The oracle returns . . .

Hello dreamers!

Well, the summer is on the wane and September is here with a dramatic cricket match betwen England and Australia putting our feeble football team to shame!

So, how are you all? Getting on with your lives? Excellent!

I had a super summer in England and Italy. It went so quickly and we did so much together as a family and individually.

Anyway, back to reality and a new British Council IELTS course. Congratulations on all your exploits in July and August - do you want to help my new class at the BC? We kicked off on Tuesday and finish on Monday, 3 October. Our weblog is:
www.ieltsprize.blogspot.com
I have 17 students, 10 Academic and 7 General - initial impressions are positive and I hope they can do as well as the I-dream blog (although we took a while to 'gel', didn't we?)
Therefore anyone reading this - how about sending me an email: beale@eim.ae and I'll invite you to join the new weblog. I might even take the liberty of inviting the more active bloggers in case they miss this post.
That's all for now, campers! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards

Tony

Unfortunately the I-troop blog never took off, so I don't expect any of that class to join the new weblog...

FORGET EVERYTHING AND JUST FOCUS ON YOUR EXAM

hey people!

Since most of you are going for the exam tomorrow, my sincere advice from personal experience is - JUST THINK OF YOUR EXAM!
Everything else around you is trivial, so do not pay attention to it.

Arrange your ID and stationery before going to sleep.
(2 pencils, pencil sharpener/eraser/highlighter)
Try to get a good night's sleep.
Wake up, pray and leave at least half an hour before the exam.
Once there, just relax, chill and do not think of the exam. Make friends.

The invigilators will call you one by one, ask you to leave your things outside the hall and then allow you to go in.
I advise you NOT to keep a big amount of cash or any expensive items.
Take your mobile if necessary - preferably DONT!
You will not die without your mobile, in addition , you do not get to time to use it during the exam.


Once the exam starts,the first one is listening, so make sure you hear everything properly because the invigilators do a speaker testing before the exam starts. DO NOT BE SHY if the volume is too low - SPEAK UP if it is not audible!!! Or be doomed!

Moreover, if you feel the urge to go to the loo, go ahead before the exam starts. Once you are in the hall, it is difficult and distracting to go out, especially during the exam.

You have a water bottle and glass on your desk. Keep it handy and take regular sips of water after each exam. Do NOT flush it down your throat once you see it or risk running to and fro the toilet.

Hear any unnecessary noise/whispering/disturbance during the exam?
TELL THE INVIGILATORS - they are there to make your life easy.

You will have big clocks around the room to keep you on track.
Since you receive your exam papers well in advance, make a small time table as to how much time you are going to give to each question/section/task.
Furthermore, at intervals of 30/20/15/5 min the announcer keeps reminding you of the time.

Thats all I could think of right now,

be cool,
bestest of luck ;)

The caravan moves on and on

G'day blogmates!

Phew! Where did those three weeks go? Before we knew it, the course was half over and IELTS was staring six of you in the face.

All the best to the six warriors about to enter the IELTS arena as I wait for my household to wake up. My body clock is hard wired for 5am awakenings, it seems! I bet Zulfiya, Thuraya, Mariam, Ricky, Waseem and Mona had a lot on their minds last night. Did you sleep well, dreamers? At least it's only the speaking today, then Saturday is the big one...

The course was fun, your feedback questionnaire was mostly positive, thank you. I agree that three weeks and five days a week is too intensive. I much prefer the 4 week, four days a week approach for IELTs courses. People asked for more speaking practice, I'll see what I can do about that for the next course.

Your attendance record was amazing - most of you were 100% and you kept smiling and working away at whatever you had to do. We lost three soldiers in action from the original 16, that's life and the rest of you more than made up in your hard work, keenness and desire to learn - a great combination!

So, please visit the new July IELTS course weblog: www.ieltstroop.blogspot.com You can comment on its posts using your current account, I'll invite you all during the weekend to join as contributors - you can even be 'administrators' and edit posts. The more active bloggers will be invited to spice up the running blog: www.ieltsclubseven,blogspot.com - watch your email inboxes!

That's all for now. Zeena's second sister Dana arrives tomorrow with two pals from London. ZB's third sister, Nadine has been here since Saturday, leading to lots of giggling. Good job we've got three bathrooms in our Abu Dabs residence!

Will be chilling today and taking some time out with Zeena & Nadine at the pool / beach - probably late afternoon - but let's see what the girls feel like doing - that is when they e v e n t u a l l y wake up.

Looking forward to hearing from the six dreamers after they have slain the IELTS dragon!

Bye for now

Tony

2012 might be an interesting summer - the Beale caravan is most likely to be moored in the land of rain and clouds by then...

Cheer up!

Hallooo Dreamers,

I have been watching you guys post your feelings regarding the end of the ielts course.
I can very well understand what the dreamers must be going through.
Feelings such as "God-what now??","iam on my own", "who will help me out?", party time over-now it is time to face the ielts music and so on.

Once your classes finish, it does not mean the end is here.

Bottom line is that guys, you have seen, heard and witnessed many of the ielts success stories.They are normal people from all walks of life who toiled hard to conquer and overcome ielts phobia.I reiterate once again, use the weblog and keep gauging your performance.

Mr.Tony and fellow bloggers are here to help you out, so do not at any instance feel alone or left out.

Have faith in God and yourself !

Thank you Mohammed Sarhan!!

Good morning Mohammed!

The I-dream class and I thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to address us last night. You have grown in stature, young man (literally and metaphorically!).

It is inspiring for us to meet a successful candidate who has applied what he learned during the course. Being prepared to share this knowledge and experience with "Those who are about to IELTS" is a wonderful opportunity to listen and learn.

Now we are starting to build up that community of learners and hopefully, friends, through our IELTS classes and the weblogs.

Keep it up, guys! The new class will need you, so will ieltscommunity 6 in September and so on.

It's not the end, it's the next step of the journey.

I am in love with language, languages fascinate me and meeting such smart, dedicated learners is a great sense of joy for me.

May you realise ALL your dreams!

God bless!

Tony

Ricky's feedback

Hi there! Ricky kindly posted this message which some cretin in the USA made an idiotic comment about. Wow, there are some morons in this world that have nothing better to do than display their ignorance. What sad specimens they are! So Mr Nobody, get lost!

Hi guys !Today is the second last day. Well, today it was quite windy outside. The task two writing is now quite easy for me. I found something which can be useful. If you don't understand the topic, don't panic. Read the topic for some 20 to 25 times. This method was very useful to me yesterday as I found this yesterday itself. However, the advice given by Mubs is very helpful.Bye guys!

Bye for now

Tony

Thanks Mubs!!!

Dear Mubs

On behalf of Ieltsdream weblog I thank you most heartily for coming to address us last night.

It was very helpful to hear your experience and to learn from your success and dedication.

Personally speaking, I was delighted to see you so relaxed and happy after all the strain you had been through. Your hard work paid dividends and is an inspiration to this IELTS class and future such cohorts.

Good luck and God bless you in all your endeavours.

Tony

ps It will be very interesting to meet Mohammed Sarhan tomorrow and to learn from his experience preparing for and taking IELTS.

pps We will have time for the Diana debate, I promise!

TASK 2 (CORRECTED)

TASK 2 PRACTICE.
THE USE OF CHEMICALS IN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTS--HARMFUL OR GOOD?
The latest advances in science have brought about significant changes in the methods of human working such as farming and the processing of food.Farmers and producers of food products argue that fertilisers and processing agents are used to increase the yield and preserve the food products.On the contrary,the advocates of consumers' rights contend that excessive use of the chemicals for the aforementioned purposes is injurious to human health.In this essay,I will examine these arguments and relate the discussion to my own observation and experience.

With the increasing needs of human beings world-wide,the scientific reasearch has come up with numerous methods of enhancing the output of various crops, and prolonging the shelf-life of edibles and making them more appealing to the buyers.Firstly in order to get higher (to maximise) the production (of) crops(,) fertilisers are added in more than (the) recommended quantities.For example, (the) use of chemical substances (by farmers in the developing countries) for increased production of rice and wheat (by farmers in developing countries) is not according to the safety guidelines .Similarly,insect-killing medicines(insecticides or pesticides) are used to eliminate insects on cotton crops and save the crops.Secondly,the artificial colouring agents and preservatives are added to daily consumables during their manufacturing.It is claimed that those are safe,but in fact they are not.These(which?!) (additives)have been associated with harmful effects in human beings.

Various studies conducted by medical people(scientists or science community or researchers) have revealed the negative effects of the above-mentioned agents(these agents or additives) on human health such as behavioural problems in young children and cancer in adults.Personally as a doctor,I have come accross(s)many children who consumed the processed "POTATO-CHIPS" and "CHEWING-GUMS" and developed irritability and restlessness which settled after stopping the use of such foods.The story does not end here;as a result of eating products rich in injurious chemicals,many adults have developed cancer of intestines and urinary bladder.That implies:the business interests of many entrepreneurs are responsible for the ailments of their fellow human beings.

Hence, I am justified in concluding (wc: in conclusion,I am convinced) that unwise and excessive use of chemical agents in agriculture and food industry has caused more problems than it has solved.If at all such substances have to be used,they should be used in (the)recommended quantities, so that they donot cause untoward(unwanted)-effects on their consumers.At the same time,(wc)(Ultimately)the Consumers' Rights Bodies have a vital supervisory role to play.(in controlling and regulating the agricultural and food industry)

Honestly, very nice writing, I wish you best of luck.
Former IELTS student.

See you all today!

My greetings to the i-dreamers!

As per the BC tradition very thoughfully initiated by Sir Tony, I will be coming to visit you guys today for an informal talking session regarding ielts. (inshaAllah)

Please feel free to ask/discuss anything pertaining the exam.

I hope i can be of any help and i will try to be there on time.

**if i get the parking-fingers crossed!!**