Cactus Opinion: English Course in Edinburgh

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, Learning a language

Ignacio Gimenez, Financial Assistant at Cactus, tells us about his adventures in the Scottish capital

To visit Scotland had always been one of my dreams ever since I was a teenager…and this autumn I went to Edinburgh to do an English course with Cactus and make my dream come true.

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Tags: edinburgh, english, scotland

Top 10 free things to do in London

Posted by simonager under English, Languages

London can be an expensive place to visit, however there are plenty of places to visit and things to do that won’t cost you a penny. Here are some suggestions:
1. Museums
There are numerous fascinating museums to visit in London, all of which are free, though they do stage some special exhibitions which you do have [...]

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Tags: destination, england, english, free, location, london, top 10

How to say ‘Happy New Year’ in 20 languages

Posted by simonager under English, French, German, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

New Year is celebrated around the world, though not necessarily on the same day everywhere. In some cases, such as in Chinese and Vietnamese communities, there are celebrations for both solar New Year on 1st January according to the Gregorian, and Lunar New Year, the date of which changes every year. In the Eastern Orthodox [...]

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Tags: arabic, catalan, french, german, italian, mandarin, new year, spanish, voc

Top 5 City Breaks this Autumn

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, French, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

Put some brightness in your diary this autumn…
August has just been pronounced the worst on record, we’re almost in autumn without even seeing a summer, and the evenings are starting to draw in. Anyone living in the UK has ample reason to be jumping on a plane right now - and it seems that, despite [...]

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Tags: barcelona, berlin, cava week, city break, english, french, italian, new york, nice, rome, spanish, thanksgiving

10 Good Reasons to TEFL

Posted by Sarah under Cactus TEFL, English, Learning a language

Laura Harrison, Cactus TEFL Advisor, gives us the expert opinion…
1. Travel
TEFL gives you a perfect way to see the world and fund your travel. Some people start teaching in one place, fall in love with it, and stay for a long time. Others however prefer to change location every year, and by so doing literally [...]

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Tags: cactus tefl, efl, english language awareness, teaching english, tefl, tefl course, tesol

Language Holidays for the Over 50s

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, French, German, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

Why learn a language later in life?
With an increasingly ‘older’ population, and people living for longer, it is not surprising that the over 50s and retirees are now enjoying, and demanding more, of their free time. Many now have the time, money and freedom to indulge in existing passions and explore new interests, whether at [...]

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Tags: language learning over 50s, learning a language, learning later in life, young at heart

Language Learning: Setting Yourself Goals

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, French, German, Italian, Learning a language, Spanish

When you learn something new - whether it’s a sport, a musical instrument or a foreign language - it can really help to have a goal, or set of goals. A goal will not only motivate you and provide the impetus to keep going; it will also give you a valuable means of tracking [...]

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Tags: cambridge further exams, celi, dele, delf, language exam preparation course, language holiday abroad, language learning, language learning goals, testdaf

The Role of Music in Second Language Learning

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, Learning a language

A recent blog post made me wonder why language teachers like to get lyrical…
Having attended various language courses across the world, from Cuba to Italy to Argentina, it’s always interested me how local language teachers are so keen to incorporate singing into their lessons. There hasn’t been one course where I haven’t had to listen [...]

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Tags: argentina, cuba, efl, italy, second language learning, singing, tefl, vietnam

Learning English & German in Brighton…as a Spaniard!

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, German, Language Courses UK, Learning a language

Cactus intern Fátima Rego tells us how she juggles English & German during her stay in Brighton
Hello to all. Thanks for your warm welcome! I am called Fátima, Spanish (from the north-north), and I’ve been living in Brighton for three months. I work in a wonderful company, Cactus, that has offered me the possibility of [...]

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Tags: english, german evening course, language courses in brighton, learn english, learning german

CELTA in Ljubljana, Slovenia - a trainer’s first-hand account

Posted by Sarah under Cactus TEFL, English

Hi readers. I’m Bill Harris, a freelance CELTA trainer, and this is my first report on my training experiences around the world.

I’m writing on my day off in the living room of my spacious apartment in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, with occasional forays onto the terrace for some sun.
Slovenia…not to be confused with Slovakia [...]

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Tags: celta, slovenia, teaching practice, tefl