Unbelievable, it's already Thursday and our last complete course day. Two weeks can pass by so quickly when you're having fun and learning interesting things in a wonderful city. As it's the final day, there needs to be a special program, well we always have fantastic activities, but this is one of my favourites as it includes food. Yes, we're travelling all the way to Duddingston to Edinburgh's oldest pub. But, I'm not telling you about the really delicious food and all the useful vocabulary we learned today, I'll tell you more about the village Duddingston. While exploring the village the CLIL Teachers explained to the Speaking & Listening students some interesting facts about this hidden gem. 

When in Edinburgh, there's one thing you really have to do: A ghost tour. Well, they call them ghost stories, but  what you need to know is they are all true (or at least kind of trueish)! Today, we were lucky and one of Edinburgh's ghosts (the man with the blue cape in the picture below) decided to tell us some terrifying things about what is now a touristy city.

Here we go again - it's time travel Tuesday! Back to late 1700s. Of course still in Edinburgh, to be exact 7, Charlotte Square where you can find a building which is nowadays called the Georgian House. As we arrived,  we started with a movie about the first owner of the house and his family, followed by exploring the house.

They say never talk about sex, religion and politics. Today we break this unwritten rule as we visit the Scottish Parliament, or at least we learn more about the place where politics takes place.

The Scottish Parliament as we know it nowadays opened its doors in 2004 and was designed by the Spanish architect Enric Miralles in partnership with the local Architecture firm RMJM. It is located across the street from Holyrood Palace and it's really close to Arthur's Seat. Inside the parliament you find a model of the whole parliament, where you can see that it basically looks like a branch  growing from the extinct volcano to the parliament. This symbol means that it grows from the country for the people. In and around the parliament you can find a lot of symbols, for example boat-like shapes, which represent the history of Scotland as a maritime nation.

If I have to pick one reason why I love Edinburgh so much, then it's definitely because of its horrible and mysterious history. I can't get enough of those stories and even enjoy hearing the same story again and again. So, today was a very special day, I heard about the mysterious miniature coffins for the very first time  . And guess what, I'm going to tell you now about this really interesting story and its unclear background.

Beside the Scottish Parliament you can find the mountain Arthur's Seat, which is an extinct volcano. Arthur's Seat is not only a tourist attraction, it's also the place were people made an interesting historical find.
Back in 1836 a group of boys headed to Arthur's Seat and found 17 miniature coffins. The coffins were arranged in three tiers: two tiers of eight and one single coffin on top. Inside each coffin is a wee wooden figure. Only eight of these coffins have survived and are on display in the National Museum of Scotland. What happened to the other nine? We don't know. The Scotsman tells us that a number were destroyed by the boys, but we don't know how many. Now, almost 200 years later, we still don't know who made those little figures and why. But there are several theories about it, some more believable than others.

Who doesn't like a good story? I definitely do. But today it's not about stories itself, it's more about those who created them and where they got their inspiration from. Walter Scott, David Hume, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.K. Rowling and Irvine Welsh are all writers from Edinburgh, some locals and some inspired by the city. So it's no surprise that Edinburgh was declared 2004 as the first UNESCO world city of literature. While exploring the New Town we learned some facts about one of Edinburgh's most famous writers Robert Louis Stevenson.

Who was Robert Louis Stevenson? I'm sure you must have heard from at least one of his books : Treasure Island. In this book, Stevenson created the typical image of a pirate - men with parrots and wooden legs looking for hidden treasure. But back to where everything began: Edinburgh, to be more accurate in the New Town.

We start our wee tour at Heriot Row in front of a red door. Not that it's anything special to have a bright coloured door here in Edinburgh but this red door leads into a very special building: The house were Robert Louis Stevenson grew up. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850. His family was famous for building lighthouses. Robert was an unlucky little boy as he was ill all the time. Imagine now, being wee Robert in his room on the top floor of this four-story house staring out of the window, across the street and looking into Queen Street Gardens.

But before we move to the next stop, one last thing connected to the house. If you have a close look you can find one of Stevenson poems: For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door, And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more; And oh! before you hurry by with ladder and with light; O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him to-night! 

We are now in Queen Street Gardens. The place that little Robert saw from his bedroom window. People say that this is the place which inspired Stevenson to write Treasure Island.

... and back in time. The learners of the summer intensive courses had a very special experience today, they travelled back to the 19th century straight into a Victorian classroom.

​Haven't we all heard some school stories from our parents and grandparents? For example my grandma told me all the time how good we have it nowadays with modern technology. Teachers can simply print out papers for us. Back then they would write everything on the blackboard and the students had to copy it with a pen. No chance of erasing it when you misspelled something, you had to cross it out. Now imagine how some pages must have looked! And to my brother she would always say that he should start to write more neatly. With handwriting like that, the teacher would have punished him back then. And from all I've heard about school in the past, we should be happy about the way the teacher might punish us nowadays. But let's see how it really was being a pupil in the Victorian Classroom.

The Christmas Countdown has begun! To help you celebrate we have made you an extra special present this year, our very own Edinburgh Experience advent calender!

An advent calender is a tradition where you open a door which corresponds to the date and find a special treat. Our treats are all chosen to help you work on your English and learn about our Christms traditions. Check out the calendar everyday to see what we have prepared for you.

You can find a link to our advent calender by clicking the picture below. We will have a reminder on our Facebook page everyday!

We close for Christmas 18th December and open again 18th January. We are now taking bookings for next term so please contact us on info@theeedinburghexperience.com for more information.
​
Happy Advent Calendar Opening!
The Edinburgh Experience Team

Click the picture of the calendar below to go to our one!

Great Scott! It's Back to the Future Day! It is hard to believe that we've finally arrived in 2015! We are HUGE fans of the trilogy here at The Edinburgh Experience, so we had to do an (extremely overdue!) blog entry to celebrate.

We've prepared a listening and speaking class for you all about what Back to the Future thought the future was going to be like, and the reality of it! 

As always, you can find the PDF to accompny the videos pressing the PDF button. If you are doing the lesson as self study, all videos have subtitle options if you click CC.

If you have any questions about vocabulary, or would like to leave us a message, just write a comment and we will get back to you.

We still have a couple of spaces available on some of our courses, so if you are looking for an excellent English course in Edinburgh, please contact us on info@theedinburghexperience.com. Prices starta t only £85 a month!

Happy Burns night! Well, almost! On the 25th of January, Scots and lovers of poetry around the world celebrate Robert Burns, our national poet.

Burns is best know as the writer of one of the top 3 most known songs in the English language (Auld Lang Syne), however his talents go much further! He was a man ahead of his time, writing poetry and songs about inequality, the value of money over people, and the environment. And of course, love. Rab (as he is often called in Scotland) liked the ladies, as his poetry reflects.

It's traditional to celebrate him with a Burns Supper, a night where we eat haggis, drink whiskey and read and sing his poetry and songs. We have collected some links for you to plan your perfect Burns night and learn all about him, at the same time as practising your English!

The lovely people at Visit Scotland have prepared some brilliant PDF resources explaining all about the history of Burns, and how to plan the perfect night, from selected poems to recipes.

Please click the appropriate link for your level

A very Merry Christmas from The Edinburgh Experience! We can't believe that we have nearly reached the end of our third year!

As always, we have prepared a special Christmas blog post for you. This year, we couldn't stop laughing at the comedy group 4 Screws Loose's excellent telling of the nativity through pop songs. So, we decided it would be the perfect option for a Christmas listening class!

Just click on the PDF button to download the materials. First of all read through the lyrics and see if you recognise any of them. Then, watch the video and fill in the missing words. You can find the answers on page two. Remember, no cheating, or Santa won't bring you a present! You can find the video below.

It's been a great year for us here after a wonderful summer and a great start to our regular academic courses. If you are looking for excellent teaching at affordable prices in the city centre of Edinburgh, look no further! We are now taking bookings for January 2015.

But for now we will be signing off until the New Year. We wish you, your friends and your family all the best for the holidays and Hogmanay! Remember to have a look at our archives for other great Christmas themed posts, including a Christmas phrasal verb special.

We make no secret of Halloween being one of our favourite nights of the year! Last year we did a great blog post about the history of Halloween and how we celebrate it in Scotland. You can find it in our blog archive. Look under October 2013.

This year we thought we'd do something a little different and get you to do some listening practice and learn some new vocabulary while you get to dance around your living room to what is probably the best Halloween song EVER, Thriller by Michael Jackson.

You can find the worksheet by clicking the PDF button, and the video is below. We've highlighted lots of excellent verbs of movement for you to learn using a dictionary. Our favourite online dictionary is Word Reference. You can find a direct link HERE. Please leave us a comment if you have any questions about how to use the verbs correctly.

And teachers, as always you are very welcome to use our materials for free!

We hope you have a brilliant Halloween and that you only meet friendly ghosts!

Until next time
The Edinburgh Experience Team

Use this video for the listening on the PDF worksheet

There is only one thing being talked about in Scotland at the moment, and that is the result of the independence referendum on the 18th of September. On the morning of the 19th, we will know if Scotland has chosen to go it alone or remain part of the UK.

Regardless of personal opinion, it is extremely important to understand how we have arrived at this point and discuss the possibilities. So, we have put together a class all about the history before the referendum with lots of great videos and a selection of useful vocabulary.

These resources are also great for teachers to download if you'd like to use them with your class.

Due to popular demand, we are happy to announce that as of September 2014 we will be running regular courses throughout the academic year! We are continuing our policy of bringing you the best possible teaching at affordable prices, with courses at ONLY £80 a month for four hours a week! Not only that, sign up with a friend and only pay £60 for your first month.

FREE CLASSES! Yes, FREE! We are offering some free classes to allow you to come and get to know us and how we work. Places are limited so if you are interested please contact us as soon as possible. Dates are
WEDNESDAY 20TH AUGUST 5.30-6.30pm Intermediate, 7-8pm Advanced
WEDNESDAY 27TH AUGUST 5.30-6.30pm Intermediate, 7-8pm Advanced

You can find detailed information about our timetable and courses HERE

Spaces are limited on our courses to ensure you have the best possible learning experience, so please contact us as soon as possible to book your place.

Looking forward to meeting you!
The Edinburgh Experience Team

WE'VE GONE TOTALLY CRAZY!!! It must be the nice sunny days we've been having in Edinburgh, or maybe because we are so excited about our summer courses starting, but either way, we have an AMAZING offer for you!

Any of our courses in the first 2 weeks of August plus self catered accommodation in a student residence FOR ONLY £750!!!

Yes, ONLY £750!!!! But places are limited, so make sure you get in touch as soon as possible to reserve your place. You can contact us via our website by clicking HERE or email us at info@theedinburghexperience.com

Remember, we also offer discounts for groups, students and the unemployed, which can make the course even cheaper! We are always happy to help so please get in touch with any questions you may have. 

In the meantime, here is a bit of listening practice for you from one of our favourite Scottish bands, The Proclaimers!

Hello and welcome back! This month we have a class all about the word SO. SO is an extremely common word in English with lots of different uses, and is often confused. In this post, we're looking at all the ways we can use it, the pronunciation and also expressions which use SO. 
As always, download our PDF where you can also find the answers. Please share our blog with any friends you think might be interested. Our materials are 100% free!

At this time of year you're probably starting to think of what to do during your summer holidays. Well, why not come to the beautiful city of Edinburgh to enjoy one of our marvellous English courses? We combine our courses with integrated language tasks which take place in some of the most interesting cultural locations in the city. This means you get to combine excellent teaching with a brilliant holiday! Find out more about our courses HERE.

Remember, we have discounts for groups, students and the unemployed so get in touch to see if you qualify. Our classes are limited in size to ensure our students get the best possible teaching, so contact us as soon as possible to ensure your space!


Until next time!
The Edinburgh Experience

Hello and welcome back to The English Blog! We apologise for taking so long to do another post, but we have been very busy updating our website with all of our new fantastic courses this year. We're excited to announce our English courses for teachers of bilingual schools, especially designed to boost your level from B1 to C1, and with a special focus on educational language and skills for this area. We will also be running a complete beginners course this year and CAE preparation, alongside our already fantastic intermediate and advanced courses. Have a look at all of these excellent options HERE. Please remember we offer discounts for groups, students and the unemployed. Get in touch for more information.

This week we have chosen one of our favourite listening resources, TED.com, to do some listening practice with.  We have designed the class to show you how you can use TED for self study and to improve your listening. It's a brilliant resource and we hope you enjoy using it. As always, please download our PDF where you can find all of the instructions and questions. Then, watch the video below. If you have any friends who you think would enjoy our blog please share with them! We have also categorised all of our entries to make it easier to look for topics or language skills, so if you're new to what we do, why not check out our previous posts?

You can also go directly to see the video on TED.com, where you also have access to the transcripts, by clicking HERE 

Until next time!
The Edinburgh Experience Team 

Happy Halloween to you all! At The Edinburgh Experience, we LOVE Halloween and want to share our reason why with you! Most people think of Halloween only as a commercial holiday, but it's so much more than that! Find out today about the history of the day and how we celebrate it in Scotland.

INTERESTING HALLOWEEN FACT - "Trick or treat" is translated in Spanish as "truco o trato", but this is incorrect. The word "treat" in this context means something special which you don't normally have. You could transalte it as  "capricho"  or "algo especial". This is a great example of why you ALWAYS need to look at the context of language.

THIS MONTH'S LESSON - Please download our PDF where you can read a text about the history of Halloween in Scotland, and also the roots of the tradition in the United States. You can listen and read at the same time, if you press the TEXT AUDIO button.

We also have lots of great vocabulary for talking about fears and phobias. Listen to the VOCAB AUDIO button where you can hear an explanation for each word and match them to the definitions on the PDF. You'll find the answers on page 3.

We've also included a list of discussion questions for teachers to use in class.

And as an extra treat, enjoy Michael Jackson's Thriller below with lyrics! 

Until next time!
The Edinburgh Experience Team

Hello and welcome back! We hope that you had a wonderful summer. We certainly did, our courses were a great success and all our students had a fantastic time! Have a look on our Facebook page HERE to see photos and videos of all the exciting activities we did!

For our first blog entry of the new academic year we've chosen a really common problem for students from all languages; how to use the structure "have got" correctly. 

As usual, please download the PDF then listen to the audio. You can find the answers, exercises and a more detailed explanation all FOR FREE!!! And why not share it with a friend? ;) 

Also, if you are in Madrid then why not come along to our regular conversation classes. From prices starting from only 45E a month (yes, ONLY 45E!) get the highest quality teaching for all levels to help you improve your fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation and confidence. More information at www.speakenglishmadrid.com

What would you like to see as our next blog post? Please leave us some comments for this year!

Until next time!

The Edinburgh Experience Team

Hello and welcome back from your holidays! We hope that you have had a wonderful summer. It's easy to forget the English you learnt last year, so why don't you come and do our 2 week conversation intensive?

We are organising a 2 week speaking intesive course for pre-intermediate to intermediate students in the centre of Madrid,

• When? - Monday to Thursday, from 16th of September until 26th
• What time? -  9.45-11.45 am
• Where? - Calle Pena de Francia, Madrid (Metro 5 Puerta de Toledo,3  Embajadores, Cercanias 5 Embajadores, bus 17, 33, 35, 41, 60, 148 and Circular)
• How much? - 130E including materials (based on 10 students)

We will be looking at a mix of useful language for travelling, work and general conversation, including functional language.

PLACES ARE LIMITED so please contact us as soon as possible to reserve your place. To reserve a space or for any more information please email us at theedinburghexperience@gmail.com

COMING SOON!
We will soon be announcing regular conversation classes for all levels in Madrid city centre. Excellent teaching at afforable prices.

We wish you all the best for the new academic year and hope to see you soon!

The Edinburgh Experience Team

It's that time of year again, Cambridge Exam time!!! If you are one of the many people presenting for PET, FCE, CAE or Proficiency you're probably in the middle of a revision frenzy and starting to get a bit nervous! I know my students certainly are! 
So, I thought that this month it would be a good idea to give you all a few useful tips for the different papers and also some useful websites which you can use to do some extra practice for the big day!

If you aren't doing the exam next week don't worry, there is also a short practice exercise and some useful tips for writing in general for you to have a look at. You just need to download the PDF, answers at the end.

Of course, the perfect way to improve your English level is to do our intensive summer course in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. Places are filling up on our August courses so book your place as soon as possible. We're also doing a SPECIAL OFFER on our July course. A two week course is only 335€/£285!!! Have a look HERE on our courses page.

Here at The Edinburgh Experience, we believe that Edinburgh is the best possible place to come and study English! But just in case you don't believe us, we've prepared a special listening class to prove it!

We're sure that after you see the video and learn about this beautiful city, you'll all be desperate to come and visit! And of course, the best course you can do in Edinburgh to improve your English is with us! More information HERE.

First of all, please download the PDF and do the vocabulary preparation . Then, watch the video below. Next, answer the questions on page 2 of our PDF and watch the video again to check your answers. Finally, on page 3 you can see if you were correct.

Want to find out more about Edinburgh? Go to the wikipedia page for more reading practice.

Remember, our courses are limited in size to ensure our students get the best possible learning experience, so if you're interested get in touch soon to make sure you can reserve your space!