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

Last week our teachers and students participated in our annual fun run in the university parks. We raised thousands of pounds for the pathway workshop - a charity that encourages people with disabilities to enter the workplace.

The course was 5km! Runners from all over Oxford came to participate in the event organised by Oxford English Centre.

Congratulations to all!

We have recently had four state-of-the-art interactive whiteboards installed at OEC. They allow a hitherto unknown amount of freedom and interaction within the classroom and can combine functions of many different machines. Whereas before we may have needed to use a CD player, a whiteboard, hand-outs and a DVD player within one class, we now only need the whiteboard! Where we may have needed to change rooms for Internet access, now, with the touch of a button, we can access the same information on a screen large enough for all to read what is displayed.

Apart from the convenience that the interactive whiteboards provide the teacher, they have also been very well received by the students. They allow a diversity that is very difficult to match, and allow students to experience lessons in new ways. In short, they are incredibly versatile pieces of equipment that allow lessons to be more fun and educational.

Our daffodils are blooming. Adrian, our caretaker, planted all of them (more than 500 bulbs!!!) last November. They started coming out at the beginning of March, and now they are in full bloom. When the blooms finish, the bulbs will be taken and planted in our flower borders. Then the plant boxes are replanted with bedding plants ready for the summer months. The daffodil bulbs will flower again next spring.

-20 General English plus 10 Legal English lessons per week-

If you are looking for a course to combine English lessons with Legal English, look no further! Our new course offers specializes training in small groups (Max 6). Aimed at professionals and law students, we also offer training towards the ILEC exam, International Legal English Certificate, it also includes a visit to the Law Court in Oxford.

Please visit our website http://www.oxfordenglish.co.uk/courses/course13.asp or email us

info@oxfordenglish.co.uk for more information.

1. Japan 43 28.86%

2. Korea 15 10.07%

3. Saudi Arabia 13 8.72%

4. Germany 9 6.04%

5. UAE 8 5.37%

6. Italy 7 4.70%

7. Argentina, Brazil, Swiss, China 6each 4.03%

Other nationalities: Poland, Turkey, Spain, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar,Russia, Slovakia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Chile, France

2. France (14) 11.97%

3.Saudi Arabia (10) 8.55%

4.Korea (10) 8.55%

5.Germany (8) 6.84%

6.Japan (7) 5.98%

7.Spain (6) 5.13%

7. UAE (6) 5.13%

9.Swiss (5) 4.27%

9.Brazil (5) 4.27%

11.China (4) 3.42%

Other countries: Croatia,,Poland, Kuwait, Thailand, Turkey, Qatar, Macedonia, Kosovo, Chile,Holland, Hungary, Libya, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Taiwan, Ukraine

Total number of students: 122

( ) = Actual student numbers

The OEC Christmas pantomime, directed by teacher Aaron Hirtenstein, starred a fantastic group of talented language students in the less well known grammatically perfect adaptation of Cinderella. The long-suffering Cinderella was ridiculed by her wicked teacher and ugly classmates, Madonna and Britney as they left her cleaning to go off to the Grammar Ball at Buckingham Palace. However, with a little help from her somewhat Italian looking Fairy Godfather and her cat, beautiful Cinders, made it to the Ball on the Oxford Tube. It was love at first sight for Cinderella and her grammar hero, King Richard whose use of the present perfect was admired by all in the Kingdom, and as was long awaited by his people, his love was expressed by the most melancholy of tenses: the present perfect continuous passive. But alas, at the stoke of midnight Cinderella fled leaving only her Golden Grammar Book behind, the King having been somewhat distracted by the flirtations of Madonna and Britney was devastated to discover her disappearance but as advised by his minister he set upon a quest inspired by the Golden Grammar Book: whoever could use the third conditional to express past regret must be his Cinderella. After hopeless attempts by the wicked teacher, Britney and Madonna, Cinderella stepped forth to try her luck. Her grammar was perfect and she was whisked off to Buckingham palace to marry King Richard and live happily ever after but only on the promise that they would not eat potatoes everyday. The casts hard work was demonstrated by the energetic and high quality of their performances, it was a fantastic start to the Christmas party and brought a festive spirit to all! They successfully mastered the weird and wonderful world of British pantomime.

Starring (in order of appearance):

Jaime, Sophie, Felipe, Raul, Kwan, Hwan, Daniele, Ji-Yeon Han, Marco, Mariusz, Flavia

Social Organiser Susannah would also like to thank Yana, Mimi, Fanny and Pascaline for their invaluable help.

Are you getting ready for Christmas and New Year? Our students and staff have been enjoying this special season. Aaron and Susannah organised the annual school pantomime and Christmas Party on the 6th of December. Caramba, the school cafe, has now been made to look very Christmassy by our students. If you happen to be in Oxford, please come and visit us!

Best wishes,

The Oxford English Centre

TOEIC

English for work is a growing need around the world and the TOEIC test is one of the best qualifications globally recognised by employers. We offer a regular, short TOEIC preparation course leading to the test which can be taken on site at OEC - quick and efficient to suit the needs of today's businessman and woman. The course would be suitable for those with limited time available, for students following on from the combined General and Business English course, or could be combined with 1-1 tuition.

Our next TOEIC group course starts on the 21st of January 2008, but the possibilities are varied, so contact us to discuss your individual needs. OEC is a registered TOEIC Test centre. Please contact us for test dates and fees.

Good-bye OEC! I've had a great time here organising all our (fabulous!) social activities but it's time to move on to pastures new and to introduce you to the new Social Activities Organiser.....Susannah.....

Hello! It's wonderful to be back at OEC after teaching on the teen course in July and August this year. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and getting more fun filled activities on the go! Ciao for now! Susannah

In 2008 we are offering TOEFL, TOEIC and Legal English in addition to our other examination and professional courses (Business English and Medical English). We also have a new compact Cambridge course that runs for 4 weeks and ends with an exam. Please contact Alex to find out more about our new courses!

1.Japan 37 21.51%

2.Italy 24 13.95%

3.Korea 23 13.37%

4.Germany 12 6.98%

5.Georgia 8 4.65%

6.China 7 4.07%

6.Saudi Arabia 7 4.07%

6.Swiss 7 4.07%

7.Brazil 6 3.49%

8.France 5 2.91%

8.Thailand 5 2.91%

10.Belgium 4 2.33%

10.Turkey 4 2.33%

Other countries:

Russia, Spain,Croatia,Czech Republic, Libya, Poland, Slovakia, Yemen, Bulgaria, Chile, Kuwait, Serbia, UAE

Total: 172 students

Lights, Camera, Preposition (working title)

This month saw a touch of 'Hollywood grammar' with a teacher training DVD for Oxford University Press (OUP) being filmed here at the Oxford English Centre. The DVD, to be ready next year, is to be part of a new course book series called 'Result'.

Starring in the always challenging teacher roles were the wonderful Anne Fowles, favourably compared to a young Julia Roberts, and Jonathan Fitch, unfavourably compared to Brad Pitt's grandfather.

An all-day Wednesday shoot was fronted by Anne, surrounded by an impressive film crew with all their equipment, and her students who, by all accounts, deserved an Oscar. On Thursday, the beautiful warm weather outside and powerful lighting meant 40 degrees in the classroom come studio but again the students persevered fantastically.

The students were rewarded with a gift voucher for the OUP bookshop and the promise of world -wide fame on the release of the DVD next year. We would like to thank again all those students who took part. We can hardly wait to see the results. Look out for Jon playing a camel role in the next James Bond movie! (This joke worked on Sasha...)

We really enjoyed welcoming travel agents from around the world to Oxford in September! Our 2007 Oxford Familiarisation Trip was a great success with representatives enjoying the friendly atmosphere and establishing co-operation that enhanced their portfolio of schools.

The Fam Trip combined visits to 4 Oxford schools with cultural events and social events including a Harry Potter Tour and a barbecue at the Oxford English Centre.

Good-bye OEC! I've had a great time here organising all our (fabulous!) social activities but it's time to move on to pastures new and to introduce you to the new Social Activities Organiser.....Susannah.......(from Cari)

Hello! It's wonderful to be back at OEC after teaching on the teen course in July and August this year. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and getting more fun filled activities on the go! If you have any questions or suggestions please come and find me in the school office... Ciao for now! Susannah