Happy Halloween!

There is a party tonight at the Blue Bar. Expect many photos to be posted in the next few days.

Elsi

Elsi recently got married, and she hasn't been able to wipe the smile off her face since. She is the head of our Study Advisors.

The Halloween Party is in two days!

The Annual HyLite Halloween party is in two days. It figures to be a grand time. You can expect to see lots of photos of the festivities here.

The party will be held at the Blue Bar, a popular Wuxi China Expat hangout, where Beer is always free, tomorrow.

Downtown Wuxi, China

HyLite English is located in the downtown of Wuxi, China near the intersection of Xueqian and Zhongshan Roads. You can see the intersection in the above photo taken from the school's patio.

A Golden Apple

That is yours truly standing in front of a big golden apple which can on the grounds of Tianyi Middle School in Wuxi, China

View from the School

Look out of our Salon classrooms and you will see this: a park, a church, and the Ba Bai Ban department Store.

Seagate!

We have a year long contract with Seagate, a manufacturer of hard drives here in Wuxi, China to teach business courses.

Good to get business in these troubled times.

Halloween Party!

HyLite Language School in Wuxi, China will have a Halloween Party for students and staff on Friday, October 31 700 PM at the Blue Bar. There will be prizes awarded for the best costumes. I will perform some M.C. duties.

Leo!

There is Leo, a trainer in the VIP IELTS program, marking papers and having a smoke on the HyLite Deck. Leo is from Vancouver, Canada.

Jany and Simon!

Jany, a long-time HyLite student is enjoying a conversation with Simon, a trainer from London, England on the deck.

Ida and Snowie!

You can't get enough of Snowie, our VIP IELTS assistant. That is her on the right with Ida, another one of our Study Advisors.

Ida is another girl you can't get enough of. She is a very out-going, intelligent, and articulate girl.

Judy! Judy! Judy!

Here is Study Advisor Judy. She is mother of a daughter younger than mine. She is an excellent teacher with a strong personality. She is shy to pose for photos so the one is above is a rarity.

The HyLite Deck

Students and Trainers can go to the HyLite Deck (on the school's fourth floor) to take a break or have a smoke.

The HyLite Corridor.

This is the corridor on our School's fourth floor. Originally, our school had a third floor address in the building we were in. Two years ago, the school expanded to get a ground floor level entrance and as well as three more floors.

Field Trip to Lake Taihu

Here is a photo of a group of HyLite students taken on a recent Field Trip to Lake Taihu.

Our Students at work.

Above, you can see HyLite Students preparing for privates classes with the Foreign Trainers using the Tell-Me-More software in the Computer Lab.

Tips for students.

If there are any students coming across my blog, here are my tips for learning English:

1.No one word answers. Answer questions with complete sentences. Example: Do you like Shopping? Yes, I like shopping. No, I don't like shopping.

2.Repeat all you have heard when doing grammar exercises.e.g. Teacher says: Yesterday, I (go) to work. Student says: Yesterday, I went to work.

3.When learning words, think of its meaning, usage (adjective, verb, noun) and sound. Don't make one sentence with a word. Make two or more.

4.It is okay to say I don't understand. Don't pretend you understand when you don't.

5.No Chinese. Use your English to learn more English. Don't ask other students for a translation. Don't give another student a translation. Use English.

6.Use your imagination.

7.Learn the words opposite, past, present , future.

8.Listen to the other students. Speak to the other students using English. Practice your English with your colleagues and other students everyday. Listening is so important you must practice it all the time. Good listening helps you improve your vocabulary, grammar and fluency.

9.If the teacheris doing all the talking, then the class is going badly.

10.When doing grammar, show you know the grammar. don't worry if what you say is true.

11.If you don't know a word. Use the best words you know to explain. e.g. Bird is a fly animal

12.You can learn from your mistakes. It is okay to ask "Can I say_______________?"

13.If you don't know a word, listen to the teacher explain it first.

Our Students

Our Students range in age from 15 to 50. Above, William and Connie, a worker and a businesswoman respectively, attend a Speakers Corner at our school.

HyLite English School Table Tennis Table

Our school has a table tennis table. Above, a couple of students take a break from their English study to play.

Nancy!

HyLite Study Advisor Nancy, from Sichuan Province, is doing compter lab duty above. She is one of the many bright and articulate people the foreign trainers get to work with.

Primary School Classes.

Tuesday morning, I taught three primary school classes at Bai Zhuang Primary School in the Dong Tien district of Wuxi. Playing games with the students makes them enthusiastic but uncontrollable. Ever had thirty kids yell "Mango!" at you? I can now say I have.

I made a big mistake when I happened to say "new word" before trying to teach the students the word rhinoceros. I showed them the picture of the rhinoceros the rest of the class and they kept calling it a "new word" no matter how many times I tried to correct them.

Thankfully, we only have to do these classes once a month.

HyLite Trainer's Office

Above, trainer Simon, from London, England sits at his desk in the HyLite Foreign Trainer's Office preping for his next class. On the shelves, you can see binders containing our already-prepared lesson plans. All trainers have access to the Internet.

HyLite is located in Downtown Wuxi.

The School is not too far away from McDonalds, KFC, and Starbucks.

Welcome Back! Welcome!

It is October 4th and I am back at school. Above, you can see two of the girls who work at our reception desk on the first floor of HyLite School.