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A Student's Story: The Gold Mine

Students were asked to write a horror story for class. Olmo, one of our higher-level students, wrote the story below, and we thought it was so good that we had to share it with you. So, if you dare to enter the mine, keep reading… A man lives near an abandoned gold mine. Local legends say that huge amounts of gold have been left there after a mine collapse. He wants to find it so he spends a large amount of time planning this venture. The mine is 1000 ft deep, the only way to access it is through a mineshaft that runs parallel to all of the levels. An old rusty mine elevator stands atop the shaft. The wind brushes against the structure, creating all kinds of high pitched metal screeches. The complex machinery is housed inside a metal shed found near the elevator structure. A friend of his is going to operate the heavy machinery, while he descends into the mine alone. He steps into rusty elevator cab, he thinks about the men that entered into the same cab, only to find their dooms. He p...
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From Learners to Teachers: A Memorable Day in Our English Class

  Hi, I’m Gianna, and I have been studying English with my teacher Raoul for two years now. Starting as a complete beginner, I passed the B1 level exam this May and am now working hard toward the B2 exam next year.   Last Thursday ’ s English class was particularly interesting, and I ’ d love to share it with you. Our teacher gave us a special task three days in advance: each student was asked to choose a topic we cared about and prepare a 40-minute mini-lesson, including vocabulary explanations, discussion questions, and the use of three different grammatical tenses. Everyone prepared earnestly, and topics varied widely-from “ The Impact of Modern Technology on People ” and “ The Use of Color and Light in Architecture ” to “ Processed Foods and Health. ” One student even introduced the famous “ trolley car problem ” from a Harvard course. Each presentation drew on the speaker ’ s own major or personal interests, sparking thoughtful discussions and lively exchanges. ...
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Finding a Language Exchange Partner in Newcastle

Improving your speaking requires practice, and one of the best ways to do that is with a language exchange partner. A language exchange is when two people from different countries get together to practice each other’s language. So, for example, if you live in Newcastle and want to practise your English, you need to find an English person that wants to practise speaking your language. The idea is that the two of you would meet up, maybe once a week, and spend 30 minutes or so speaking English and 30 minutes speaking your language. You could get together at a coffee shop, a local library and even, when you get to know each other better, each other’s houses.  Language exchanges have a number of things going for them. The obvious one is that they are free. This means that it might be possible to meet up with you partner 3 or 4 times a week. You could even have a number of different speaking partners. (Varying your partners is a good way of broadening the range of English you hear.) You...
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How to Study English By Yourself

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Improving your English takes time.  On average, it takes a full-time English student 6 months to go from one English level to the next, from elementary to lower-intermediate, for example.  For a full-time IELTS student, it usually takes 3 months to go from one band to the next.   If you are not studying full-time at an English school you will need to find time to study by yourself.  Here are some ideas to get you going: Have a plan  Having a plan is a great way to get you studying regularly.  The more specific you can be with your plan the better.   For example, you could say which exercises you are going to do or how many pages of a book you are going to read.  As well as writing your plan, take some time to prepare all the materials in advance.  You may need to bookmark certain pages in textbooks or print out materials.  Have them ready on your desk each day. Try to create a habit   You are more likely to continue s...
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Location: Durham, UK
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