And our competition winner is..

Congratulations to Tasha who is the winner of our student writing competition for February.

All the girls are swooning over this letter to the one he loves..

Learning English with self-study websites part two

IH London teacher Caroline's Study Skills class have been looking at the best website for English self-study. Their latest reviews are about TED.

Have you ever heard about TED? I never hesitate for choosing TED.com as the best English learning website.  This website is for everybody who uses English as a mother tongue or a second language. It is a non-profit website which spreads information about every sort of subject. 

IH London makes a song and dance for Children in Need

During November students and teachers at IH London raised money for Children in Need.
 
The fun started with a charity bakesale and ended with the fantastic IH's Got Talent show - with lots of raffles and games inbetween! These events raised £1308.79 for Children in Need - the amount was doubled by IH London to £2617.58. Check out our photos and videos below for some of the highlights.

Fun at the Bakesake

IH London teacher Chris poses with the fantastic Children in Need cakes. The perfect combination - eating cakes and raising money for charity!

Learning English with self-study websites

Many students learning English at IH London also spend time after class improving their language skills. This month, we're sharing some reviews of the best websites for self-study all written by teacher Caroline's Study Skills class.

Let's start with their guide to self-study resources from the BBC.

BBC Learning English website

BBC Learning English is a site dedicated to teaching English language on line. The site is for all people that want improve their English without traditional methods. There are a lot of positive aspects about this kind of self-study.

Update from the Hackney Migrant Centre

The International House Trust supports the Hackney Migrant Centre by providing an English teacher to run lessons at the Centre. The Centre is a charity which provides a weekly drop in session for refugees and other migrants offering legal aid and health advice, a free meal and an inclusive, sociable meeting place. 

Ben Darby, a teacher from IH London who runs these classes, has been blogging about some of the differences between his teaching at IH London and at the Hackney Migrant Centre.

In his latest post, Ben discusses the growth of classes at the centre and new opportunities to students to take formal tests.

The Centre's new two hour class on Friday afternoons, running in addition to the Wednesday class, has been running since February 2011. At first the class focused more on literacy and initially had a lower attendance rate than Wednesdays but numbers have steadily risen and the class is currently geared towards OCR English tests. The Wednesday class is often full to capacity (13 students) and the Hackney Migrant Centre has seen an increase in the number of people using its services. This is partly because the reputation of the centre has spread through word of mouth and is also due to government cuts beginning to bite. For example, free ESOL lessons at F.E. colleges are no longer available and several organisations offering legal advice to migrants have folded due to lack of funding.

Lessons on Wednesday focus on language which the students can use in practical situations. Many of them want to get a UK driving license but are struggling with the theory exam so we’ve practised the vocabulary of driving. I’ve introduced grammar presentations to these lessons because ESOL materials, such as Skills for Life, offer little explanation of how grammar is structured. This increased emphasis on structure has gone down well.

In feedback students said they would like to take formal tests which awarded certificates they could show the Home Office so we decided to start running OCR tests on Friday afternoons. OCR is the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA examining board and the test is in three parts; speaking, reading and writing. We started with the level one speaking test and all the candidates passed. These tests are accredited by Crisis, another charity which IH supports. This was arranged by Jagtar Behal of Crisis and I am very grateful for all his support and advice.

Plans for the future are to continue running the Wednesday drop in English class and to use Fridays for lessons which are oriented towards the OCR Esol tests.

Meet the ih-hi magazine team

Some of our English language students - and their teacher Caroline - have launched ih-hi a new student magazine for IH London. All the articles are written by students from study advice to tips on places to see in London to horoscopes.

Watch this space for an online edition of the first issue of ih-hi and details of how IH London English language students can get involved.

For now check out this great video for an introduction to the magazine team:

Meeting the challenge of teaching English to speakers of other languages

The International House Trust has been supporting the Hackney Migrant Centre by providing an English teacher to run lessons at the Centre. The Centre is a charity which provides a weekly drop in session for refugees and other migrants offering legal aid and health advice, a free meal and an inclusive, sociable meeting place.

Ben Darby, a teacher from IH London who runs these classes, has been blogging about some of the differences between his teaching at IH London and at the Hackney Migrant Centre.

Since Ben's last post at the beginning of the year, a further class on Friday afternoons has been established and he's been discovering just how different teaching ESOL can be to his other work.

"At IH London I teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). These classes are for paying, well-educated students and there are many course books available. At the Migrant Centre I teach English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL). These classes are for migrants who are trying to settle in Britain. The students are often poor and under-educated. Some have problems reading and writing in their own languages. But these aren’t the only differences between classes at IH and Hackney. As I’ve been discovering, there are far fewer teaching materials available for ESOL. I’ve been using a course designed by the government called Skills for Life. It is very different to EFL course books. For example, there isn’t so much text on each page so it isn’t overwhelming for students with low levels of literacy. The focus is on practical everyday English more than on grammar and the topics covered are more appropriate to the students and avoid the emphasis on Western, middle class lifestyles which is so common in EFL course books.

We’ve covered the first level of Skills for Life. But the students at the Migrant Centre aren’t ready for Level 2 yet. So I needed to find out more about developing ESOL teaching materials. Last month I visited Crisis, another charity which IH is supporting, and spoke to some of their ESOL teachers. They showed me ways of adapting EFL course books and of reformulating Skills for Life resources and they stressed the importance of responding to the students in a flexible and improvisational way. I have also been using a revamped version of a Skills for Life unit, which my colleague Jacqueline McKewan produced as part of her MA in Linguistics. I have also had help from classroom assistants, volunteers from the centre, who give weaker students extra support, particularly with literacy issues.

So, teaching ESOL in Hackney is very different to EFL classes at IH. Sometimes it feels a bit like having to re-invent the wheel each time I prepare a lesson, but it is an interesting challenge and one which has made me rethink the way I teach lower levels at IH. Do EFL students benefit from such text-heavy course books, for example?

The students continue to be keen and supportive of one another and it is a pleasure working with them. At a time when ESOL classes are under threat from government cuts it is good that the HMC and IH are able to continue to provide these lessons. The next objective is to try to increase the class size, particularly the new Friday lesson which tends to have lower attendance. I’ll keep you informed of our progress."

Get resources about English for speakers of other languages and Skills for Life and find out how you can access ESOL services near you.

Empowering English language learners at the Crisis Graduation Ceremony

This week IH London teacher and trainer David Riddell attended the student graduation ceremony at Crisis.

Crisis is a homeless charity that we work closely with to provide English lessons for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The International House Trust sponsors a teacher to work at Crisis to help improve the students’ English speaking and writing skills, as well as their confidence.

The graduation ceremony at Crisis is a regular event to recognise the students’ achievement in a range of different courses. David reports here on the graduation ceremony experience:

“It was my great pleasure to once again attend the Graduation ceremony at Crisis, and to once again experience the amazing atmosphere that exists on these occasions.

One by one, students received certificates for their work in a multitude of courses offered. As well as ESOL, the centre offers Maths Through Cooking, Hat Making, Strictly Skylight, Beginners Guitar and a host of other courses.

It was a joy to see the look on people’s faces as they received their certificates – such pride and achievement, and gratitude, too, for being able to not only study in such an environment, but also to feel part of the Crisis family. There is the overwhelming feeling of the Crisis centre being like a family home with great love and support evident everywhere you look.

There were inspirational testimonies of achievement from students, and humbling life stories. We heard from one person receiving a special recognition certificate after her studies led to her starting her own business selling Ethiopian bread!

We witnessed a fantastic dance display from Strictly Skylight which would surely even have got a ‘10’ from Craig Revel-Horwood! And the whole audience joined in singing a special song for the occasion.

It was good to meet Jagtar and Liam, the IH London teachers working at Crisis, and to hear about their projects. As well as the ESOL courses that Liam runs, Jagtar teaches a range of courses including a women-only IELTS course, and a Literacy and Cultural Affairs course.

Above all, though, I noticed the pride not only in the faces and speeches of students, but also in the faces and speeches of staff members. The commitment and dedication of staff is obvious, as is the joy they share with their students when achievement is recognised. For them this not just ‘a job’ it is part of their life.

Crisis is hugely appreciative of the support they receive from IHL, but we at IHL are also deeply grateful to be part of the work they do and we look forward to many more years’ collaboration.”

Ben Darby, IH London’s English teacher who is currently working at Hackney Migrant Centre, gives us his first update of the New Year.

“In my last post I mentioned that the students in the English class at the Hackney Migrant Centre were very keen to have more lessons. So it’s great news that from this Friday - with the support of International House - the Centre will open an additional class. This will be an extension of the Wednesday lesson, open to the same students and building on the same syllabus.

The English class will take place in the same venue, St Mary’s Church. It will be a little different from Wednesdays as there won’t be the other services that the Centre usually offers (legal and health advice, as well as lunch provided by local business). This has one advantage in that we will have more rooms available and so will be able to use a more comfortable (and warmer!) space than the room above the vestry.

By doubling the provision of English classes we hope that the students will be able to make faster progress on the ‘Skills for Life’ syllabus. ‘Skills for Life’ is a literacy project organised by the government which produces teaching materials suitable for the needs of migrants settling in the UK. The students have now successfully progressed to the second level of this course. So, all in all, a good start to the year at the Hackney Migrant Centre.”

Read more about English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and find out how you can access ESOL services.

Teaching English at the Hackney Migrant Centre

As well as funding Jagtar's teaching position at homeless charity Crisis, the International House Trust also supports the Hackney Migrant Centre in East London. Here IH London teacher Ben Darby is busy teaching English to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

Read Ben's first update from the Centre to find out what he's been doing and the important role the Hackney Migrant Centre plays in the community:

"I teach English at International House London. Since September I have also been teaching English at one of the charities which International House is helping to support; the Hackney Migrant Centre.

The Migrant Centre is a charity that runs a weekly 'drop-in' for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. It is based at St Mary’s Church by Clissold Park in Stoke Newington on Wednesday afternoons.

It is an inspiring project. Staffed mostly by volunteers it offers excellent support services and a welcoming and sociable environment. Legal advisors help with immigration, welfare and housing problems. Lunch is cooked with food donated by local businesses. The centre is unique in Hackney as it offers these services to all migrants, regardless of nationality or immigration status.

The centre has been running since 2008 and in 2010 International House offered their support. In June 2010 International House started providing teachers to the centre, enabling them to run a two-hour English class every Wednesday.

English lessons are held in a room above the vestry, with the church windows as a backdrop. There are basic facilities: a portable whiteboard and a CD player. The class size averages ten.

The majority of the students are African, mostly from Eritrea. Many are refugees, not all of them have been granted leave to remain in the UK, and some have been homeless. We focus on practical, day to day language. Recently we’ve been looking at topics related to transport, for example asking for information about buses or trains, vocabulary for topping up an Oyster card, and how to ask for directions.

There’s a lot of role play and because some of the students have difficulty with written English we’ve practised tasks such as composing an email and filling in forms. The students are co-operative and very supportive of one another. They have said that they are keen to have more English lessons. International House and the Hackney Migrant Centre are currently looking for ways to try to increase the amount of English classes."

- Ben Darby

Look out for more news from Ben at the Hackney Migrant Centre in 2011.

Christmas-time at Crisis

Last week at Crisis we had our members’ Christmas party which was a great success! The party-goers were participants at The Learning Zone, which Veena described in her last post, as well as other members who access Crisis’ services in London.

Christmas at Crisis is a very busy time when we pool all our resources to give the best Christmas experience for people who are currently or have previously been homeless. Christmas is traditionally the time you spend with your family, and for our members it can be particularly distressing as many do not have this.

For the party we had a cross-cultural Christmas quiz, mince pies, dinner and most importantly – karaoke! Music has a special place in my heart and our members loved having a sing song in front of each other. Music has a special quality to transcend language and cultural barriers and it was a great opportunity for our members to express themselves.

One especially beautiful moment was when the whole group joined in to sing Happy Christmas, War is Over. There were so many cultural groups there but for those three minutes we were as one.

So have a brilliant Christmas from all of us at Crisis and here’s hoping for a great 2011.

- Jagtar Behal

English Teaching at Crisis: What's it all about?

Veena Torchia is a Senior Tutor in the ESOL department at homeless charity Crisis. ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. This is the programme that IH London teacher Jagtar is currently helping out with.

Here Veena tells us more about English teaching at Crisis, IH London's involvement, and the difference English language lessons can make to homeless people.

"The Learning Zone Skylight at Crisis is a bit like a 'mini college'. It offers homeless people accredited courses in a range of different subjects including ESOL, Literacy, Numeracy, Health and Safety, Food Safety, IT and Bookkeeping. We also have an English Club for learners who prefer more hands-on teaching methods.

Our English language learners come from all over the world and we work with refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers who are all at risk of homelessness.

Activities for ESOL learners
During the ESOL course we go on trips and attend workshops at places like the Tower of London, the Wallace Collection, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace, the British Museum and the British Library. We are sometimes invited to exhibition previews at the British Museum: last term we saw the Ancient Egyptians' Book of the Dead.

Graduating in style
Each term finishes with a graduation ceremony where we celebrate our students' success and present them with certificates. There are also opportunities for students to showcase their work over the term, for example films, poetry, readings, songs and displays. Trustees, partners and ministers all come to the graduation ceremonies. The next one is on 17 March 2011.

IH London's English teachers
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the CEO of IH Trust, Steve Brent, and his wonderful trustees for their support and assistance in the delivery of ESOL. So far we have been helped by two full time IH London English teachers; Jemima and Jagtar.

Jemima and Jagtar have taught a wide range of ESOL students from beginner through to those ready to take their IELTS test. Their innovative teaching methods are really effective - for example - using music and film in their lessons. This has made their classes engaging and enjoyable and always well attended! We have gained a lot from their EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching methods, and they have developed their experience and skills in working with vulnerable people."

-Veena Torchia, Senior ESOL Tutor at Crisis

Update from Jagtar's ESOL class at Crisis

This has been the last week of the Making an ESOL Musical course and I’m really happy with how well it has gone. (ESOL stands for English for speakers of other languages). I’m particularly pleased because it's the first time I have taught a class with a wide-range of student levels.

The students’ levels ranged from Pre-intermediate through to Upper-intermediate so managing that within a classroom has been especially rewarding for me during this course.

The reason we have mixed-ability groups is because we only have the resources to run one class at a time. I had to take this into consideration when I was writing the course. Luckily my teaching experience allows me to create courses for mixed abilities (although there is always room for improvement!)

This week I called in at International House London to give a presentation to the teachers about the work I am doing at Crisis. I also highlighted some of the challenges that we face working with people who are homeless or have experienced homelessness. This is a good insight for my colleagues: they are either interested in this type of teaching or put off by it!

Next time I'll tell you more about the Crisis Christmas party, which is a great opportunity for us all to relax before the build up to Christmas and all that we do during this time.

- Jagtar Behal

Survival Guides Part 5... The Answers !

This will sadly be the very last part of the Survival Guides presented by the students in Felicity’s High Skills Class. This week we will only announce the answers from Hanan and Monica.
We hope that you have enjoyed and learned just as much as we have during these weeks. Many of the tips and advice certainly have made me smile.
The tension is building up, so, we will not keep you waiting any longer…

The country that Hanan was talking about a couple of weeks ago was Saudi Arabia.
When visiting Saudi you should make sure that you dress properly, do not get offended when someone leaves you to wait for them for 2 hours, or when someone is jumping the queue. According to Hanan it is not due to lack of respect, it’s just the way the people are. We choose to call it cultural differences.

When visiting Monica’s home country of Switzerland, you should on the other hand be bang on time! Do not try to bribe a policeman. If you do not want to end up in a jail that is. When you see a famous person, like Boris Becker, pretend you haven't seen them, even if you would love to have their autograph. He most likely wants to be left alone…

So this will be the end of these exciting weeks of Survival Guides from Felicity’s students when visiting their countries.

Do not forget to visit our blog soon to see what exciting news or tips we will give you!

Survival Guides Part 4 - The answers

This will be the final week for the students in Felicity’s Study Skills High Class to give us some tips when visiting their countries.

Last week Laurence and Balazs gave us some excellent advices when visiting their countries.

In the first country you should be careful when crossing a street, not say pleeeeeaaaase to much and quiet frankly, speak your mind. Laurence is French so congratulations to all of you who guessed… France!

The second person to give you some warnings and advices last week was Balazs.
Balazs is from Hungary and when visiting his country you should make sure that you arrive on time and also are aware of your drinking habits when stepping outside.

Survival Guides- Part 4

In our very last Survival Guides; Hanan and Monica will give you some valuable information when visiting their countries.

Country 1

1. When you go to this country. You must look suitably dressed, because females are required to cover there bodies and hair. So it is unlikely to see a women walking around in a bikini over there.

2. In this country you shouldn’t feel offended if someone is late for your appointment by more than two hours, or if someone jumps in front of you in a queue, it is not a sign of disrespect, it is just our way of doing things.

3. It is always advisable to put sun cream on before going outside even if it is just for a short period of time. You should be aware of the damage the sun might cause to your skin.

4. It is common to see a fight among a group of friends after they have had dinner in a restaurant. No need to worry, it is only a sign of generosity, everyone is insisting on paying the bill.

5. The ability to speak a little bit of our language is considered essential as English is not widely spoken. Otherwise you are going to end up very lost and confused.

Country 2

1. In my country it’s very unlikely that anyone will offer anyone a bribe, especially not to a policeman. If you do you will probably end up in a jail.

2. For all formal meetings it is considered essential to be bang on time if you want to maintain good business relations. In the event that you arrive late make sure you look suitably apologetic and embarrassed.

3. Even if a person is well known we respect he wants to cherish his privacy and always keep a distance. Very famous people like Boris Becker and Michael Schumacher like it that we are not overtly friendly and leave them in peace.

4. If people call you by your last name don’t feel offended, we always try to use the polite form. Only family members and good friends use informal language with each other.

So make sure that you read our blog next week to find out which country you cannot walk around wearing a bikini in, and where it’s bad idea to bribe a policeman. Just in case you were thinking of it…

Survival Guides- Part 3

For the past 2 weeks the students in Felicity’s Study Skills High class have been giving us tips and advice on what to do when visiting their countries.

Last week we learned how to survive when visiting Alexey’s and Louise’s countries.

The first country we asked you to take a guess on was Louise’s. In this country you have to be careful in the underground, dress well when going to a restaurant, and eat with manners! Guidelines well worth knowing when visiting… Belgium

The second country is Russia. When travelling around in Alexey’s country you have to avoid the temptation of gambling with strangers. It does get freeeeeeezing cold in the winter, so dress warmly and bring a little hip flask filled with vodka with you. Just to keep you warm.

So what will we be learning from Laurence and Balazs this week, in the third and final part of our survival guides?

Country 1

1. In this country, you shouldn’t “beat around the bush”, just speak your mind, and get to the point.

2. Because of the frankness of this country, it’s not the height of rudeness if your teacher or your boss tells you what they really think about your work. For example, if your boss or teacher doesn’t like your work, they will tell you straight to your face.

3. Politeness: Don’t put five pleases in a sentence, it’s annoying for them, and it’s too much. Just make sure you say ‘please’ at least once.

4. In this country, people drive on the right, so be careful. They will slow down if they see you crossing the street, but be careful with that too.

5. In this country, people do believe in equality, at school and on the street, you shouldn’t show how much money you have, or that you are from an upper class. It will work against you.

Country 2

1. In this country, if you are a guest, they will make you several itineraries, and entertain you, while you are staying at their place.

2. In this country drinking alcohol is banned on the streets. Policeman might arrest you if they see you drinking alcohol outside.

3. Policeman on the streets might ask for your ID, don’t be afraid it’s for public safety, so you should always have your ID with you.

4. You should always arrive on time. They don’t really tolerate it when people arrive late. It’s the height of rudeness.

5. Be careful when crossing the street. People are always in a hurry, and they might not slow down if they see you crossing the street. They can get really angry if they have to slow down just because of you.

So, in both these countries you have to be careful in the traffic, especially when crossing a street, otherwise you might end up getting hurt. Furthermore, do not get offended when people speak their mind in country number one. It will happen, sooner or later.

Can you tell which countries the students are describing?

Don't forget to check back next week for the answers!

Survival guides- Part Two. The answers

In August, Felicity's Study Skills High class wrote Survival Guides for their home countries.

Let us introduce the students to you in Felicity’s class: Costanza, Rakhima, Hanan, Monika, Alexey N, Louise, Laurence, Balazs, Tura, Donatella and Lino.

In last weeks Survival guides we asked you to guess what countries Tura and Donatella were talking about. Were you able to use your analytical skills?

The first person to describe her home country was Tura and the correct answer is SPAIN. Congratulations to Anonymous who posted a comment on our blog!

The second country that was described was Donatella’s. Now you know what to do and not do, when you are visiting… ITALY!
Anonymous did not get this one right, though, as they opted for Turkey.

Survival guides- Part 2

This week we asked Alexey and Louise what you should think of when you are visiting their countries;

Country one

1. We consider it the height of rudeness to eat without manners. You can’t put your elbows on the table and you have to keep your arms close to your body. It is impolite to block your neighbors view with your arms. You should never show your impatience, you have to wait for everybody to be served before you start eating. Finally, it goes without saying, you have to eat with your mouth closed.

2. It is common to have to pay to use the toilet wherever you go. There is always a cleaning lady whom you have to pay 50 cents. It is like this in cinemas, bars, restaurants, clubs etc…

3. My country is divided into two parts. There have always been problems between the two sides. Most people are okay with it, but late at night people from either side sometimes cause trouble for each other. It is like this because both sides are culturally very different. Both sides must not feel offended if they don’t want to get in trouble, and you should walk away if you see anything starting.

4. If you want to go to a restaurant in the centre of the capital, you must be careful. There are streets full of the same types of restaurants with maître d's who give you a lot of compliments.(okay that is nice) but that doesn’t mean their food is good. So it is always advisable to look in a guide book before you find your way. And you should also watch out for your clothing when you got to restaurants, bars or clubs. Some of them are very formal and you can’t get in if you are not dressed for it.

5. Last but not least, surviving in the subway. The underground is extremely dangerous at night. Some neighborhoods downtown have gangs and, if you would like to keep on living and keep your belongings, it would be better not to cross their paths. You would do much better to take a taxi when it’s too late. Taxis are not really expensive, although they start with a €4,50 minimum.

Which country are they describing?

Country 2

1. So that you don’t die just after your arrival, please keep your eyes open and watch your personal belongings while you are in places like the airport or railway stations. Pick pockets are common in this country so make sure you pay attention when out in public.
What is also common is gambling. A stranger may suggest you playing a card game or whatever. Don’t ever agree to gamble with strangers if you don’t want to lose everything you have.

2. Another thing that might kill you here is the weather. It’s freezing cold in winters and amazingly hot in summers in some areas. So, don’t forget to take some warm clothes in winter or a sun block cream in summer for some areas.

3. Due to the aforementioned weather, people often drink vodka to warm them up in the cold winters. This is the most common alcohol in this country. But be aware of fakes, some of them aren’t safe and as a consequence you could die.

4. An important cultural difference to mention is the driving style. Cutting someone up on the road is not the height of rudeness, in fact, it’s really widespread. Also, people don’t mind showing their impatience in heavy traffic by honking their horns and shouting out of their windows.

5. Another thing is people’s privacy. While people in my country are quite open, at the same time they cherish their privacy and stereotypes. Sometimes personal code is much more important then law. For example, some people don’t mind parking in places where it is forbidden just because they want to. The other thing which really ‘differs’ us from Brits is the lack of hedging, we prefer to speak our minds, and we get straight to the point without “beating around the bush” too much. It irritates most people in my country.

Which country are they describing?

So what we learned this week is that it is important to have good manners, be polite, keep an eye on your belongings, and drink vodka in cold weather.

Don't forget to look for the answers on next weeks blog!

Students enjoy an 'ace' day out at Wimbledon

IH London runs a busy Social Programme for our English language students. There are events nearly every evening and weekend - from theatre trips to football games, and cream teas to club nights.

This week we slapped on our sun cream and went to Wimbledon to see the world’s most famous lawn tennis tournament....

Pamela decided that she really didn’t understand the British fascination with “queuing”. Once inside the grounds, everyone took a rest on Murray Mound (formerly Henman Hill) to watch Venus Williams go crashing out on Court Number 1 on the giant screen, which was a big shock.

Most students then decided to do some more queuing at the ticket re-sale to get tickets for the main show courts. Laura and Federik went to Centre Court, where they saw the Byran brothers play.

Meanwhile most of the others opted for Court Numer 2 to see Ana Kournikova (Esteban didn’t mind missing Spain against Portugal in the World Cup as he got to see Ana in the flesh) and Martina Hingis in doubles action against two British players. Unfortunately, the British players didn’t have much of a chance. Afterwards, Neval had her cap signed by the players.

Next, everyone did a spot of shopping in the Wimbledon shop and bought some souvenirs to take back home. Margot bought a giant sized tennis ball as a present for her brother.

Mia tried some strawberries and decided to wash them down with some Pimms. Finally, after a good day out, everyone went back home contented.

Taking Chances

It's time for a new class and a new task! At the moment, Felicity is teaching a pre-advanced English class. Say hello to the students:

Malak, Khalood and Mohammed from Saudi Arabia
Flavia from Italy
Mahsa from Iran
Wook, Chris and Jungwoo from South Korea
Palm from Thailand

Felicity and her class have been looking at how to survive in dangerous situations. The language they looked at was to do with chances. For example:

"you don't have a cat in hell's chance"
"you've got a good chance"
"you've got a 50-50 chance"

They also looked at the more functional language you'd use to judge how risky a situation might be. For example:

"it's a good idea to..."
"it's not a clever idea to..."
"it's a bad idea to..."
"don't even think about doing..."

After practising this language for a couple of days, the class had to think of a dangerous situation and describe it in writing. The piece of writing had to set the scene and give three options for survival.

The class then read each others writing and chose what they thought was the best option for survival. Finally the story writer revealed which was the correct option and why.

****************************************************************************

See if you can work out the correct answer to Khalood and Wook's scenario below:

You are on the way home crossing the desert with your family; you have lost your way, and direction. Your GPS satellite navigation doesn’t work properly also you don’t have any food and you have only a small amount of water.

Do you -

1. Stay in the car and wait in a shady shelter where you can avoid the sunshine and drink all of your water as quickly as possible.
2. Leave the car and search for some help.
3. Sit in the shade of the car and drink your water slowly.

********************************************************************************

Now have a look at Jungwoo and Malak's scenario:

You’re a father or mother of 3 children, you’re on a big ship with 500 people, the ship is heading directly for a huge iceberg and the ship is about to crash into the iceberg and there are only three escape boats which can only carry a maximum of 100 people.

Do you -

1. Just stay calm where you were and wait for a security guard to rescue you.
2. Wait in a line in order to get on an escape boat.
3. Use your Louis Vuitton bag to float on the water and wait for rescue.

In both cases, what would you do....?