By Paula . on
19/08/2009 10:41 AM
 YHA will open a brand new hostel in Sydney's "Rocks" area later this year. The hostel has a great roof top area with amazing views of the Opera house and Sydney harbour Along with dorm rooms the Sydney Harbour YHA will offer twin and family rooms. A double with a view and a private bathroom is $153 a night but what a view! Dorms from $40 a night. Bookings are now open for dates from Dec 18th.... visit the YHA website for more information.
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By Paula . on
12/08/2009 3:01 PM
We often get asked where students can access wi-fi after the college is closed or on weekends. Today I discovered a couple of sites that can help you find your nearest free hotspot.
The first map is offered by Unwired and lists all the cafes, bars, libraries etc that offer free wireless. You can search by postcode.
The second is a map created by wifi-in-australia.com using Googlemaps that lists quite a few free and paid spots. If you have a google username you can contribute to the map when you find a spot not already listed.
Let us know if you find any other good spots.
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By Paula . on
2/07/2009 10:55 AM
There was a good article on Mashable today about using social networks for language  learning. Three sites that I have visited and tried out are All three sites offer vocabulary, reading and writing practice and most importantly a chance to ta ...
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By kimhopkins on
18/06/2009 4:19 PM
 Sydney will host its very first Winter Festival filled with music, big screens, yummy food and lots of fun!
One of the best attractions will be the ice skating rink located next to Sydney’s famous St. Mary’s Cathedral. People will be able to skate in 45 minutes sessions with a small fee. The event will raise much needed funds for the Sydney Children’s Hospital so if you haven’t planned anything from 5pm this Thursday to Sunday, drop by and have some winter fun.
One of our ex-students is getting involved contributing to the charity event by selling yummy Swiss and German influenced food.
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By Paula . on
5/06/2009 4:11 PM
 Vivid Sydney is a new and exciting event which is happening…right now!
Smart Light Sydney is part of the Vivid Sydney festival. Eve is organising a group to attend the the FREE self-guided walk from Observatory Hill through The Rocks, around Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House. Along the walk you will see local and international artists lighting up Sydney with innovative energy saving designs- very cool!
Check out more pictures and information on the Smart Light Sydney website. ...
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By Paula . on
15/05/2009 4:33 PM
 If you’re stuck finding what to do this weekend there is a great event which happens twice a year called the Finders Keepers markets. You will see a showcase of Sydney’s up and coming artists and designers and it is a fantastic day out with live music and a bar to also keep you occupied!
It is held at the CarriageWorks in Surry Hills so get down there and check it out!
This will help you get there.
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By kimhopkins on
12/05/2009 11:42 AM
Today I came across a well-known ESL game on esl-lounge.com called Storyboard. Using Storyboard you guess words to re-create a text or story. You are given a very brief description of what the text is about and perhaps the names of some of the characters or places in the text.
When you begin all the words and letters in the text are represented by dashes. By guessing words or letters you think should appear in the text you start to fill in the spaces. There are "cheats" to help you along if you can not think of any more words and you are able to read the whole text at any time if you need to.
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By Paula . on
8/05/2009 10:45 AM
 Australian Traveller Magazine/website is a great source of things to do for visitors in Sydney. A recent article on their website “Ten things you didn’t know you could do in Sydney” had a nice list of things that you don't usually find in a guidebook.
From tours of Sydney's underworld to a beautiful secret garden on the harbour. There is something new for everyone here... why not try something new this weekend. Check out back copies of the magazine in the library or the Australian Travell ...
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By Paula . on
30/04/2009 3:53 PM
 Blogging is a great way for students and travellers to share their experiences with friends and family back home... You can use your blog to...
* share your experiences
* reflect on your experiences
* post pictures
* interact with friends
Stefan (one of our ex-students) has a blog called Stefan in Australia and he demonstrates all of the above: reflects on his time at our college and his university (he used one of our EAP pathways for entry), shares what he is up to on the weekends and pos ...
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By Paula . on
29/04/2009 10:43 AM
Word Ahead is new vocabulary site for advanced English students. The site is like a video dictionary with each word explained using flash cards and short videos that give the definition and then a spoken sentence using the word in context. The vocabulary is quite advanced and not for beginners.
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