Sat, Sep 25, 2004 page15

• UKEAS: Your true friend in British education system

  • By Alice Wang and UKEAS
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  UKEAS, UK Education Advisory Service, is a British Company founded in 1993, and it opened offices in Taipei and Taichung in the very same year to provide an impartial, professional and free counselling and applications service for Taiwan students interested in going to study in the UK.

  The service was unique and has continued to excel with its blend of British and Taiwan staff to make sure its students get the very best advice and help with their plans to study in the UK. Since 1993 UKEAS has grown rapidly, mainly through the recommendations of our satisfied students. UKEAS Kaohsiung and Tainan launched in 1997 and in April 1999, the new Hsinchu office was launched to make the network more complete. UKEAS covers a greater area than any other specialist British education counselling organisation in Taiwan and it provides a friendlier, more comprehensive and more convenient service for British education than any other organisation in Taiwan.

  UKEAS not only contributes a lot to British education counseling, but is also dedicated to plenty of charity events in Taiwan.

  Last December, the America Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in Taichung organized a X'mas Party for around 1,300 children from orphanages in central Taiwan (2003 Kidzday Celebration). UKEAS helped collect toys as X'mas presents for the children and it also offered the event's major prize, which was a scholarship to study for four weeks at a language school in the UK. The English Language Centre Bristol kindly offered the winner four weeks free study and accommodation and UKEAS paid for the airfare and all other expenses including pocket money. UKEAS orgazied a competition asking the children to write about why they would like to study in the UK and Candy was the winner. She went to Bristol in August and had a wonderful time. This was the first time she had ever been out of Taiwan - She didn't even have a passport before she won the competition.

  Established in 1969, The English Language Centre Bristol is located in 2 fine old buildings close to the University in Clifton, - the best area of town. The school is well equipped with 17 classrooms, 2 language laboratories /self access centres, 2 computer rooms, common rooms and gardens. Many students choose to study at ELC Bristol before going on to University in the UK. Others are here because they need English for their work.

  The dedication of the school team of permanent qualified teachers together with the fact that we do not accept groups of holiday makers or juniors ensures an excellent learning environment for motivated students who really want to learn English quickly. Bristol is a major university city. There are more than 50,000 English students studying here, so there is plenty of student life!

  The students of the English Language Centre Bristol are welcomed by the Bristol University students. They can use the Students' Union facilities and they can join the university's clubs and societies. This is the perfect way to make English friends.

  The study at the English Language Centre Bristol is so memorable for the 17-year-old Candy, because it's a whole new experience to her. She started her English language program in UK the following day after her arrival in Bristol and stayed there until August 27th. "The class began at 9:00 am and through to 2:00 pm. All the classes were small-sized, and were composed of around ten students from different countries.

  The teachers and the classes there were so creative and interesting, so that we had many opportunities to practice and improve our spoken English and listening skills," Candy said. During the period, she stayed in a homestay with two other roommates from Germany and Spain respectively. Three of them were being taken good care by the homestay parents. "It was a great experience to me, because I never lived with people from other countries or stay in other countries. Through this experience, I've learned what British people are like, what lifestyle they adopt, what they eat and even how they cook," Candy recalled.

  Candy thanks UKEAS for offering her this fantastic free English program and she hopes she can have another opportunity of studying in the UK again in the future.
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