Language Cafe 13/02/2014

On Thursday 13th February, we hosted our first Language Cafe event. This weekly event is part of the Montessori Methodology in Language Training (for adults 20+) project that we are working on. 

This event is aimed at foreign language speakers who would like to improve their English, learn more about the culture, integrate and meet new friends. Each week we will be providing some fun educational activities, so called "ice-breakers" that will help us get to know each other and encourage to speak freely. 

Language Cafe is not a sit-down lesson, you will not need any books or notebooks. Going with the Montessori theme, we will be promoting learning through experience. 

Our first session saw participants from Germany, Romania, Belgium, Finland and Italy getting to know each other, talking about their time in Plymouth and also listening to a presentation prepared by one of our students - Sunda

If you would like to take part in next week's Language Cafe, please email

 Mrs Janet Wonnacott  janetw@almondvoclink.co.uk

For more information about Almond visit 

www.almondvoclink.co.uk

One of the activities we used

New Year, new Almond!

New Year, new Almond!

www.almondvoclink.co.uk

We are very proud to announce that we now have a new website. This is something we planned for a little while and are very excited about. We chose to move away from the complicated html and upgrade to a Word Press site. 

We asked a small, local media company to help us with the initial set up. They showed us how to use WP, post news, update pages and change the look of it. We are very excited as this means we will be able to keep you all up to date! 

Next time you visit our website, be sure to have a look at our new Student Zone. We have created this page to promote our student's achievements, projects and the effects of their work during their time here. Soon we will share some articles they wrote and useful tips for all our future participants.

If you have any suggestions, comments or ideas you would like to share with us, please leave a comment below :) 

Montessori Methodology in Language Training for Adults - Meeting

Attention language teachers! 

We are involved in European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programmes project aiming to develop a new method that will improve the quality of language learning for adults and university students (20+). We would like to invite you to a meeting that will be held in our office - City Business Park on 

Saturday 25th January 2014 10.00-12.00

Book your FREE ticket 

The aim of our meeting is to extend our knowledge of this methodology and invite you to further training sessions on 22nd and 23rd February 2014 which will concern the research and the piloting of this project. All participants will receive a certificate attesting their contribution to the project which is based on a manual realized by our international partners. 

Please note that the training course and certificate are FREE of charge, however will only be given to those who part-take in the whole research process. 

To find out more about other projects we are worked on in the past please see our previous post "Programmes and Projects"

http://mmlt.eu/

Lifelong Learning Programme

Programmes and Projects

   In recent years, we have gained a vast amount of valuable experience in dealing with large       scale, EU supported educational programmes. We have worked with partners from across Europe     and actively participate in projects that help to educate, integrate and give access to gain new skills and widen horizons of our participants. 

ERASMUS +

LEONARDO DA VINCI MOBILITY

LEONARDO DA VINCI PARTNERSHIP

GRUNTVIG

VETPRO

CITIZENSHIP

ERASMUS

All of the above programmes are a part of the European Comission’s Lifelong Learning Programme. Our company strongly believes in working closely with other European Partners towards improving and developing educational methods, influencing others to remain in education and gain knowledge through new experiences. These projects improve integration, develop and implement innovative teaching methods, break language barriers and give others a great chance to explore new opportunities, gain new skills and qualifications. Almond Vocational Link strongly believes in the objectives promoted by these programmes and with many years of experience and dedication in supporting those, we are proud of our achievements.

STAFF SENSE LdV Mobility Project

“Increasing the quality of the STAFF responsible for the period of SEN Student’s vocational Education, STAFF SENSE”. Almond Vocational Link was involved in this project alongside with other participating institutions from countries like Turkey, Germany, Spain, Poland, Italy, and Greece. Staff Sense was aimed at students with Special Educational Needs who wish to continue their education in a vocational high school to gain a profession and become independent in their adult lives.

VETPRO LdV Mobility Project

European Union Countries Experience of Vocational Practical training planning by educating qualified workers for hotel, restaurant, and public catering enterprise. Almond Vocational Link hosted 8 guests from Lithuania, representatives of the catering industry and Chamber of Commerce in November 2011.The focus of the programme was to provide an insight of the UK catering Industry and Training of the Hospitality staff.

P.I.T.A.G.O.R.A Grundtvig Project

  Almond Vocational Link was responsible for coordination of this project. Potentiate Integration and Task for Adult learners giving them Opportunities for Relations All over Europe The PIT-GOR project aims at promoting education, cooperation, interchange and the mobility of disadvantage adult group (immigrants, ethnic minorities, etc. ) coming from European areas at risk regarding social exclusion, focusing on maths as a skill needed to be potentate. This project was focused around adult learners, teachers, trainers and education staff

MMLT (Montessori Methodology in Language Training)

 MMLT is another project funded by European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme that Almond Vocational Link is proud to be part of. In this project, we focus on the already successful Montessori teaching methods and exploring the ways to implement these in adult language training. This project involves working with partners from Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland and Romania.

"Europe for Citizens” Programme

Europe for Citizens is aimed at ethnic minorities, promoting debate and reflection on existing    policies in Europe, specifically European Strategy 2020, bringing them closer to the objectives    and guidelines, strengthening active citizenship in their community. One of the objectives of this  programme was to enhance tolerance and mutual understanding between European citizens  and give the participants opportunity to interact and help constructing a tighter-knit Europe,      united and enriched by its cultural diversity

                                

                                www.almondvoclink.co.uk

Merry Christmas from Almond Vocational Link

We wish you all magical, family Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Please see our Christmas opening times below. 

If you wish to contact us during this time please do not hesitate to do so via email:

janetw@almondvoclink.co.uk

            For information about our services please visit              www.almondvoclink.co.uk

Meet the team

www.almondvoclink.co.uk

Meet the team

   It's always nice to know who are you reading and writing your emails to :) Here at Almond Vocational Link we are not just a "one man band", we have a very dedicated team, making sure everything is running smoothly. Let us introduce ourselves to you..

Janet Wonnacott

Managing Director

Janet has worked with European Lifelong Learning Programmes since 2004 and she is very passionate about maintaining high standards of service in finding quality work placements and accommodation for students and creating a positive experience for them.

Janet named her Company Almond, as the Almond flower is the first flower to appear in Spring to signify a "new beginning". Janet wants students who come through the organisation to have a good experience, which will give them life-changing opportunities.

Almond Vocational Link has had a prestigious Partnership project approved under the Lifelong Learning Programme in 2009 and also gained many partners under the LLP in Mobility both for students in Initial Vocational Training as well as for People in the Labour market. The Company has also been involved with VETPRO projects  and had a great experience as a co-ordinator of the Grundtvig project. Janet formed many close relationships with partners from abroad that have brought students to us year after year. 

        

Petra Nesbit

 Senior Administrator

After 12 years working as Office Manager, PA to the MD and Secretary to the Management Team in a software house in Germany, she came to Plymouth on the 18^th May 2003. During her first 18 months she was working together with Janet Wonnacott as Office Manager on EU-funded projects. Petra then moved on to a training company here in Plymouth, working as Administrator, responsible for student affairs. On the 23^rd September  2013, she joined Almond Vocational Link Ltd as Senior Administrator.










          

Kamila Bielawska
     Marketing and Design
Coordinator

Kamila joined the team on 24th September 2013 and took on a role of Marketing and Design Coordinator. After over 7 years of working and managing within the hospitality trade, she gained great experience in event organizing, marketing, customer service and designing promotional materials. Kamila also works for a local Media Company where she writes content, manages social media for small businesses, helps to create banner adverts.

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                 

Valentina Pelle
     Marketing Assistant

Valentina is one of the Italian participants to the Leonardo Da Vinci Programme and she is undertaking a work experience placement as a Marketing Assistant for our company. Valentina took her Master Degree in Foreign Languages for International Communication in English and French at the University of Turin and after a work experience as Business Developer for an Italian company, she decided to improve her English language skills. She currently deals with the promotion of Almond Vocational Link in Europe as potential partner.

Scott Grenney 
    Website Developer

Scott has been designing websites for a number of years for a wide range of small businesses. Scott works with the Almond Vocational Link’s team to help support Almond Vocational Link's web development. Scott also works in helping promote Plymouth wherever possible and runs his own Media Company.

www.almondvoclink.co.uk

Barbican Christmas- social event

Slowly but surely we are getting closer and closer to Christmas (yikes!). Our current group are returning home on the 21st December, so we felt it was an absolute must to inject some festive cheer into them before they go :)

 Plymouth Barbicanis an area of great historical value. Hosting some of the city's eldest buildings it also has one of the largest congregations of cobbled streets in Britain. The historical Mayflower steps , from which the Pilgrim Fathers set sail from to America in 1620 are one of Plymouth's most popular tourist attractions. 

On Thursday the 28th of December we invited our students to enjoy some Christmas celebrations on the Barbican. We started by meeting outside of the famous Plymouth Gin Distillery. We took a slow stroll towards the Mayflower Steps where we waited for the Lantern Parade to begin. The plaza was filled with people, many children were holding lanterns, which I must admit looked beautiful. The great Uncle Sam and his American flag were towering over the crowds, reminding us all of the Thanksgiving celebrations that took place on the Barbican earlier that day. 

After the Lord Mayer greeted the crowds it was time for the Father Christmas to arrive by RNLI Lifeboat. The choir was singing as Santa and his elves made their way to the Mayflower Steps, stopping and chatting to all the children along the way. It was truly a "picture perfect" sight, and we all felt like we were kids again for a moment. 

Soon after, it was time for the official Barbican Christmas lights switch-on followed by the Lantern Parade. It was a real feast for the eyes and the great magic of Christmas was in the air. We all followed the parade and were in great awe of the delicate structure and beautiful finish of the lanterns. The large Mayflower ship lantern, giant snowman and even an elf shaped lantern were part of this great festival of light. All of our students complimented on the idea and were enjoying the festive atmosphere. 

Slightly cold and most definitely hungry, we finished off our evening with a delicious dinner on the Barbican. It was a great chance for all of us to catch up, spend some time together, practice English and learn more about Christmas traditions in England and Italy 

To find out more about events on the Barbican please visit: www.barbicanwaterfront.com

www.almondvoclink.co.uk