IELTS Speaking Tip

Hugh Nelson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:37:36 +0000

An unwritten rule of the IELTS Listening test is that if a candidate stops speaking for
more than 10 seconds at any point during the task, the penalty could be the loss of a band
point. This is particularly true during the so-called “Long Turn,” when you are expected
to speak unassisted for one to two minutes.
One of the main thing the IELTS Listen task tests is a candidate’s “fluency,” which does
not mean the ability to speak like a native-speaker but simply to speak “flowingly,” that
is, without long pauses. The solution to any problem that may come up in the IELTS
Speaking task is simple and always the same: speak. Find a speaking solution.

To download the complete IELTS Speaking Tip, please sign up here (Link opens in a new window)

UK Visa Update

Hugh Nelson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:18:03 +0000

Message from the BC – 4 June 2009

The PBS Tier 4 visa application system was launched at the end of March. We have worked closely with the visa section in providing the new information and guidelines to agents and students, but we are unfortunately faced with a disproportionately high rejection rate for visa applications.

We have dealt with this case as promptly as possible with the visa section at the British Embassy. Here are the immediate first steps we are taking to try and solve this problem:

1. Checklist for a visa letter

As the main reason given for visa rejection is the visa letter itself, the visa section has prepared for us a checklist for the provision of a visa letter with information on specific errors which have occurred. Please see the two files attached for further information. The key message from the visa section is that documents all need to be in order and meet the clear criteria. The Embassy is no longer allowed to use discretion in making decisions. If the documents do not provide the exact information needed then the application will be rejected.

2. Pre-sessional courses

For Thai students going to study for a pre-sessional course and who have had their visas rejected due to the wrong visa letter being submitted by UK institutions, we understand that it will be too late for them to re-apply and wait for another two weeks for the visa.

On discussion with the visa section, it is recommended that the students re-apply immediately. The visa section has agreed with the British Council in Thailand to process these applications quickly if the students mention to the VFS the dates for the beginning of the course, and ask VFS to attach a note to their second application stating the immediacy of the course date.

IELTS Listening Tip

Hugh Nelson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:53:41 +0000

IELTS Listening Tip: Practice

The IELTS Listening test comes first, and many candidates find it a hard, sometime even discouraging, way to get started. The IELTS Listening task tests a diverse range of skills.

There are many ways to prepare for this portion of the IELTS exam. For starters, there are many practice tapes and CD sets on the commercial market. While all of them are helpful to some degree, the one thing you can be sure of is that none of them will be the IELTS Listening test you take.
The good news is that the best ways to practice IELTS Listening skills are available free
or at low cost. They’re also more fun. They are radio, TV, and movies!
If you have access to an English-language radio or TV station, listen to it as often as
possible. The benefits are many….

Get this whole IELTS Tip and many more for free here

Dissertation Thesis Help

Hugh Nelson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:03:49 +0000

Complete your dissertation with the professional help and assistance of UniRoute.

Did you know that the number-one reason students fail their Master’s degree is because they do not complete their dissertation?

Is dissertation writing an obstacle for you?
Have you chosen your topic? Is it ‘do-able’?
Are you frightened of undertaking a quantitative study?
Are you frustrated with your supervisor?
Do you need assistance with your review of the literature?

Maybe you’re sitting and staring at your dissertation in bewilderment. Or are you just wondering how and where to begin? Perhaps you’re just in need of a touch of inspiration, or you simply require support to make your dissertation exceptional.

Whatever your circumstances – UniRoute can help

Working with UniRoute – What we will do:

- Help you understand the purpose of a dissertation, the importance of working effectively with your supervisor and the challenge of managing your study time effectively
- Help you to select a suitable topic, with due attention to methodology and related theory
- Assist you with structuring and writing up the dissertation effectively, thinking critically and writing with accuracy and style
- Ensure that your data analysis is carried out correctly, using a suitable methodology
Proofread your work

What we won’t do:
- Write your dissertation for you!

Fees:
Please contact UniRoute to discuss your individual requirements.

UK immigration process for student Visas

Hugh Nelson — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:54:55 +0000

These notes are provided for information only

The new rules will apply to any application for a student visa or student visa extension which is received on or after 31 March 2009.

New rules for Adult Student visas (for applications on/after 31 March 2009)

Accreditation [=checking that the quality of the education and facilities provided by a school is above a minimum standard]
You can only study at a school, college or university whose quality has been accredited by one of these approved agencies:
- British Council (through Accreditation UK): accredits English language schools. See: http://www.britishcouncil.org/it/accreditation-az-list.htm
- BAC (the British Accreditation Council): accredits private schools which do not mainly teach English language courses. See: http://www.the-bac.org/colleges/directory/ukdirectc.pl
- ASIC (the Accreditation Service for International Colleges): accredits private schools. See: http://www.asic.org.uk
- Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills): accredits mainly schools which are paid for using UK government money (where many British students will also be studying). See: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk

The school also needs to have a UK Border Agency Sponsors’ Licence. If the Home Office takes away this licence from a school it will not be able to recruit any new international students from outside the EU (so it may close).
A list of licensed schools will be published on the website of the Home Office’s UK Border Agency: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/sponsoringmigrants/registerofsponsors

[previously it was possible to obtain a visa for a school which was not accredited but which appeared on The Register of Education and Training Providers, a list maintained by the DIUS]

Course level and type
Your course must be at a certain level (for lower level courses you can only apply for a Student Visitor visa):

- For English courses it must be at least at “pre-intermediate” level (the easiest of the 5 Cambridge ESOL exams, the Key English Test (KET), is at this level)
[The formal requirement is that it is at Level A2 or above in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: http://www.coe.int/T/DG4/Portfolio/?L=E&M=/main_pages/levels.html]

- For non-English courses it must be at least at the level studied at British schools after the age of 16 (for example: A Levels, AS Levels, Scottish Highers, NVQs, university level).
[The formal requirement is that it is at Level 3 or above in the National Qualifications Framework: http://www.qca.org.uk/14-19/qualifications/116_brief-guides-level-3.htm]

- If a course includes job placements, at least 50% of the course must be study, and a maximum 50% can be work

[previously it was possible to get a student visa even for low level courses, or for courses that were mainly work-based]

Money
You will need to show that you have enough money available to cover either the full length of the course (for courses which last under 9 months) or which cover the first 9 months of a course which is for more than 9 months. The minimum amount of money you need is enough for:
- any unpaid tuition/course fees for the first year of study, plus the following maintenance funds (this is the money you need for your living expenses):
- if you are studying in London: maintenance funds of £800 per month [£7,200 for a course of 9 months or more], plus maintenance funds of £535 per month [£4,815 for a course of 9 months or more] for each dependent (usually a husband, wife or child) you bring with you to the UK. You are studying in “London” if at least half of your study time is in one of these boroughs (the white area in the map below): Camden, City of London, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster.
- if you are studying outside London: maintenance funds of £600 per month [£5,400 for a course of 9 months or more], plus maintenance funds of about £400 per month [£3,600 for a course of 9 months or more] for each dependent (usually a husband, wife or child) you bring with you to the UK
You will need to show that you have the necessary amount of money in your account during the 28 days before you make your application. Your account balance must have been above the necessary level on every single day during that period
[previously minimum amount of money was not fixed, although it needed to be enough to support yourself without any help from the UK government]

Visa application process
You will be able to check for yourself if you have enough “points” to be able to get a student visa (to avoid wasting your time and money making an unsuccessful application).
You will need to obtain your student visa before arriving in the UK.
You will need to give your fingerprints and to obtain a biometric identity card.
You need to obtain a visa letter from your place of study
[ in future you will need to obtain a document called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your school, for which you will pay £10 - this has not yet been introduced ]
You will need to pay a student visa application fee

Attendance reporting
Your school will check if you are attending classes, and may report you to the Home Office’s UK Border Agency if you are not going to school (normally you will be reported after an unauthorised absence of two weeks, or 10 missed “contact points”)
[ after the "Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies" scheme has been introduced, your school must report your absence to the Home Office ]
[previously a school did not have to have a formal process to check and report attendance]

Changing schools
If you wish to change your school within the UK, you will need to inform the Home Office’s UK Border Agency before you change. If the new course finishes after your current visa expires, you will need to apply for an extension.
[ in future you will need to obtain a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your new school - this has not yet been introduced ]
[previously it was possible to change school without informing the Home Office, although students were supposed to inform the Home Office about such changes]

Extending a student visa while in the UK
The period for a student visa will depend on the course length. The new course must start no more than 1 month after the expiry date of your previous visa. You will need to show you have money for tuition fees for the first year of your course, and also that you have maintenance funds for at least 2 months (based on the minimum amounts shown above – ie at least £1,600 if you are studying in London, or £1,200 if you are studying outside London, plus extra if you have dependents).
You will need to obtain a biometric identity card if you don’t already have one.

Free IELTS Quiz

Hugh Nelson — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:03:54 +0000

Are you ready for the IELTS Maximiser?

UniRoute’s online IELTS preparation teaches you the techniques, twists and tips and tricks you need to know to do really well in the IELTS test.

However, prior to taking the course you should make sure that your level of English is sufficient!

By taking the quiz, you can get a nearly instantaneous indication of whether your reading skills are adequate for you to undertake our IELTS preparation course and do well in the IELTS exam.

The IELTS quiz is short reading about English author Charles Dickens. The questions about it are very much like the kinds of questions IELTS uses in the Reading task portion of its exam.

Because that preparation course involves a great deal of reading, explaining all aspects of the IELTS exam, you will have to do a lot of reading to get the most out of the e-learning course. Good luck to you!

Click here to start the free IELTS Quiz

Twitter – Follow UniRoute

Hugh Nelson — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:21:17 +0000

UniRoute now has established a presence on Twitter. You can follow us using @uniroute

Our director Hugh Nelson will be updating Twitter.

See you in the Twitteruniverse, we are looking forward to follow you back.

follow UniRoute at http://twitter.com

Affiliates

Hugh Nelson — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:53:46 +0000

Earn 20% commission through our affiliate program.

By placing our online IELTS course links on your website or in your blogs, you can earn 20% of every sale resulting from your referral links.
Our program is free to join and easy to sign-up.

How It Works:

To become an affiliate, start by signing up at 2Checkout.com.
After you create your account with 2Checkout, log in here. Once you have logged into your account you can see your Vendor ID in the top left corner of the screen.
Update the 2 fields in the html script below with your Vendor ID (name=’aff_id’) e.g. 1234567 (do not include the #), and Vendor Name (YOUR COMPANY).
Paste the HTML code for the course into your website. You can add your own description for the course using information on our site and change the formatting if needed.
The commissions you have earned on each sale can be viewed by clicking on the ‘List Commissions’ tab on the affiliates page in your 2Checkout.com account.

2CheckOut.com Inc. (Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by YOUR COMPANY

Placeholder

Hugh Nelson — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:33:37 +0000

While we are building up the content for our new student portal, we feel almost sorry that our temorary placeholder only saw the light of the web for a couple of hours.

Click here to view our temporary placeholder.

Broadband Phones

Hugh Nelson — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:37:15 +0000

Broadband Phones – stay in touch when you study abroad.

One of the main issues faced when students move to the UK it culture shock – the anxiety felt by students when having to study within a different cultural or social environment. To help you survive it is important to stay in touch with family and friends at home. Email is an obvious choice but can be very impersonal. Calling from the UK on a land line or mobile can be expensive. An option often overlooked by students is that of broadband phones – using the internet to make calls, cheaply and effectively. Broadband ensures that the quality is good and the voice of Internet protocol (VoIP) system keeps the cost down.

There are two types of phones that you can use

* software broadband phones that require the other person to have a similar system on their PC. You use a microphone and speakers connected to you PC or notebook.

*hardware broadband phones that act like you usual fixed line phone.

There are many suppliers in the UK offering broadband services, usually as part of an Internet package. Some examples of providers include O2, BT, Virgin, Talk Talk and so on. Prices and bandwidth do vary so be sure to shop around before choosing a package – you are typically required to sign up for a fixed time so make sure it fits with you study dates and may not be the cheapest. Prices range from about GBP6.00 per month for an 8MB connection to GBP20 per month for 24MB.

Leading suppliers of VoIP services include Skype, Vonage, Plusnet and so on. Each has different deals and you need to carry out your own research to make sure that you select the correct package to suit your needs. Perhaps one of the best sources of information is to ask your fellow students for their advice. Be sure to ask about quality since this can still be an issue – make sure they are getting good reception to your home country.

Keep in mind that mobile broadband is becoming more widely available and this may be an attractive alternative to fixed broadband if you intend to move around. Prices start at about GBP10 per month but prices will rise depending on speed. Currently speeds can reach 7.2MB so the system can be used for a broadband phone set-up.

Finally, look for special offers. Some providers are offering a “free” notebook PC when you sign up – it may not be a top spec computer but it will get you on-line cheaply and easily.