 50 plus - but is open to anybody over 18. A combination of English and Fly Fishing is planned for spring and summer 2010. The Language Travel Magazine provides a list of Language-Plus courses offered by language schools in Ireland.

Lisa

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/09/english-and-activities/feed/ What is the Cambridge First Certificate? http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/04/what-is-the-cambridge-first-certificate/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/04/what-is-the-cambridge-first-certificate/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:17:35 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/?p=19 The Cambridge First Certificate of English - FCE - is the third level of the Cambridge Exams for Speakers of other languages (ESOL).

The exam is described as being at upper-intermediate or ‘independent user’ level. It is the most popular exam. FCE is recognised by many universities and other educational institutions as proof of an upper-intermediate level of English and these institutions take on students who have passed the exam. The FCE is recognised around the world.

The exam consists of five papers: Reading (1 hour), Writing (1 hour and 20 minutes), Use of English (45 minutes), Listening (14 minutes) and Speaking (14 minutes). Reading frequent questions and their answers helps potential canditates to become more familiar with the exam procedure.

The exam dates are the same worldwide and students can take the exam in almost every country.

We are holding a three-week FCE preparation course from 18 May to 5 June. Please check the our website for further information.   

Lisa

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/04/what-is-the-cambridge-first-certificate/feed/ St. Patrick’s Day http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/st-patricks-day/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/st-patricks-day/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:48:20 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/st-patricks-day/ The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are approaching quickly. We will celebrate the feast of St. Patrick next Tuesday 17 March. This is a national holiday in Ireland as St. Patrick is our patron Saint. He is believed to have been the first person to introduce Christianity to the shores of Ireland around 432 A.D. There are many myths and legends surrounding St. Patrick. One is that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. St. Patrick is believed to be buried in Downpatrick, Co. Down. The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland. It is said that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Catholic Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, to the pagans of Ireland. This is why we wear shamrock on St. Patrick’s Day. There will be a host of celebrations in Ireland and Irish communities abroad on 17 March. There will be street parades, singing, dancing and celebrating. Everyone will wear green, white and gold and paint their faces and drink green beer and eat green ice-cream. So raise your glasses on Tuesday and say ‘Slainte’ and join in the celebrations.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day,
Sinead

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/st-patricks-day/feed/ Slaney Language Centre in the Newspaper http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/slaney-language-centre-in-the-newsletter/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/slaney-language-centre-in-the-newsletter/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:14:44 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/slaney-language-centre-in-the-newsletter/ Hi Everybody,
just to let you know that we were featured in the Echo Newspaper last week. Please have a read. Maybe you will even find yourself in a photograph.
Talk soon,
Lisa

Slaney Language Centre in the Newspaper

]]> http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/03/slaney-language-centre-in-the-newsletter/feed/ Welcome to the Slaney Language Centre Blog http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/02/welcome-to-the-slaney-language-centre-blog/ http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/02/welcome-to-the-slaney-language-centre-blog/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:39:04 +0000 Lisa http://www.wexford-language.com/blog/2009/02/welcome-to-the-slaney-language-centre-blog/ Hello everybody! We set up this blog to give students, teachers, agents and everybody with an interest in the SLC the chance to stay in touch, exchange experiences and to keep up to date with what’s happening in the English Language Learning Sector.
We will inform you about new developments in the English Language Industry, useful self-study websites, exam dates, changes in the study visa requirements and of course we will let you know what’s new in Wexford and at the Slaney Language Centre.
Don’t worry! We will still write newsletters.
Please do leave your comments as we like to stay in touch.

Lisa

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