Hello, anyone join the class by erican centre before? I want to improve my english before taking ielts test. So I went there to take their placement test. The course they offer me was FCE/CAE which is cambridge esol. It's weird because I will be studying with a group of secondary students.
Those who ever join, which programme r u in? how was it?


Update

Personal exp: bad experiences with erican. quit.

This post has been edited by elleelf: Apr 24 2011, 12:20 AM

Hi there!~
Which Erican centre you enquired?
If you're looking for IELTS preparation class you might want to consider 1 to 1 class or you can head to Erican HQ which is located at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng

LMAO...

anyway, i joined few few yrs ago...

i register, they required me to sit for a test to test my english level. i given to enter level 3.

who knows...1st day i arrive, guess what..im sitting with primary and secondary..OMG...

nvm...its still ok...since im in secondary as well.

Its not cambridge anything...it just a text book from Cambridge school...a very easy textbook with colourful picture.. they just stick a Erican sticker on it and act as their teaching material.

Its ok then. The tutor seldom teach using the textbook. Normally they just print out few questions which duno copy from where and gave us to do. Just like normal english tuition..

And i learn present tense past tense...OMG...secondary school learning present past tense which suppose to teach in primary school or younger...i use few mins to finish up all questions while other students still writing

kinda regret study in erican, if not mistaken 1st payment rm500. I quit after the month. Bcox learn nothing and the tutor didnt come on time plus speak mandarin more than english..

this is my experience. good luck TS.

ps: suggest to go for some language school, foreigner tutor.

This post has been edited by MsPopcorn: Feb 25 2011, 04:29 AM

why not u try british council in jalan ampang?

This post has been edited by imnotakid: Feb 25 2011, 08:09 AM

Invisible, erican centre at ss2. I ask them about the ielts preparation class but they say they don't have it.

MsPopcorn, serious? learning present tense and past tense?If it is, it will be waste. What price they give you? Mine is RM3.5k for 3 months, which I think it's overpriced some more learning with all the secondary students as I'm a uni student already. The person of the centre told me they will be teaching based on the textbooks. They will be teaching reading,speaking,listening and writing. And for listening there will be CD to be played. Is that true? Did they really teach these all 4 skills?

imnotakid, i did went to british council, but I can't join the next intake which is april because it will be too late as I need my ielts test by june.

Hi elleelf, which instake of the IELTS exam you want to enrol?

might as well just go for cambridge classes?

erican no good try to els

Firstly, the aim of the Cambridge ESOL program is to provide holistic English education to speakers of other language (means English is not our first language), which includes syllabuses to develop the 4 main and basic English skills - reading, writing, listening and reading. Taking this program is not like taking an English tuition class - it is not a tuition class to begin with. It is a language skill development class where the aim is to help you build the foundational skills you need to master the language. A tuition class is merely a revision class to help students score As in that particular subject. Depending on the tuition teacher, he/she might include additional tasks to help students master the usage of the language whenever they see fit, but their overall goal is to help the students score A in that subject - that's where the leakage of exam papers come about as well (IMO).

See the difference here?

That is why you are placed in a class with people of various backgrounds - you may be in a primary school, but your English mastery level could be higher than what they have developed. That is the misconception that most students and parents have with this program. The materials provided (I believe you have a textbook and a workbook right?) may not be sufficient to cover for 2 or more hours of class and thus, the need for supplementation of other materials. Sometimes teachers may have also misconceived the overall aim/objective of this program by converting the class into a tuition class more than a language skill development class. What you learned in the ESOL program might not complement those you have learned at school and IMO as well, the standards and quality of the materials provided by cambridge ESOL is recognized worldwide that the certification obtained from this program can be used as an entry requirement for your future tertiary education.

Hope this explains.

I studied in Erican for 2 years now, so far no problem. British Council and ELS also good, studied there before, but very expensive. One thing i like about Erican is the Cambridge esol certificate and public speaking, very useful and very nice!

Dear MsPopcorn...

We were seriously distressed to hear this feedback. We always do our best at Erican to maintain high standards and ethics in all of our centres. Could you please tell us which centre this happened in and around what period of time? Do not worry, we will not share any personal details with the centre involved.

As for course books, we certainly do use textbooks purchased from various prestigious publishing companies such as Oxford and Cambridge. This is in addition to the several texts which we have created in-house. However, we put the Erican sticker on the books, not to claim ownership, but to show which language centre that this particular textbook was purchased from. However, this does not mean we are claiming 'ownership'.

With that said, I am still saddened to hear that your stay at Erican was a less than satisfying one, and I would greatly like to hear more if you are willing to share. Please do email me at douglas@erican.edu.my if you could, and we will look into this.


Dear Invisible...

We actually do teach all four skills at our centres - that is core concept behind our learning systems. Yes, we do use textbooks, however, we ensure that these textbooks give students exposure to all four skills of English. In order to full master ANY language, one needs to be able to speak, read, write and listen with that language.

Some Erican centres do offer IELTS. In fact, our International Student centre at MA II does a great deal of training for IELTS. With that in mind, not all centres are able to offer all courses at all times - as it is based upon the demands in that particular community at that time. If you are indeed interested in IELTS preparation, it is best to contact Corporate Office (03 2164 9999) and ask them to recommend the closest centre offering that sort of training. Again, I also offer my own email address if you have further questions on this. (douglas@erican.edu.my)


Thanks to everyone for their comments on this. And a good day to you all.

it is freaking waste of money. the fees aren't cheap. if u dont want to remorse. listen to me. move on.

Hi elleelf,

There is a preparation class for IELTS in Erican Puchong but it's on 1 to 1 basis. RM80/hour. Normally it will takes around 30 hours for the preparation class. You can choose your preferred time and days but it has to be the same every week

If you're talking about the Cambridge ESOL, it has a strong skills development focus with an emphasis on Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and of course the basics such as Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation.


Well explained

Thanks for the support

This post has been edited by Invisible: Feb 25 2011, 06:32 PM

Probably may

what's dat?

can tell me more ? I'm worry that I will regret as i'm lack of time

why do u like the cambridge esol cert?

No problem! Cambridge Esol exams are proficiency test which assess candidates on their 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

It has several levels of exams to choose, you can take low level exams (KET or PET) when you are beginner/pre-intermediate level, and you can take high level exams (FCE/CAE) when you reached upper-intermediate or advanced level. So what I did was I sat for KET and PET in the last 2 years, this year I will seat for FCE.
Cambridge Esol certificate is issued by University of Cambridge, so it is very nice and prestigious. My employer actual wants me to upgrade my English so that I can be promoted to higher position. That’s what I am focusing now.

---

Added on February 25, 2011, 8:30 pmElleelf, how come you are aksed to pay RM3.5k for 3 months? I am only paying RM500 for 3 months studying on a part-time basis. Are you doing an intensive class or full-time programme?

I am very curious, please reply.

This post has been edited by wwiifan1943: Feb 25 2011, 08:30 PM

wwiifan1943, r u having class once a week? I'm not sure can be said as intensive or not. (Coz for me intensive English should be full time and having classes everyday) But, according to the centre, she suggests me to take 4 classes of 2 hours lessons per week for 3 months, there will be mix of 2 levels or 3 levels, which she said is intensive. She said she calculate the price based on hours for each levels, which comes out with roughly rm3.5k. I won't be able to complete any one of the levels. Is it reasonable?

This post has been edited by elleelf: Feb 25 2011, 09:41 PM

Yes i have classes only once a week, each lesson 3 hours. Your arrangement is kinda interesting, sounded like a semi-intensive to intensive class, no wonder the pricing is so much different. If you are short of time then may be is good to study intensive class. Of course the price is high, it's a decision to be made.

Your college English Lecturers or counsellors will be the best person to talk to.

You must get someone who is exposed to the IELTS syllabus and not just any language teacher. It is the format of the test that is important and not vocabulary per se.

i going to take the international english programme this mth in jalan yap kwan seng. today i take their english level test, it seen secondary school test. my mark is 45/50, they say i at intermediate level which is level 3 out of 5 level. i really curious how to they determine the level? and the test no test on speaking, reading and listening, how they know my skill on that?

i heard ppl say ELS - US english and erican - UK english. so i choose. but after the test level, now doubt.

someone pls tell me the information abt erican.

Each school has its own unique placement and grading scheme. If you are doubtful about your score, you should speak to the academic person in Erican yap kwan seng to find out more.

This is a forum, which is for everyone to ask questions and share information.

He is in doubt of course he wants to ask around if anyone is having the same experience as he does, whether he is refering back to Erican is another issue. This is logical sense, everyone would ask if in doubt.

Many situations, after we have liaised with the main party, we will still stay in doubt, this is because sometimes different branches of the institution give different say. You get what I mean?

No tests on speaking, reading and listening? that's weird ... as far as I am concerned, to test your English mastery levels for the ESOL Cambridge program, they do have these tests on top of the MCQ paper test you sat for.

The reason why i suggested to talk to the personnel is because this is the most straight forward way of getting the explaination so that there wouldn't be any wild guess. Judging from the post he didn't seem to understand the grading scheme at all.

But I got what you mean. Thanks for pointing that out.

This post has been edited by neonikson1: Mar 1 2011, 02:55 PM

500Kmission, I did my test last 2 weeks, they test me on reading,listening and writing based on the past year PET carmbridge esol test. For speaking, they just assume i guess. I think you can call them back and ask how they determine your level? btw, why don't you join els or british council? actually, I like those 2 centres but due to their timetable, i'm unable to join their classes. dat's y i choose erican.

And one more thing, if you want to improve your speaking, better not choose erican.really. Try go visit british council, you will see the differences, i mean in speaking. But i'm not sure about their course as I never join before. I did my placement test at british council as well, for speaking test, I was tested by white ppl.

This post has been edited by elleelf: Mar 2 2011, 12:31 AM

Erican use UK language and ELS & english council use US language. I am going to write a report which is based on UK standard so i will join erican. Actually yesterday i do english test in ELS due to late going to the centre, half of the test will take on today morning. The way they test is better than erican. however i will go erican as well due to UK standard.

I wil based on the ELS result and decide my level in erican which they say i can decide it.

FYI, British council is using UK English. which course are you in erican?

i will take the international english programme.

Arghh! regret joining erican.. should have listen to others in the first place.. I swear I won't join erican anymore in my life

i know your feeling,just they put you in a wrong class,some ppl are weak in tenses,just like me.so,dont be so angry,k,have a nice day.

Hi there,i wish to take japanese class at erican...any idea with it?anyone take it b4?

advise :
please request trial class before register the course so that you can check is the teacher good or not.

when i studied at erican, I complaint that my teacher dont know how to teach(she only sharing the previous working experience and mentioned that she dont want to teach as want to speak to us more. main point she speak all the time. she say we can study the english book at home so better speak english more in class).
I informed to erican that if dont change teacher then whole class student dont join the course anymore.
1 month later, erican changed a experience teacher to teach. I learned and improved alot after new teacher came...

this is why we need to make a complaint sometimes