Songs about London

March 11th, 2010

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For hundreds of years London has inspired singers and songwriters to make music – and to write songs about the city.  As well as traditional music hall songs there are nursery rhymes (Oranges and Lemons, London Bridge is falling down), classical music and modern rock and pop songs! The history of London with its own traditions and centuries of immigration and new influences have all added to create something quite unique. On Monday this week at the Barbican Halls in London as a part of the East exhibition about London a concert was held featuring some of London’s best known musicians singing some of the best known songs about London. You can read a review of it here on the BBC website.  The show was curated by Chris Difford who was the main songwriter in Squeeze – one of the most typically London bands; the evening was introduced by Phil Daniels who acted in Quadrophenia and joined Blur on one of their best know tracks – Parklife. Watch Squeeze here from 1979!


 

and here is Lord Kitchener singing about London – he was part of the first wave of West Indian immigrants to London after the 2nd world war and this gives you a very brief idea of the mix of styles that has given London its unique musical culture

 

The discussion about which songs best capture London has been going on for ever - the set list from Monday included:

Up the Junction (Squeeze)
Waterloo Sunsets (The Kinks)
Trams of Old London (Robyn Hitchcock)
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Judy Campbell)
A Foggy Day (Frank Sinatra)
A Rainy Night in Soho (The Pogues)
A Bus Driver’s Song (Flight of the Conchords)
Sunny Goodge Street (Donovan Leitch)
London Boys (David Bowie)

Many of these are included in Time Outs top 50 London songs - but you can also find the UIC version of the best 10 songs about London on our website – 10 songs about London. If you’re really interested in finding out more about music in London one of the most complete sources of information is Paul Du Noyer’s book – In the City.

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why are some schools very cheap and some very expensive?

March 10th, 2010

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When you’re looking around for a school where you can part with your hard earned cash (or your parents’ hard earned cash) one of the first things you will discover is that some schools are much more expensive than others. Surely, you’d think, there must be some connection between price and quality? Well, in some cases this may be the case but in other cases it just has no clear relationship. In traditional economics there is an idea that if price goes up the demand for something goes down – and the degree this happens can vary quite a lot – for example most people won’t eat or drink more if food is cheap – (although they might drink more alcohol) but they might well buy more clothes or CDs of the price drops. The way this is described technically is how ‘elastic’ the demand is.  But what the relationship between price and quality is, is much more complicated. For example no one suspects a cheap flight on Ryan air – which may cost £1 is any less safe than a similar flight from BA which might cost £300 – even if it is less comfortable. There are other safeguards to guarantee certain minimum standards of safety. But, the price of a hotel will pretty much always guarantee something – unless of course there’s a special offer! So it is not at all straightforward.

If you consider a language school – there is a minimum standard you can expect to find - this would be an accreditation by the British Council. This will guarantee teachers have certain qualifications, classrooms have only so many students in them, there are books and enough staff to provide a good service. To understand what happens next you really have to understand how a school works. Probably 30-35% of the total costs goes on teachers, the same on other staff, 20-25% on rent or premises costs and the rest on everything else! This means that if a school is very cheap it is either paying staff a small amount, in very cheap premises, doesn’t have enough staff, or has very big classes! There is really no other place to save any money. So you can find a sort of minimum – and when you find schools offering courses for £500 a year you have to draw your own conclusions. At the other end of the scale expensive schools may be paying their staff more, or may have beautiful premises or facilities or may just be making huge profits. You also have to consider competition – for example in London with dozens of schools the competition may itself force the prices down.

So, what should you look for. I’d suggest that you will not necessarily learn more in the more expensive schools. Once you understand that,  if it was me and my money then I’d visit a few – or talk to them and look at their websites and if possible talk to other students. There’s no harm in sending emails asking questions and seeing how long it takes to get an answer or whether the answer is personal and useful. I’d also talk to some agents who sell different schools if I wasn’t in England – after all it’s their business to recommend schools that students are going to be happy with. Personally I’d be looking for a school which offered good value for money but which was not too cheap. I’d want to know whether there were good computer and internet facilities and what the average class size was. I’d also want to know what the school policy was on limiting particular nationalities so I didn’t end up in a school full of people speaking the same language.

Price would just be one of the factors in me deciding where to go! 

Good luck!

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Meet the staff – summer school teachers 5

March 9th, 2010

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small 1My name is (St) Mary and I’ve been teaching with UIC Ascot Summer School for…let me count 1,2,3,4,5 Summers! Yeah, a true veteran as I am, I can share some thoughts with you on why I keep coming back there. Do you want to know why? Because no matter what the weather’s like (might be scorching, can be pouring) the atmosphere at St. Mary’s School brightens up your day for sure. It’s a golden chance to unwind and mellow out for up to 5 weeks from the daily grind of our lives, small 2when we can’t get on stage as often as we can during the assembly mornings or fabulous theatrical/musical extravaganzas on the Camp .No buts about it; It’s a chance to not only teach/learn English language 24/7 in and outside of the classroom, but also get your cultural awareness on a top level of understanding through meeting and becoming friends with people from all over the world J. Not that I can complain about the luck of colourfully spirited events in my ‘Ascot-less’ time since I’ve lived in Italy for almost 3 years now. I must say Italy leaves me sometimes jaw-dropped in wonder. small 3However, it also gives me an opportunity to evolve as a TEFL teacher, the concept of which seems to be quite a novelty here. To cut the long story short, since my Italian life makes me quite zapped sometimes, I always welcome the idea of a stress relieving, not excluding challenging job at St Mary’s Ascot Camp. So, without further ado, who wants to splash with a shower of smiles? small 4 Now, it’s time for me to say ciao, have a blooming Spring and hope to see you soon,

Mary

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Computers for learning

March 8th, 2010

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computer room

UIC has now completed the next part of our development with the opening of our new computer room. Since the school moved to Mortimer Street in 2006 we have had a room for self study with books and other resources for students to use, but became aware over a period of time that fewer and fewer students used the room for studying while the feedback we collected from students at the end of their course always commented on the number of PCs available in the school.  After consulting with students and teachers about the kinds of facilities they wanted in the school to help with learning we made some big decisions – we closed the cafeteria, and turned it into an e-learning centre which is now open, with 14 state-of-the art computers. We negotiated deals with several local cafes so you can get coffee and tea within minutes of the school for a special price if you show your UIC student card. As well as the PCs we also have wi-fi throughout the building and so it is really easy to access the Internet when you are with us.

IMG_1892The PCs are there for students to use to improve their English. All students, when enrolling with UIC, are automatically given a password which allows access to our student community. This has all sorts of information about the school, gives you access to a special area where you can study and plenty of information about the school and classmates. You can actually log in before you even arrive in the school – so can familiarise yourself with the school and your learning objectives. You might know that UIC also offers classes to British students who want to learn foreign languages and these students often want to meet foreign students in the UK to practise exchange conversations; this is all done though our student community!

IMG_1895We have found that  students who make the most of their time in London are the ones who benefit most. UIC, by adding an inclusive opportunity to use e-learning - is making this opportunity even better. As well as your class and the social programme you can now also have easy, fast and free Internet access and access to a fantastic e-learning programme. So, there is really no difficulty in using this in the school or at home and making sure that you are making the most of your time in London.

You might also find the UIC facebook pages, our flickr site and getting automatic links to the UIC blogs interesting – and helpful for your English.

So, come and see how the systems work and if you are not sure then go to the office and get your passwords, and then off you go.

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meet the staff – favourite place in London

March 5th, 2010

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If you had one hour with a  visitor to London, where would you take them?

Wendy, Director of Studies: shopping in portobello market on a sunday …… Gabi, German teacher: I would take them to St. Pauls Cathedral, we would climb up to the Golden Gallery and enjoy the view across London, afterwards we would take a walk through the Millenium Bridge ….. Mike, English teacher …. Cafe Espana in Soho and have paella ……. Monica, Spanish teacher: I guess, it depends on their age, way of life, etc…… smaller hanover squareJavier, Spanish teacher: A pub …..Sofia, Registrations: Camden ……. Brian, English teacher: The Blues bar in Soho and soak up the friendly international atmosphere (sounds like a cheesey guidebook) …… Neil, Director: The Golden Hind (a fish and chip shop) …… Yuiko, Japanese teacher: The George (a pub next to UIC) …… Martyn, English teacher: The Monument Tower …… Viviane, Student Admin: Harrods …… Dan, Principal: Borough Market …… Yeliz, Student Officer: Somerset House, its a beautiful building – lots to see in the summer and an ice rink in the winter …… Jose, Spanish teacher: Central London, main squares and Big Ben, what else? …… small oxford circusEddie, English Teacher – have a picnic on Primrose Hill ….. Naomi, English Teacher -go to St James Park, sit under a tree and read a James Herriott book, Sally, Foundation Course Manager: The pub near Ludgate Circus with the tiles …… Susie, Foreign Languages Admin: St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster …… David, Vacation Course Admin: Tour of London from London Eye across Hungerford Bridge, Charing Cross, Houses of Parliament and back to the London Eye …… David, Director: Anywhere at about 5 in the morning when it’s quiet and there are no cars ……. Claire, English Teacher – Explore the book market under Waterloo Bridge and have a coffee in the Royal Festival Hall looking out on the Thames …… Brian, English Teacher: go to the Blues bar in Soho and soak up the friendly international atmosphere (sounds like a cheesey guidebook) ….. Sonya, Admissions Manager, Soho and Carnaby Street …… Tris, English Teacher: look at the fish and reptiles at the Natural History Museum, Ahmed, Financial Manager: Wembley (the home of Enlgish football)……. Javier, Head Foreign Languages: Cocktails in the Oxo Tower on the South Bank – a great view of the river and the city …… Sheina, English Teacher: meander along the southbank people watching.staff london

Come and join us at UIC and spend some time getting to know London. As well as the classes you’ll have a chance to join in the UIC social programme and make friends from all over the world.

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World Book Day – 4 March

March 4th, 2010

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untitledToday – 4th March is World Book Day in the UK. Most other countries hold it on 23rd April, but it’s held earlier in the UK to make sure it happens in term time at schools and not in the holidays.

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK and Ireland come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day – a tradition started over 80 years ago.  World Book Day is a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all.

A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. Over the years the range of activities has been extended to cover both enthusiastic and beginning adult readers.

There are many different movements to try and encourage reading  – one of the most interesting was called Book Crossing where if you’d finished reading a book you left it somewhere where another person could pick it up and read it – on a park bench for example. Have a look at their website to get an idea of the programme – and get involved! It’s a great way to share a fantastic book and it’s also wonderful to just come across a book that a stranger has left for you. There is also a UK version of this movement called pass-the-book

For our visitors and students, there are so many places to get cheap books if you wan to find something to read – the best places are probably the charity shops (Oxfam or Cancer Research for example) where you can buy 2nd hand books for very little. If you want to find specialist bookshops then have a look at the UIC’s 10 best bookshops.

There was an interesting article in the Independent on Monday following up research which shows boys and girls in the UK read as many books as each other – but girls read more difficult books! This difference gets bigger as boys get older, with the gap between boys and girls becoming most marked between the ages of 13 and 16. The most popular author for children in the UK is Roald Dahl,  JK Rowling and Harry Potter is now 9th in the list of the most popular books for children – the study thinks this is because it’s quite difficult to read!  So while girls are reading more and more between the ages of 13 and 16 what are the boys doing? Playing computer games? learning how to play the guitar in their bedrooms?

When you are learning a second language reading is often underestimated as something helpful to do – the emphasis is often on speaking and communicating. However, think of the advantages with reading – you can go at your own speed, you will certainly be exposed to more sophisticated and interesting vocabulary than in speech, and you’ll have the pleasure of reading great books. Don’t forget newspapers and magazines as well. In General English classes at UIC we’ll certainly help you develop your reading skills – it’s not always obvious how to read well. In some of our courses – for example the University Foundation Year course we spend even more time on developing reading skills as students going onto university will certainly need to know how to read effectively. And, don’t forget on our e-learning platform you’ll be able to practise reading a variety of texts at different levels.

 

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Government control ….

March 2nd, 2010

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You might have seen some reports recently about illegal downloading, particularly of films and computer games. Many big US companies (mostly the ones who produce the films, games and music that is most often copied) are now in discussion with EU governments to try and come to some agreement over the policing of the illegal copying. There is an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being thrashed out at the moment and the main proposal is that the ISP (Internet Service Provider – the company who provide your Internet service) might be given the responsibility of monitoring Internet use and being responsible if an individual uses the iInternet for illegal downloading. They would be expected to do this by simply judging  by the size of files downloaded who is copying films for example and who is not. Of course since there is no way of telling what exactly someone is downloading – it might just be a huge file of their own movie for example – this is being described as a massively disproportionate response to the problem.

We all recognise there is a problem – and this can certainly be seen by asking teenagers or other young people whether they feel illegal downloading is problematic. The Independent quotes a recent survey where 70% of those aged 15 to 24 do not feel guilty about downloading music for free – which is of course acting illegally. So, what is the government supposed to do?

There seems to us to be a mood in the government recently of massively unproportionate responses to quite straightforward problems. They identify a problem (or they seem to find dramatic examples of what they think are problem) – and then identify a particular group in society who needs to take responsibility for this. So, for example if a particular citizen wants to download illegally it is the person who provides their Internet connection who is responsible. As Rhodri Marsden says in the Independent, ‘the absurdity of holding third parties responsible has been highlighted so many times that the parallels are almost cliches – landlords being liable for criminal activity by tenants, Royal Mail being prosecuted for delivering a threatening letter…..” It’s no surprise in some ways that the government is looking to actually find people to blame for problems – after all there is an election coming up in a couple of months.

For us at UIC a more relevant parallel, but not a less worrying one, is the way the government is expecting schools and colleges to monitor the behaviour of foreign students coming to the UK to study English. Since April last year, language schools, colleges and universities have had to sponsor students coming to study in the UK and are then responsible for monitoring them – the consequences of not doing this properly can be quite devastating. For example if a student applies to a college, gets a visa, comes to the UK but disappears … and the college reports this to the UKBA as it is required to do then that you might think that should be enough. However, if a college reports too many people not attending (and there is no number attached to this at the moment) – the college can simply have its licence suspended. No explanation required – and in January this year over 100 colleges were suspended. Many have subsequently been inspected and reinstated but unfortunately some have taken legal action against the government and won – disproportionate response! This morning (Wednesday 3 March on the day the majority of changes were introduced) at a meeting in the House of Commons which was attended by well over 100 representatives form the EFL industry as well as MPs from all the main political there was broad agreement that the measures introduced by the UKBA were completely inappropriate. The shadow Immigration minister Damian Green said it was “not so much a sledgehammer to crack a nut as a sledgehammer aimed at entirely the wrong object”.

None of us as citizens mind being responsible or helping the government put into practice any sensible workable policies. What we all object to is increasingly ‘big brother’ demands from government, civil servants developing powers where they become unaccountable – even to parliament, no honest consultation with affected parties and where developing policies – no apparent understanding of the sector they currently have in their sights.

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The first day of Spring – 1 March

March 1st, 2010

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When does Spring start?  today – 1st March, and it’s also St David’s day. As reported in the Independent today, there are 2 opinions as to when spring starts. Traditionally it has been absed on an astronomical interpretation  – and has been the spring equinox. This is the day when the day and night are the same length -  and this year this day is 20th March. However, having this date change from year to year is too confusing and so there is now general agreement that the seasons are better described by calendar months – so Spring is March, April and May, Summer is June, July and August, Autumn is September, October and November and winter is December, January and February. To us that makes much more sense and feels right!

This winter in England has been the coldest for 19 years – since 1981 and since then we have become accustomed to warmer and warmer winters and signs of spring coming earlier each year – spring flowers and blossom appearing in January or even December. Although this year feels so much colder than normal – it’s actually much more inline with the traditional weather patterns and so it might be that the last few years have been the abnormal years. However, with increasingly erratic climate changes it’s difficult to know what to thing. Anyway, today is the first day of spring, it’s light when we wake up and light when we leave work. That feels like a big change to us!

483px-St_Davids_Day_in_CardiffAnd St David’s day – what does that mean??  St David is the patron saint of Wales – this is something that has been recognised way back to a Roman times and is celebrated today – he was born in the 5th century and has been a focus of Welsh nationalish since. Every year on 1 March in Welsh communities thorughout the world there are celebrations – parties, concerts, meals and so on to recognise this – in 2003 the Empire State building was decorated in the colours of the Welsh. (see picture posted on wikipedia)

It’s also the day the Beatles recorded Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (in Abbey Road Studios) in 1967 as a response to their experiences with LSD, and also on the same day in 1967 the Queen Elizabeth Hall (a part of the South Bank Arts complex) was opened.

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Meet the staff – summer school teachers 3

February 26th, 2010

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Veronica has worked with UIC at the summer schools for two years now.

I started at UIC in the summer of a gap year between College and University. I had been offered an unconditional at a music college to train in singing, but I felt I had to gain life experience before I started my degree. UIC was by far the most rewarding aspect of the jobs I had in my GAP year, which is why I found it very easy to return to the school after my first year of a hectic degree. There was a kept promise of fantastic, lovable children and imaginative, enthusiastic staff.  Both would always keep you constantly entertained.

I worked at St Georges School in my second year and it was by all means brilliant.  smaller 006

With the children, there was nothing that you didn’t enjoy, especially where you as a leader, with no particular interest in football, turn around to loving the sport, when playing with the fantastic young Turkish ladies; or when on a day trip around London, and whilst the students are mesmerised by the historic city, you still have the Georgian boys at the back of the line, helping you keep order because they find your job so exciting. I had to agree with them. The mixture of nationalities and languages helps you realise that you aren’t the only one communicating in a foreign language. veronica jacksonAs a musician, I was allowed and encouraged, with fellow staff member and legendary pianist Darren Sheridan, to hold music sessions with the students, which was a fantastic opportunity to see how talented these kids were. You were entertained by the members of staff singing and dancing to Blue and Elton John, the Beegees and B*Witched, but the stars of the night were definitely the fantastic quality of the Nigerian students singing Gospel. I was very nervous when I had to get up and sing for everyone when I knew they were straight after me, and I’m used to competition!

This type of quality and excitement in a job is why I will be returning next year.

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Improving your English at home

February 25th, 2010

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You may have read the Blog from Wendy, the Director of Studies at UIC, posted on 5th February 2010 answering one of the questions we are most often asked by students – Why am I stuck at this level? – why can’t I improve more? Well, when you come to do an English course at UIC  we want to give you as much exposure as possible to the world around – after all that’s one of the main reasons you chose to come to London to study.

There was a lot of advice in the article – suggestions of different things you could do outside the school to help you and here we are going to  look at one of the suggestions – watching TV and listening to the Radio. British TV and radio is a very high quality and perhaps most importantly you can watch and listen to a huge variety of programmes so there is always something for you – it’s also free and most of it is available over the internet now so if you are living somewhere where you don’t have a TV or you don’t have a radio then you can still access TV and radio if you have a computer or a device which can access the Internet – a phone or an itouch for example.

How is the TV structured in the UK? There are 5 main channels – BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. You can pick up these channels on any TV – the signals are still analogue in London so you don’t need any special digital equipment. If you have a digital receiver on your TV then you can access many more channels – all completely free, for example BBC3, BBC4, ITV2, film4 and so on – there are up to 50 channels free. You can also watch many of these shows on the Internet – and with the BBC iplayer you can watch most of the programmes on BBC any time in the 7 days after they were first shown.

For students wanting to learn English this is a fantastic opportunity – high quality TV, any time you want to watch, no adverts, ability to watch in small sections and so on and so on – it is really fantastic and a great addition supplement to the work you are doing in classes at UIC.

 Wendy especially recommends watching soap operas and the news! If you like soap operas, ask your host family to recommend a good one and to tell you the story! The best known soap operas in the UK are Eastenders (on the BBC)  and Coronation Street (on ITV) as well as others from around the world like Neighbours. If you look at the websites for the soap operas you can find out the story lines and information about the characters – another good opportunity to practice your English – reading this time.

Wendy also recommends listening to the radio – BBC Radio 4 or Radio 5 Live are talk radio stations with lots of discussions and there are dozens of music stations as well – BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio3 (for classical music) plus some of the better known London stations – Absolute, Capital and Kiss. You can easily find the frequency of these stations and they are all also available as digital broadcasts. What’s more … the BBC stations can all be accessed on the iplayer and most fo the stations are on internet radio!

There is no excuse for not doing a bit of private practice!

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