Béca-ME Scholarship Winners Earn the Experience of a Lifetime

We all know how important is to learn English and having the opportunity to learn it through a scholarship is even better. This is exactly what happened to five inspirational Spaniards that will soon enjoy the experience of a lifetime after winning scholarships to learn English abroad with Kaplan International Colleges.

Kaplan International Colleges, a leading provider of English language courses and study abroad programs, have awarded Béca-ME scholarships to five Spanish competition winners who impressed judges and Facebook fans with their inspirational essays.



More than 1,000 people entered the Béca-ME competition, which offered 5 tuition and accommodation scholarships in Kaplan locations in the USA, Canada, the UK and Ireland, and Australia and New Zealand. Congratulations to the 5 winners: Guadalupe Sánchez Martínez, Rubén Rodriguez Montero, Ana Abad de Larriva, Sofía Villafañe Escudero and Patricia Cid Jimenez will all begin a new, exciting chapter in their lives after demonstrating that they deserved the chance to travel abroad and learn English with Kaplan.

Are you looking for a good school to study English in London?

You should then now that Kaplan London Exam Centre, which is part of Kaplan International’s English language school in Leicester Square, is the only school to take home two awards at the Cambridge English Centenary CEM Meeting.

This event took place in Somerset House and Kaplan won the “Best performing new centre” and “Best use of Facebook for promotion” awards. Kaplan Leicester Square, a Cambridge ESOL examination centre, located in a modern building in the heart of the capital, helps students prepare for several Cambridge Exam Preparation courses including: the First Certificate (FCE), the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).

Somerset House is a great place to host the awards:



Craig Sargent, Principal at Kaplan Leicester Square, said: “Kaplan Leicester Square School is delighted to receive such recognition at the Cambridge Centenary Awards. Being the only school to win two awards at the ceremony is a great achievement and a testament to the hard work of all our staff. We look forward to further success during this year and in the future.”

Check out how you can learn English in London with Kaplan

Do you think that text speak impacts grammar and spelling for English learners?

Text speak are acronyms used by English learners and English native speakers, some examples of text speak are LOL: Laugh out loud, THX: Thanks, OMG: Oh my God, 2MORO: Tomorrow, GR8: Great, YOLO: You only live once.



According to a recent study on English learners, 63% of English learners do not believe that using text speak is damaging their grammar or spelling despite some using it while writing essays and exams.

The survey also discovered that 71% use text speak when texting on phones, 64% use it online and 14% actually use it while speaking out loud.

Moreover, a recent study of primary and secondary school children by researchers at Coventry University found no evidence of any detrimental relationships between use of texting slang and children’s conventional literacy abilities.

Do you use text speak when you text or talk to your friends? Do you think that this is damaging your grammar or spelling? Please share your thoughts!

See more about this survey on the Kaplan’s English for Teenagers Infographic

Kaplan Talent Awards - Win an English Course

Would you like to win a free two week English course in a top World location like London, New York, Sydney or Singapore? Does this sound appealing to you? Keep reading then!

You now have your chance with The Kaplan Talent Awards where Kaplan is looking to find their best student photographer. And you can also participate on these awards by being a judge and vote on a series of photographs. More than 1,000 student photos have been submitted over the past month and 30 have made the final cut.



To judge the photographs and enter the prize draw, visit http://www.facebook.com/kic where you will find the Kaplan Talent Awards Facebook App. You have until 13th May 2013 to be the judge. The winning student and one lucky judge will both win a free two week English course at any Kaplan college!

Discover more about the Kaplan English language school

Have you ever been taught English through Music?

There is no doubt that listening to music can help us to stay motivated, concentrate, relax or learn English! A recent study from Kaplan International reveals that ESL (English as a Second Languages) teachers use The Beatles to help students learn English.

If you don’t know who The Beatles were (shame on you :)), The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. They became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the rock music era. The group's best-known line-up consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.



Image and information about The Beatles from Wikipedia.

The study that Kaplan carried out shows that 40% of surveyed ESL teachers play songs by The Beatles to help their students learn English and 86% of ESL teachers play music during class to enhance lessons.

Other survey results include:

• 81% of ESL teachers have used English-speaking celebrities to engage students: Barack Obama being the most popular celebrity.
• 76% have used Movies in class: The Harry Potter series being the most popular.
• 75% have used Newspapers in class: The New York Times being the most popular.
• 60% have used TV shows in class: Mr Bean being the most popular.
• 34% have used the Radio in class: The BBC World Service being the most popular.
• 33% have used Comics in class: Spider-Man being the most popular.
• 24% have used Computer Games in class: The Sims being the most popular.

See more about the Kaplan’s How to Teach English Infographic

You can find out more information about how to learn English through Music on the articles How to learn English from scratch using Music, 3 Great iPhone Apps to learn English through Music and Who’s your favourite singer to learn English through Music.