Course Duration: 8 weeks (40 sessions) Course Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will: 1. Communicate effectively and confidently in English in various contexts. 2. Expand vocabulary and improve grammar usage. 3. Develop listening skills to understand a variety of accents and speech patterns. 4. Enhance reading comprehension skills for different types of texts. 5. Write accurately and coherently for different purposes. Course Outline: Week 1: Introduction and Assessment - Introduction to course objectives, expectations, and immersion techniques - Assessing participants' current English proficiency levels - Establishing individual learning goals and expectations Week 2: Speaking and Listening Skills - Developing conversational skills through role-plays, pair work, and group discussions - Listening activities to improve comprehension of different accents and speech speeds - Pronunciation drills and practice for accurate and fluent speech Week 3: Vocabulary Expansion - Building a wide range of vocabulary through contextualised exercises and activities - Strategies for effective vocabulary acquisition and retention - Vocabulary practice in various themes and topics Week 4: Grammar Review and Practice - Reviewing essential grammar structures and rules - Practice exercises and activities for applying grammar rules in context - Error correction and clarification of common grammar mistakes Week 5: Reading Comprehension - Developing reading skills through authentic texts, articles, and short stories - Strategies for improving reading speed and comprehension - Identifying main ideas, supporting details, and inferred meanings Week 6: Writing Skills - Improving writing skills for different purposes: emails, letters, reports, etc. - Practice exercises for organizing ideas, structuring paragraphs, and coherent writing - Peer editing and feedback for enhancing writing proficiency Week 7: Real-Life Simulations - Simulating real-life situations such as job interviews, meetings, and social interactions - Role-plays and interactive activities for practical application of language skills - Building confidence and fluency in using English in authentic contexts Week 8: Review and Final Evaluation - Reviewing course content and addressing individual needs - Comprehensive review exercises for all language skills - Final evaluation and feedback session Note: This syllabus serves as a guideline and can be customised based on the specific needs, interests, and proficiency levels of the participants. The course may also include cultural immersion activities and field trips to enhance the language learning experience. You can opt in and out of different modules.
LOOKING FOR: CHILDREN'S: PICTURE BOOK TEXTS, NON-FICTION, POETRY Lucy Brownridge is Editorial Director at Wide Eyed Editions and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, and formerly Thames & Hudson where she helped to establish the Children’s list. She specialises in highly illustrated picture books and non-fiction (including poetry) for children. She has commissioned and edited books which have gone on to win the Carnegie Awards, The British Book Awards, the Klaus Flugge Prize, the Blue Peter Prize and have been translated into over 30 languages. She has been editor to Alan Ahlberg, Quentin Blake, Mariajo Ilustrajo, Yuval Zommer and Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho among many others. She is the author of The Fantastical Safari and The Cat Family series, and many other books for children. She is interested in the history of illustrated children’s books and is always looking for innovative ways to use the book format. ABOUT YOU Include a covering letter, in a Word document, telling Lucy about yourself and your sources of inspiration. If you have one, include a link to your website. She is keen to read stories she hasn't seen before or see artwork with a distinctive style rather than something that fits with trends. She has particular experience with picture books and illustrated narrative non-fiction. PICTURE BOOKS Please send one or two (max) full manuscripts, in a Word document, starting with a short summary/blurb. Make the summary punchy and engaging. Remember that the best picture book stories are simple and every word should count. Do you see this book as part of a series? NON-FICTION PROPOSALS Please send a paragraph explaining your idea, a contents list, if appropriate, and a sample piece of text. (In addition to the paid sessions, Lucy is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print). By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Thursday 15th May 2025
How to Raise Bilingual Children
REXX training course description A hands on training course covering the Restructured EXtended eXecutor (REXX) language. A large number of exercises are used to reinforce and emphasise lecture sessions. What will you learn Write REXX programs. Debug REXX programs. Examine existing code and determine its function. REXX training course details Who will benefit: Anyone wishing to learn REXX. Prerequisites: None although experience in another high level language would be useful. Duration 3 days REXX training course contents Introduction to REXX What is REXX? REXX environments, invoking a REXX exec, a sample REXX exec, REXX clause types. REXX variables and data Literal data, variable data, assignment, simple variables, compound variables, stem variables, constant data, numeric data, arithmetic operations, character manipulation, hexadecimal data. The parse instruction Parse format, Parse examples, Parse arg, Parse pull, Parse value, special templates, place holders, literal templates, numeric templates, variable templates. Control structures Relational conditions, logical operators, simple selection, looping: uncontrolled and controlled loops, infinite loops, conditional loops, controlling loops, leave, iterate, multiple selection, instructions for subroutines, exit. Sub routines and functions Internal and external subroutines, call, ARG(), ARG(n)return, exit, scope of variables, procedure, functions, built in functions, overriding built in functions. Performing I/O Command conventions, preparing to read a file, execio, limitations, execio for reading, DISKR, DISKRU, DISKW, return codes. External functions listdsi, msg, outtrap, prompt, sysdsn, sysvar, storage Tracing Immediate commands, the trace facility, signal and call statements. Built in functions Text handling functions, string handling, word handling, arithmetic, data conversion, bit manipulation, environment. The data stack Data stack structure, REXX instructions for the data stack, REXX functions for the data stack, TSO/E commands for the data stack. REXX in batch TSO/E foreground. TSO/E background.
Complete C programming training course description A hands-on introduction to programming in the ANSI C programming language. The course initially moves at a fast pace in order to spend as much time as possible on the subject of pointers - the area which cause the most bugs in C programs. What will you learn Write ANSI C programs Use the C libraries Debug C programs Examine existing code and determine its function. Complete C programming training course details Who will benefit: Programmers wishing to learn C. Programmers wishing to learn C++ or Java. Prerequisites: None, although experience in another high level language would be useful. Duration 5 days Complete C programming training course contents Getting started The compilation process, comments, main(), statement blocks, printf(). C data types and operators char, int, float and double, qualifiers, arithmetic and assignment operators, precedence, Associativity. Basic I/O C libraries, stdin and stdout, getchar(), putchar(), printf() formatting. Flow control if else, dangling elses, else if, while and for loops. switch statements, the null statement, break, continue and gotos. Functions Function calls, arguments and return types, function declarations (prototypes), function definitions, scope of variables. The preprocessor Preprocessor actions, macros, #include. Libraries and their relationship with header files. Conditional compilation. More data types and operators Logical, bitwise and other operators, type conversion, casting, typedefs and access modifiers. Arrays Declaring and handling arrays, common gotchas, multidimensional arrays. Pointers What are pointers? Why they are so important, declaring and using pointers,The three uses of the *,pointer example - scanf, pointers as arguments. More pointers Golden rules of pointers and arrays, pointers to arrays, pointer arithmetic, arrays of pointers, multiple indirection. Character/string manipulation Arrays of characters, string definition, working with strings, String library. Program arguments argc and argv, example uses,char *argv[] versus char ** argv. Program structure and storage classes Globals (externals), multi source programs, the look of a C program. Structures Declaration, the . and - operators, unions and bitfields. Library functions File handling, fopen and fclose, reading from and writing to files, fseek().calloc() and malloc()
Complete VBA programming training course description This course helps you extend the capabilities of the entire Office suite using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Even if you have no programming experience, you'll be automating routine computing processes quickly using the simple, yet powerful VBA programming language. We start at the beginning to get you acquainted with VBA so you can start recording macros right away. You'll then build upon that foundation to utilize the full capabilities of the language in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. What will you learn Record, write and run macros. Work with VBA Editor. Use the huge library of built-in functions. Create simple dialog boxes and complex forms. Customize Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. Program the Office 2016 ribbon. Complete VBA programming training course details Who will benefit: Anyone looking to extend the capabilities of the entire Office suite using VBA. Prerequisites: None. Duration 5 days Complete VBA programming training course contents Macros and getting started in VBA VBA syntax, variables, constants, and enumerations, array variables, finding objects, methods, and properties. Working with VBA 1 VBA syntax, variables, constants, and enumerations, array variables, finding objects, methods, and properties. Decisions, loops and functions Built-in functions, creating your own functions, making decisions in your code, using loops to repeat actions. Using message boxes, input boxes, and dialog boxes Getting user input with message boxes and input boxes, creating simple custom dialog boxes, creating complex forms. Creating effective code Building modular code and using classes, debugging your code and handling errors, building well-behaved code, exploring VBA's security features. Programming the Office applications The Word object model and key objects, working with widely used objects in Word, the Excel object model and key objects, working with widely used objects in Excel, the PowerPoint object, model and key objects, working with shapes and running slide shows, the Outlook object model and key objects, working with events in Outlook, the Access object model and key objects, manipulating the data in an Access database via VBA, accessing one application from another application, programming the Office 2016 ribbon.
Advanced C++ training course description The course will give a broad overview of the C++ Programming language, focusing on modern C++, up to C++17. This course will cover the use of the Standard Library, including containers, iterator, function objects and algorithms. From the perspective of application development, a number of design patterns will be considered. What will you learn Write C++ programs using the more esoteric language features. Utilise OO techniques to design C++ programs. Use the standard C++ library. Exploit advanced C++ techniques Advanced C++ training course details Who will benefit: Programmers needing to write C++ code. Programmers needing to maintain C++ code. Prerequisites: C++ programming foundation. Duration 5 days Advanced C++ training course contents Study of a string class Create a string class as a means to investigate many issues, involving the use of operator overloading and including overloading new and delete. Creation of the class will also require consideration of 'const correctness'. Exception handling Consider the issues involved in exception handling including the concept of exception safety. Templates Review definition of template functions, including template parameter type deduction. Introduction to template metaprogramming. Newer features including template template parameters and variadic templates. Creation of template classes. Design patterns Introduction to Design Patterns and consideration of a number of patterns, such as, factory method, builder, singleton and adapter. The standard C++ library (STL) Standard Library features, such as, Containers, Iterator, Function Objects and Algorithms. Introduction to Lambda expressions. C++ and performance The writing of code throughout the course will be oriented towards performant code, including use of R Value references and 'move' semantics. Pointers The use of pointers will be considered throughout the course. Smart pointers will be considered to improve program safety and help avoid the use of 'raw' pointers. Threading This section will consider the creation of threads and synchronisation issues. A number of synchronisation primitives will be considered. Async and the use of Atomic will also be considered. New ANSI C++ features Summarising some of the newer features to be considered are: Auto, Lambdas expression, smart pointers, variadic templates and folds, R Value references and tuple together with structured binding.