Meet the students: Diego from Spain

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Diego enjoying the surf at Byron Bay

Meet Diego! He is one of our Spanish students here at the Byron Bay English Language School. Diego has recently completed a course to prepare him for the First Certificate in English exam. His time at the school was so positive that he will be coming back to complete an IELTS course. In this interview Diego talks about his impressions of Byron Bay and our school.

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Diego, can you tell us why you decided to come to Australia?

I decided to come to Australia because right now Spain is in a bad economic and social situation. That made me think about going abroad for a period of time until the situation in my country changes. Another reason that made me choose Australia was the weather and the lovely and friendly people who live here.

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Cycling back to town from the Lighthouse

Why did you choose BBELS?

I chose BBELS because my idea of being abroad was to find a job and learn English at the same time. One of my friends back in Spain told me about the school and after comparing and looking at different things, BBELS was the chosen one due to the location of the school and the reviews that I read on the internet.

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Diego and his Cambridge teacher Ash

Can you tell us your impressions of BBELS?

The school is good, the teachers are good. Almost everything in and around the school is good.

How do you expect the English you have been learning at BBELS to help you when you get back to your country?

Actually I don’t want to go back to my country. Once you are abroad you don’t know what your future will bring you but nowadays if I need to choose something I will choose stay longer in Australia. One of my ideas is to apply for the work and holiday visa and then go to Melbourne and try to find a job in design, which is what I have studied. But if I get back to my country, English as a language will help me to find a better job in better companies.

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BBELS Soccer Team consisting of students from all over the world

Could you tell us about how the school supports its students? Have you had any assistance from the school to find a good accommodation, a job or for further visas?

The school has been helping me since the first day I arrived. Special thanks to Sonia and Marcos for all the support and good vibes that they have given me. Sonia has helped me with every problem that I had. Sonia not only is a good employee for the school but is also a really good help for the students, helping us with problems from the school and also problems outside the school. Marcos is the perfect example of happiness in Byron Bay. He is always helping and always smiling. He will stop doing his job to sacrifice his time for helping the students, a really good man. About visas, Sonia and I are working to apply for my work and holiday visa.

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At BBELS, everyone should….?

At BBELS everyone should speak English. It’s so annoying when people make groups and only talk their mother language.

Congratulations to our Cambridge Students

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Cambridge 2014

The results have arrived for the students who sat the Cambridge English tests in December. Thanks to the students’ hard work and the dedication of our teachers BBELS has received some fantastic results.

We would firstly like to congratulate Zora Naef for her excellent result in the Cambridge Proficiency Exam. Zora’s Use of English, Reading and Writing tests were graded as “Exceptional” Well done Zora!

Secondly we would like to congratulate the students in our Cambridge Advanced classes. There were some very high results including Gijs Propper and Caterina Schumacher who both received an “A” as their final grade. Congratulations should also go to the 5 other students who recived a “B” and the 14 students who received a “C” grade.

Finally a big congratulations to the students in the First Certificate Classes with 8 students receiving a “B” and 7 students receiving a final grade of “C”.

These students managed to study hard throughout the day and enjoy Byron Bay’s natural environment and relaxed lifestyle after class. We hope that their certificates help them in their future careers and educational pursuits.

 

Choosing between the IELTS and Cambridge Courses

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Students at BBELS often ask us to describe the difference between the IELTS and Cambridge Mainsuite exams (FCE, CAE, CPE).

Choosing between the different courses is important, especially if your objective is related to future academic studies, sponsorhip or national citizenship.

Following is a guide to help you select the course which will provide you with the best outcome.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System):

Why is IELTS useful:

IELTS is important for students who are interested in entering TAFE colleges and Australian and international universities. IELTS is essential for students who wish to immigrate to Australia, Canada and New Zealand. If you want to work in a professional job in Australia, the USA or British commonwealth countries it is also neccessary to do the IELTS exam.

It is generally advised that academic institutions do not accept an IELTS report that is more than 2 years old.

What is the structure of the exam:

Students can elect to sit either the General IELTS exam or the Academic IELTS exam. The General IELTS exam is useful for immigration purposes and to enter non-academic training contexts. The Academic IELTS exam is suited for students who wish to enter universities and professions that use English in the workplace.

The IELTS exam tests 4 skills: speaking, listening, reading, writing. The Academic IELTS exam tests students’ reading and writing ability at a higher level than the General IELTS exam.

Speaking: is divided into General Topics, One Prepared Topic and a Discussion with the examiner.

Listening: consists of a variety of question styles. Using correct spelling is important.

Reading: consists of 3 passages. Question styles include include multiple choice, writing words, matching and summarizing.

Writing: Students will be expected to write papers which Present and Support an Opinion; Discuss Problems/Solutions; balance Two Arguments

Who can study the IELTS preparation course:

The course is open to full-time students in the Upper-intermediate-Advanced levels. Depending on the time of year the course runs for 10-12 weeks. It is a requirement that students commence in the first week of the course for a minimum of 8 weeks. Students must also sit a pre-entry test before commencing the course.

The IELTS test can be taken at the Gold Coast, approximately one hour from Byron Bay.

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Graduation Day for one of our First Certificate in English classes.

The Cambridge Mainsuite Exams:

Why are the Cambridge exams useful:

The Cambridge exams are useful for work and acdemic purposes.

A pass in the First Certificate in English exam (equivalent to level B2 of the CEFR) indicates an everyday written and spoken ability in English. This is recognised by many international companies and educational institutions.

The Certificate in Advanced English is recognised by over 10,000 employers and colleges worldwide. Furthermore it is approved by the Australian government for student visas.

The Certificate of Proficiency in English is recognised by prestigious universities around the world as evidence of a high level in academic and social English.

The CAE and CPE exams are extremely difficult to pass without studying in a preparation course beforehand.

What is the structure of the exams:
There are 5 sections to the tests: Reading, Writing, Use of English, Listening, and Speaking.

Reading: There are long and short passages with different types of questions. Texts range from newspapers, fiction stories, interviews, advertisements and other media.

Writing: Two different types of writing are required. Possible formats include letters, reports, reviews, essays or short stories.

Use of English: Tasks that show grammar and vocabulary control are tested in this section.

Listening: Questions are asked about a range of recordings including news programs, presentations and conversations.

Speaking: This involves direct answers to an examiner, descriptions of pictures, pair work.

There is no expiry limit to the Cambridge reports.

Who can study the Cambridge preparation course:

The Cambridge courses are open to full-time students in the Upper-intermediate to Advanced levels. Depending on the time of year the courses run for 10-12 weeks. It is a requirement that students commence in the first week of the course. Students must also sit a pre-entry test before commencing the course.

Students are either tested here at BBELS or at the Gold Coast (approximately one hour from Byron Bay).

Our IELTS and Cambridge students always report that their vocabulary and grammatical accuracy improves dramatically throughout the preparation courses. The skills learned in the courses make our students much more employable both here in Australia and in their home country. Students also comment about the sincere friendships that are formed during the 3 months spent studying together.

If you would like to know more about our testing courses please contact today!