The Oscars come to Dominion

This month we had a video competition.  We asked our students to make a 2 minute video marketing Dominion to future students and to upload it to our Facebook page.  The video that received the most likes by 3.30pm on 29 May would win 2 free movies tickets.

Well, we were amazed at the entries we received.  All of the videos that entered were so professional, creative and represented Dominion perfectly, so we decided that we couldn't have just one winner.  We awarded 3 prizes in the end, for 3 very special videos:

Adipong (Arty) Suwannachairob (Thailand) - Most Popular Video - Arty's Video
Shingo Tokugawa (Japan) - Most Professional Film Making - Shingo's Video
Gwangho Yoon (Korea) - Best Interpretation of the Dominion Message - Gwangho's Video

You can watch all 3 of the videos on our YouTube channel, just follow the links above.

Here are the 3 lucky winners with their prizes.  Congratulations again guys and thank you so much for giving us these amazing videos!!

For more information about our school and our courses, please visit our website www.dominion.school.nz.

Exciting Courses Starting!

TESOL started Monday

On Monday, we started our TESOL/TKT course with 11 students from 6 different countries - Japan, Korea, Colombia, Thailand, China and Switzerland. A perfect mix of students striving to improve their English and learn the techniques to be a successful English teacher. This training course lasts only 4 weeks. So, if you want to teach English too, the next TESOL/TKT course starts on 13 October.

Lower level IELTS course

 

For the first time, we opened a lower level IELTS course on 19 May for 6 weeks with an entry of 3.5 - 4. Its popularity is proven by the fact that it was full a month before the course even started. This class is composed of 15 students from 7 different countries - Japan, Korea, Thailand, Russia Vietnam, Colombia and Brazil. This is an early preparatory course to help students prepare for the IELTS exam and is an excellent course to do before our regular IELTS course.  We will announce the start date of our next lower level course very soon.  Our next higher level IELTS course (entry level 5 -5.5) starts on 23 June.

For more information on any of our courses, please visit our website www.dominion.school.nz or contact us at marketing@dominion.school.nz.

Written by Hinarau Lin, Intern from Tahiti.

 

‘Mum, Dad, I am not ready to go back home yet!’

 

When deciding to study in an English speaking country, there were plenty of destinations to choose from, but it was New Zealand that caught the eyes of Lucas da Silva Fontes, a young teenager from Brazil. Lucky us, as we had the opportunity to welcome him to the Dominion family – and what a great student Lucas has turned out to be!

Lucas started his studies at Dominion as a General English student. His dedication and commitment soon led him to our Cambridge course, which he successfully completed last week. The beautiful country of New Zealand alongside the high quality education and student support Dominion provides, made Lucas realise that his studies were bound to help him in his future goals and that he could count on us to support him.

‘Mum, Dad, I am not ready to go back home yet!’ The more, the better! After all, English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world! From General English to Cambridge, Lucas is now part of our IELTS class and we are very proud of him and even happier to have him longer!

Studying English abroad is a big decision and requires a lot of work, but equally can be the best experience of your life. No matter what your goal is, Dominion will work with you towards achieving it and provide you with an outstanding language education!

 

New Website!!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new website! www.dominion.school.nz

Updated Look

  

More photos and videos

Bright and attractive, with improved graphics
Links to all our social media sites, including Facebook, YouTube and our blog.
More user-friendly
 

More Course Information

Much more information available on all our courses (adult and teenage programmes), including entry requirements, start dates and course descriptions.

  

Testimonials

Testimonials from students from all over the world

Homestay testimonials

Video testimonials for exam courses

 

New Student Services Section!

Information on:

• Welfare
•  Activities
•  Accommodation 
•  Study and work
• Our pathway agreements with other institutes

Translation Tool

Our site can be translated to a range of languages in seconds, including Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, Russian, Chinese and Thai.

Find out more at www.dominion.school.nz!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

 

Cambridge Course Testimonial

We have been running Cambridge courses for many years and it's always great to see a student successfully completing one, with a great opinion of the course and a fantastic grade!  Here is Irina's story about her recent Cambridge course.  She got a grade A in the end and was understandably thrilled! Our Cambridge FCE, CAE and CPE courses run a regular times throughout the year.  Please see our website for further details http://www.dominion.school.nz/courses/exam-courses/.

Summer in New Zealand!

Check out these fantastic summer photos! Most of these photos were taken by our current students as part of January's Summer in New Zealand photography competition.  One of our Thai students Natcha was the winner in the end.  Natcha received two free tickets to the Sky Tower in Auckland.  A special thank you to Sky Tower for the prize and congratulations to Natcha!

Talented Students!

Last week the students in Martin's class were studying current events. As part of their writing class, Martin challenged the students to write a class newspaper.  We were so impressed with their work that we had to share it with you here. 

This newspaper was prepared as part of an afternoon General English class.  Our General English course is structured so that students get time to practice all areas language learning.  Morning classes concentrate on grammar and vocabulary, whilst afternoon classes focus on key skills, such as speaking and writing, with a new topic each week.  For more information about our General English course, please visit www.dominion.school.nz.

Study and Work in New Zealand with Dominion!

As mentioned in a previous post, it's now easier for students to work and study in New Zealand.  Students who study 20+ hours per week for at least 14 weeks at a Category One school are now allowed to work for up to 20 hours per week.  To support these new changes and to make it even easier for our students to find work, we have put together some helpful packages that are available from January:

Job Seeker Package - FREE

• Job skills workshops including how to write a CV and prepare for interviews
• Regular information sessions covering opening NZ bank accounts and registering for a tax number, where to find jobs, and information on labour laws such holiday entitlement and minimum rates of pay
• CV checking service
• List of current job vacancies within key industries
• Short courses information such as barista (coffee making) training and cocktail making

 

Job Seeker PLUS Package - $250
 

Includes all the services available on the standard Job Seeker Package, plus up to 3 one-to-one sessions with our highly skilled marketing department. Individual sessions can cover:

• Careers guidance
• Looking for vacancies
• Contacting employers
• Practicing interview/telephone skills, etc.

 

Please note for both the Job Seeker and Job Seeker PLUS packages:

• Students must study a minimum of 20 hours per week for at least 4 weeks.
• Students must have the correct visa and right to work in New Zealand
• Students must be at least 18 years old.
• Job placement is not guaranteed.
• Open to all levels of English.

 

Job Placement and Internships

 

For students who are looking for professional work experience related to their qualifications and/or job history, our partner Internex is very experienced in this area and can offer job placements and internships around New Zealand. Internships can be done in:

• Business administration
• Media
• Tourism
• NGO
• Sports Management
• Law
• Sciences

Job placements can be arranged in a number of areas including hospitality and retail. Please note that this package is for students with an Upper Intermediate level of English or above only. Terms and conditions apply. Prices are available on request.

For further information on any of our study and work packages, please contact us now marketing@dominion.school.nz.

Christmas Card Competition

It's almost Christmas and it's time to start thinking about some Christmas cards.  Every year we design a unique Dominion Christmas card which we send out to all our partners and friends.  We thought we would do things a little differently this year and give the students the opportunity to design the card for us by having a competition.  We had lots of amazing entries, but of course, there can be only one winner!  The prize of two free movie tickets (plus the fame of having your design sent to many people all over the world) went to Benjamin Brandli from Switzerland.  Congratulations Benjamin, well done.  Your design is very different and we love how you managed to include Christmas and Auckland!! Please see Benjamin's design below:

Congratulations TESOL Class!!

Last week was the end of our 4 week TESOL course.  Please see our happy graduates above.  Well done everyone, you did so well!
Our TESOL course is designed for non-native speakers of English who would like to learn how to teach English to young adults and adult learners. It also prepares students to take the Cambridge TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test).  The course covers teaching methodology, learning styles, language analysis and, of course, lots of teaching practice!
Dominion's teacher training department is renowned for its skills and experience, and our courses are very popular.  We not only run TESOL and TECSOL/J-shine courses for student teachers, we also run teacher training sessions for our own qualified teachers and for teachers from other schools throughout Auckland.  In October, Dominion hosted an annual teacher training day open to teachers from all schools, which included sessions on the latest teaching techniques such as using mobile devices in the classroom.  The day was a great success and everyone learnt lots of great techniques that they can introduce to their classrooms.


Our next training course for student teachers is our TECSOL course (teaching English to children) starting on 3 February 2014.  Our next TESOL course (teaching English to adults) starts on 17 March 2014.  Book your space quickly to avoid disappointment!  For further information, please visit our website www.dominion.school.nz or email us now marketing@dominion.school.nz.

It just got easier to study and work in New Zealand with Dominion!

From January 2014, it will be easier for students to study and work at select schools in New Zealand.  From January, students that study full-time for at least 14 weeks will be able to work for up to 20 hours per week.  This is a significant improvement on the current situation where only those students who are studying for at least 6 months and who have IELTS 5.0 are permitted to work.  There is one small catch; these new work rights will only be available to students who are enrolled in top-quality schools that are considered to be Category 1 by NZQA.  The good news is, Dominion English Schools is a Category 1 school and has been for many years!  We are very excited about these changes and are happy to assist our students in finding work in New Zealand.  We offer a range of services to support students looking for work.  Our services include:

• Monthly lectures providing information on travelling and working in New Zealand
• Optional CV writing workshops
• 3 day courses in coffee and cocktail making (conducted at our partner institute)

For more information about the changes in work rights, please see http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/news/internationalstudentchanges

For more information on our courses, please visit our website www.dominion.school.nz

How to make a Traffic Light cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 parts Midori
• 2 parts orange juice
• 2 parts grenadine

Instructions

1. Tip 2 parts grenadine into the bottom of the glass. 
2. Then hold the glass at a 45 degree angle and tip in the orange juice down the side and the grenadine will float.
3. Then, still holding the glass at that position, tip the Midori down the side of the glass

The traffic light was just one of the cocktails being demonstrated during our recent visit to our pathway partner New Zealand Management Academies (NZMA), although we only got to sample the mocktail (alcohol free) version!  As part of our Friday options classes, we took a big group of students to NZMA's open day.  During the afternoon the students were shown around campus, participated in a scavenger hunt (with chance to win an ipod shuffle), watched some excellent barista and mocktail making demonstrations, and had a yummy free BBQ, complete with mocktails and freshly made coffee!   We even got to sit in on some classes and talk to tutors. NZMA have a range of courses in management, hospitality and cookery, and they are a Dominion pathway partner.  That means that students who successfully complete our English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course, can gain direct access into specific courses at NZMA, without having to take the IELTS exam.  For more information, on our EAP course and our pathway options, please visit our website www.dominion.school.nz or contact us now marketing@dominion.school.nz.

 

Why we LOVE Auckland

We are very proud to be in a such an amazing city.  Auckland has so many things to see and do, and it's a great place to learn English and meet new people.  Last month we had a writing competition at school and we asked our students; "what do you love about Auckland?".  Here are some of the best bits:



The winner of the competition was Dina Reichenbach from Switzerland.  Here is Dina's writing in full and a picture of her with her prize.  Well done Dina!!

 



 

 

Teacher Training Courses Starting Soon!

 

What students say about Dominion

 Yasir, Saudi Arabia

 

Yasir with Kirstin (our Director of Studies) and his brother Saleh (also a Dominion student)

 “I’ve studied for over 55 weeks (at Dominion).  At first I couldn’t cope with the way of teaching because it’s quite different from Saudi Arabia, but a short time later I got used to it and I liked it.  The teachers are kind and respectful, and the classes are enjoyable.  My English has significantly improved.  Going from level 3 to level 7 has meant a lot of study, but because of that I got my IELTS result that allows me to do my postgraduate.  I made a lot of friends, some of them have gone back to their country, but I’m still in contact with a lot of them.  New Zealand is a peaceful, enjoyable, green, lovely country and I strongly give my recommendation to visit it.”

Yasir Alzahrani is going to study Engineering at Auckland University of Technology.

Dominion Raises Money for Kiwi Charity

This Friday (23^rd August) was Red Nose Day in New Zealand.  Every year on Red Nose Day, people wear red noses and do silly things to raise money for Cure Kids.  Cure Kids is an iconic kiwi charity dedicated to finding cures and new treatments for childhood illnesses such as cancer and heart defects.  This year we supported this outstanding charity by selling red noses around school, wearing red to school for the day and having a bring/buy cake sale.  We were overwhelmed with the support of our students in this event.  It was amazing to see students from all over the world bring in such beautiful cakes to sell for charity.   A lot of them enlisted the help of their homestay families to help them bake, which must have been a special experience in itself.  During graduation there was a prize for the best red outfit.  The students voted and the best dressed prize went to Amy (top right in the picture above) – congratulations Amy!  After prize giving, the students went to the cake sale to start buying cakes and raising even more money for Cure Kids.  In total, the day’s event raised $450 NZD.  We are so pleased with this outstanding result, and we’d like to thank all our students for being so motivated and involved. Well done everyone!  To see more pictures from this great event, please see our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DominionEnglishSchool.
 

Words of Wisdom from Dominion Students

Students have so many choices nowadays.  However, so much choice means they have to make a lot of difficult decisions.  One of our General English classes were tasked with writing some advice for other students on making some of these decisions and the below is what they came up with. Read and let us know what you think.

 

August Magazine Out Now!

 

Hi Everyone!

It’s peak season here at Dominion and we have reached over 220 students! We have a 50-50 mix of adults and teenagers at the moment from around 20 different countries. This means the school is buzzing with activity and we have an excellent nationality mix! Our teenage full-time programme is particularly popular – we currently have 3 full classes! These students study English in the mornings and do project work based round a New Zealand theme in the afternoon.

There are lots of things happening around school this August. Don’t miss our EAP1 course starting on 5 August. It’s an excellent choice for students looking to achieve IELTS 5.0 or go into further study in New Zealand. Alongside this, we are keeping students busy with our fantastic afternoon activity programme for both teens and adults. We also have some excellent weekend trips planned including skiing and Hobbiton. There’s a trip to please everyone!

There’s a great energy at Dominion at the moment so we wish you a very happy, action-packed August.

See you in Spring!

The Dominion Team 

 

ACADEMIC UPDATE

 

 

It's the end of term here at Dominion, so our students have been busy sitting exams and (hopefully!) will be moving onto new classes on Monday - well done to all! 

Good luck to those students who still have exams to do this week such as our IELTS class.  These students have all worked very hard over the last 6 weeks, so we hope you get the results you deserve. 

Another course that finished this week was our first Business English/TOEIC Preparation class.  These students have been studying part time for 5 weeks on this new course and have had a great experience.  Some have even chosen to sit the TOEIC test here at Dominion next week - good luck guys! 

Starting next week is one of our English for Academic Purposes courses.  Dominion offers 3 levels of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses that focus on skills, strategies and language for academic studies. The course starting this month is EAP1, which is ideal for students who are aiming for IELTS 5.0 or further study.  This course gives students direct entry into the Dominion EAP2 course and into lower level certificate courses at external institutes such as Crown institute of studies, AMES IT Academy, Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design, Media Design School and NZMA.  If you want to know more information about the courses we offer please visit www.dominion.school.nz or email marketing@dominion.school.nz.

 

Christmas is coming...

 Santa on the Whitcoulls building

Can you feel the Christmas spirit? It's everywhere here in Auckland. If you happen to be here, there are so many places to enjoy. Every year the city looks so different with all the Christmas decorations, even for us. You might think that it is a little bit weird to have Christmas without the snow but we certainly make the most of it. These photos are taken just steps away from our Auckland school...

 The Sky Tower is showing the Xmas spirit too!

Send us your Xmas photos, we'd love to see them.