T I M E S

Issue 5 Spring 2015

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3. INTRODUCTION

4. VOX POP What does your home country do to celebrate spring?

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8. TLG IN PICTURES

CONTENTS

11. SPRING CELEBRATIONS

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14. TLG AROUND THE WORLD

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Dear students!

Welcome to the Spring Edition of the TLG Times!

We’re sure you’re all pleased to see the weather starting to improve as winter draws to a close" Spring is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts! whether it’s by re#committing yourself to your studies or cleaning out your room"

At TLG! we’ve started spring with a brand new partnership with Liverpool F"C" We’ve set up TLG Juniors to give children from all over the world the opportunity to learn new skills in a fun environment" This summer! they’ll be coming to the UK to improve their language skills and enjoy activities and outings with Liverpool F"C"

In this issue! you can read on to find out how spring is celebrated around the world! get some music recommendations! and see what your fellow students in other countries have been getting up to"

Whatever you’re celebrating this spring! we hope you enjoy it!

Elena RoginskyTLG Managing Director

INTRODUCTION

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VOX POP“!is is the time of year we enjoy music festivals and major international events in the "elds of fashion and art.”

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O@9L�<G=K�QGMJ�;GMFLJQ�<GLG�;=D=:J9L=�KHJAF?7“In France! we have a festival called le Pâques to celebrate spring" People usually hide chocolate in their gardens" They then have their children search it out! which makes them very happy! I used to do this as a child and it was a lot of fun"”

– Donovan, France

“In Mexico we have a special holiday called Semana Santa that is related to the Catholic religion" We have two days o# activities! including school and work! and we spend a lot of time at church" We only eat white meat like fish and chicken! not beef" I enjoy spending this time with my family" It’s called a semana $ ‘week’ in English $ and it’s celebrated from a Friday to a Thursday"”

– Leslie, Mexico

“We celebrate spring with music! dancing and food! This is the time of year we enjoy music festivals and major international events in the fields of fashion and art"”

– Juliana, Brazil

“My home country celebrates a number of events! like Spring Day on the %th of March and Women’s Day" Equally important is New Year on the &'rd of March" During these holidays nobody works( everyone relaxes and tries to recover after the long winter! breathing the spring air and enjoying it"”

– Suyzanna, Kazakhstan

“In Turkey! the )th of May is a very special day to mark the beginning of spring( we call it ‘Hidirelles’" On this day! people eat food and it’s like a carnival atmosphere" People light fires! and we make wishes before we jump over the fire three times and hope this wish will come true"

The name Hidirelles comes from Hidir! who is a bit like an angel and comes down to earth on this day to hopefully grant our wishes"

The other tradition we have in Turkey around Hidirelles is where we write our wishes on a small piece of paper and we put it on a rose bush on the night before Hidirelles" We wish for things like love! a house! a job! money! a child or a husband or wife" Then! very early the next morning! we take the pieces of paper with the wishes on and we throw them into the sea" Some Turkish people don’t use the rose bush * they write their wishes on the sand and they are washed into the sea"

So it’s a special celebration day for us" We enjoy Hidirelles!”

– Kevser, Eda, and Melissa, Turkey

“For the spring renewal! we eat fish infused with dill" This is a tradition in Iran! and has Zoroastrian roots" We set the table with seven items that begin with the ‘s’ sound in Farsi+ items such as apples and vinegar start with that sound in our language" We give money to the youngest members of the family at family gatherings"

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We light a small fire and jump over it" The red energy goes into our bodies! and the yellow energy goes out of our bodies" Incense is burned and we celebrate the return of purity"

Thirteen days after New Year’s Day! we leave the house for an entire day and spend a lot of time outside to celebrate the relationship of people with the sun"

It is a very special time for Persians and it is a celebration that we look forward to each year"”

–Shirin and Amin, Iran

“In Medellin! Colombia is known as the city of everlasting spring" For , days! the city hosts the ‘Festival of Flowers’" During this time! there are parties! concerts! food festivals and a parade"”

– Andersson, Colombia

“In Romania! spring is welcomed by people wearing a Martisor" This is a red and white piece of thread that is worn on clothing" The red is said to represent the summer and the heat! while the white represents the winter and the cold" Some people say that the two colours represent love and honesty"”

– Christina, Romania

“The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year’s Day from -' to -. April" The traditional water pouring is meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad away and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs"”

– Nattapong, !ailand

VOX POP

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INTERNATIONALOGE9F�K�<9Q

On $ March! countries all around the world celebrated International Women’s Day %IWD&"

IWD is celebrated by everyone from charities to governments to recognise the contributions that women make to their countries and communities" The theme this year was “Make It Happen”"

To celebrate! thousands of events were organised" Some people wear purple ribbons in support! because the colour purple means justice and dignity and it is the colour of the British Su'ragette flag"

In some countries women are given flowers! and children give gifts to their mothers! grandmothers and female teachers" In other countries! like Pakistan and Poland! working women use IWD to hold demonstrations about their ongoing struggle for equal rights"

We have female prime ministers! greater choice for women in terms of work and family! and schoolgirls are welcomed into higher education! but women are still not an equal presence within politics or business! and are paid less than men in the same jobs"

IWD celebrates the great progress women have made in recent years! but also reminds us that there is more to be done"

Fact file(

) IWD is an o*cial holiday in +, countries

) In the United States! the whole month of March is ‘Women’s History Month’

) Women perform --% of the world’s work and produce ,.% of the food

) Women earn just +.% of income worldwide and own +% of the property globally

) Some countries give women the day o' for IWD!

Colombian Women! Between Elbows and Flowers

Despite being thought of as the “weaker sex”! women around the world have demonstrated that when they work together! they can achieve all the aims that they want" Colombian women have not been an exception"

Karen Labrador! the executive director of Colombia Lider! said( “Gender equality is a topic not just of women! but of development"” In Colombia! sexism! prejudice! cultural stereotyping and violence still exists! and has not allowed women to demonstrate their abilities"

Even though there are a lot of successful examples! such as Ingrid Betancourt and Noemi Sanin %former candidates to president of Colombia&! Vivian Morales %senator& and others! the involvement of women is not enough"

At the same time! women in Colombia have succeeded in changing their roles in society so they do not rely on men" Nowadays! every woman in Colombia is able to work! grow! and study with their own money"

Today women are working hard to build a place for themselves in society! without giving up their love of flowers"

– Sugey Rodriguez and Andersson Jimenez

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TLG INPICTURES

TLG LONDON

Winter photography workshop

The certificate for best picture during our photography workshop was given to our student Thu! from Vietnam" Her photograph used the available light in quite a simple setting to create a very charming and stylish portrait"

Christmas party and quiz

In December! TLG and Delfin School put on a Christmas quiz" It was a huge success and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Great thanks to teacher Merlyn and social programme organiser Steph! as well as our wonderful hosts at Delfin School"

There was lots of food and drink! a mixture of funny and di*cult questions! and great prizes / but what really made it memorable was the welcoming and friendly atmosphere"

Thank you all for making this festive period unforgettable for the whole TLG family!

Southbank Winter Festival

Our teacher Ed and his students enjoyed the crisp winter air whilst exploring the South Bank Christmas market! finding trinkets and festive treasure amongst the handmade items on show"

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TLG BIRMINGHAM

The teachers in Birmingham always love to take their students out to enjoy the sights and activities around the city"

Tutor Charlotte took students out to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery as well as treating them to an Indian meal! while Malika took students bowling"

TLG MANCHESTER

Imperial War Museum

This month! students at TLG Manchester visited the Imperial War Museum %IWM& in Media City to find out more about World War I and World War II"

The students were extremely interested in the topic and the objects on display! and took their time looking around" We talked about the e'ect of the wars on Manchester and the impact on people’s lives" The students looked at the di'erences between Manchester during the wars and now"

We learnt about the lives of the people fighting in the war and their communication with their families! and the students tried on the uniforms that were worn by the soldiers and auxiliary forces" Towards the end of the visit our attention was turned to events that happened after the wars had ended" We also looked at poets who served in the wars who then went on to write poetry about it"

The visit to the museum was interesting and enlightening" The students had a good time and learnt about parts of the wars that were previously unknown to them"

TLG TORONTO

TLG Students Graduate

TLG Toronto said a bittersweet farewell to its graduating students of 0.+1/+, / good luck to you all!

Ice Skating

Canada is well known for its colder climate! and our students took full advantage of it by ice skating at the Natrel Rink"

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TLG IN PICTURES

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Winterlicious Food Festival

Students spent an afternoon enjoying the Winterlicious food festival in the historic distillery district of Toronto! especially at the Mill Street Brewpub!

Valentine’s Day

Love was in the air in February as our students celebrated Valentine’s Day with fun activities on campus"

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Spring in Korea is usually sunny and nice! but we think that it’s too short" I think global warming is coming! and serious for us( spring is getting shorter each year and we can’t enjoy the weather before the summer heat!

Our Lunar New Year happens around spring time" When we have Lunar New Year celebrations! we feel like spring is coming"

This is one of the times we have freedom to travel! so it’s pretty important for most Korean families" During Lunar New Year! we get together with our immediate family! and then travel to other cities to be with our extended family who we don’t often see during the rest of the year"

On the day that we are all together! we have a big picnic in a nice outdoor area with lots of food" We also visit the cemeteries to greet our ancestors" This is traditional( we pay our respects to them and pray for good things in the coming year"

Going to the cemeteries in the spring is very special for us! because cemeteries in Asian culture are not like cemeteries here" They are built on the side of a mountain" We get to see the spring scenery from the mountain! and it inspires us to enjoy our life more from that time on"

– Changsun, South Korea

I’m from Hong Kong in China" We don’t celebrate Easter there! but since I’ve been in the UK I’ve noticed all the celebrations for the Easter holidays"

My friends told me that Easter is about rabbits and chocolate eggs" They said that children play in the garden and look for hidden eggs" A lot of children like to celebrate by eating a lot of chocolate / maybe eating too much and then feeling sick!

Easter is also important for religion" Jesus is an important figure for Christians in the UK and Easter represents his death and his resurrection" There are two days holiday in the UK for this! Good Friday and Easter Monday"

I like this holiday a lot because people can take a long break and school is closed" My teachers like Easter because they can sleep#in for the weekend and enjoy their free time without worrying about any students"

This Easter I think I’ll go to supermarket and buy eggs for myself and some friends" I’ll hide the eggs around my house and play a game with my friends like children do! but while my friends are all searching I will eat them all! ha ha ha!

– Jasin Gai, China

SPRINGCELEBRATIONS

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These days I listen to Sam Smith and his music" He’s from Britain! and he’s got a soulful and powerful voice which I like a lot" I read somewhere that he’s been called a ‘male Adele’ because of his voice" I think that’s correct because he sings powerfully like Adele does"

I think his recordings are good # his melodies sound very professional with very clear production" I just downloaded the singles from his debut album and some of the new ones" I think he’s getting popular in Korea! too"

He also has an outstanding performing ability" Hopefully he will come here to tour because I’d love to see him live"

– Yujin, TLG Toronto

I love the music of One Direction! I think they have a nice sound and they’re all so handsome" I went to see their show in London and! in my opinion! it was the best concert I have ever seen" Can you believe they were on X#Factor? Wow!

In my country! people think One Direction are abhorrent and kill music" I disagree" If I listen to my favourite song ‘Ice! Ice Baby’ by One Direction! I can tell that they understand why music is so important in the world" I also love their hair # if I were a boy! I would want the same style!

Music is about how we feel when people sing" Some people feel bad! some people

feel good" If you don’t like One Direction then that’s ok! I like them enough for two people"

/ Hilda Nella! TLG Birmingham I enjoy my new CD" It’s fantastic! Marc Antony’s songs are really good" His music is poetic and romantic" They’re very catchy" My mother and father both listen to it too" They love it! but my brother never listens # it is boring to him"

I highly recommend the CD" I love it! Marc is a good singer! his music relaxes me and makes me feel good" I listen to it every day! in the morning! in the afternoon and in my car too"

I don’t like to watch TV # I prefer to listen to Marc’s music!

– Mathew Alejo, TLG Manchester

I like this song ‘Love me like you do’ because when I hear it! I feel that life is amazing" I feel relaxed and think that life is very simple"

However! I don’t like to listen to this song all the time because it’s not good for my heart" It reminds me of bad memories"

I recommend that everyone should listen to this song because it’s amazing"

– Abdulaziz, TLG Manchester

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TLG AROUND THE WORLD

London

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Our London campus is situated in Holborn! right in the heart of the city" We’re based in several beautiful Georgian buildings! which have been standing for hundreds of years" It’s not di/cult to soak up the history whilst studying here!

We are lucky enough to be close to many of the city’s famous landmarks" For the culturally inclined there’s the British Museum+ for those interested in food or theatre there’s Covent Garden and Leicester Square! and the famous Oxford Street is nearby for all the shopping you could ever need" All of this is just a short stroll away"

For something a bit further afield! you can hop onto one of the city’s many Barclays bikes and take a quick ride down to Southbank" Here! you’ll find a choice of restaurants right next to the River Thames where you can sit and take in the amazing views of Big Ben! the London Eye and St Paul’s cathedral"

If you’re interested in the alternative side of life! head north to check out the

shops and markets in Camden Town and grab some street food" It’s easy to lose track of time here! with lots of independent stalls and shops to choose from"

If you want to visit somewhere that is too far to walk! you can take the oldest underground rail system in the world" The Tube is the easiest and quickest way to navigate the sprawling metropolis of the city" Each section of the city has its speciality * check out the east for trendy night spots and the west for beautiful parks" In the north! you can sample excellent Turkish food! whilst south London has a music scene to rival Camden"

London is a melting pot of di#erent cultures * it’s easy to meet anyone from anywhere in the world" Because of this! there’s a huge range of things to do and places to visit( something to suit anyone and everyone"

As Samuel Johnson once said! ‘When a man is tired of London! he’s tired of life"’

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