Word Forming

I’ve recently had the pleasure of preparing a highly-motivated class of 9 for the BEC Vantage exam which they took on Saturday 29th May (fingers crossed they’ll all pass!) This is a Cambridge business exam for upper-intermediate students and is the same level as the FCE (Cambridge First Certificate) however, in my opinion it’s slightly harder as you must have a good range of business vocabulary. One of the things that helped my class with this is exam was learning how to form words in English and so I thought that this may help you with your English too. My advice is to learn the main prefixes and suffixes that we use in English and then practise word building by adding them to the ‘base’ form of the word. Why learn one word when you can learn 4 instead?!

So what is a prefix?

Prefixes are at the beginning of word and they often change the meaning of the word. Here is a list of some common prefixes and what they mean:

Anti - against e.g. anti-war
Co - with e.g. coordinate
Dis, in, il, im, ir, un - opposite or not, e.g. discomfort, indirect, impractical, irregular,
unimportant
Ex - former
Mis - badly or wrongly e.g. misbehave
Re - again e.g. reread

So what is a suffix?

Suffixes are at the end of the word and they change the form of a word and these endings show us which are nouns, verbs, adjective and adverbs. Here is a list of some common suffixes and what they mean:

Able, al, ant, ent, ful, ible, ic, ical, ive, less, ous - adjectives e.g. profitable, vital, tolerant, excellent, successful, feasible, artistic, musical, creative, hopeless, fabulous

Ance, ee, ence, er, hood, ism, ist, ity, ment, ness, sion, tion, ship, - nouns e.g. ignorance, employee, independence, employer, neighbourhood, Buddhism, vitality, employment, fitness, decision, induction, friendship

Ify, ise - verbs e.g. intensify, criticise

Ably, ibly, ily, ly - adverbs e.g. predictably,reliably, happily, absolutely

OK, let’s see if you can use this information to form words below. Fill in the gaps using the base form of the word given in brackets.

1. She was delighted when she heard that she had been .................... (success) in her interview.
2. He always waited for her to choose the film, he was so......................... (decide)
3. Due to the recession a lot of people don’t have jobs and therefore............................. (employ) is high.
4. When selecting our new suppliers, ......................(rely) is the most important benefit to us.
5. The sales forecast was promising but the results were ..............................(dramatic) better.


I’ll put the correct answers on our blog next week, good luck!

Glossary

Highly-motivated - Very very keen to do or achieve something

Fingers crossed - To hope that something turns out the way you want it to

Election Special: What is a Hung Parliament?

So, if you are following the election campaign you’ll see that many of the polls are saying it will be a very close race and this could lead to a hung parliament. So what is a hung parliament? As Ben mentioned in the last blog, it is when none of the parties gains a majority. As there are a total of 650 seats, this means that one party needs to get 326 Members of Parliament voted into the House of Commons.


How can we stop a hung parliament?
Firstly, Labour will stay in power if they don’t lose any of their seats however; if they lose 24 seats they’ll lose their absolute majority. If the Conservative Party get an extra 116 seats, they’ll gain a majority; but the Liberal Democrats need a further 264 seats for an absolute majority. Everything else would lead to a hung parliament.

What would a hung parliament mean to Britain?
This is an interesting question and we may well find out very soon!! If the election results in a hung parliament then Gordon Brown remains Prime Minister unless he decides to step down (unlikely). He may then decide to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrat party (lead by Nick Clegg) if their joint number of seats reaches a majority, if not they can invite other smaller parties to join them until they have 326 seats or more. The main concern with a hung parliament seems to be that it can be very difficult to pass laws because they aren’t supported by enough MPs; however this could be unfounded because many countries seem to successfully run a coalition style government such as Germany and New Zealand. The last British hung parliament was in 1974. Edward Heath (Conservative PM) called a hasty election after finally bringing the minors strike to an end. He looked certain to win but on polling day, the Liberal vote surged. The final result was Labour 301, Conservative 297 and Liberals 14. Heath tried to form an alliance with Jeremy Thorpe the Liberal Leader but failed so he resigned and Harold Wilson of the Labour Party became PM. Between March and October 1974 only 27 laws were passed and these weren’t contentious relating to roads and railways. In my humble opinion, a hung parliament could be just what this country needs. To keep up-to-date with the election go to the BBC election website.

Glossary

Poll (n) - the process of finding out what people think, survey

Close race - the two main parties may be quite equal in the end

Seat (n) - a position as an elected member of a government

Absolute majority - when a party wins more than half the total votes in an election

Coalition (n) - a union of two or more political parties to form a government

Unfounded (adj) - something that is wrong because it's not based on fact or evidence

Hasty (adj) - done in a hurry, often with negative results

Strike (n) - a period of time when a group of workers deliberately stop work

Polling day - the day when the public votes in an election

Surge (v) - to suddenly move quickly in a particular direction

Resign (v) - to officially announce that you have decided to leave your job

Contentious (adj) - causing a lot of argument and disagreement between people

Humble (adj) - not considering your ideas to be as important as other people's

Are you travelling to the UK this weekend?

Following the Icelandic volcano most UK and many European flights have been cancelled until tomorrow morning. The flight restrictions will mean planes are grounded until at least 0700 tomorrow (Saturday) morning.

If you are flying to London this weekend to start a course with us on Monday and you are going to be delayed, you will need to do the following:

• If you are staying with a homestay family, call the family to let them know when you expect to arrive.
• Call the school on Monday morning +44207 605 4123 (Holland Park Gardens) +44 208 563 6501 (Westcroft Square) to let us know when you think you will be arriving.

For up to date airport information visit the British Airports Authority website.

Grounded - When an aircraft is not able to take off. Also used when teenagers have been naughty and they are not allowed to go out and see their friends, for example 'you've failed all your exams, you're grounded for two weeks!'.

Indian Words Used in the English Language

Hello there, those of you who have read the recent blogs will see that holidays have featured highly; Andy wrote about his holiday in South Africa, Ben mentioned his recent trip to Morocco and I’m going to talk a little about my fabulous holiday in Southern India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu). Actually, it was Ben who suggested that I go there, thanks Ben!

In Kochin I watched the local fishermen and sampled their catch in the evenings with a cold Kingfisher beer. I then visited the green and lush hills of Munnar and saw wild elephants and buffalo; next I took a houseboat through the backwaters of Appelley and then went south to chill out on the beach. My final destination was Madurai where I visited the Ski Meenakshi Temple (see photo) it’s definitely worth seeing, it’s 52 metres high and covers 6 hectares, it’s amazing.

Travelling around, I was impressed how well most Indians speak English even though British rule finished over 60 years ago. This made me wonder about Indian words that are used in modern English. Below, are some words of Hindi and Urdu origin that the British have 'borrowed' and still currently use today. Enjoy using them!

Bangle - a solid bracelet
from Bāngṛī बांगड़ी, a type of bracelet

Bungalow - a house which is all on ground level
from बंगला banglA & Urdu بنگلہ banglA, literally, "(house) in the Bengal style".]

Cot - a bed with high sides for a baby
from Khāt, खाट, a portable bed

Cushy – easy, e.g. a cushy job
from khushi, cf. Hindi ख़ुशी - Urdu خوشی "easy, happy, soft"

Doolally - crazy
from Hindi डॆऒललि via Marathi देवळाली Deolali, a hospital in Maharashtra,
India. It means having an unbalanced state of mind

Guru - Someone who knows a lot about a particular subject
from गुरु Guru, A teacher, instructor, intellectual or spiritual leader who
councils or advises

Jungle – a thick tropical forest
from जङल् jangal, another word for wilderness or forest

Karma - the belief that all the good and bad things that you do in this life affect how good
or bad your future lives will be
from कर्म Karma , meaning acts or deeds

Pukka - good quality, well made
from Pakkā पक्का,پکا cooked, ripe, solid

Pyjamas – trousers and a top that you wear in bed
from Persian پايجامه Payjama meaning "leg garment" which originated in Hindi पैजामा

Shampoo - a liquid soap for washing hair
from chāmpo (चाँपो /tʃãːpoː/) to smear and massage

Thug – a violent man
from Thag ठग, meaning thief or conman

Courses

Every week at the school we have new courses starting. This week the Young Lawyers courses started. It’s a three week course designed for newly qualified lawyers and law students, to give them the specialised language that they will need for their careers. It's the second time we have run this course this year and it's usually very popular.

Also at Holland Park this week we’ve been running Communication Skills for Bankers. This intensive one week course is for experienced banking and finance specialists who receive English language skills training within the context of banking and finance.

At our Westcroft Square centre, a new seven week Intensive General English course started, as well as a seven week English for University course. We have also just started a six week IELTS preparation course. The course is designed to prepare students for the IELTS exam, which includes practice of the test and strategies which will help them to succeed.

Training the Trainers

At the London School of English we often have Teacher Development sessions.  These are an opportunity to share ideas and improve the way we, the trainers, deliver our lessons.  Today Ben and I led the session which was all about using technology in the classroom.  In the picture above you can see Ed and Andy, two of our trainers, checking out http://www.sporcle.com/, a website I previously wrote about here.

We think this is a really important part of what we do at the school, because anything that can make learning English more interesting and stimulating improves the learning experience. 

It's quite strange teaching your peers.  No matter how much experience you have teaching English, nothing quite prepares you for being in a classroom full of other trainers!  Here's a picture of our handout, showing some of the tricks of the trade that we shared today.

I personally found it all quite nerve-wracking, but overall Ben and I thought it went well.  I think that our colleagues found it useful and productive, and hopefully the results of our work will soon be seen in a classroom near you!

Glossary

to lead a session/workshop  to be responsible for teaching/organising something.
to check out   to look at/study something (informal)
peers  people who do the same as you e.g. workmates or classmates
tricks of the trade  useful information or skills based on a certain area of work
nerve-wracking  something that makes you nervous or anxious

Changes in GSV visa rules

Some important changes in the General Student Visa (GSV) rules will come into effect in a few weeks. At the moment we send a letter for use when someone applies for a GSV. As from 22 February, visa letters will no longer be valid, and an electronic system will be used instead. This only applies to students coming to study in the UK from outside of the EU or Switzerland. Visit our website to read more.

English for University

We have just started a new course at our Westcroft Square school, English for University. English for University is an intensive course specially designed for motivated adults who need to improve their English language skills in preparation for university study as well as general English skills. The course is fun and lively, but also serious and suitable for people with a real need for results. The emphasis is always on learning in a practical way. This course is not designed to be purely an IELTS preparation course but rather combines an element of IELTS preparation with many other topic areas necessary for students to study successfully in the UK. If you would like to read more about this course, please go to the school site. I've just interviewed Laura, one of our teachers on this course and next week I'll be interviewing one of the students who is on this course.

If you are interested in hearing more about this course, please contact the sales office on +44 20 7605 4142 and http://uk.mc245.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sales@londonschool.com

Glossary
to cope with (phr v) - to succeed in dealing with a difficult situation
overall aim (adj, noun) - main aim
participant (n) - someone who is taking part in an activity or class
long-term (adj) - continuing for a long period of time into the future
to focus on (phr v) - to give attention to something
to pay off (phr v) - to be worth the effort

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...

Our Westcroft Square centre 06/01/2010

As some of you may know, the UK has been hit by heavy snow this week and on Wednesday it hit London. Snow began to fall around lunchtime and it got heavier in the afternoon. Luckily, there are no General English classes at our Westcroft Square centre on Wednesday afternoons so the majority of students were able to travel home safely before the travel disruption caused by the snow and ice. Most students have made it to class today, although some arrived late as the problems on the roads, buses and tube continued.

Picture of the school from Westcroft Square

The big freeze is set to continue for a few more days and temperatures are not expected to rise much above zero. The overnight temperature was -3 in London and this means the streets and pavements are quite icy today. In fact, it has been so cold that many primary and high schools have had to close because teachers and pupils were unable to get to class and the central heating systems packed up. Fortunately, a lot of the teachers at the London School of English live quite close to the school and because our homestay families are quite near, the students have been able to come and the school has remained open.

The outside area at our Westcroft Square school

Personally, I really enjoy the snow. It makes everything look pretty and adds some excitement to the city because it doesn't snow here very often. It annoys me a bit when the snow begins to thaw though, because it turns to horrible brown slush and then makes the city look dirty. If you're planning to visit London or the school in the near future, make sure you bring some warm clothes and some sensible footwear. Hopefully this will be the last of the really cold winter weather and in a month or so, we can begin to look forward to the spring when the temperature will rise and the daylight hours will get longer.

Glossary

be hit by heavy snow - be affected by lots of snow falling and staying on the ground.

snow began to fall - it stared snowing

travel disruption - problems travelling on buses, trains and roads

the big freeze - a period of extremely cold weather

the central heating systems packed up - the systems that heat houses by using radiators stopped working

the snow begins to thaw - the snow starts to melt and turn to water.

horrible brown slush - partially melted snow that has become dirty and turned brown

sensible footwear - suitable shoes, boots etc to deal with certain conditions

Do it Yourself

The Christmas holidays are a great time for visiting family, going out with friends and eating and drinking more than usual. In between all of that most people like to lie on the sofa, watch films, read the paper or a book and generally take it easy.

Unfortunately this Christmas holiday I have been busy with different pass time, DIY. DIY (said ‘D’ ‘I’ ‘Y’ , not ‘die’) stands for Do it Yourself. It is the term used to describe work you do to your home that you do yourself, for example decorating or putting up shelves. You can pay people to do these jobs for you, but a lot of people prefer to save some money and do it themselves. Like me, most people I know hate doing DIY, but you normally have a huge sense of achievement when you have finished.

This holiday we have been working on our sitting room. First of all we stripped the wallpaper. We used a steamer which makes the job easier and it’s very satisfying to get rid of the wallpaper, but that’s only the beginning. Then we had to prepare the walls by sanding them to make them smooth. Next we painted the skirting boards and the door frames before painting the walls and the ceiling.

Now all of that is finished I can sit down and see what films are on the TV. Then again, the television has been so bad this Christmas I think I’d rather watch paint dry.

The paper – the newspaper
Take it easy – relax, don’t do much
Decorating – paining walls or putting up wallpaper etc.
Sense of achievement – a feeling that you have worked hard at something and feel you have achieved something good
Sitting room – the room where most people go to relax, watch television etc; sometimes called the lounge
Stripped the wallpaper – took wallpaper off the walls
Steamer – a machine to help strip wallpaper; like a big kettle that uses steam to loosen the paper
Skirting boards – the wooden boards that are at the bottom of a wall, next to the floor
I’d rather watch paint dry – an expression that helps you describe that something is/would be very boring
‘Would you like to come to the Natural History Museum to see the new dinosaur exhibition?’
‘No thanks! I’d rather watch paint dry!’

New Year's Resolutions

So Christmas is over and another year begins, what will it bring? The first of January is a time when many people decide to make New Year’s resolutions. These are generally designed to improve our lives or make us better people in some way. Over the years, I’ve made many resolutions and over the years I’ve also broken many of them as they are often very difficult to stick to! The most common ones usually involve giving up something that you really enjoy such as smoking, drinking, biting your nails and chocolate (in fact all delicious food) or starting something new such as getting fit or learning a new language. At the party I went to last night everyone was discussing what resolutions they were going to make. Lynn is giving up smoking (for about the tenth time) so are Mark and Jules however, they said that New Year’s day doesn’t count so are starting on the 2nd!! Harry is giving up drinking for 2 months to prove to his wife that he can! Janice wants to give something back to society so is going to do voluntary work for a local charity, more surprisingly she also said that she’s going to get married...you may not think this is strange however, I do as she currently doesn’t have a boyfriend! Oh well I guess you have to admire her optimism! Steve and Kevin both want to change their jobs as they both hate them (I can highly recommend teaching). Then there’s Chris who says that they are pointless and you should make anti-resolutions like put on weight, start taking drugs and drink more alcohol (quite difficult if you are British!) I really hope that David Beckham has made a resolution to win the World Cup because that would make many Brits very happy, we can dream!! Anyway, this year I’ve made more than anyone I know. Here they are:

1. See my friends and family more.
2. Each month visit somewhere in London that I’ve never been to
3. Be much tidier at home and at work (my desk is always a mess)
4. Laugh more
5. Get fitter
6. Do my Greek homework every week

I’ll let you know how my friends and I get on with these resolutions and if you have any unusual resolutions yourself let me know, I wish you good luck with yours. Hope you have a happy and prosperous 2010!!

Glossary

Resolution - a decision or statement that is agreed by an individual or a group
To stick to (something) - to keep or continue with something
to give up (something) - to quit or stop doing something
to prove - to show something is true by providing facts
Voluntary work - work that you aren't paid for
Charity - an organisation that gives money, goods or help to people who are poor, sick or in need of help
Strange - odd or unusual
Optimism - tendency to believe that good things will happen
to put on - to gain
Brits - British people
Mess - untidy or not neat
Prosperous - rich and successful

Come to the Christmas party!

This Friday, 11th December, Banned Practice will be performing at the London School of English Christmas party. The party will be at The Hops Poles on King Street, Hammersmith. Tickets are £6 in advance (if you're at the school you can buy tickets in Reception) or £7 on the door. Everyone is welcome.

Hope to see you there from 8pm on Friday!

The Beautiful Game

This Saturday was the first leg of the world cup play-offs, with two of Europe’s biggest teams still fighting for places. France played the Republic of Ireland (away) and Portugal faced Bosnia-Herzegovina (at home), both teams won by a single goal and need to put on more convincing performances in their next games on Wednesday 18th November. They should both beat their opponents and then take their rightful places in the World Cup. Greece and Ukraine were very disappointing and neither deserves a place in the world cup if they play like that, a very dull match with no goals. Russia beat Slovenia 2-1 and look sure to go to South Africa.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the fact that England qualified so early and that, for once, we were not part of these dreaded play-offs! I’m looking forward to the draw on December 4th and am feeling strangely confident about our chances next year. Capello, the 63-year old England coach, has brought hope to the English fans, he’s been in charge for 21 matches, and we’ve won 15, drawn 2 and only lost 4. The England team respect him and so do the fans. He stated:
"This is the final appointment of my career. It would be nice to finish on a high."
There could be no greater high than winning the World Cup, you may think that is a wish too far but I believe he can take us a long way in the tournament and who knows….dreams can come true, they did in 1966!!!

Glossary

Convincing - making you believe that something is true or right
Opponent - someone who you try to defeat in a competition or game
Rightful - according to what is correct or what should be done legally or morally
Thoroughly - completely
Dreaded - making you feel afraid or anxious
To be in charge - to be in control, to be the boss

How I spent Halloween

My Halloween was actually really good fun and one of the best that I’ve ever. Early Saturday evening I went down to my friend’s house in Kent dressed as a vampire and from there travelled down to a farm in the middle of the countryside for a ‘ghost walk’ that was organised by the Local Council. There were eight children ranging from 8 to 15 years old and six adults, all in fancy dress (witches, ghosts and devils). We split into 2 groups. Each group was given a gas lantern and told to follow a path marked with small florescent lights in the trees. I found myself holding hands with two eleven year-old girls who became more and more frightened as the walk continued. It was pitch black and we were walking through muddy woodlands. We heard rustling noises in the bushes and then various ghosts and monsters rushed out of the woods, I don’t know who screamed loudest, me or the girls!!! After a petrifying 45 minutes, we finally reached the safety of our cars and headed home.

The evening had only just begun. Back at my friend’s house we gathered around a fire and started playing games, bobbing for apples (the apples are floating in water) followed my finding sweets with your teeth in a bowl full of flour, of course the your face ends up covered in flour (made more amusing for the adults as the drinking had begun!) As my friend lives in a residential area, the kids decided to go trick or treating and many children came to the house too. There was a really friendly atmosphere. We partied until 3.00 in the morning (well the grown-ups did anyway!).

I now realise that Halloween is a much bigger festival than when I was a child and certainly a lot more fun. Roll on next year!

Glossary

Countryside land that is outside cities and towns
Fancy dress clothes that you wear that make you look like a famous person or character
Lantern a lamp that you can carry
Fluorescent colours that are very bright and easy to see, even in the dark
Pitch black completely black or dark:
Muddy covered with mud
Woodlands an area of land covered with trees

Rustling making a noise as they rub against each other

Bushes plants with many thin branches growing up from the ground
Petrifying extremely frightening
Gathered come together and form a group
Amusing funny and entertaining:
Residential a residential part of a town consists of private houses
Grown-up an adult
Roll on next year looking forward to next year

Andy's Mum Visits him in South Korea

Here is the final part of Andy's adventures in South Korea. Andy's going home to Scotland for Christmas next month but he'll be back in Daegu for more adventures in the new year.

'The following week my mum came to visit, and we had a great time seeing the sights, eating all the traditional meals, drinking together, etc! We spent the 2 weekends in Gyeongju, the old capital, where we went to the biggest and oldest Buddhist temple in Korea, and in Seoul, where we visited a magnificent, historical palace. We also browsed in an old district full of shops with antiques and other traditional Korean items (Insadong), bought a camera in the largest electronics complex imaginable (at an amazing price), and rounded it all off with a pint of Guinness in a British-style pub in Itaewon, a foreigner-packed district. My mum is full of the whole Korean experience now she is home - I think she wants to emigrate here!'

I'm going home after this contract for a couple of months, to spend Christmas with family and old friends, but I'll be back here in January to continue the adventure, as there is still so much to see and do.....

Glossary

seeing the sights – visiting/seeing the attractions

to round something off – to finish something

emigrate – move to another country to live

Andy's Trip to Jeju-do

Andy, who is a teacher at the London School of English in Daegu, continues to tell us about his adventures in South Korea.

'The following weekend was a long one, so a couple of workmates and I went to Jeju-do, a sub-tropical, volcanic island about 100 miles off the south coast of Korea. We had an exausting time of it, cycling literally continuously uphill from the sea-level airport for 4 hours, gaining a height of 2000ft, after which we stopped at a solitary mountainside pension (like a cottage) for the night. The next morning we climbed the remaining 4000ft of the volcano - 'Hallasan' -which formed the island, in blistering hot sunshine, finishing on the lip of a magnificent volcanic crater, with great views over a blanket of cloud. We descended back to the pension, then the next day cycled another 80K, virtually all downhill, to the east coast, where we stopped for a great lunch of cold beer and raw fish by the sea, in front of a stunning volcanic crater out in the water, before testing ourselves to our physical limits to get the bikes back to the hiring place in the city for 6pm! After that we had a much-deserved rest, before heading out to the casino, where we were nearly tossed out for gambling too little, and pushing their free beer concept to the limit! I broke even on the roulette, which was cool, it being my first time, but then lost 15 quid on my first hand at blackjack, and decided to call it a day (canny Scot that I am!).'

Glossary
workmates - people you work with
solitary - alone, with nothing around
cottage - small house usually in the countryside
crater - the hole at the top of the volcano
tossed out - thrown out/asked to leave
roulette - a game in a casino
quid - slang for £
canny - clever
Scot - person from Scotland

A message from Andy at LSE in South Korea

Andy Innes is from Scotland and he is a teacher at the London School of English in Daegu, South Korea. He's joining the blog over the next week or two to tells us some stories about his time in Daegu.

In this post he's going to tell us about a 10km race he did.

'All my training in my excellently-priced gym came to a peak recently (in theory!), and I entered a 10K run here in Daegu. It was a fabulously crisp and clear morning, but my joy was eventually worn down as my nights out made themselves known and my fatigue took over! However, having the energy to sprint past so many people to the finish on the same running track the 2011 World Athletics Championships will be held on was something special, and the old feeling of forgetting about finishing times and enjoying the communal spirit took over! What a day! I got a cool medal with 'International Marathon' on it (with '10K' in small letters), as well as some Korean writing, so I was quite happy! I got a cool certificate too, even if the time on it was my worst ever!'

Look out for some more stories from Andy in the next couple of weeks!

The London School of English Co-sponsors the Law Society's International Weekend

The London School of English is proud to announce its co-sponsorship of the Law Society's Junior Law Division International Weekend on 25 and 26 September 2009. Junior law associations from many countries are sending 56 delegates for a weekend activities including visits to barristers' chambers and the Houses of Parliament, and training sessions for many aspects of communication skills in a legal context. Our colleague Sam Thompson is organising a cross-cultural communication session for the group.

Hattrick for Boa Lingua - London School of English Agency wins LTM Star Award 'Best Agency Western Europe' for the third time in a row

A message from Boa Lingua, a Partner Agency.

London School of English - Partner Agency, Boa Lingua in Switzerland won the LTM Star Award 'Best Agency Western Europe 2009'. 'We are honoured that we have won for the third time in a row. This award reflects our strong and personal relationships to our partner schools – as London School of English – as well as our high quality standards in counselling our students. I dedicate this award to the whole Boa Lingua team', says Kurt Krummenacher, Managing Director of Boa Lingua in Switzerland.

The annual award is presented by the well known 'Language Travel Magazine'. It is the most important award of the language travel industry. Nearly 700 people attended the event this year.

A Message from LSE in South Korea

안녕하세요 (Hello) from LSE in Daegu, South Korea

My name is Kirk, I’m English and I’ve been teaching at LSE Daegu for about 8 months. I’m proud to work for such an established and recognised school. I’ve been living and working in Korea for almost 2 years in total. I’d like to tell you a little bit about life in Korea.

When I first came here I was in a small city called Geoje and I was totally blown away with the seemingly huge differences between England and Korea. Firstly, I felt very foreign – everywhere I went I stood out and children would run up to me and say “Hi, hello, how are you, I’m fine, my name is…”. Korea is a very homogenous country, so a tall, blond haired, blue eyed Westerner like me stands out a mile! Now, I live in a bigger city so I don’t get as many stares, and I actually like the attention sometimes – it makes me feel like a Z-list celebrity!

Another difference was the food. Korea isn’t famous for its food, but it should be! It hosts a wide range of different food for meat lovers and vegetarians alike. My first meal in Korea was 비빔밥which is a mix of rice, vegetables and hot pepper sauce. It was absolutely delicious! Another favourite is 삼겹살which is thin slices of pork cooked at your table… mmmmmm. Korea’s national food is 김치(fermented cabbage), which sounds disgusting but actually tastes great!

Another striking difference is the language – at times it seems a millions miles away from English. Firstly, the Korean language uses Hangul to write its characters, so I had to learn a whole host of new symbols. Secondly, the grammar is very different to English, so instead of saying ‘I ate the pizza’ Korean’s would say ‘I pizza ate’. One saving grace is the fact that a lot English words have entered the Korean language, which makes it a little bit easier. Unfortunately, there also exists the dreaded ‘Konglish’ which is English words but ‘Koreanised’. One of the words for mobile phone for example is ‘handphone’.

Many other differences became apparent as the weeks and months went by, but that’s the interesting thing about this place. Korea has some brilliant innovations which I would love to see in the UK. One of them is the very popular singing rooms. Instead of singing in front of a large pub filled with strangers, these rooms are designed just for you and your friends.

When I eventually leave Korea I will be really sad since it has opened my mind and heart to a whole new world.

안녕for now.

Kirk