Learning a second language could delay dementia 0

Researchers found out that it is good to learn a second language because it can make our brains healthier and delay dementia.  What is dementia? According to Wikipedia, "Dementia is not merely a problem of memory. It reduces the ability to learn, reason, retain or recall past experience and there is also loss of patterns of thoughts, feelings and activities."  So for those who are learning English as their second language, don't give up! Carry on.  You will not only get a better job but a healthier brain as well.

Read more about this article by clicking on this link:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/268416.php

The Chinese Language 0

The two Chinese characters above are read as "ni hao", which means "hello" in English.  The Chinese language, specifically the Mandarin Chinese, has a total of 1.3 billion speakers around world - making it the number one language according to its number of speakers.  And guess what? We are now offering Chinese lessons on Skype.  If anyone is interested, please feel free to write to us - e.symposia.mgmt@gmail.com or click on the skype button up there on this page and send us a message on skype!

ETS Announces New Customer Support Center for Spanish Students to Assist Record-Breaking Number of TOEFL® Test Takers in Spain 0

Test takers studying for the TOEFL® test in Spain now can take advantage of a new TOEFL Customer Support Center. Educational Testing Service (ETS) has announced a customer support center, available toll-free by phone at 900-838129 or email at TOEFLSupport4Spain@ets.org, to serve the growing numbers of TOEFL test takers throughout Spain.

The TOEFL® Spanish Customer Support Center offers guidance and timely information for students regarding the TOEFL test. The new support center streamlines the testing process by assisting students in identifying test preparation materials, locating test centers, obtaining their score reports, ordering additional score reports and other pre- or post-administration inquiries.

"ETS launched the center in response to the growing interest of Spanish students taking the TOEFL test," commented Maria-Victoria Calabrese, Academic and Government Relations Director, ETS Global BV. "Having the opportunity to speak with a trained representative in the student’s native language of Spanish is invaluable. The newly announced center is another resource designed by ETS to make the TOEFL testing process easier than ever for Spanish students."

source: ets.org

TOP 10 Tips for TOEFL 0

John Wooden said “failing to prepare is preparing for fail”.If you are taking the TOEFL IBT, you should prepare to pass the exam before sitting it. I have taught TOEFL for a long time and have used many materials and programs, from group class instruction to individual instruction. These ten tips are useful in preparing whether you are an English-speaking student or anon-english speaking student.

1. Plan ahead. Planning a few days before the examand expecting to change your English level is tantamount to walking next to atornado. Although a person could pass and a person could miss the tornado, you will have a low opportunity for success.

2. Know the Target. Why are you taking the exam? Whether it's for immigration, work, or education, there is a score that the governing bodies are expecting from your exam. This could range from 80 to over 110. This number is important to know the level your “pass/fail” bar is set.

3. Know your skills. Take a mock exam. Here we start with a mock exam because the teacher needs to know your level and planning strategy. However, you should take one even if you will not use a tutor. This will show you where you need to improve.

4. Set the time. Keep practice to at least an hour or two a day. Mark the time in your daily schedule and don’t abandon it. If you are doing self-study, then make this an all-English time. Each class should be set for exercising a different skill: writing, speaking, reading, listening.

5. Go to class. Meet with a native speaker about your classes and don’t rely on non-native teachers, especially in speaking.Why? Native teachers can iron out your pronunciation better than non-native speakers who usually make the same mistakes as the foreign student does.This is a test not of English grammar, but of English usage at college level.

6. Keep focused. Normally, those who take the TOEFL for university or graduate school may even have to take another exam: GMAT, SAT, LSAT, or GRE. This should also be taken with a native teacher cause non-natives don’t have the capacity for these high-level exams. You should finish preparing and taking the TOEFL before studying for the other exam.

7. Develop strategy. When studying for TOEFL, develop a test strategy. We teach a strategy that is very useful and simple. A strategy is not developing your overall English level, but rather focusing and honing your skill for the exam.

8. Commit your time. Practice writing and speakingall the time, commit the strategy and steps to memory. Then, keep practicinguntil it is as natural to you as spelling your name. These steps should beautomatic. Meanwhile, listen to English on television, radio, and the internet.

9. Practice for real. Don’t forget to look and testyourself using real time conditions. Having strategy, skill, and knowledge isone thing, but you also need timing. The TOEFL is set under a rigid time framelimiting your response. Don’t get carried away by being complicated, but keepall things simple.

10. Know ETS standards. English Testing Service(ETS) is not set up for a local school in your country. ETS is set up todetermine which students can excel in American-- United States and Canadian--Universities. Therefore, expect university-geared work throughout the exam.

With these tips, I hope that you will do a great job on theTOEFL IBT. There is one thing that is good with standardized exams. That is,you know the questions before they come. One can prepare fairly well and beable to pass his mark even without having the necessary general English skill. Evenif you are able to pass the exam, you ought to continue training and developingin English.

ETS Hosts High-Profile English Language Learning Symposium to Celebrate the TOEFL® Test's 30th Anniversary in China 0

Beijing, China (December 14, 2011) —
Leading government officials from China and the United States, world-renowned English language learning experts, and business executives are convening today to discuss best practices, trends, and innovative ideas regarding English language learning as a critical tool to promote China's economic growth and global leadership.

The half-day symposium, English Language Learning: A Key Component for China's Global Competiveness, is co-organized by the National Education Examinations Authority of the MOE, and supported by the U.S. Embassy.

"ETS is very proud of the contributions that we have made to help advance the field of English language learning over the last thirty years in China," commented Walt MacDonald, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at ETS. "Today's symposium brings together leaders in various disciplines that play a significant role in the future of English language learning. We look forward to a productive exchange of ideas and discussion of future innovations that will transform the field."

The invitation-only event is taking place at The Beijing Hotel and will feature:

Madame Zhang Xiuqin, Director General, Ministry of Education
Jiang Gang, Director General, National Education Examinations Authority
Walt MacDonald, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, ETS
Peter Foyston, CEO, Campbell Swire China
Carola McGiffert, Director, 100,000 Strong Initiative, and Senior Advisor to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Alice Murray, Director, Regional English Language Programs Office, U.S. Embassy Beijing
SHEN Yang, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Education
TANG Xiaofei, TOEFL Brand Director, ETS
XI Xiaoming, Senior Research Scientist and Director of Global Language Assessments Research, ETS
WEN Qiufang, Director, National Research Center for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University
XU Caide, Professor, Beijing Language and Culture University
YU Minhong, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc.
ZHAO Han Xi, Executive Director, CITIC Capital Partners
ZONG Wa, Deputy Secretary General, China Education Association for International Exchanges
ZHAO Zhongxiu, Vice President, University of International Business and Economics
More information regarding the TOEFL® test, including sample questions, study tips and registration, is available at www.TOEFLGoAnywhere.org/cn.

ONLINE ENGLISH Lessons! Skype Us! 0

LEARN ENGLISH WITH US ONLINE

Enjoy lessons at the comfort of your own homes. You don't need to drive your car or grab public transportation to go to a language school. We offer private classes and group classes that are created based on the needs of the student/s. This means that the student can improve his English language skills effectively.


Some people would like to learn and improve his English skills but they have a very hectic schedule. Online English education is the best solution to this problem. The student can choose the hours and days for his online lessons. We try our best to match his availability. Unlike in schools, the student needs to adjust with the lesson schedule of the school/s.


Some people are shy and conscious in learning English in a classroom/group setting. Thus, private online English lessons are beneficial for this type of student. Slowly but surely, the teacher can make the student gain his confidence in writing, reading, listening and most especially, in speaking the English language.

So, what does the student need?


For private classes and group classes, the student needs a stable internet connection, a microphone and speakers, or a headset. Also, he has to download Skype and install it in his computer. Webcam is optional. Most of the lessons are taught on Skype. Sometimes, the teacher uses WIZIQ.


Lesson materials such as books, audio files, video files, etc are sent by the teacher to the student for FREE. The student does not need to pay extra for the lesson materials.


What are the courses that we offer?


We offer a variety of lessons.


CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH
JOB/IMMIGRATION INTERVIEW PREPARATION
PRONUNCIATION/ACCENT REDUCTION LESSONS
ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (Business English, English for Aviation, Medical English,etc)
ENGLISH FOR KIDS AND TEENS
ENGLISH TESTS PREPARATION (TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, GRE, TOEIC, etc)
WRITING LESSONS (Creative Writing, Technical Writing, etc)

and more...

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Learn English Online with Us! 0

Enjoy lessons at the comfort of your own homes. You don't need to drive your car or grab public transportation to go to a language school. We offer private classes and group classes that are created based on the needs of the student/s. This means that the student can improve his English language skills effectively.


Some people would like to learn and improve his English skills but they have a very hectic schedule. Online English education is the best solution to this problem. The student can choose the hours and days for his online lessons. We try our best to match his availability. Unlike in schools, the student needs to adjust with the lesson schedule of the school/s.


Some people are shy and conscious in learning English in a classroom/group setting. Thus, private online English lessons are beneficial for this type of student. Slowly but surely, the teacher can make the student gain his confidence in writing, reading, listening and most especially, in speaking the English language.

So, what does the student need?


For private classes and group classes, the student needs a stable internet connection, a microphone and speakers, or a headset. Also, he has to download Skype and install it in his computer. Webcam is optional. Most of the lessons are taught on Skype. Sometimes, the teacher uses WIZIQ.


Lesson materials such as books, audio files, video files, etc are sent by the teacher to the student for FREE. The student does not need to pay extra for the lesson materials.


What are the courses that we offer?


We offer a variety of lessons.

CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH

JOB/IMMIGRATION INTERVIEW PREPARATION

PRONUNCIATION/ACCENT REDUCTION LESSONS

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (Business English, English for Aviation, Medical English,etc)

ENGLISH FOR KIDS AND TEENS

ENGLISH TESTS PREPARATION (TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, GRE, TOEIC, etc)

WRITING LESSONS (Creative Writing, Technical Writing, etc)

and more...

Take TWO free classes NOW!

SIGN UP!

Dissertation? 0

Do you need your dissertation to be proofread or edited? We have been proofreading and editing dissertations. Please send us a message through skype ( skype id : global.english.exchange) or through email ( globalenglishexchange@gmail.com).

Is Social Media Ruining Students? 0

Via: OnlineEducation.net

GRE Revised General Test 0

About the GRE® revised General Test

One Test for Graduate and Business School. More Opportunities for Success.

Getting an advanced degree can create many opportunities. The GRE® revised General Test — the most widely accepted graduate admissions test worldwide — can bring you one step closer to achieving your career goals. And there has never been a better time to take the one test that gives you more opportunities for your future.

In August 2011, the GRE revised General Test replaced the GRE® General Test. Featuring the new test-taker friendly design and new questions, the revised test more closely reflects the kind of thinking you'll do in graduate or business school and demonstrates that you are ready for graduate-level work.

• Verbal Reasoning — Measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences and recognize relationships among words and concepts.
• Quantitative Reasoning — Measures problem-solving ability, focusing on basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis.
• Analytical Writing — Measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills, specifically your ability to articulate and support complex ideas clearly and effectively.

Learn more about the content and structure of the GRE revised General Test.

Who Takes It?

Each year, about 675,000 prospective graduate and business school applicants from 230 countries/regions take the test. Applicants come from varying educational and cultural backgrounds and the GRE revised General Test provides the only common measure for comparing candidates' qualifications.

GRE scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement your undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate-level study.

When and Where Do People Take It?

The GRE revised General Test is available at about 700 test centers in more than 160 countries. In most regions of the world, the computer-based test is available on a continuous basis throughout the year. In Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, the computer-based test is available one to two times per month. In areas of the world where computer-based testing is not available, the test is administered in a paper-based format up to three times a year in October, November and February.

See Test Centers and Dates for all regions.

See which format is available in your area.

Who Accepts It?

The GRE revised General Test is accepted at thousands of graduate and business schools as well as departments and divisions within these schools

source: ets.org

Launch of the GRE® revised General Test Marks Biggest Change in 60 Years 0

Princeton, N.J. (August 2, 2011) —

For the 700,000 hopeful students who take a GRE® test each year, August 1 marks the dawn of a new and brighter era — the launch of the GRE® revised General Test. The most significant change in the GRE Program’s 60-year history, the new test has already earned praise from the graduate and business school community and, in its first day, received rave reviews from test takers worldwide.

"It is a great improvement over the old version; it is what students want," said Nakul Vyas, a GRE test taker in Mumbai, India. "Moving back and forth is a pleasure and gives you flexibility."

Lindsey Todd, a GRE test taker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adds, "Being able to flag questions and go back to them in the review section was really, really cool because I was able to go back and work on the questions that I wasn’t sure about. And, I used the on-screen calculator a lot—it was really helpful."

With new questions, a new score scale and a new test-taker friendly design, the GRE revised General Test offers applicants a friendlier, more technically advanced test that is designed to provide graduate and business schools with even more reliable results. With the freedom to move back and forth, edit or change answers, and skip and return to questions, all within a section, candidates have the ability to use more of their own test-taking strategies. New questions emphasize real-world scenarios and there is less reliance on vocabulary out of context, adding to the appeal of the revised test. The new Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning score scale, from 130–170 in one-point increments, will enable admissions professionals to better compare candidates’ scores as it makes small differences in scoring look small, while bigger differences will continue to stand out.

"The launch of the GRE revised General Test marks a new era in graduate and business school admissions; an era that means a friendlier testing experience and even more useful results for graduate and business schools," said David Payne, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS’s Higher Education Division. "We are excited to share this new test that better meets the needs of today’s candidates and admissions professionals, yet maintains our commitment to fair, valid and reliable assessments."

The GRE revised General Test is the most widely accepted and accessible graduate admissions test in the world. Today, GRE scores are used by thousands of graduate and business school programs worldwide, including more than 600 MBA programs. Each year prospective graduate and business school applicants from 230 countries and regions take the test.

To register for the GRE revised General Test, visithttp://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/. Prospective test takers registering to take the GRE revised General Test in August or September 2011 will receive a 50 percent discount on their test fee. For more information and resources for prospective test takers visitwww.ets.org/gre.

Institutions that use GRE scores can find additional information about the GRE revised General Test at www.ets.org/gre/institutions.

source: ets.org

Australia Approves TOEFL® Test Scores for Student Visas 0

Princeton, N.J. (May 19, 2011) —Students from around the world who wish to study in Australia can now use their TOEFL® test scores as part of their visa application as announced by Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

"I am very pleased the TOEFL test has been chosen as one of the new English test providers and I am confident they will provide a valuable service to student visa applicants," said the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

This announcement has significant meaning for large numbers of international students fromAssessment Level 3 and 4 countries, including China, India, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey and the Philippines, who are interested in studying in Australia. International students now have the opportunity to use the TOEFL test to demonstrate their English language proficiency, satisfying the required language component of the visa application process.

"Nearly every university and college in Australia already accepts TOEFL scores for admission purposes. Today's announcement means that students globally can now use their TOEFL scores for both visa and academic admission purposes," explains David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS's Global Division.

For more than 45 years, the TOEFL test has been the most widely recognized English language assessment in the world, used by more than 8,000 colleges, universities and agencies, including the most prestigious institutions in the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. And with more than 4,500 test sites globally, the TOEFL test is more convenient than ever for students wishing to apply for study in Australia.

"The TOEFL test is the most widely accepted English language assessment worldwide. It is popular with prospective students and agents in all of Australia's major source markets. I'm sure that all of Australia's universities, VET and English language providers join me in welcoming the re-introduction of the TOEFL test for student visa purposes," commented Jeffrey Smart, Pro Vice- Chancellor (International and Recruitment) at Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology. "For many years, students have been able to gain academic admission into Australia's universities on the basis of their TOEFL score: now applicants will be able to satisfy visa requirements with this test as well. With students in 165 countries taking the TOEFL test, the Department's decision provides a boost to Australia's international student recruitment efforts offering a larger and more diverse applicant pool."

Source: ETS.org

We can help you prepare for your TOEFL TEST!

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"English Conquers All" 0

This is an article about how English is considered to be the most powerful language in the world.  Find out why by reading Amanda's Katz article below:

If you can read this sentence, you are either a native English speaker or one of the billion people — and this second group is three times the size of the first — who learned the language later in life. Though English lags behind Mandarin and Spanish in numbers of native speakers, it increasingly serves as lingua franca in business, diplomacy, science, and technology. Given the reach of the Internet and American cultural exports, its influence seems all but unstoppable.  In “Globish,’’ British author and editor Robert McCrum sets out, first, to summarize the history of (as the subtitle states) “how the English language became the world’s language.” He describes his story as “the suspenseful narrative of a people and their successive empires coming out of nowhere to create a culture that — against the odds — has achieved lasting global consequence.”

So far, so good. But McCrum has a second, more dubious goal: to rebrand English as “Globish.” Globish, to McCrum, is gloriously “contagious, adaptable, populist and subversive,” free of its colonial and imperial past, and able to unite us all without harm to existing cultures. If you believe that last bit, there’s a bridge I’d like to sell you — in, as the Lanape people once termed it, Mannahatta.
McCrum, best known as coauthor of the book and PBS series “The Story of English,’’ begins at the beginning: with the successive Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and Norman invasions of the future England. These invaders gradually built a language that, by the 16th century, developed a kind of hybrid vigor. To a sturdy Germanic grammar and domestic vocabulary, it added Latin and French terms to fill out the scientific, professional, and cultural registers. (McCrum provides neat examples of how, as a result, English contains synonyms such as go, depart and exit, respectively derived from Old English, French, and Latin.) McCrum nicely summarizes this complex history from its earliest roots to the introduction of the printing press and later to the dawn of the American empire. Flexible and expansive, backed by one and then two aggressive nations, English conquered and thrived.

McCrum is better on England, politically and factually, than America. A section on African diasporic influence is almost entirely about how white writers, from Marlowe to Twain to Joel Chandler Harris to Mailer, appropriated black speech. Until he reaches Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama (that archetypal Globish figure), there is almost nothing to suggest that black people had made their own major contributions to English. Elsewhere, he describes the Civil War as “a poignant struggle between an old and a new way of life” — a description more suitable to a Confederate History Month proclamation. Then there are plain errors: The Americanization of Paris in 1919 was signaled by Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas settling at 27, rue de Fleurus (real dates: 1903 and 1910, respectively); FDR was inaugurated in 1932 (correct year: 1933).

These gaffes and tone-deaf moments speak to the book’s central problem. McCrum’s enthusiasm for Globish is such that his book sometimes feels like a corporate history, full of platitudes and true-ish detail but with little attention to the downsides or bigger implications of the business. He does make the rare concession that “[t]hose who want to characterize Globish as a kind of benign virus . . . must also acknowledge its imperial and colonial past.” But he more often insists that it has “long ago [left] the imperial hang-up behind.” He fails to substantiate that claim and seems oblivious to the experience of those colonized or invaded by the English — in the United States, Canada, Australia, India, parts of Africa. He writes, for example: “Apart from the Aborigines, an estimated 300,000 in 1788, Australia was an apparently empty continent.” Much like Great Britain, which is today entirely uninhabited. Except for the Brits.
This blind boosterism extends into the present. Globish “will, for the most part, leave local languages unscathed,” he writes. To the contrary, some linguists project that half the world’s languages will disappear by 2100 — in large part because of encroachment by English.
By denying this, McCrum recuses himself from nearly all important questions about the English lingua franca. Access to the language is associated with prosperity and global connection — so what should we do about the trade-off with linguistic diversity? If most English speakers are nonnatives, who controls “proper” English? Will new languages splinter off, or, in constant global conversation, will we converge on a new idiom — a genuine Globish? What might we gain? What might we lose?

Since McCrum believes that everyone wins when you teach the world to sing in English (to paraphrase Coca-Cola’s classic soft-imperial slogan), “Globish’’ is stuck outside the debate. He dismisses doubters with a quotation from The Sunday Times: “to be born an English-speaker is to win one of the top prizes in life’s lottery. And this can be said without a hint of triumphalism, sexism, racism, without annoying anybody much except the French.”

I appreciate the prize, but I’m with the French. As linguist Claude Hagège writes, “Whatever argument we give, the death threat that weighs upon languages today takes the guise of English. And I wager that the wisest Anglophones would not, in fact, wish for a world with only one language.” English is a beautiful language, true. But every language represents a marvelous solution to the problem of putting our world into words. When one disappears, an irreplaceable cultural logic vanishes as well.

 Source: http://articles.boston.com/2010-06-27/ae/29315306_1_english-language-complex-history-globish

Tips: Acquiring the English Language 0

The first lesson in patience is learning to count your trials as joy. Have you had your first trials at learning English? What were they? For me, my first trial to learn a foreign language was speaking French in Quebec. Everyone spoke French, but me. It was so hard to understand them. I tried to talk, but my friend continued to stop me from speaking because of my inability. The lesson from it was to encourage even beginner speakers.

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Global English Exchange offers quality learning and affordable rates. The student can choose between a 30-minute class or a 60-minute class.

Private lessons through Skype or other messenger programs:

RATES:

• 60 minutes - US $ 15.00

Promos/Discounts:

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• 10% discount - 20-29 classes
• 15% discount - 30 classes and up

Payment options:

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We require our students to pay in advance before the start of the classes.

Group lessons through Skype or other messenger programs:

*Study with your friends through Skype for a lower fee:

*maximum number in a group is 4.

*minimum hour is 1 hour.

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• Group of 2 - US$ 20/class (1 hour)
• Group of 3 - US$ 24/class(1 hour)
• Group of 4 - US$ 28/class(1 hour)

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• 10% discount - if the group signs up for 20 or more classes. (The classes must be 1 hour long.)

Payment options:

• Pay per class
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