Tag: Cambridge

Idioms for exam success

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Forget long lists of vocabulary. Unless you repeatedly use them, they go in one ear and out the other. Choose idioms you can repeat for different topics.

B1: https://www.facebook.com/groups/442986077128945

B2: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3929018337151517

C1 https://www.facebook.com/groups/235717371635565

C2 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1400521620283760

England are through to the semi-finals

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It wasn´t a dream, it wasn´t a hallucination: the England football club are through to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.  It´s a huge effort, it´s an enormous achievement, and considering that last time this happened was in 1990, I have every right to feel dizzy with excitement and hope for a stunning semi-final victory.

I watched the match with a group of young English lads who were fresh-faced, just out of high-school, and innocent of the years of heartache that the majority of English football fans have experienced over the last three decades.  They truly believed that England could do it.  I, on the other hand, willed myself to quash the stomach-wrenching feeling that England would, once again, under-perform.

So, the fear of defeat is broken, and I thank every single one of those lads who helped me to ride the exhilarating wave of football emotion. Come on England!

Trinity ISE II B2 Exam Success: Congratulations Manuel and Juan

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There are 1000 of reasons to learn a language, and just as many reason to give up. However, what impresses me the most about people who learn a second language is their ability to open my brain and show me the world from a different perspective.

Manuel and Juan, congratulations on your achievements; you are amazing. So, throw caution to the wind and go mental this week, you deserve to let your hair down and do some disco dancing. I am chuffed to bits for you both!

So, what do Inglés Málaga clients say about us? Well, read a few testimonials and you´ll get a good idea.

For more information about English courses, please do not hesitate to email us

The pros and cons of some jobs

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Jobs for StudentsImagine you are a careers adviser and you are talking to a group of students about getting work during their free time.

First, talk about the advantages and disadvantages of these jobs. Then decide which two jobs would be the best for students.

Here are some ideas to help you:

  1. Salary: Badly paid, well paid
  2. Role: Opportunity to practise foreign languages, develop new skills and abilities
  3. Type of job – skills and knowledge required: Low skilled work, technical job, strong communication skills, great interpersonal skills,
  4. Working Conditions: temporary contract, flexible working hours, unsociable working hours, no sick pay, great holiday allowance,
  5. Type of person required: Ability to work under pressure, adaptable, creative, a people person,  flexible, ability to work as part of team, ability to work independently, inventive, physically fit, strong emotional intelligence
  6. Additional: Challenging, boring, interesting, rewarding, educational, stressful, physically demanding, monotonous, wide variety of daily tasks

If you are interested in the topic of work, jobs and employment, why not check out the Work and Jobs section of this website.

EOI English B2-1 Exam Success: Congratulations Inma

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Like most people Inma had butterflies in her stomach before taking her EOI exams.  She worked extremely hard to prepare for her exams and coped really well under a lot pressure.  She, intelligently, ignored my advice to take non-legal drugs before the exam, and passed with flying colours.  Inma took the bull by the horns, faced her fears, and truthfully, deserved to pass.

Achieving your goals is never easy, it takes a lot of hard work, discipline, self-study, dedication and determination.  Achieving things, however big or small, should always be celebrated and congratulated. Well done Inma – you are awesome! I am chuffed to bits for you!

So, what do Inglés Málaga clients say about us? Well, read a few testimonials and you´ll get a good idea.

For more information about English courses, email Janette

The plastic bank

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A good job stimulates the brain, challenges preconceptions, nurtures curiosity and encourages ambition and excellence.  Luckily for me, I have this.  Clients at Inglés Málaga are a talent bank; they come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and represent a broad variety of professions, trades and sectors.  However, they have two things in common, the first is that they are improving their English level; the second is that they teach me something every day.

Last week Paco, a high school maths teacher, (and an amazing illustrator) taught me the idea of monetising plastic waste.  He explained this complex idea really well, and I was over the moon with his use of advanced level English to persuade me of the merits to this idea. But after his class I thought: ‘’OK, but how would it work practically?’’ So, I started checking it out on the Internet and came across an organisation called The Plastic Bank which does this already. So, why not improve your English and stimulate your brain by listening to the CEO and founder of The Plastic Bank on his Ted Talks presentation: What if you could change plastic trash into cash?

The presentation is in English, and you can use the English transcript to improve word recognition and listening comprehension.   In addition, if you are a teacher, you could easily use this organisation in your classes to teach children mathematical concepts and economic theory.

You could also be inspired by two teenage girls who set up a campaign to ban plastic bags from the beautiful Indonesian island of Bali if you listen to their Ted Talks presentation: ”Our campaign to ban plastic bags from Bali”

So Paco, thank you; you have successfully challenged my preconceptions about recycling and plastic waste, and, demonstrated a level of English that many native English speakers would be envious of, well done! I´m also going to change the way I recycle, and ban plastic bags from my personal shopping.  You are a change maker!

And now my mind is on The Regional Government of Andalusia: I wonder, how can we encourage them to buy the cities´ plastic waste and convert it into credit for education, training and professional development? Come on La Junta, it´s time to put your tick box lists down the toilet, sack all the sycophantic bureaucrats, and start to really listen to the talent bank that you have walking on the streets of Málaga every day.  Furthermore, which one of you ego-centric government officials doesn´t want a legacy; go on, stand out from the crowd and do something inspirational.

I want a good job!

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Factors important in a job

I want a good job?

OK, but seriously, who wants to have a bad job?! So, with this in mind, what does it mean to have a good job?  Have you ever considered what makes a good job? Is it more than just the salary and the holiday allowance?
From this list of key factors, how would you rate their level of importance? You might want to consider:

  1. Which three aspects are the most important for you, and why?
  2. Whether your thoughts have changed from when you were younger?
  3. Whether you think they will change when you are older?

What´s the job?

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Essential qualifications and experience  

  1. IT and digital skills, including Outlook and Word;
  2. Strong interpersonal and customer focus skills;
  3. Ability to work in a team;
  4. Initiative and the ability to organise and prioritise own workload;
  5. Creativity and ability to come up with new, innovative ideas;
  6. Adaptability under pressure;
  7. Good communications skills (written and oral);
  8. Ability to grasp complex issues quickly and communicate them simply and effectively;
  9. Fluent written and spoken English;

Desirable qualifications and experience  

  1. Experience in communications, including communications campaigns;
  2. Experience and/or interest in International Relations;
  3. IT and digital skills in social media;
  4. Programme management.

Happy 2018 Inglés Málaga!

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2017 has been a brilliant year for the Inglés Málaga community.

Incredibly, we represent 173 countries, of which, I am ashamed to say, that until this year, I hadn’t heard of some of them. We have been viewed over 83,000 times and have attracted over 50,000 hits from Spain.

Clients of Málaga Inglés are, without a shadow of a doubt, remarkable people. They are remarkable because they use the acquisition of language to improve their personal and professional lives, as well as the lives of others. Inglés Málaga clients are helping to create a culture which nurtures curiosity, relishes diversity, and encourages debate, dialogue and new ways of thinking. Inglés Málaga clients have achieved a lot in 2017, and they stand out from the crowd because they build bridges while others build walls.

It is an honour and a privilege that you choose to share a piece of your life with me. So, are we ready for a healthy, happy and successful 2018? Yes, we are! I´ll see you when you get over your hangover.