Residential Accommodation 2009

We are very happy to announce our residential accommodation for July/August 2009.

Students can choose self-catering accommodation within walking distance of our school or "College Life" accommodation in a beautiful Oxford College with half-board. Please contact us for more information

1. Switzerland 12.73%

2. Philippines 12.27%

3. Saudi Arabia 10.91%

4. Korea 9.09%

5. China 8.64%

6. France 7.73%

7. Thailand 6.36%

8. Italy 4.55%

8. Spain 4.55%

8. Turkey 4.55%

Other Nationalities:

UAE, Libya, Germany, Japan,Qatar, Kuwait, Hungary, Oman, Poland, Angola, Belarus, Canada, Colombia, Iran

Daniella is our new Assistant Accommodation and Welfare Officer. She graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2007 where she studied performing arts and music. She plays guitar and piano and hopes to train as a music teacher in the future. She has also studied in Spain and enjoys travelling and learning about new cultures.

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved in this year's Oxford Fun Run. It was a huge success, with over 300 runners taking part, and £10,000 raised for local charities. Many thanks to our sponsors including IALC, Quality English, Language Travel Magazine, OUP, Macmillan ELT. Following the run there was a chance for all the runners to unwind at the Fun Run BBQ held at our school.

1 Korea 15.08%

2 Switzerland 14.57%

3 Germany 11.56%

4 China 10.05%

5 Thailand 6.53%

6 Italy 6.03%

7 Saudi Arabia 5.53%

7 Turkey 5.53%

9 UAE 4.52%

10 Qatar 3.52%

Other Nationalities:

France, Spain, Japan, Libya, Poland, Iran, Oman, Angola, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Kuwait, Nigeria, Venezuela

Our teachers and students will run to raise money for people with disabilities in Oxford. We are now in training!

For more information, please visit:

http://www.oxfordfunrun.org.uk

1. Japan 17.56%

2. France 14.19%

3. Swiss 10.44%

4. Korea 9.43%

5. Saudi Arabia 5.72%

6. Turkey 4.71%

7. China 4.04%

7. Germany 4.04%

7. Thailand 4.04%

10. Italy 3.37%

Other Nationalities: UAE, Spain, Libya, Qatar, Hungary, Iran, Poland, Venezuela, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, Oman, Slovenia

-Verge Das Neves-

Verge is currently a student at Oxford Brookes University doing a Masters in Business Administration. At the moment he is working on the activities schedule for the school. He originally comes from South Africa where he completed his Honours Degree in Television Journalism at Rhodes University. Verge loves the tradition and beauty of Oxford but misses the lovely sunshine of his home town. Along with having an interest in media and marketing, he enjoys travelling and playing sports.

~Social Activity Report~

Students enjoyed a pancake party & consumed over 200 pancakes in Caramba, the OEC Cafe!

The traditional pancake is slightly thicker than a French crêpe. It is served immediately after preparation and was traditionally served with a meat-based stew, although in modern times a sprinkling of sugar & lemon juice has become more common

in February

1. Korea 21.21%

2. Japan 15.76%

3.Saudi Arabia 10.30%

4. France 7.27%

5. Switzerland 6.67%

6. Turkey 6.06%

7. China 5.45%

8. Italy 4.24%

9. Argentina 3.64%

9. Spain 3.64%

Other Nationalities: Libya, UAE, Germany, Qatar, Angola, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Iran, Oman, Romania, Russia, Venezuela

Welcome back to Vaughan, Jon and Sue, all Macmillan ELT authors. Vaughan Jones, Sue Kay and Jon Hird returned this month to the OEC teaching staff. They have all been involved in writing the "Inside Out" series, as well as "Move".

1. Brazil 23.01%

2. Korea 12.93%

3. Sitzerland 9.52%

4.SaudiArabia 7.48%

5. Germany 5.44%

6. Turkey 4.08%

7. Libya 4.08%

8. Japan 3.40%

9. China 2.72%

10. France 2.72%

Other nationalities: Angola, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Iran, Italy, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Spain, Ukraine, UAE

We welcomed a new student "Mr Snowman" today :)

Thank you for all of your support last year!

We have had a lovely 2008 and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2009.

1. Korea 15.17%

2. China 11.03%

3. Swiss 10.34%

4. Italy 8.97%

5 .Saudi Arabia 8.28%

6. France 4.14%

6. Spain 4.14%

8. Germany 3.45%

8. Libya 3.45%

8. Turkey 3.45%

8. UAE 3.45%

Other countries:

Japan, Qatar, Ukraine, Angola, Iran, Oman, Mali, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Thailand, Yemen

Total: 145 students

winner in 2008

Hoorah for Adrian and his green fingers as Oxford English Centre wins the Gold Award for its gardens in the Oxford in Bloom competition 2008!

Our annual Halloween Party was a great success with students and OEC staff wearing a fantastic variety of scary costumes. The winning costumes were worn by Amr from France and Tanja from Switzerland.

This month saw all the excitement of Hollywood arrive at OEC as Oxford University Press (OUP) came to shoot a DVD for the forthcoming publication of the Intermediate course book "Result".

As you can imagine all of the teachers were rushing forward to be filmed while teaching an Intermediate class. Unfortunately, there were many long faces as long-time favourite and star actor Will, along with the up and coming starlet Sophie, breezed through the auditions and got the parts- better luck next time you lot!

Needless to say, the real stars of the show were the students who took part and the director was really impressed with their knowledge of English and their patience (there is only so many times you can repeat the word "accessories"). Everyone who took part was rewarded with gift vouchers and the knowledge that their contribution will help students (and teachers) around the world with their studies! Well done!!!!

Congratulations to our partners EDM Education (Brian and his team in Korea) and Boa Lingua (Kurt and his staff in Switzerland) for winning their categories in the LTM Star Awards. Also to IALC (International Association of Language Centres) for winning the association prize again. OEC is the IALC member school in Oxford.

Oxford English Centre recently welcomed language travel agents from around the world as part of the Study World Oxford Fam Trip 2008. The agents visited 5 schools including Oxford English Centre where they enjoyed a fantastic barbecue, bingo and karaoke party. As well as school visits, they participated in Alex's famous Oxford Ghost Tour and learnt all about King Henry VIII and Charles I. A trip to Oxford University Christ Church College also featured a Harry Potter Tour! Join us in 2009 for the social and cultural event of the year!

1 Japan 20.47%

2 Italy 14.88%

3 Korea 10.70%

4 Swiss 9.77%

5 China 6.05%

6 Germany 6.05%

7 Saudi Arabia 5.12%

8 Turkey 3.72%

9 UAE 2.79%

10 Brazil 1.86%

Other Nationalities: Denmark, Czech Republic, Georgia, Thailand, France, Spain, Angola, Austria, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Chile, Croatia, Iran, Libya, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Yemen

Mr Jamil Malikov and Ms Sevda Malikova, a very cheerful father and daughter who studied with us in August. Jamil stayed in our school residence and took our Intensive English course, Sevda stayed with one of our host families and took our IELTs preparation course. They said they enjoyed staying and studying with us very much! Here is their profile.

1.Where are you from?

J&S: Azerbaijan

2.What do you do in your country?

J: Director of an insurance company

S: University student

3. Why do you like to study English?

J: For business

S: To study at a university in the UK

4. Why did you choose Oxford English Centre?

J&S: My son/brother used to study here and he recommended us.

5. What are your favourite school activities?

J: Pool Night

S: Disco!

6. What is your advice to students who intend to come to Oxford &Oxford English Centre?

J&S: Bring an umbrella!

We enjoyed having them in our school very much! We hope they come back soon with more family and friends :)

J: Jamil Malikov

S: Sevda Malikova

18/08/2008-29/08/2008

This August, we ran the the two week TOEFL iBT (internet based test) preparation course with students from Italy, China and Romania.

This course helps to prepare you to take this internationally recognised exam. This course is also available as 1-1 tuition. The test is particularly aimed at those wanting to enter university programmes. There isn't a pass score but many universities, schools or departments may require above 65 (total score 120). You need upper intermediate to advanced level English, basic computer and word processing skills and be highly motivated to succeed. This four part test is communicative and many of the tasks require you to combine speaking and writing skills with reading and listening. We can help you recognise basic designs of the tests and teach you techniques to answer the questions and to help you feel confident and prepared. We will provide you with the opportunity to practise tests and offer constructive feedback on your performance.

1 Italy 12.53%

2 Japan 11.51%

3 France 10.49%

4 Russia 7.42%

5 Germany 5.63%

5 Korea 5.63%

7 Poland 5.37%

8 China 4.60%,

9 Swiss 3.84%

10 Portugal 3.58%

10 Saudi Arabia 3.58%

Other Nationalities :

Spain, Turkey, Thailand,Iran, Libya, UAE, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Oman, Argentina, Hungary, Kuwait, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Romania, Senegal, Sudan, Angola, Chile, Finland, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Yemen

Total 40 nationalities in August

At this year's Variety Show we discovered our students had many hidden talents: Beat-boxing, flamenco dancing, tango dancing, star performances came from the office staff performing a slick dance in afro wigs and 70's outfits, with the headline act coming from the teachers with their version of YMCA! If you would to have a laugh and see more go to

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zrroSpHjpv0

We are uploading several performance videos of this Variety Show on www.YouTube.co.uk. Search "Oxford English Centre" and find more videos. Enjoy!

Do you remember OEC and our students were helping Macmillan to make English Course books called "InsideOut" last year? Now the book is out and you can buy them all over the world!

A five-level course for adults and young adults. It is built around structured work on grammar and lexis, planned speaking tasks, and motivating reading and listening texts. Please visit their website to find more information about this. http://www.insideout.net/index.htm

Our Principal, Dr Graham Simpson has been elected to the board of our professional association EnglishUK. EnglishUK works with schools accredited by the British Council to protect the interests of both students and language providers and assure high standards are maintained. For more information please visit www.englishuk.com