Why culture affects the way students learn


“The entire process of education is shaped by the culture within which it operates. So long as a culture is shared by teachers and students, the problems of learning that arise are merely those of educational expectations and methods. Much less tractable problems arise, however, when students shift from one

Language Production Tracker


Remember the old quote “The internet is just a fad”? Bill Gates supposedly said that.*  Time will tell whether that was the most incorrect thing anybody has ever said. Here’s a quote that is more likely to prove true in the future: “The textbook is a fad."   When learning a language, there is

Adaptive Learning


Knewton Educators and learners are becoming increasingly aware that a one size fits all approach to education is not working.   Traditional classroom-based learning in many cases only services the middle ability students, as if you finish the task quickly and want to look into a topic more intensively

V-lang conference 2011: Future Learning Now


Jessica Driscoll presenting at the V-lang conference, Warsaw 2011 - By Jessica Driscoll (@JessieDriscoll) Product Development Manager, Languagelab.com The V-lang conference, 'Future Language Learning Now: Innovative Applications and Methods for Language Training', took place in Warsaw on 17 November

A chat with Jessica Goyder, singer-songwriter


We are excited to announce that our next 'A Chat With' event will be a live concert and interview with Jessica Goyder, British singer-songwriter. Jessica is a classically trained pianist, singer and self-taught guitarist. She has played at Glastonbury five times. Jessica will be playing a special live concert

Iffaf Khan- “A lexical approach to Language learning” Teacher Development at Languagelab.com

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Today’s teacher development session will be run by Iffaf Khan. She will be talking about  “A lexical approach to language learning – grouping lexical items and mindmaps”. She has set some great preparation activities see the picture below of me using the 3-D wiki she will be using for her session.

Iffaf has taught English Literature, General English, English with IT, English with ICT and exam preparation classes at different points over the last 24 years. She is presently exploring theories of how to reduce the cognitive load of the learner and of form-focused instruction. She is also working for an institution of Higher Education, the University of Essex, on the delivery of Academic English and Teacher Training. She holds an MA in English, an RSA/DELTA, a CTWICTA and the FTBE. Her extensive experience as writer, examiner and teacher have also enabled her to develop a leading teaching in virtual worlds programme. Oh by the way, this is what she looks like! :)

 

 

A Chat With Christopher Teano: Find out more about International Law !

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We are very pleased to announce that Christopher Teano, an internationally renowned corporate lawyer from one of the world’s largest banks, will be our next guest in the “Chat With” chair with Mike Teacher on Thursday 16th June at 8pm London time/12 noon LA time.

Chris is a Managing Director and Senior Counsel at Citigroup.  He currently oversees a team of more than 120 lawyers in Europe, the Middle East,  and  Africa.  A phi beta kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Brown University, Chris  earned his Juris Doctorate degree at Stanford  University in California.   He is a member of the New York Bar.  Prior to Citigroup ,  Chris worked at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, and McCloy. He is also a world expert in Islamic Finance and bankruptcy.  Chris ‘s  interests include history and politics, and he loves virtual worlds.

This is your opportunity to join Mike in chatting with this special guest about his fascinating world.  In addition to his professional life Mike will talk to Chris about what it is like to be an American living in London, and about his passion for travel, theatre and history.

This promises to be an entertaining and educational event ! Click here to join us.

Teacher Development Sessions at Languagelab.com

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We are very excited to start our new season of teacher development seminars today in English City. Each week one of our teachers will share their particular area of expertise or learning experiences in English City with the rest of the academic team.

Our first session will be  “Adult Language Acquisition: language learning curves, interactive learning, and the significance of collocations.” run by Elizabeth one of our events co-ordinators.

Other topics later in the series include,  a lexical approach to learning, character driven learning, experiential learning,  teaching tools and a combined event with English City students to work on character development.

We will keep you posted with blog summaries and videos about our seminar series, keep checking here for updates!

Happy Teaching! :-)

Languagelab Article in Language Travel Magazine

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Check out the article in the July issue of Language Travel Magazine we are on page 12. The article talks about the Market Leader Live collaboration with Pearson which is due to launch internationally in September this year. The Product Development team are really enjoying developing this great Business English Coursebook into a first of its kind  digital experience.

Here is a taster of the course for you:

Market Leader Live brought to you by Pearson and Languagelab.com from Languagelabdotcom on Vimeo.
For more information visit the Market Leader Live website.

Shiv presenting at PASE conference in Poland

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Shiv Rajendran, Languagelab’s Operations Director, will be talking at the 12th international PASE conference in Warsaw on Saturday 13th May. Shiv will be discussing the power of online community learning to boost English acquisition. Here’s a taste of what he’ll be talking about.

Immersion in a foreign culture has long been accepted as an effective way of learning a language. In contrast, for mainly practical reasons, language courses are organised into linear courses composed of sequential lessons. Historically, immersing students in an English-speaking culture has been impractical for most schools – but online communities have the opportunity to solve this problem: allow immersion in a foreign culture, to a large audience, at a low cost.

Shiv will provide examples of how online communities designed for entertainment are already being used for language learning, with huge success rates. He will also provide examples of how teachers can take advantage of online communities to give their students extra language practice.

Shiv (www.shv.me) co-founded Languagelab.com in 2005. Shiv has a Master’s degree in Digital Culture and Technology, a background using technology for a variety of purposes, and is a life-long gamer.

Shiv will be in Warsaw with Chris Moore, Languagelab’s Sales Director. They’ll be on twitter and on their phones, feel free to get in touch!

Shiv Rajendran @shiv53 +44 (0) 7887 527 812
Chris Moore @mr_chrismoore +44 (0) 7943 652 811

Introducing a new partner school – Wimbledon School of English

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Languagelab is glad to introduce a new partnership with Wimbledon School of English. Wimbledon School of English is one of the oldest English language schools in England. Situated in the centre of the attractive London suburb of Wimbledon, this warm and welcoming medium-sized school has taught English to students from overseas since 1964. It currently has about 180 students from over 30 different countries.

Wimbledon School of English is the largest open centre in the UK for the UCLES ESOL examinations and an IELTS test centre. Wimbledon students can take advantage of the convenient IELTS speaking exam role plays in English City to supplement what they have covered in class.

Wimbledon students can also re-connect with teachers and alumni when they have gone home using English City as their base.

 

Jazz presents to Australia’s Channel 10!

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If you can’t live without the Internet, then you also can’t learn without the Internet.
E-learning just makes sense.
How does e-learning work and how to learn or offer training online?
Will e-learning fulfil your business objectives?
Jazz Quinzet will be hosting ‘Web Wednesday’ in English City in conjunction with Australia’s Channel 10 on 27th April 2011, where e-learning experts will give you some great ideas.

Find out more or book your ticket now here:

Not based on the Sunshine Coast but want access to this information? Simply log on to the livestream via our Facebook Page at (see the livestream link) streaming from 6pm Brisbane time on Wednesday 27 April.

Introducing a new partner school – SKOLA

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Languagelab is happy to announce a new partnership with SKOLA.

SKOLA has been at the forefront of education in English for over 40 years, which provides a wide range of courses to in several locations in the UK. Today SKOLA’s activities encompass general education, special educational needs, English for children from 3 years old, English language for adults, teacher training, education consultancy and an international trust for special education.

SKOLA students can enjoy great virtual online English learning experiences in English City as supplement of their classroom-based learning.  It will allow them to improve their English faster in a relaxed way by practising with qualified native speaker teachers in real time.

 

 

Introducing a new partner school – Malvern House

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It is pleased to introduce Malvern House as one of the partners of Languagelab.

Malvern House College is an independent English language college in London, which was established in 2000. Specialising in English Language courses, University Pathways and Business Diplomas, they currently teach over 6000 students a year, from over 100 countries.

In addition to learning English in the exciting place of central London, students of Malven House now can also have wonderful experiences in English City, the best place to learning English. They will learn lots of things from the fantastic virtual experience!

We’re at IATEFL in Brighton!

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Our key London-based team members will all be in Brighton on Saturday 16th, Sunday 17th and Monday 18th April. IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) is a massive industry event, and we’re all looking forward to hearing what teachers and schools from across the world have got to say

Lots of exciting things are happening at Languagelab.com, including a host of high-profile school partnerships (including Malvern House, Wimbledon School of English, UIC, LSC, Skola and GCI) and we’ve just announced the development of Market Leader Live with Pearson, which is going to take Business English learning to another level (see seperate post for details). So we’re looking forward to contributing to the discussion too!

If you’re going to be in Brighton, feel free to give us a call when you’re there. We’d love to hear from you, and we’re on twitter!

Chris Moore @mr_chrismoore +44 (0) 7943 652 811
Shiv Rajendran @shiv53 +44 (0) 7887 527 812
Jessie Driscoll @jessiedriscoll +44 (0) 7891 720 641
Marcus Allender @marcusallender +44 (0) 7500 800 69
and Nicholas Avenell will be there on Saturday @aquarion +44 (0) 7909 547990