BLC Blog

As a language school we have readily adopted many forms of social media as they are a great way of communicating and this enables us to reach our audience in a way they are familiar with. BLC can be found talking daily on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, the use of language is very different within social networks – do you know what RL, ROFL, LOL and tweet mean for example?

Do you find them useful aspects of language or hard to understand? Can you think of more examples of such phrases? You can give your examples and discuss whether you like using this type of language on our new online learning platform: Planet Bubble.

Bubble has just been launched to allow the learning of our students to continue beyond their time at BLC. Combining the fun of social media with the rigour of studying its aim is to encourage peer learning.

Anyone learning English can sign up using a simple form, giving you access to a wide range of language problems to discuss. These language tasks focus on popular topics, such as the identity of Banksy and the Occupy protest for example. There is also a place to chat with other English language learners and you can help others with their language questions. Have a look for yourself and become one of the early Bubblers!

The autumn term has been an eventful time for us here at BLC. To start with in September BLC was represented at both Alphe and Study World and we really enjoyed meeting new partners and potential new ones. We would like to congratulate those who won an award during the Star awards ceremony, including one of our valued partners ESL – it proved to be a fantastic evening!

Then Seonaid our Director travelled to Berlin in October for ICEF – an event we never miss. This was a great opportunity to launch our new BLC brand which we’ve been developing alongside our expansion and refurbishment.

November saw the BLC re-launch event taking place, where around 60 people including agents, hosts, students and suppliers had a taste of what we do. They all took part in the sample English language lessons on offer and had a tour of the school, which now has an urban art mural as well as 18 modern classrooms and 2 multi-media centres.

We’re now preparing for an event of a different kind: Christmas! Let’s hope the New Year brings many more new partnerships and continued growth of the school.

Due to the recent success of the English language evening classes, we are pleased to confirm dates throughout 2012.

Would you like to perfect your English skills for business? Need to improve your English to get a job? Or perhaps you would like to learn conversational English in order to meet people in Bristol? Or maybe you need to gain a certificate to demonstrate your level but don’t have the time during the day?

Whatever the reason, the BLC has a class for you! We offer evening classes to fit around your busy schedule, whether you are a busy working professional, parent or someone who would like to learn a new skill.

With classes on Tuesday and Thursdays from 6-7.30pm you can choose General English: a fun, practical course, Business English: focusing on real-life business situations and vocabulary, or the Cambridge FCE or CAE exam course: useful if you want to work in Europe using English.

The dates and prices are as follows:

10th January for 10 weeks - £300

3rd April for 10 weeks - £300

18th September for 12 weeks - £350

If you would like to find out more, go to our website or call now to book a class: 0117 929 2233. You can also apply online. We look forward to welcoming you to BLC.

Gavin is our Social Programme Co-ordinator and he recently got back from a trip to Japan to help the people affected by the Tsunami. He talks about his experience:

“I spent two years teaching English in Japan. The people, culture and history of Japan has given me so much, and for this reason I felt it was only right that I try to give something back. I chose a project through a good friend of mine with the YMCA and raised just over £1000 to fund my trip by selling paintings online.

The experience was emotional, incredibly heart-warming, inspirational, frustrating, enlightening, I could go on. Trying to communicate my feelings to people who lost so much was very difficult. The spirit and strength of character that the people of Tohoku have is humbling to say the least. I met some incredible individuals along the way. It is an experience I will carry with me always.

There is still so much to be done in that part of the world. The biggest immediate problem facing them is social breakdowns amongst communities, as hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed and people have been relocated to temporary housing, living with new neighbours from different parts of the affected areas.

Essentially the people of Tohoku want the world to learn its story, and not forget, that the struggle to rebuild is still very much alive.”

Gavin with Yamazaki san

The Bristol Language Centre has a fresh new look. Re-named BLC our school is undergoing a complete refurbishment and expansion, to create a school with a capacity of 250 students, from a previous 140. At the same time are re-branding in bold colours to reflect our dynamic, innovative approach to education.

The modern school will be able to offer 18 well-equipped classrooms, many with interactive whiteboards, two state-of-the-art multimedia centres with 24 computers in total, a new canteen and reception area for students and complete redecoration in bright new colours.

The Bristol Language Centre was founded in 2004 and has grown considerably since then, accepting students from all over the world. Founder and Director Seonaid Birkett commented:

“The English language sector is constantly changing and it is important that we evolve and adapt to continue to provide the best experience for our students. As the international language of commerce and diplomacy, the English language is vital to our students’ education and future. By learning English in Bristol, our students bring overseas income into the UK, and contribute directly to local families and businesses. English UK demonstrated that in 2010 the value of the ESL sector to the economy in Bristol was nearly £25m and in the UK as a whole it was 2bn.”

Would you like to perfect your English skills for business? Or perhaps you would like to learn conversational English in order to meet people in Bristol? Or maybe you need to gain an FCE or CAE certificate but don’t have the time during the day?

Whatever the reason, the Bristol Language Centre can help. We offer evening classes to fit around your busy schedule, whether you are a busy working professional, parent or someone who would like to learn a new skill.

With classes on Tuesday and Thursdays from 6-7.30pm you can choose General English: a fun, practical course, Business English: focusing on real-life business situations and vocabulary, or the Cambridge FCE or CAE exam course: useful if you want to work in Europe using English.

If you would like to find out more – come to our open day on Tuesday 6^th September, 6-8pm. You will have the chance to try a short sample lesson, take a test to establish your level of English and there will be free drinks and nibbles. Call now to reserve your space or to book a class: 0117 929 2233. We look forward to welcoming you to BLC.

We’ve just said farewell to our first group of juniors and the Summer season is flying by as we are being kept so busy!

They participated well in the morning lessons and continued the active social programme in the afternoons. In their last week they sampled The Lanes – an American-style bowling centre and had a trip to a traditional English seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare where they saw the pier, a sand sculpture competition and tried some lovely fish and chips. They took part in crazy golf and shopping at the popular Cabot Circus and learnt about Welsh life in Cardiff at the Castle, as well as seeing the famous Millennium Stadium.

We were really pleased to see the positive feedback from the juniors, with many saying they would like to come back next year. As Miguel Martinez Aransay, (aged 17 from Spain) commented: “The classes were very good. I learnt a lot of English. The teacher was perfect - he taught us a lot. The afternoon activities were good too.” See you next summer!

Our Junior Summer Programme is now in full swing as we reach the end of week two. Students have shown great progress with their English language learning, particularly with grammar and vocabulary, they have made lots of new friends and enjoyed exciting local projects such learning about the infamous Banksy.

Junior Summer Programme

The busy social programme kicked off with a trip to our local city museum, which has a diverse range of exhibitions – students took part in a workshop of Egyptian artefacts, learnt about Bristol at war and saw some 20^th Century art. On Tuesday it was off to the fantastic Cabot Circus shopping centre – home to the exclusive Harvey Nicholls as well as all the typical high street shops. The MShed was on the itinerary for Wednesday: a brand new museum by the river which tells the stories of Bristol. The next day the S.S. Great Britain was our destination as no trip to Bristol is complete without seeing this famous ship, which is part of our maritime history and has been turned into an interactive museum. A visit to the eclectic St Nicholas Market was on the cards on Friday, then a trip to London brought the week to a close, taking in all the major sights. A good week had by all.

The Bristol Language Centre opened its doors for the summer season last Monday, when over 100 students arrived in one day! They were all tested to be placed in classes according to their level and lessons began at the local City of Bristol College campus.

The week so far has included a visit to @Bristol: a state of the art science centre, a tour of the world-famous Brunel Suspension Bridge, a trip to the UNESCO world heritage site of Bath, sports and a Barbecue in the park and a Pirate-themed day where the students dressed up and saw where Treasure Island was written.

And if that’s not all, tomorrow they are off to Cheddar Gorge – one of the West country’s true gems, with stunning scenery and history, world famous caves and a museum. Let’s hope the staff get some rest on Sunday whilst the students enjoy a day with their host families, ready for the next fun-packed week of the programme!

The next phase of changes to the Tier 4 student visas began on the 4^th July 2011, as outlined in our earlier blog from March. From now on the UKBA are going to make the following changes which will affect English language schools:

• restrict work entitlements to migrants studying at higher educational institutions (HEIs) and publicly funded further education colleges only;
• restrict the sponsorship of dependants to those studying at postgraduate level at HEIs on courses lasting at least 12 months, and government-sponsored students on courses lasting at least 6 months;
• require education providers to vouch that a new course represents genuine academic progression;
• ensure that maintenance funds are genuinely available to the applicant, by introducing a declaration on the visa application form;
• commit to publish a list of financial institutions that they consider, on the basis of experience, do not verify financial statements to their satisfaction;
• introduce a streamlined application process for low-risk nationals applying to attend courses with Highly Trusted Sponsors.

The Bristol Language Centre is classed as a Highly Trusted Sponsor by the UKBA. We work hard to ensure that students obtain the correct visa and are able to study with us. We issue CAS statements and visa letters for students’ visa applications and we can demonstrate genuine academic progression for students on our English language courses. For more information or to make an application for one of our courses please contact enq@thebristollanguagecentre.co.uk

For more information about visas please check the following links:

UKBA

English UK