IELTS test in the UK – March 2011 (Academic Module)

Listening test

Section 1. A phone conversation between two friends.

Section 2. Don’t remember.

Section 3. A discussion about project work among 3 people.

Section 4. A professor was presenting his report.

Reading test

Passage 1. A report about usage of electronic devices in airplanes.

Passage 2. A research into sea cows.

Passage 3. Don’t remember.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

We were given a chart which described foreign students’ applications to a UK university from 1999 to 2003. There were 4 categories of countries of origin (EU countries, Middle East, Far East and African countries).

Writing task 2 (an essay)

Costs of international travel are decreasing and the tourism is growing. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an increasing tourism activity in different countries?

Speaking test

Interview

- Where are you from?
- What is your full name?
- What should I call you?
- Can I see your ID?
- Are you currently working or studying?
- What are your responsibilities at work?
- Do you enjoy doing your current job? Why?
- What do you study?
- Which part do you like the most about your studies?
- Do you like flowers?
- Why do you like / dislike flowers?
- In your country, when do people give flowers to others?
- Is there any festival in your country involving the use of flowers?

Cue Card

Describe a successful company that you know. Please say:

- How did you hear about the company?
- How did this company become successful?
-What is your opinion about the company?

Discussion

- In your opinion what is better: working for someone and having a boss above you, or having your own business and managing it yourself?

IELTS Speaking tests in Malaysia and Nigeria – March 2011

Our kind friends S and K sent us the Speaking questions that they were asked in their exams in Malaysia and Nigeria.

Speaking test 1

Interview

- Do you live in a rural or urban area?
- Do you like it there, and why?
- Do you think that people sometimes need time to be alone?
- Why do you think so?
- Do you think it is easy to find time to be alone, nowadays?
- Do you think that choosing a gift is easy?
- Do you prefer to receive or to give gifts, and why?

Cue Card

Tell me about a peaceful place that you like, please say

- Where is the place located?
- What is this place?
- How did you come to know about the place?
- Why do you like that place?

Discussion

- Noise levels in urban area becoming a problem. How do you think this can be reduced?

Speaking test 2

Interview

- What is your name?
- What should I call you?
- May I see your ID?
- Do you live in a city or a village?
- What do you like the most about your home town?
- Lets talk about painting, what kind of painting did you do as a child?

Cue Card

Talk about the oldest person that you know. Please say

- Who is he/she?
- How old is he/she?
- What does he/she do?
- When did you see him/her last time?

Discussion

- What is the attitude towards aged people where you live?
- Do you think it has changed over time and why?

Using TV and movies as a teaching tool

How Soon Before your Cell Phone Replaces your Wallet?

Did you know that your cell phone may soon replace your wallet? Below displays a brief History of Money from the Past to Present and to the very near future of using your cell phone to make purchases.

[CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Education Ministers commit to achieve Education for All

Mr. Qian Tang, Assistant Director General of UNESCO, at the Press Briefing on the 10th High-Level Group on Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand 23 March 2011.

Mr. Qian Tang, Assistant Director General of UNESCO, at the Press Briefing on the 10th High-Level Group on Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand 23 March 2011. (©OK MASS 2011)
24.03.2011

Jomtien, 24 March 2011 – During the 10th High-Level Group Meeting on Education for All, Ministers and high-level representatives from 34 countries reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the six Education for All (EFA) goals by 2015

In the three-day meeting Ministers and high-level representatives reviewed the progress towards the achievement of Education for All over the last two decades and identified new and emerging challenges for the post 2015 agenda.

“It is very encouraging to see that some countries have made considerable progress,” said Mr. Qian Tang, Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO.

“This tells us that it is possible to achieve the EFA goals through strong political will and financial support.”

Progress towards the EFA goals is uneven – across countries and in regards to the different goals. Remarkable advances have been made in primary school enrolment; many countries have a fair prospect to achieve universal primary education by 2015. However, progress towards the other goals has been much slower, notably early childhood care and education, youth and adult learning, vocational education and training, gender equality and literacy, as well as the quality of education.

Quality issues and marginalization remain major obstacles to education goals in developing and developed countries.

“Indeed, many population groups are still deprived of their right to quality basic education. African Ministers highlighted the difficulty to reach nomadic children, whereas in many Asian countries early marriage excludes girls from school,” Mr. Tang said.

In 2008, 67 million children were out of school and 17 percent of the world’s adult population lacked basic literacy skills.

“Less than four years are left before the 2015 target date, the current trend tells us that we are likely to miss the EFA goals – most of them by a wide margin,” he said.

Poor and rural households are among the most disadvantaged. Marginalized children, youth and adults are at risk of not getting a response to their basic learning needs – as the Jomtien vision had originally foreseen.

Progress towards EFA is thwarted by different types of disadvantages and discrimination, such as gender, income, location, nationality, disability, language, race and ethnicity.

Women and girls continue to face significant obstacles: nearly two-thirds of 796 million adults without basic literacy skills in 2008 were women. Gender stereotypes and disparities, especially at secondary level, reproduce social and economic injustices and impact disproportionately on girls’ capacity to earn wages and on their country’s overall progress in health and education. Furthermore, HIV&AIDS and persisting child labour prevent countries from achieving the EFA goals.

“The lack and inefficient use of financial resources is preventing many countries from attaining the EFA goals,” said Mr. Tang.

Participants firmly insisted on the need for a stronger focus on early childhood care and education, more and better qualified teachers, as well as reform of post-primary education, including technical and vocational training, and the need to concentrate more on all aspects of the quality of education.

Minister of Education Mr. Chinaworn Boonyakiat of Thailand expressed in his closing statement the strong belief that all nations, including Thailand, will put all possible efforts to achieve the EFA goals.

“With serious efforts, strong will and determination, EFA achievement is not a far reach dream,” he said.

Organized by UNESCO and hosted by the Government of Thailand, the 10th High-Level Group on Education for All is comprised of Ministers of Education and International Cooperation, representatives of international and regional organizations, civil society and the private sector across six continents.

The High Level Group discussions are reflected in the Statement adopted by the participants. This statement is a call for action to all governments and EFA partners to meet the goals they committed to. Meeting in Jomtien, just over twenty years after the 1990 World Conference on Education for All, has been a symbolic act renewing the initial spirit and commitment of the global community towards education.

This meeting sends a strong signal and will inspire countries, and donors alike, to increase their efforts in the next four years in order to reach the six EFA goals timely by 2015.

“Here in Jomtien, where delegates from 155 countries adopted the World Declaration on EFA almost 20 years ago, we reaffirm our commitments to achieve the EFA goals. Let us join hands and substantially scale up efforts to reach the EFA goals,” said Mr. Tang.


*****

For more information:


UNESCO EFA webpage: www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-all/


UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report: www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/


EFA in Asia and the Pacific: www.unescobkk.org/education/efa/

Quakes batter Thailand's north

Tsunamis in the Mekong River?

Japanese Teacher at inlingua Bangkok needed

inlingua International School of Languages
Bangkok (Thailand)
At least 400 Baht/hour
recruit@inlinguabangkok.com
Send Resume
Part Time Japanese Teacher
日本語教師（日本人）

日本人の日本語教師（パートタイム）を募集しています。詳細については、下記のとおりです。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　記

学校名 : Inlingua International Language School,
Chitlom Branch
Tel. 02-254-7028-30 Fax 02-254-7098

場所　　：Central Chitlom Tower ７階
　　　（セントラル　デパート　チットロム店　後方のビル）

授業時間：平日　夕方

報酬　　: ３００バーツ/５０分
　　 その他に、コース終了後、全報酬の１０％の
　　　　ボーナスを支給

Inlingua 語学学校は、語学教師の経験のあります各国の方々が、自国語を
教授しております。
日本人で、日本語教師に興味ある方は、早急に履歴書をＥメールにて、
Mr. Fraser Morrell, Director of Studies, recruit@inlinguabangkok.com 宛に送付して下さい。
尚、インタビューの日時は、上記Mr. Fraserからご連絡いたします。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　以上

Teacher Charlie - I felt the earthquake in Bangkok

Teacher Charlie's comments: Last evening at 21:03 I sent a message to a friend here in Thailand asking her if there had been an earthquake. It seems that I was correct although her response at the time was that I was drinking too much. (She was joking...)

At the time this wave hit Bangkok, I was standing at the top platform of the Pleonchit BTS station when I first noticed the swaying of the platform beneath me. It continued and as I searched around me for confirmation of what my body was telling me, I looked up to see the hanging overhead lights swinging wildly from their chains. This continued way too long and as the BTS train pulled up to the station, I boarded it very hesitantly. I was actually beginning to think I was the only one feeling/seeing this as most around me were too wrapped up in their Blackberries to notice that we were in the middle of an earthquake. Trust me when I say this wasn't minor because I had to grab the station railing for a moment to keep my balance.

Earthquakes DO HAPPEN IN BANGKOK!!!

Teacher Charlie

Two dead as strong quake hits Myanmar: officials

By Hla Hla Htay (AFP) – 10 hours ago

YANGON — A strong earthquake struck Myanmar near the Thai border on Thursday, killing at least two people, including a child, officials from both countries said, with shaking felt across the region.

Terrified residents fled their homes, tall buildings swayed and hospitals and schools were evacuated after tremors spread as far away as Bangkok, almost 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the epicentre, Hanoi and parts of China.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially recorded the quake as magnitude 7.0, but later revised it down to 6.8. A powerful aftershock was later measured at magnitude 5.4.

The epicentre was close to the borders with Thailand and Laos and was just 10 kilometres (six miles) deep.

A Myanmar official said a youngster died in a town close to the border with Thailand.

"We received a report that a child was killed in Tachileik town when a building collapsed because of the quake," said the official, who declined to be named.

Another three people were reported to have been injured in a different part of the town, which was close to the epicentre of the quake, and a resident said he could feel a tremor as he spoke to AFP.

"We have to lie down on the ground. The ward authorities are warning the people through loudspeakers to stay outside the buildings," he said.

"We are really afraid to stay inside our houses tonight."

Aid group World Vision said at least one bridge in the region was reported to have been broken by the quake.

"This part of the country is quite mountainous, and, given last week's severe rains, there are also concerns about landslides following this earthquake," Jenny MacIntyre, communications manager with World Vision in Myanmar, said.

Just across the border from Tachileik in Thailand, police in Mae Sai district said a 52-year-old woman was killed after a wall of her house collapsed.

Colonel Thanomsak Yospan, superintendent of Mae Sai district police, told AFP that the woman's home was poorly constructed and did not stand up to the tremor.

Chiang Rai governor Somchai Hatayatanti confirmed the woman's death and said the aftershock felt in the area was "quite serious".

He said efforts were made to evacuate people from tall buildings and he had ordered all patients from Mae Sai District Hospital to be taken to Chiang Rai.

The quake struck 90 kilometres (60 miles) north of Chiang Rai and 235 kilometres (150 miles) north-north-east of Chiang Mai, Thailand's second city and a popular tourist destination. Tall buildings shuddered in Bangkok during the tremor.

In China, villagers around 40 kilometres from the Myanmar border in the southwestern province of Yunnan said buildings swayed for over a minute during the quake, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 350 students and teachers were evacuated from a school in Menghai County, Yunnan, after the building developed cracks, Xinhua said.

People in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, nearly 900 kilometres (550 miles) from the epicentre, fled buildings when they felt tremors, Xinhua said. No casualties were reported in China.

In central Hanoi -- in Vietnam, away from the epicentre -- the quake was felt as a smooth rocking motion that lasted for several seconds.

Some Hanoi residents described fleeing their homes in panic.

Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, 36, who lives on the 10th floor of a highrise, said her husband noticed their pet fish shaking in their tank.

"We all rushed to the street. All the other people in the apartments also rushed out," she said.

Dang Hoang Anh Thu, 36, said her 17th-floor apartment also shook enough to move pictures on the wall.

"We got out, and saw that all other people in the building were heading downstairs as well," the university teacher said.

The city felt the tremor at about magnitude 5.0, according to Dinh Quoc Van, deputy head of the earthquake monitoring department, though there were no immediate reports of damage.

Officials in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw said they had clearly felt the quake, while a resident of Mandalay in central Myanmar said the shaking lasted for about five seconds.

The quake comes two weeks after Japan was hit by a monster earthquake, which unleashed a devastating tsunami that left around 27,000 people dead or missing and triggered a crisis at its Fukushima nuclear plant.

No tsunami warning was issued after the Myanmar quake as US seismologists said it was too far inland to generate a devastating wave in the Indian Ocean.

Two earthquakes strike in the border area in between Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and China

The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have both confirmed that a on 3/24/2011 1:55:36 PM UTC (about 2035 local time), a 6.8-magnitude earthquake occurred in the highly-populated region of Shan State in Myanmar.

YubeNet is reporting that based on an automated impact model, this earthquake, which occurred in a region with medium vulnerability to natural disasters, has potentially a high humanitarian impact. It not clear at this time, however, whether international humanitarian aid is needed. Such a decision will be made by an expert.

The first earthquake occurred 89 km (55 miles) N of Chiang Rai, Thailand; 168 km (104 miles) SSW of Yunjinghong, Yunnan, China; 589 km (365 miles) NE of Rangoon, Myanmar; annd 772 km (479 miles) N of Bangkok, Thailand.

The USGS said the first 6.8-magnitude quake, which occurred six miles deep, was followed by another of the same strength but far deeper: 140 miles.

Potentially affected critical infrastructure:

* Nuclear plants: [None]
* Hydrodams: [None]
* Airports: Chiang Kham (161km), Xieng Lom (173km), Chiang Rai (113km), Chiang Tai International (105km), Ban Houayxay (92km), Tachilek (47km), Monghsat (78km), Luang Namtha (158km), Keng Tung (52km), Mengla (185km), Gasa (150km), Zheli Airfield P (155km)
* Ports: [None]

For more on the technical aspects of the first earthquake, go to USGS's webpage: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0002aes.php

It is being reported that the earthquakes were not powerful enough to generate a Pacific Ocean tsunami warning.

A must watch 抢救切尔诺贝利 The Battle of Chernobyl - Europe's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (福島第一原子力発電所

切尔诺贝利核事故是一起发生在苏联乌克兰切尔诺贝利核电站的核子反应炉事故。该事故被认为是历史上最严重的核子电厂事故，也是国际核事件分级表中唯一的第七级事件。因为功

­率的剧增导致反应炉被破坏，使得严重的放射性物质被释放到环境中。事故中绝大部分受害者的死因都归咎于放射线。绿色和平组织所估计的总伤亡人数是9万3千人，但引用在最新­出炉的一份报告中的数据指出发生在白俄罗斯、俄罗斯及乌克兰单独事件在1990年到2004年间可能已经造成20万起额外的死亡。

The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine. At that time, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The event is regarded as the worst accident in the history of nuclear power. Because there was no containment building to trap the radiation, radioactive fallout drifted over parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the UK, and the eastern United States. Large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated. About 70% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. About 200,000 people needed to be evacuated (moved away) and moved to other places where they could live after the accident.

チェルノブイリ原子力 発電所事故（チェルノブイリげんしりょくはつでんしょじこ）とは、1986年4月26日1時23分（モスクワ時間 ※UTC+3）にソビエト連邦（現：ウクライナ）のチェルノブイリ原子力発電所4号炉で起きた原子力事故。広島に投下された原子爆弾（リトルボーイ）に換 算して約500発­分の原爆投下に相当する量の放射性物質が撒き散らされたことから、「核戦争」とも表現された。

Steven Pinker: Language as a Window into Human Nature

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBODIA STUDENT RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY IN THAILAND

Chhun Seakkeav, 20, a seventhterm student of The University of Cambodia (UC), interviewed with The Southeast Asia Weekly, describing about how hard she worked to get a scholarship to study in Thailand. She is majoring in English literature. Seakkeav received a scholarship to study in Thailand after she was selected
by UC to participate in a five month exchange program at Payap University, starting from 26 October 2010 to 13 March 2011.

She that after she saw the announcement paper on the information board at UC, she was really interested in it. The scholarship provider demanded candidates to write a one page essay of their study plan and submit it before the deadline, so she decided to spend few hours to finish her essay and then submitted it to the
university.

“I thought that it was such a great chance for me to try and test my ability. Perhaps a week later, I got a phone call from The University of Cambodia for an interview with other six short-listed candidates. Finally, I was one of the two selected candidates and was interviewed by seven instructors at UC. Several days later, I was told that I won the scholarship. I was so excited,” she said. As she is majoring in literature, she decided to choose English com-exchange program in Thailand because it is related to her major. Over there, she selected five subjects, such as instructional skills, creative writing, introduction to poetry and drama, introduction to short stories and novels, and Southeast Asian dance.

“The beginning four subjects are the relevant subjects to my major. Although the dance class is not related to my major, what has inspired me to choose this course is the Thai cultural that motivated a curiousness to learn more,” she added. Living in the new environment, she had met some differences and challenges between studying in Cambodia and abroad, she said. Because of entering the international college, she could meet lots of friends from different countries and cultures,
from all around the world, such as America, China, Burma, Korea, Italy, England, Australia, etc. that had given her a great chance to practice her English skills.
She said that she had tried her best to represent Cambodian people to foreign students. “I felt that during the time I studied in Thailand, I had more responsibilities on behalf of Cambodian students in trying to promote my home country to foreign people,” she said.

While she over there, the challenge was higher than studying in Cambodia because most of the foreign students did well in their study performance. She said they worked really hard, so to compete with those students, she had to study hard too. Seakkeav found it hard to adjust herself to the new environment. She couldn’t manage things well during life over there and felt a little homesick, but the separated life from friends and family has taught her to be more independent than before.
This scholarship taught her a lot about student life during studying abroad. She has learnt about communicative skill with new people, building knowledge and capacity, feeling of missing home country, and especially being an independent person.

After enjoying life in Thailand for over five months, this March, she has come back to Cambodia, along with an unforgettable experience. She is now continuing her study at UC. She said that she is planning to further her study in Master’s Degree in the field of education abroad after three or four years of working experiences either in accounting or education. (SEAW)

BY CHRIN SAMVISAL

Vietnamese students will leave for Japan as previously scheduled

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam International Education Development under the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has announced that the Vietnamese students who plan to go to Japan to attend training courses under the scholarships granted by the State of Vietnam and MEXT scholarships granted by the Government of Japan, will still be able to leave for Japan in late March and early April 2011 as previously planned.

Plans to bringing students to Japan still ongoing

Photo by Vu Duy Loc, Vietnamese student in Tokyo

MOET has released a notice that the earthquake and tsunami in Japan will not affect the plan of Vietnamese students going to Japan to study.

“If Vietnamese students go to the areas which do not suffered from the natural calamity and wish to go studying as planned, and if the Japanese side affirms it can satisfy necessary conditions for Vietnamese students, MOET will soon complete procedures for them to go,” MOET has announced.

In case students plan to go to the natural calamity stricken areas, the Japanese side will suggest the delay in receiving Vietnamese students. Officers of the Vietnam International Education Development will work out with every Vietnamese student on the specific plan for the student.

In case Vietnamese students want to return to Vietnam after considering the difficult conditions in Japan and the consequences of the natural calamity and concluding that the conditions are not good enough to ensure the good learning and living, students should show their aspirations, so that Japanese government agencies, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and MOET consider and make decisions on every specific case.

MOET has also said that the Vietnamese Embassy in Vietnam, considering the situation, will submit reports to the Government and give suggestions on how to deal with the Vietnamese community in Japan in general and Vietnamese students in Japan in particular.

Vietnamese students in Japan safe

MOET has said that all Vietnamese students in Japan are safe or they have got temporary accommodations at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, and that they have got the support from the Vietnamese Embassy and Japanese relevant agencies. Some students have spontaneously left Japan.

Right after hearing the news about earthquake and tsunami in Japan, MOET immediately contacted Do Van Trung, First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, who is in charge of managing Vietnamese students in Japan, to update information.

Regarding the students studying in Japan under the scholarships granted by the Japanese Government (MEXT, JDS), the Vietnam International Education Development has been informed by JICE and Japanese Embassy in Vietnam that Vietnamese students in Japan are all safe, while those students, who are living in temporary accommodations, are getting support from the Japanese side.

Some Vietnamese students said in the last few days, the consequences of the natural calamity have made the life of the students disturbed.

Van Minh, a student in Niigita said these days he mainly watches news about the nuclear crisis in Japan, talks with relatives in Vietnam and contacts friends.

Vu Duy Loc, a student in Tokyo, said he is now in the spring holiday, therefore, he is not busy. He always reads newspapers, talks to relatives and reads documents. “Some changes have come in my life, but there is no big disturbance,” he said.

IELTS test in Brazil and USA – March 2011 (Academic Module)

The IELTS exams in the USA and Brazil were the same, according to M and N (thank you!). Here are the questions and topics they collectively remembered:

Listening test

Section 1. A conversation between a man and a woman in regard to booking tickets for a concert.

Section 2. About transportation service in a certain area, including its positive and negative points.

Section 3,4. Don’t remember.

Reading test

Passage 1. Description of ancient navigation techniques, a story on how the Pacific Islands were populated and different researches made in the 20th century.

Questions: True / False / Not Given, filling in blanks, multiple choice.

Passage 2. How noisy environment is affecting our lifestyle (8 paragraphs).
Questions: True / False / Not Given.

Passage 3. The effect of electronic gadgets on our lifestyle, including studies by several researchers.
Questions: True / False / Not Given, filling in blanks.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

We were given a chart describing Aeolic energy production in 4 countries: Denmark, Germany, US and India from 1985 to 2000 in 5-year intervals.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

Multi-cultural societies have more advantages than drawbacks. Do you agree or disagree? Support your opinion with examples.

Speaking test 1

Interview

- Do you work or study?
- What is your job?
- Please tell me about a place you have visited lately.

Cue Card

Describe a restaurant you used to have lunch in. Please say

- What does it look like?
- What kind of food do they serve?
- Whom did you go there with?
- Did he/she enjoy this place?

Speaking test 2

Interview

- What is your name?
- What should I call you?
- Tell me about your home town.
- Did you study in school about your home town?
- Talk about your bad behavior, when you were a child.
- Do you like to receive books as a gift? Why?
- Do you hope to be a writer someday? Why?

Cue Card

Describe an important meeting that you were late to. Please say
- When did this happen?
- Why were you late?
- What was the importance of this meeting?

Discussion

- Is it usual in your country to arrive on time? Why?
- Give me the usual reason for being late for people in your country.
- Are you always late? Why?
- Is it the same in government organizations?

University of Southampton School of Law offers LLM scholarships to Thai students

School of Law at University of Southampton, is offering seven scholarships worth £6750 each for international students. The scholarships are open to students from Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Panama, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.

The student applying for the course must demonstrate high academic merit. The deadline to apply for the scholarships is 31 May 2011 and the applicants selected for the scholarships will be notified by 14 June 2011.

The University is highly regarded as a centre for educational excellence, ranking nationally amongst the top 20 university in various tables, and regularly rated in the top 10 of the National Student Survey.

Southampton University’s School of Law is at the heart of a busy, attractive campus, with many new facilities including library and sports centre. There are also more than 200 sporting and social clubs and societies, including the jazz dancing club, performing arts clubs, and the Debating Society.

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated 120 kilometers south-west of London and 30 kilometers north-west of Portsmouth.

Further details about the scholarship can be accessed on www.soton.ac.uk/law. Queries can also be sent to postgrad.law@soton.ac.uk

Thai Ambassador presents donation to None-saard School in Vientiane Capital

On 3 February 2011, Ambassador Vitavas Srivihok donated 40,700,000 kip to Somboon Non-Sa-Art Secondary School in Vientiane Capital, in response to the request from the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union (LPRYU),to support the construction of a new building. The donation was given through Dr.Sonethanou Thammavong, Secretary of LPRYU.

Somboon Non-Sa-art Secondary School was ranked 3^rd in terms of education quality among schools in Vientiane Capital by the Government of the Lao PDR. At present, there are 1,362 students and 25 classrooms for the 7^th to 12^th-grade students, but the school is still in need of classrooms for the 13^th-grade students.

The Royal Thai Embassy attaches importance to human resource development of the Lao PDR, which corresponds to the 7^th National Social and Economic Development Plan of the Lao PDR and its goal to be excluded from least developed country status by the year 2020. The Royal Thai Embassy has continuously rendered support to LPRYU in celebrating international children’s day on 1 June and providing training courses on agriculture for LPRYU’s representatives at the Center for Agricultural Development and Services Houay Sone – Houay Soua (Km 22).

The Embassy has included human resource development of the Lao PDR as part of the activities to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties on 19 December 2010. LPRYU will hold the official Opening Ceremony of the building at the earliest opportunity.

13 Thai teachers and students visit US university

• Welcome: Jay Gatrell, Indiana State University's interim director of Inernational Programs and Services, welcomes students and teachers from Thailand who have come to Terre Haute to participate in an exchange program set up by ISU. While here they will be working with the Vigo County School Corp. The group was honored at a dinner Monday night at ISU. Tribune-Star/Rachel Keyes

  

Discussion

9 students, 4 teachers welcomed at ISU dinner

Arthur Foulkes The Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Tue Mar 22, 2011, 09:30 AM EDT

TERRE HAUTE — After flying 20 hours and traveling about 8,700 miles, more than a dozen guests from Thailand arrived in Terre Haute Sunday to begin a two-week cultural and educational experience.

Coordinated by the Indiana State University office of International Programs and Services, the visit will give the nine students and four teachers from Thailand a chance to learn more about America and Americans.

“This is really a unique exchange opportunity,” said Jay Gatrell, interim director of International Programs and Services at ISU. Gatrell and other ISU officials hosted a welcome dinner for the Thai guests Monday night in the Generations banquet room in the university Commons.

During their two weeks in Terre Haute, the Thai students, who are all high-school aged, will stay with host families from the community. They will also spend several days visiting North, South and West Vigo high schools. Meanwhile, the four Thai teachers will team up with Vigo County teachers to learn about American educational techniques.

“The students are very excited to stay with the host families,” said Phuwitch Ngiwline, a Thai educator and the leader of the visiting group.

The Thai students, still tired after their long journey and dealing with an 11-hour time difference, met their American host families at the Generations dinner.

“I think it’s amazing. That’s all I can say,” said Thitisan Twinprawate, 16, one of the Thai students, when asked his initial impressions of the United States.

Four students, all boys, will be staying with Ron and Sherri Ramseyer of Sullivan, who are veteran hosts of international students.

“I like to have kids around the house,” said Sherri Ramseyer, who is also an ISU employee. Hosting international students provides a great learning opportunity and also establishes life-long friendships with people around the world, Ron added. “That’s another plus.”

During their two weeks in Terre Haute, the Thai students will visit Chicago and Turkey Run State Park, Gatrell said.

While the students have only been in the United States a short time, they have already gotten some early impressions of Terre Haute.

“It’s a nice city,” said Phuwitch Ngiwline. “Friendly people.” When asked what the students were most looking forward to, he said they are looking forward to learning about U.S. education, American culture, food and “shopping malls.”

One benefit of the visit is that Vigo County high school students will get to meet their peers from Thailand during the next two weeks, said Zachariah Mathew, associate director of the Office of International Programs and Services at ISU. That may “tickle” the interest of American students to at least wonder where Thailand is, he said.

“I’m looking for a wonderful two weeks,” Mathew said.

Thailand hope to improve education ranking from 25 to 15 by 2015

The government and business sector boast about growth figures but still ignore the underlying reality of Thailand's declining competitiveness

The Thai government and business sector aim to improve Thailand's IMD World Competitiveness ranking from the current 26 to 15 by 2015. The goal is desirable but the Kingdom is unlikely to achieve a higher ranking if it fails to take vigorous action to address the quality of local human resources.

It will be impossible for the country to improve its competitiveness without better skills' development. The government, educational institutes as well as the private sector must work together to improve human and infrastructure development in science and technology as well as basic and further education.

The effort must start now. Education development requires time to bear results. The world's most successful businessmen realise the importance of good education. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have recently been vocal in pressuring for better quality education because they know how this can make a big difference for future generations.

However, the prospects for Thailand do not look promising, according to some. During a recent seminar, panellists at the IMD World Competitiveness Survey - carried out by the Swiss-based international Institute for Management Development - agreed that there had been less development in key areas and weak cooperation between government and private agencies over the past year.

The target to improve Thai competitiveness will require cooperation from all sides in setting up both short- and long-term plans to increase competitiveness in various fields. However, the government has so far focused on short-term infrastructure projects that involve large investment; the business sector is more concerned with profits, while educational institutes fail to provide the best resources or improve the quality of students.

Competitiveness derives from knowledge-based resources. But Thailand has been complacent in this area. And it is now struggling to compete with other newly industrialised countries in the region. In spite of good economic growth, research and development spending in Thailand is still low at only 0.22 per cent of gross domestic product. The number of scientific and industrial researchers is still low at six or seven per 10,000 people. This must be increased to 15 by 2015 to improve Thai competitiveness, according to Thanin Pa-Em, deputy secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board. In fact, he said the country's competitiveness had not improved, but had actually worsened over the past 10 years.

The Thai government and some businesspeople boast about the good growth rate largely because of the booming non-productive sectors such as property. But there is still no substantive effort to improve the quality of human resources.

According to Sumeth Yamnoon, secretary-general of the Office of the Higher Education Commission, the government's budget for education was currently around 4.4 per cent of GDP. It must be increased to at least 5 per cent in order to ensure stable human-resource development. The average spending per capita on education in Thailand is just US$665 (about Bt20,000) per year, but it should be more than $1,000 in order to encourage quality education, he said.

However, money alone will not solve this problem unless we have coordinated plans as well as strong determination from all parties. Developed countries, especially the US, put education as a main priority because decision-makers in government and business are worried about maintaining their competitiveness in the future. Bill Gates has emphasised the importance of work-related learning and educational discipline, while Steve Jobs has stressed the importance of humanities and liberal arts, which can improve students' creative ability to think outside the box. Zuckerberg has donated a substantial amount to improve the quality of American public schools.

What has the Thai business sector done? Our tycoons are more concerned about their profits instead of making social contributions. By the same token, politicians and bureaucrats either misuse public money or put it directly into their own pockets. The end result is that Thai students are stuck with low quality education and our schools and colleges fail to produce qualified human resources for the future.

Unless this education issue is tackled, it is useless to talk about the improvement of Thailand's ranking on the world competitiveness scoreboard. We can only hope we don't slide further down the ranks.

America's tallest tower

Chicago’s Willis Tower to get solar windows

Chicago's Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower, was the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1998 and remains the tallest building in the U.S. to this day. Its 1451-foot (442 m) height adds up to enough window area to keep a window washer busy for life, or space for enough solar panels to be comparable to a 10 acre solar power plant. As part of a pilot project, the south facing windows of the 56th floor of the Willis Tower will be replaced with Pythagoras Solar's transparent solar windows which cut down on heat gain – and therefore cooling costs – as well as harnessing energy from the sun. Read More

IELTS test in Pune, India – March 2011 (General Training)

Listening Test

Section 1. A man was talking to an administrator of a Zoo about a future trip booking.

Section 2. A photographer was describing the photography of some animals.

Section 3. An employee was describing management problems at his previous job to the interviewer.

Section 4. A lecture about the history of a tribal society.

Reading Test

Passage 1. An article about how to prepare stamps from family photos.

Passage 2. Company rules and regulations on promotion for part-time and full time workers.

Passage 3. Description of 4 different apartments suitable for the elderly, painters and so on.
Questions: information matching.

Passage 4. Don’t remember.

Passage 5. Giant fish singing research history.

Writing Test

Writing Task 1 (a letter)

Rubbish is increasing in the area where you live. Write a letter to the local environmental officer and explain
- Where the rubbish is coming from?
- What problems is it causing?
- Suggest your solution for solving these problems.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

Nowadays children are joining extra coaching classes apart from the school studies. Some think it is important for their future, others think the extra time should be spent playing. Do you agree or disagree?

Speaking test

Interview

- How are you today?
- May I see your ID?
- Do you think you manage your time well?
- How can one manage time well?
- When was the last time you gave a gift to someone? Why?
- Do you think it is easy to find gifts for others?

Cue Card

Talk about the vehicle you would buy in the near future, please say

- Why would you buy this vehicle?
- What would you use it for?
- What are the advantages of having such vehicle?

Discussion

- Do you think traffic is a problem in big cities nowadays?
- Why is it increasing?
- What can be the solution to this problem?
- Is traffic network helpful in big cities?
- Do you think the problem with traffic will worsen in future? Why?