Best English Course

[RAZZELL]

The gf (a graduate) has spent the last 3 years working abroad in America and Europe so her spoken English is fantastic.

However, she really does need to brush-up on her written English which is pretty basic. She's asked me what is the best course for her.

I vaguely understand the differences between TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, BEC...But which one is the most useful in the real world. Or are they all intended for different purposes?

Additional information...

She's considering doing a postgraduate course so would TOEFL be the most useful?

If she intended to live and work abroad (probably in the UK) would TOIEC be a better choice?

Thanks in advance for all your help

RAZZ

P.S Any recommendations for a School in Bkk would be greatly appreciated. Are the following any good?

http://www.britishcouncil.org/thailand-eng...ses-bangkok.htm

http://www.inlinguathailand.com/

http://www.auathailand.org/

http://www.berlitz.co.th/index-eng.html

http://www.ihbangkok.com/index.php

Edited October 21, 2009 by RAZZELL

[ricwoo09]

Courses such as TOEFL, TOEIC etc are to assist the student in getting a better grade when they do that particular test. If she needs to improve her writing then she should study a writing course(s). AUA has a good reputation and as a not for profit organisation it has competitive prices too. 

[bodunchar]

Perhaps she would consider doing a TEFL course. Dont know if this is appropriate for her or not. On the plus side she could teach english once she has this.

(Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I know its pretty heavy going, the end goal is to be able to teach all levels of english to those whose english is not the first language. Its a months full time course and not cheap.

My brother is a TEFL teacher. When I looked into doing this the best (and at the the time the only) school in Phuket to offer a cambridge and or trinity certified course was ECC. This is the one to go (trinity/cambridge certified) for it is most respected by employers.

ECC was the school and I believe they are based in BKK.

I hope thats of some help.

[Phatcharanan]

Perhaps she would consider doing a TEFL course. Dont know if this is appropriate for her or not. On the plus side she could teach english once she has this.

(Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I know its pretty heavy going, the end goal is to be able to teach all levels of english to those whose english is not the first language. Its a months full time course and not cheap.

My brother is a TEFL teacher. When I looked into doing this the best (and at the the time the only) school in Phuket to offer a cambridge and or trinity certified course was ECC. This is the one to go (trinity/cambridge certified) for it is most respected by employers.

ECC was the school and I believe they are based in BKK.

I hope thats of some help.

Probably of no help whatsoever.

You have missed the entire point of the OP. TEFL courses do not teach writing.

[RAZZELL]

You have missed the entire point of the OP. TEFL courses do not teach writing.

I'm glad you said it

Basically (the future) Mrs Razz is dam_n near fluent in spoken English.

But she wants to do a course which improves her written English and which can be shown to possible future Employers/Universities etc

RAZZ

Edited October 21, 2009 by RAZZELL

[thaicbr]

Just check out a few schools close to where you are and ask them for a writing course. easy. There are many fantastic books available. The school should also be able to tailor the course to what she wants. Most schools in Thailand also give a diploma( waste of space, but looks nice) if you finish the course. Allan

[Scott]

My friend just got a really good job, earning a huge salary--base pay over 50,000 baht per month and travel expenses that put the figure over 100,000 baht per month. The main thing that got him the job was his ability to write well in English. He learned to write first by reading a lot of books in English. He practiced by sending first letters and more recently emails.

Learning to write is difficult, especially professional, coherent correspondence.

Best of luck.

[PeaceBlondie]

Former US Ambassador to Thailand, former Peace Corps English teacher in Lamphun, gave this advice: "Practice. Practice. Practice."

[RAZZELL]

Former US Ambassador to Thailand, former Peace Corps English teacher in Lamphun, gave this advice: "Practice. Practice. Practice."

Yep, I know

But the question is which course is the best or most recognized by potential employers etc?

RAZZ

[Scott]

I don't know if you will find a course which will be recognized by an employer. I know in the case of my friend, he, along with all the other applicants, were called in for a group interview. They were then given a test, which included writing a report or summary of something given to them. I can only assume that the other applicants were pretty bad, since my friend got a phone call before he made it all the way home being offered the job.

I completely agree with PeaceBlondie, it takes practice, practice, practice. But it also takes reading, reading and more reading. My friend started by reading novels. The first 5 took him absolutely months to get through and most pages were covered with ink of words that he had to look up. Now, he reads only for pleasure and gets through a novel in about a week. His previous jobs required him to write in English, including letters, so he got plenty of practice.

Best of luck.

[RAZZELL]

Thanks for all the above responses. I'll do a bit more research and post where she end's up studying.

RAZZ

[jasreeve17]

Scott makes a great point: reading is key.

I teach a lot of writing courses, and they are designed for specific purposes; not to generally improve your writing. I've taught IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL, SAT... None of which would help your wife to generally improve her writing.

Last year my missus asked me to help her improve her writing skills, so I gave Mrsjasreeve17 'The Beach' by Alex Garland and a notebook. I asked her to read five pages per day then write a one page summary. We worked through the summary word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. It took me around an hour per day. By the end of the book her writing had improved to a standard that would be acceptable by an international company based in Thailand.

I've taught English majors from the 1st year to their 4th, then through their MA. If they don't read regularly and write a daily diary (both in English, obviously) then their improvement is limited... Adversely, I've a couple of English majors now who write their own blogs every day; their writing is better than mine...

Edited October 24, 2009 by jasreeve17

[BlackArtemis]

My wife, also a Thai native, is very fond of the British Council program. She studied there every summer while growing up. Her English is fantastic and her knowledge of grammar far exceeds mot native speakers I know, hel_l she regularly wins at scrabble on games night!

Here in the US we have looked at MA programs for her and it seems TOEFL seems to be the choice test for entrance.

I do have another option not listed. Here in the US you can go to a University as a commuter. This allows you to take under the 12 credit minimum. In essence she might be able to just take a 3 credit writing course at a local university and only pay those credits. She won't be working towards a degree, but it might be a viable option, especially if the school offers multiple levels.

[Ijustwannateach]

The test result of those you mention with the best indicator of fluency is probably the IELTS. It is the most demanding in terms of its four areas of testing, especially with regard to listening (some of the test sections are downright ruthless) and speaking (which must be done with a qualified, live test interviewer). However, it is very, very, very hard and you can't really cheat on it. Suggest you buy a book first with a good sample test section and see how the listening section goes with your gf. If she finds it difficult, you may wish to enroll her in some other form of course before doing an IELTS course- the courses aren't targetted really for improvement in English generally, but for more experience and improvement on the tests themselves assuming a fair degree of proficiency to start.