6
Nov
2009
GEOS English Colleges
GEOS International Group
The GEOS International Group was established to contribute to international communication through teaching English. It was founded in 1973 and its colleges span approximately 15 countries, across Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania. GEOS stands for Global Education Opportunities and Services, and offers quality language teaching with experienced and caring English teachers.
GEOS colleges offer a range of professionally accredited English courses, useful for improving English language skills, gaining entry into tertiary education or seeking employment in English speaking companies. These include general English for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners, as well as more speciliased courses such as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE), Business English, International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). They often offer programmes that combine leisure activities or sightseeing with English classes, such as English and Surfing. All the colleges offer modern facilities, located in exciting tourist destinations to combine English language learning with fun.
GEOS Oceania
GEOS Oceania has colleges in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan and Korea. In Australia, there are colleges in most of the capital cities including Sydney in New South Wales, Cairns, Brisbane and the Gold Coast in Queensland, Adelaide in South Australia, Perth in Western Australia and Melbourne in Victoria. In New Zealand, there are GEOS colleges in Wellington and Christchurch, and in South Africa there is a college in Cape Town. In Singapore, the GEOS college is of course in the city of Singapore, it being a city-state.
The colleges have a reputation for providing students with outstanding teaching, ensureing that students’ language goals are met while having fun. They offer extensive student support, leisure and educational facilities, help with accommodation, small class sizes, experienced and qualified teachers, as well as a diverse student body.
12
Oct
2009
Learning English
Language Acquisition
Language acquisition is a field of study in linguistics that examines the process through which humans learn to understand and use the complexity of language. There are two main ideas as to how children learn their first language, the first is the experience-dependent approach (or nurture), the second is the nativist approach (or nature). The former argues that the meanings of words are learnt through social conventions. This happens through operant conditioning, where consequences modify future behaviour. This would mean a certain word given certain stimulus would reinforce its contextual probability.
The second argument is based on innate meanings. Rather than focusing on a set of rules (grammar) that would generate syntactically correct sentences, it was argued that grammar was innate. Grammar is constructed based on examples of well-formed sentences, but ignores semantics and context. In addition, it was deemed that the input available to the child learner was insufficient to acquire a language on the basis of grammar. Chomsky and others claimed there was a universal grammar connected to the language acquisition faculty, consisting of a set of principles that were modified for each particular language by a set of parameters. These ‘hidden assumptions’ allow children to figure out what was and wasn’t possible in their language.
English Language
Because of its widespread use, the English language is a useful language to learn. The language spread as a result of first the British empire, then the American empire. In consequence, English is now used across many of the Commonwealth nations, whether as a first or second language. These nations include the UK (which consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), Ireland, Australia, Canada, the USA, various islands (e.g. Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa), Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, the Philippines, Mauritius, Jamaica, etc.
21
Aug
2009
Language and educational coaches
Academic Coaching
A ‘coach’ usually refers to a sports coach who trains an athlete to improve their technique and performance, or aids and instructs people who want to exercise to become fit and lose weight. However there are coaches for all different fields, from speech coaches who train their pupils in public speaking and delivery, accent reduction and presentation skills, to acting coaches who train actors how to enhance their skills. Basically a coach is someone who not only teaches skills and information, but also encourages, motivates, and helps their pupil to reach their full potential. This is especially important for ‘life coaches’. Another type of coach is a speech coach who provides training in presentation skills, public speaking and accent reduction.
Academic coaches mentor students to improve study and learning skills. While tutors teach students the course material, coaches show students how to be successful at learning, including study skills, time and stress management, effective reading and note-taking, how to approach exams, understanding the syllabus, effective essay and report writing to academic standards and presentation skills. Usually coaches meet with students once a week, giving tips and monitoring their learning efficiency, whether while they are already enrolled in a course or trying to pass entrance exams. One of the key aspects of academic coaches is trying to encourage and motivate students to excel, as well as giving them the tools to do so.
Language Coaches
Language coaches are similar to academic coaches in that they give the tools needed for success, as well as motivating the student. Language coaches may teach students the best way to approach language learning, help with pronunciation, give opportunities to practice conversing in the foreign language, provide materials to immerse the student in the language (books, journal articles, movies, tapes, music, websites with practice exercises). They can also go over students’ work to show where they can improve.