English for Nursing at LSI Auckland

July 11th, 2014

If you are involved in, or interested in the medical industry, then this course may be for you. English for Nursing is ideal for students who wish to study a Bachelor of Nursing degree, gain valuable work experience in an English speaking environment, and go for NZ Nursing Registration. It is also good for qualified nurses who want to work in the same job in English.

Nursing is one of the careers on New Zealand Immigration’s Long Term Skill Shortage list. Applicants who complete an NZQA-approved Bachelor of Nursing Programme and register as a comprehensive nurse in New Zealand are seen as desirable by the New Zealand government. Approval rates for NZIS’s visa applications are higher when applying to study nursing as it is a more attractive occupational target than many other careers.

The course is made up of General English, IELTS Exam preparation, and specific English for Nursing Modules. The Nursing English modules cover such subjects as Language of the Hospitals, the Healthcare System, Health and Disease, Medical and Anatomical Terminology, Patient Assessment, Diet, Elderly Care, Alternative Treatments, and Medication. We offer the course as a 24 week or 36 week programme. There are minimum entry requirements, so please be sure to contact the school for further information or click here to access our information sheet. The other important thing to note with this programme is that LSI Auckland students are permitted to work for up to 20 hours per week on their Student Visa, giving students the opportunity to find part time work during their stay in NZ.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We look forward to welcoming you to LSI Auckland.

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Feature Destination: Auckland – the sports Kiwis love

July 11th, 2014

Our feature destination this month is Auckland and we thought we would take the opportunity to introduce you to some of the popular sports that New Zealanders love to participate in, so you have some background knowledge before heading to LSI Auckland! Kiwis, as New Zealanders are affectionately known as, are keen sports people, and love to observe as well as participate in a range of sports. Here is a collection of favourites – some you may know well, and others may be quite foreign!

Summer Sports:

A cricket game in action
Cricket – A traditionally British game, cricket is a popular summer game in New Zealand. It’s a great non-contact sport for children to participate in. There are two teams, with one team batting, whilst the other fields – they then swap once their number of overs is up! The National team is called the Black Caps, and they play in NZ during the summer, and tour during the winter to such countries as India, the West Indies, Australia, South Africa and England. Games last for a day, through to 5 days! Some may find this a little hard, as the games are long, but it is really entertaining to attend a One Day Test, or a Twenty 20 game – give it a go while you’re in Auckland!

Yachts on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour
Sailing – Auckland is also known as the City of Sails, as there are more yachts per capita in Auckland than in any other city in the world. Aucklanders love to sail – the city is positioned on two harbours – and it’s a great place to learn to sail, if that’s something you’re interested in. New Zealand is a keen participant in the America’s Cup sailing competition, and although we were unable to win the cup back in the competition in 2013, Team New Zealand is hoping to bring the cup back to NZ in the future.

LSI Auckland students during their surf lesson
Surfing – As an island nation, there is no shortage of beautiful beaches in New Zealand, and a lot of surf! Surfing is a favourite pastime of Kiwis, and is a year round sport (as long as you have a wetsuit for winter J). The surf is definitely better on the West Coast of New Zealand, with our wild black sand beaches – the tides can be strong though, so always go surfing with a buddy, and make sure there are other people around so you can signal for help if you need it. At LSI Auckland, we arrange surfing lessons out at Muriwai Beach – so if you are interested in learning, it’s a perfect opportunity to do so, by combining your English Lessons during the week with Surf lessons on the weekend.

Windsurfing in Auckland
Wind surfing – As Auckland is surrounded by water and beaches, it’s a perfect place for water sports such as wind surfing. There’s never any problem with a bit of wind to get out on your board, and there is a range of options for learning and practising wind surfing. New Zealanders have traditionally done very well in the wind surfing at the Olympics. Why not give it a go when you travel to Auckland?

 

Winter Sports:

The World Champion All Blacks
Rugby Union – Arguably our most popular sport, Rugby is like a religion in NZ. The World Famous All Blacks are the national team, and current World Cup holders, and the team members are like national heroes. Children start playing rugby as young as 5 (a less physical version of the game) and it is played right through schools, universities, and on a national club level. Rugby is an 80 minute game, with 2 40 minute halves – each team has 15 members on the field, in a range of positions – and the aim is to score tries! You score a try by placing the ball down in the goal area – you also score points by kicking the ball between the goal posts (the very tall white posts at each end of the field). Although there is a whole host of rules, the big rule is that you cannot pass the ball forward – you must pass it to a player behind you. If you are fortunate enough to attend an All Blacks game, you’ll also get to see them performing the famous haka “Ka Mate”. We highly recommend you take the opportunity to attend a rugby game in NZ – it’s very exciting to watch!

Rugby league players in action
Rugby League – Although they may look like quite similar games, there actually is a big difference between Rugby Union and Rugby League. In rugby league, there are only 13 players on the field per team. You still have to pass the ball backwards only (although you can kick it forwards), and there are still tackles, but in league, you are allowed 6 forward movements before you have to hand over the ball to the other side – each movement ends when you are tackled. Auckland is the home of the national team which competes in the Australian competition (the NRL) – the Vodafone Warriors. They are yet to win the competition, but they have come close a few times now! League is a popular sport amongst youth as well, and you’ll often see games being played on sports fields around the country on Saturday mornings.

Our students playing Wednesday football
Football – Although it is not as popular as rugby, football has grown in popularity, ever since NZ’s participation in the last World Cup – NZ was the only team to not be beaten at the World Cup in 2010! (we drew or won each game we played). It is particularly popular in schools, as it is seen as less dangerous than rugby, and therefore more attractive for parents! At LSI Auckland, our DOS Grant is a keen football player, and takes the students each Wednesday afternoon for a game in the Auckland Domain. Our students are all keenly following the Football World Cup at the moment, and Grant has set up one of our classrooms as football central!

We look forward to welcoming you to LSI Auckland, and introducing you to our sporting culture!

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LSI Cambridge’s Garden Transformation

July 11th, 2014

LSI Cambridge was delighted to finally complete the renovations to the garden this month, a project that has made a real difference to the students and staff of the school.

Over the past three months, we have cleared away an old building at the back of the garden and replaced it with a brand new office and library – a beautiful, purpose built space for students to self study in a peaceful, comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.

At the same time, we have increased the social space in the garden, removing an area of old scrub and bushes and replacing it with a beautiful wooden deck, where the students can socialize and chat at lunchtimes and after school and where we will be holding more and more of our world famous barbeque parties!

Cambridge garden before

Cambridge garden before

New Cambridge garden deck

New Cambridge garden deck

The new deck area for BBQs

The new deck area for BBQs

This part of the garden was used for bike storage

This part of the garden was used for bike storage

Now it's a beautiful new study space for students

Now it’s a beautiful new study space for students

And after!

And after!

And how did we manage all of this? The power of Ali and Agnes…

Ali and Agnes getting their hands dirty!

Ali and Agnes getting their hands dirty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come and visit us at LSI Cambridge and see the improvements for yourself!

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Malta – ‘Unmissable’ Places to Visit

June 13th, 2014

Malta might be small in size  but it has an amazing variety of places to visit so deciding on a shortlist of five was difficult.

Here are the LSI top 5 ‘unmissable’ places to visit in Malta

June2014Valetta 1. Valetta. Packed into just one square mile, Malta’s capital city has been described by UNESCO as “one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world”. Brimming with cultural influences and architectural styles from the many different settlers and traders to the island, Valetta is a harmonious melting pot. Definitely one for culture vultures.
June201Gozo 2. Gozo. With its slower pace of life, welcoming locals, open countryside, raw rugged coastlines, sleepy unconverted villages and traditional crafts, Gozo show a glimpse of what it’s larger sister Malta was like a few decades ago. A slice of old world charm.
June2014MaltaBlueLagoon 3. The Blue Lagoon. Situated on the sparsely inhabited island of Comino, the blue lagoon, renowned for it’s clear, turquoise coloured water, is the perfect spot for diving and snorkeling. Don’t forget to pack your own lunch though.
June2014Club 4. Paceville. The liveliest, hippest place to hang out in for those who love to party. St Julian’s nightlife district is second to none with its multitude of clubs, music venues, bars, restaurants and cafes. Learn what it really means to party hard!
June2014Hypogeum 5. The Hal Saflieni Hypogeum.  A fascinating underground necropolis discovered as recently as 1902, this UNESCO World Heritage site is packed with tombs, paintings, statues and rock carvings. Worth visiting just for the  spooky Oracle Room where a woman’s voice will not echo, but a man’s will.

 

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Interesting Trivia about Malta

June 12th, 2014

Despite its small size Malta packs a real punch in terms of it fascinating history and culture. We thought we’d give you a small taster of interesting facts about one of our favourite lesser known European countries.

Our top trivia …

June2014Mapof-Malta Malta actually consists of many islands but only three are inhabited: Gozo, Comino and Malta. Malta is considered to be one of the smallest countries in the world with the largest island ( Malta) measuring only 27km by 17km.
June2014MalteseFlag Malta was controlled by Great Britain from 1814 until 1964 when it gained its independence. English is still one of the main languages spoken alongside Maltese.
June2014Troy Malta is a famous haunt for film crews being the location for films such as Gladiator, Captain Philips and Troy and more recently the TV series Game of Thrones.
June2014Diving With its clear azure blue waters, Malta is a diver’s paradise frequently being listed as one of the best diving spots in the world. One of the most famous diving spots is the Blue Hole near Gozo.
June2014MalteseBoats In Malta, the boats have eyes. These quaint boats known as Luzzu, still in daily use by local fisherman, are decorated in bright colours with eyes painted on the prow to ward off bad luck at sea.

 

If you’d like to check out Malta in person and maybe study at our school there, contact us at LSI Malta

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Tai Chi Class at LSI London Hampstead led by World Champion Ye Yongxiang

June 11th, 2014

When Ye Yongxiang “Lillianna”  first arrived at LSI London Hampstead over a month ago she stood out as being a very special and talented lady. At the age of only 27 she is the current world champion in Tai Chi (Yang Style) winning this prestigious title in the ‘International Kung Fu Championship’ held in Hong Kong in March this year. Following in the footsteps of both her grandmother and mother (who herself was world champion 20 years ago), Tai Chi has always been a fundamental part of her life. Brought up in Shanghai in a highly educated family imbued with traditional Chinese values, she has been studying Tai Chi from the age of three initially from her mother but then from one of the top masters in Tai Chi.

Lillianna receiving her Gold Medal with her mother

Lillianna receiving her gold medal with her mother

Lillianna uses descriptions such as ‘moving yoga’ and ‘eastern ballet’ to try and explain the grace and poise of Tai Chi to complete novices. Despite being  a martial art and thus a contact sport, the emphasis in Tai Chi is in inner strength and controlled movement rather than physical force and has strong meditative and religious undertones.

“Tai Chi encourages a person to be more reflective, spiritual even and I feel it helps to give a deeper understanding of life. It’s so beneficial too in many ways – it helps to improve your coordination, sense of balance and relieves stress. The only downside  for me is the gruelling training schedule which leaves very little time for socialising with friends and for relaxation.”

Lillianna in training

Lillianna in training

In addition to training, Lillianna teaches Tai Chi to students in Shanghai, some of whom are International students and business people. “My plan is to be able to teach at a higher level, maybe even internationally, and to do that I need to improve my English. I’m planning to take the IELTs exam and so decided to enrol on a course at LSI London Hampstead. Being here in some ways has been a bit of a holiday as I haven’t been able to do all my usual training and it’s been great fun socialising with my fellow students”.

Lillianna kindly agreed to give a demonstration lesson to her fellow students and teachers. After the initial warm up, Lilliana performed some classic Tai Chi movements before her enraptured audience and ended with teaching some basic Tai Chi movements. If you want to catch some clips of the class , check out our Tai Chi Class video.

June2014HampsteadTaiChiClass

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Academic English Course – the Path to Success

June 10th, 2014

This unique course, offered only at LSI Brighton, offers intensive preparation for students who wish to study at an English speaking university. Both morning and afternoon classes focus on the higher level speaking, listening, writing and reading skills required to succeed at university and help students to work towards specific English level test exams, such as IELTs and TOEFL, that are part of the university entry requirements.

The morning skills classes encompass topics such as effective note-taking, delivering presentations, technical writing, using the most appropriate register for written work and presentations, looking at the  fluency/accuracy balance. The classes also cover the vocabulary and grammar necessary to achieve good results . Afternoon classes focus on specific exam preparation and cover exam strategies and techniques. What makes LSI Brighton’s Academic English stand out from other LSI programmes is the ability to  study for IELTS and TOEFL as part of both the AM and PM classes, thus giving more flexibility to students who can only study in the morning.

Key features:

  •  Age: 16+
  • English level: Intermediate +
  • 1 – 12 weeks (other weeks available on request)
  • 30 lessons per week
  •  Available at LSI Brighton only

If you are serious about studying at an English speaking university, the Academic English course might be exactly what you’re looking for. For more information view our Academic English Video or contact LSI Brighton.

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Keep to the Beat – Techniques to improve your English

June 10th, 2014

MarkLaneAccording to Mark Lane, Assistant School Director at LSI London Central, learning English is great fun and it’s all about rhythm.

“For most of our students, one major reason for coming here to study is that they want to improve their speaking. We all have an accent that is not entirely natural when we speak a second language, and many of our students state that they would like to totally lose their own accent. It’s not very easy to do this .However, working on your English pronunciation and intonation can make a big difference to your speaking (and also your listening) skills. ”

“English is a stress-timed language.This means that there is a natural rhythm to the language and that stressed syllables follow a beat (they are said at regular intervals.) Not every syllable in a sentence has the same length or the same importance. The important information is stressed and then the rest fits into the gaps – e.g. Bob is going to France on Wednesday. If you only heard the stressed parts you would still understand the sentence.”

It’s good to practise this by trying to say the following sentences to the same beat. Try reading this out loud. You can clap on the stressed beats too if that helps!

(clap) (clap) (clap) (clap)
One Two Three Four
One and Two and Three and Four
One and then Two and then Three and then Four
One and then it’s Two and then it’s Three and then it’s Four
One and then after it’s Two and then after it’s Three and then after it’s Four

You could create your own different phrases, and see what you end up with, for example:

He likes eating eggs and he likes eating beans and he likes eating chips and he likes eating cheese.

Use your imagination, and don’t forget to keep to the beat!

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LSI Canada Schools Become Designated Learning Institutions

June 2nd, 2014

Good news! Both LSI Toronto and LSI Vancouver have recently been approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) as Designated Learning Institutions in the International Student Program and therefore are able to accept students who come to Canada on study permits. Under new CIC regulations, as of June 1, 2014, all students who come to Canada on study permits will be required to attend only Designated Learning Institutions.

The new regulations will not affect students who come for less than 6 months, who are still able to study on a tourist visa.

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New York Film Academy Workshop at LSI Berkeley

May 27th, 2014

Lights! Camera! Action! The New York Film Academy visited LSI Berkeley to show our students what acting, producing, and screen writing are all about. Academy reps, Tasha and Amy, led a group of students through some warm-ups and improv skits to get students up and moving. Students were excited to play around and express themselves in different ways through various acting games.

LSI USA has a conditional agreement with the New York Film Academy and can provide assistance for admission to this school through our University Pathways Program. If you’ve completed your English course at LSI and would like to pursue film, acting, or other fine arts degrees, we can help you! Contact Lauren Macdonald at lmacdonald@lsi.edu for more details.

Get ready for the spotlight!

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