5 Reasons to Study English in Sydney This Summer

The brightness and colour of Sydney’s summer along with abundant activities, events and celebrations will be an epic English experience for you!

Summer – from December to February. Temperatures range from an average of 22 degrees Celsius at night to 35 degree Celsius (and hotter) during the day. This is a great time of the year to explore Sydney. All the colours of this glorious city are on display – sparkling blue water and green foreshores of Sydney Harbour, green parks, golden sand beaches. This is also a spectacular season of festivals and activities!

1. Superb summer climate

The climate of Sydney is relatively mild with the average maximum temperature of 25.8 Celsius degree in summer and 15.9 Celsius degree in winter. Interestingly, the average number of cloudy days per month in summer is twice as many as these days in winter (6).

2. Everything is so alive

Source: sydney.com

Summer is the perfect time to soak up the sun and have some city fun. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and insects and birds go wild. Go out to sparkling blue harbour, green parks and other stunning attractions in the city such as the Rocks, the Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Hyde Park and Chinatown. Your Sydney summer experience will not be complete without at least a day on the beach. Tamarama, Bilgola, Freshwater, Bondi, Manly, Bronte, Avalon, Whale Beach, Shelly Beach, Palm beach are some most popular beaches in this exciting city. The night time becomes the new time of day. People play at the park and there are quite a lot of people enjoying lovely walks around Darling Harbour, coming over Harbourside cafes, shops.

If you want to be a bit more adventurous, you may love to take a drive, train or bus trip to the Blue Mountains and meet the Three Sisters, one of Australia’s world-famous natural icons. Alternatively, you can take a day trip in the north, south and west of Sydney with many bush-walking tracks. There is no end to dreamy summertime activities.

3. Abundant events and celebrations

Students, teachers and staff had their Christmas party on 15 December, 2016. Over the morning and evening lessons, over 120 students and teachers took part in the festivities.

Each season come with important festivals that international students can attend. And summer is the time with most number events, starting from the Christmas season in December. If you want to have a different Christmas this year, visit Sydney for a summery Christmas. This holiday is traditionally spent with relatives and friends, making it a great time for a relaxed break in Sydney. There are the epic Christmas Lights Spectacular (Pokolbin), the traditional Gosford Christmas Parade, carols, fairs, markets, freshly caught seafood outdoors at a barbeque, traditional roast dinners around a dining table. Many people spend Christmas out of doors, going to the beach or heading to camping grounds.

Boxing day is observed on the day after Christmas each year. The day is known for the start of the post-Christmas sale season. It has also become a significant sporting day, particularly with the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Hat Head Trig Marathon on the North Coast.

New Year’s Day on 1 January is the first day of a new year in the Gregorian calendar used in Australia and many other nations. Its geographical position close to the International Date Line makes Australia one of the world’s first countries to welcome the New Year. In Sydney, there is a huge fireworks display at the start of the New Year. Over one million people are estimated to watch the display at the Sydney Harbour. Smaller displays are organised in other towns and cities.

To celebrate Australia’s National Day (26 January), Australians of all ages and classes get involved in celebrations around the beaches, backyards and parks. In Sydney, people gather at Sydney Habour to join in a big show with a series of extremely attractive events. You also can’t miss the spectacular firework performance here – the most impressive performance of the day and the national pride.

4. A city of diversity

Sydney is one of the world’s most multicultural cities. As estimated in June 2012 by the City of Sydney, 40.1% of the city’s population were born overseas. And top 5 countries for residents born overseas were England, China, India, New Zealand and Vietnam. Sydney’s multicultural nature means overseas students are readily accepted by others.

5. Intensive English courses for any ability

Scots students at class – Photo taken by Bruno Chalaupka

Scots English College (Scots) is a well-equipped, modern and cosy school located in the Sydney Central Business District. It is committed to the highest quality of educational outcomes and the provision of quality student services evident through the delivery of its range of ELICOS courses to international students. Scots achieves this commitment through its culture of quality driven by stakeholder feedback, its quality assurance review process and key responsibilities held by all members of the Scots’ team.

If you are interested in an unforgettable summer English experience, do not hesitate to learn, play and explore with students from all over the world with any of Scots’ premium-quality ELICOS courses. Get ready for your best day ever!

Source: 5 Reasons to Study English in Sydney This Summer | Scots English College

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EAP Courses: What Do I Need to Know?

The English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course helps you to get ready for study at a university or college. EAP also helps you to understand what it is like to study in Australia with Australian students. This can be different from your home country.

Living and learning English in Sydney is one of the most fun-filled and enriching experiences you could wish for. Enrolling in an EAP course not just helps to boost your English skills but helps you to get ready to study at a university or college and become immersed in the local culture and people.

What’s EAP?

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is an example of a group of English courses called English for Specific Purposes (ESP). ESP courses are designed because students are studying them for a ‘specific’ reason – that means the course is designed to meet the requirements of the English learners. Students are not learning English just to be good at it; instead, they study the ESP course because of some need.

So what are the needs of students who decide to study an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course? As the name suggests, the EAP course is to help overseas students to gain the English language skills and knowledge that will be required for further academic courses usually here in Australia.

Scots’ EAP courses

Scots’ EAP course is designed to prepare international students, from a range of backgrounds and nationalities, to undertake tertiary study in Australia.

Students enrolled for this course will have a specific study objective - to complete a tertiary-level course in a mainstream Australian tertiary institution. This may include courses available in universities, both private and public, private colleges and TAFE colleges.

Scots’ EAP course runs at four levels. This offers students a specialist study preparation option with a progression from a Pre-Intermediate (CEFR = A2) to Advanced (CEFR = C1) levels. Each of these four levels run for 12 weeks. 

Levels 1 to 4 (Full time)

The focus of an EAP course is developing the skills areas in English which the student will require to study alongside native speakers in mainstream course areas. However, students entering the EAP course at the lower Pre-Intermediate level may not have sufficient language skills to manage EAP materials immediately. For this reason, the balance of the EAP course will move from a language focus to a skills focus as the student progresses through the levels from EAP 1 to EAP 2 to EAP 3 and EAP 4. This means, when you study the EAP1 and 2 courses, there is a greater emphasis on learning language – grammar and structure, vocabulary, syntax – while the EAP 3 and EAP 4 courses has a greater focus on language skills – reading, writing, speaking & listening. 

Want to know more?

Please visit here for further information about this course!

Cr: EAP Courses: What Do You Need to Know? | Scots English College

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30 Alternative Ways of Saying "Do You Understand Me?"

What are some alternative ways of saying “Do you understand me?”

“Do you understand me?”, “Do you hear me?”, “Do you understand what I say?” are common ways to verify that people are following/ understanding you when you speak. Still, not everyone knows about these 30 alternative expressions in English. 

1. Am I getting my point across?

2. Are you following me?

3. Are you with me on this?

4. Did I explain that well?

5. Dig? = Understand?

6. Does that make any sense?

7. Does that sound okay to you?

8. Don’t you see?

9. Do you get it?

10. Do you get me?

11. Do you get my point?

12. Do you get the message?

13. Do you get the picture?

14. Do you hear what I’m saying?

15. Do you know what I am talking about?

16. Do you know what I mean?

17. Do you see?/ You see?

18. Do you see what I mean?

19. Do you see where I’m coming from?

20. Get my drift?

21. Have I explained that okay?

22. I hope I am getting my point across.

23. I hope I’ve explained myself well.

24. I hope you can see things from my perspective.

25. Is it clear?

26. Is there any doubt?

27. Know what I’m saying?

28. You are with me, right?

29. You get it?

30. You get what I am saying, right?

Do you want to improve your English and communication skills? Then study with us at Level 11, 99 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000. We are committed to the highest quality of educational outcomes and the provision of quality student services evident through the delivery of our range of English language courses to international students. 

Cr: "Do you understand me?" 30 Better Ways to Communicate | Scots English College

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6 Powerful Tips to Help You Improve English Listening Skills

The language focus today is on tips to improve your listening skills in English.

Below we share tips that could help you to improve English listening skills. Also, if you are interested in joining an English school in Sydney, you can consider Scots English College as one of your options. As everyone learns differently, we always try to use the method (way) that works best for you. We are committed to the highest quality of educational outcomes and the provision of quality student services evident through the delivery of our range of English language courses to international students.

1. Active listening 

When you actively listen to something, you listen to less information but have a much deeper way of thinking about it. That means you learn English through listening more efficiently and effectively.

For example, you may just listen to 3 minutes of the news instead of 30 minutes, but think about any new words or phrases you hear, guess their meaning and then note them down.

Important things you can think about when active listening are pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and structure. You don’t need to think about all four at once. Instead, you can start by focusing on your weakest area.

2. Transcribing

Transcribing spoken English is the act of writing down the English words that have been spoken. When transcribing something, you can choose a news story, a song or a part of a movie that you like. Be sure you can find its transcript to check your work. This method can help you to improve English vocabulary and pronunciation.

You can start practising transcription by:

• Finding audio or video with a transcript. Do not look at the words.
• Listening to a short section of the audio/video many times. By so doing, the process sharpens your ‘ear’ for the target language sounds while urging you to search for new words.
• After that, try to write down what you hear.
• Compare what you wrote against the transcript.
• Think about where you had problems, what words or sounds you did not hear.

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Karaoke: A Fun and Easy Way to Learn English for ELICOS Learners

3. Eaves-dropping

This interesting way helps you to hear natural conversations from native speakers in their natural habitat.

Listen to what people are saying around you on the bus, train, in a cafe or at the park. They are often small talks about daily life (what happened at the weekend, now or in the future). You will probably start listening in the middle of the conversation. This will make it more challenging to understand but also more fun. Try to see if you can catch what the conversation is about, pick up on repeated words and be ready for use when speaking.

4. Record class activities on your cell phone

If you have difficulty understanding spoken English during your classes, record them so that you can listen to class again later. Listen again to any of the words you might have missed. Listen for the tone and intonation of your teacher and classmates’ words. This helps you to pronounce difficult words more clearly and easily and find it easier to understand spoken words during classes. Also, using the recording, write words you hear most often in class, and then bring this list with you to class. Whenever you hear a word on the list, write an X or so beside the word. Listening for the context will help you understand when and why certain words are used. Once you are comfortable with the words you hear all the time, you can change your focus to the words with fewer check marks.

5. Ask your teacher, classmates for help

You can learn a lot from your teacher and classmates. Be sure to ask your teacher about anything you couldn’t understand. Scots’ experienced and dedicated teachers are always happy to do extra work with you. You can also find someone in your class who wants to learn with you. Just agree on a certain speech, song or other audio and listen together. Then quiz each other on what certain sentences or words mean. By so doing, your classmate will probably understand words you don’t, and vice versa. Also, this will let you know your classmates better, making you more comfortable in class.

6. Join a conversation group

Find a group of English learners so that you all can meet regularly and talk in English. This conversation group may include your classmates. As students at Scots are from all over the world, you have chances to listen to a variety of English accents and voices. Also, at Scots, students are faciliated to learn practical, applied English. ‘English Only on Campus’ reinforces English learning in a safe and proactive manner so that students can learn to speak English and think in English. In addition, you can look for English conversation groups on Meetup. This helps you to find a group near you.

Cr: How to Improve Listening Skills in English | Scots English College

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Top 8 Unmissable Things to Do in Sydney

Below we have picked out 8 things to do in Sydney at least once. If you are joining an English language course at Scots, you must realise that there is something we have done together during your studies here.

Sydney is one of the world’s best cities to study and a beautiful place to live. Below we have picked out 8 things to do in Sydney at least once. If you are joining an English language course at Scots English College, you must realise that there is something we have done together during your studies here.

Ride Luna Park’s ferris wheel 

Cr: Becoming Aussie

Luna Park has been one of most interesting destinations in Sydney as it shines with beautiful festivals, cotton candies as big as your head (or even bigger) and the glittering ferris wheel. This is one of the best places in Sydney to hang out with your friends or someone special for the whole day.

Dine on Sydney’s tallest tower

Does the revolving restaurant concept appeal to you? Sydney Tower Eye is the tallest building in Sydney with a really great 360-degree panoramic view of the beautiful city. You can go to the observatory or challenge yourself to Sydney’s highest outdoor adventure with Skywalk. If you want to rejuvenate with a drink, 360 Bar and Dining Restaurant will bring you an exquisite dinner menu along with some famous wines served in an unforgettable setting.

Take a picnic to the Royal Botanic Garden

Cr: Nomadsworld

There is much to see and do at the Royal Botanic Garden. It brings you awesome views over Sydney Harbour along with 30 hectares of diverse animal and plant species and many classic sculptures in the gardens. Unsurprisingly, it is praised as a picnic paradise, a heaven for garden lovers, a place to relax and daydream and a fantastic place for artists and art-lovers. And it’s so close to the city that you can give it a visit at lunch break. Enjoy a picnic, take free guided walks or book an Australian Aboriginal heritage tour guided by experienced guides.

Enjoy performances at the Opera Sydney House

We had great time at Sydney Opera House as part of our excursion.

Visit Sydney Opera House and see what is under its sails at least once. There are many performances throughout the year, from opera to dance to concerts. You can watch a show, take a backstage tour or enjoy wine and food in a variety of bars and restaurants.

Take a ferry to Manly

Our February monthly excursion to Manly Beach

A 30-minute ferry journey to Manly has always been on the list of best things to do in Sydney since 1855, and this is still the best way to reach Sydney’s most beautiful Northern beaches. Catch a ferry from Circular Quay, take in the sparkling waters of Sydney Harbour and admire historic sites such as Kirribilli House, Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and Fort Denison along the way.

Ride a horse in Centennial Park

Cr: Papillon Riding Stables

Choose a sunny day and take a horse riding class at Centennial Park. Then enjoy a picnic next to one of the park’s many ponds, strolling around the picturesque and iconic park.

Get into a real submarine at the Australian National Maritime Museum

Cr: Flickr

Dive deep into the sea… without getting wet. The Australian National Maritime Museum has a handful of great exhibits, but the star attraction may be jumping abroad one of the famous vessels such as the HMAS Vampire and HMAS Onslow.

Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Cr: BridgeClimb

Spanning Sydney Harbour at a maximum height of 134 metres, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest steel arch bridge and one of Australia’s most popular destinations. There are many ways to enjoy this dazzling construction – for example, join a paid bridge tour and feel the incredible height of the bridge on the way to the summit; or walk to the Pylon Lookout for a bird’s eye view of the city. Or simply walk across the bridge, which is a great way to spend time in Sydney and will take you about 15 minutes.

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Things to do in Sydney today

Cr: 8 Things You Should Do in Sydney at Least Once in Your Life | Scots English College

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English for Academic Purposes: What You Should Know About

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is an example of a group of English courses called English for Specific Purposes (ESP). ESP courses are designed because students are studying them for a ‘specific’ reason – that means they the course is designed to meet the requirements of the English learners. Students are not learning English just to be good at it; instead they study the ESP course because of some need.

CRICOS Course Code: 092779J

Levels: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced entry levels

Duration: Full time – 20 hours per week

What is English for Academic Purposes?

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is an example of a group of English courses called English for Specific Purposes (ESP). ESP courses are designed because students are studying them for a ‘specific’ reason – that means they the course is designed to meet the requirements of the English learners. Students are not learning English just to be good at it; instead they study the ESP course because of some need.

What are their needs?

So what are the needs of students who decide to study an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course? As the name suggests, the EAP course is to help overseas students to gain the English language skills and knowledge that will be required for further academic courses usually here in Australia. So most students studying EAP hope to go on to vocational or higher education courses when they successfully complete their EAP course. EAP, therefore, meets the needs of students who need to learn a specific range of English skills in order to succeed in their future academic educational pathways or careers.

Premium-quality EAP course at Scots

EAP course at Scots English College (Scots) is designed to prepare international students, from a range of backgrounds and nationalities, to undertake tertiary study in Australia.

Students enrolled for this course will have a specific study objective - to complete a tertiary-level course in a mainstream Australian tertiary institution. This may include courses available in universities, both private and public, private colleges and TAFE colleges.

Scots’ EAP course runs at three levels. This offers students a specialist study preparation option with a progression from an Pre-Intermediate (CEFR = A2) to Upper Intermediate (CEFR = B2) entry levels. Each of these three levels run for 12 weeks. 

The focus of an EAP course is developing the skills areas in English which the student will require to study alongside native speakers in mainstream course areas. However, students entering the EAP course at the lower Pre-Intermediate level may not have sufficient language skills to manage EAP materials immediately. For this reason, the balance of the EAP course will move from a language focus to a skills focus as the student progresses through the levels from EAP 1 to EAP 2 to EAP 3 and EAP 4. This means that, when you study the EAP1 and 2 courses, there is a greater emphasis on learning language – grammar and structure, vocabulary, syntax – while the EAP 3 and EAP 4 courses has a greater focus on language skills – reading, writing, speaking & listening. 

Guided Individual Learning (optional)

In addition to the compulsory 20 hours of the program, Scots offers students the valuable opportunity to attend a guided individual learning session at the end of each formal teaching day. Students will have access to computers, resources, books and audio-visual materials to work on essays, research assignment material, etc. A teacher will be present for students to assist with any areas which require further development. As the EAP course is strongly focused on providing the necessary language and study skills for tertiary study, independent learning helps you to develop further strong learning habits and personal time management.

Join Scots and achieve your potential

Scots is committed to the highest quality of educational outcomes and the provision of quality student services evident through the delivery of its range of ELICOS courses to international students. EAP course is one of them. For more information about this course at Scots, please click here.

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[Infographic] - Why Choose Scots for Your English Language Course?

While there are many ELICOS course providers for international students in Australia, what make Scots English College (Scots) one of your best choices?

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