Global Village Byron Bay Blog

Sushi with Mori is always a success.  The photos speak for themselves. Thanks Mori, it was delicious!!

Munch Takeaway Juice Bar – Requires experienced Short Order Cook. Please come in with resume.

Delicatessen  Junior – Up to 30 hours per week including weekends. Phone Richard 6684 2207

Delicatessen Senior – Experienced – Up to full-time. Please call Richard 6684 2207

Chef Wanted – organised, happy and passionate, 20-30 hours per week, Bayleaf Cafe. Phone Nico 0402 912 465

Research shows that reading increases your exposure to the English language which increases your vocabulary knowledge which MAKES YOU A BETTER ENGLISH SPEAKER

The research strongly suggests that free reading is one of the best things you can do to bridge the gap from the beginning level to truly advanced levels.  Once you are confident reading English you will be more confident writing and speaking English.

• Borrow a book from our library – it is free and works on an honesty system
• If you are a long term student, join the Byron Bay Library. It is free  !
• Read the free weekly local newspaper
• Read magazines that interest you – sport, gossip, current affairs etc

Whilst you read:

• Try to interpret new words from the whole meaning of the sentence
• Write down new words in an exercise book and look up their meaning
• Try to use the new words in your conversations.

26 students thought that it would be a good idea to jump off a perfectly good platform and swing high up in the sky hanging by their legs and then let go with their arms stretched out in front of them to be caught by our very own Maria Weiss.. Check out the photos, they speak for themselves!!

I am sure that I can speak for all when I say.. “It’s amazing and if you haven’t tried it before then you are missing out!!”

Part-Time – Sales person for ladies retail fashion in Byron Bay, must have minimum of 3 years experience. 6685 3973

Pizza Cook - Experience. All rounder with great customer service skills, part-time, weekends, evenings. Email resume to: dblackstock08@gmail.com

The Dolphin Cafe – Requires a Chef / Cook – Full-Time 7 day roster. Apply in person. Brunswick Heads. Phone 6685 1355

Organic Clothing Store – Requires store assistant for Byron and Bangalow markets, Apr – Oct. Storage, car, retail experience essential. Phone after 5pm 6685 3960

In this weeks Upper-Intermediate classes we have been writing stories about our dreams and desires and what we would do if…..

Michela from Italy wrote this lovely piece which really made us all smile and so I thought I should share it with you all.. Thanks Michela, I hope your dreams come true!!!

If I were rich and famous for one week I would….

I would travel to as many places around the world as I could. I would visit New Zealand, Hollywood, Paris (with a boy on a romantic trip!) New York, Rio, where I would learn to Samba! I would go to Disneyland and above all I would go to California because I have been told that California is a very gorgeous and beautiful place to be.

I would also like to but a Villa on the beach in Byron Bay, one my village in Italy and one other in another country. Inside my villas there will be several enormous swimming pools, saunas, waiters, chefs, cleaners and a huge TV in the living room. We will have lots of parties with “free entry” for everybody and endless amounts of caviar, champagne and plenty of pizza!!!

I will also appear in all the magazines and newspapers and I will act in a new film which will be produced by me, with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt staring in it. The film will be titled
everybody is Crazy about Michele”

We will go out in a limousine which has inside of it a mini-bar and a handsome boy who will serve me with sweet cocktails with strawberries and cream. I will buy a convertible Ferrari and a lot of dresses, one of which will be a tailor made Valentino.

I would also like to try many extreme sports in the best places in the world to do this. I will offer many drinks to my friends and we’ll all go together to the best clubs in the world. Moreover, I will give a little bit of my money to charity! I would also like to buy many famous artworks to decorate my house. On the last day of my rich week I will have a mega-party with all of the friends I have in the world where Robbie Williams will sing live to us all.

At the end of this time I will wake up from this wonderful dream….. and I will cry cry cry!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Just a friendly game of volleyball at Clarkes Beach to end a very hot day at school.. I think that we all agree an even better way to end a volleyball match is to then have a dive in the ocean.

Casual – experienced kitchen hand and excellent customer service for sushi bar in Byron CBD. Phone Lubelia 0401852765

Part-Time – sales person for ladies retail fashion in Byron Bay, must have minimum of 3 years experience. Phone 6853973

Professional Cleaners Required – Good pay, flexible hours. Phone Cherry 0413190266

Festival Staff - Required for food stall at Blues Festival. Cook, prep and service staff, must be available for 5 days / nights from 1-5 April. Phone 0403257304

Casual Bottler – Ginger Nectar are looking for a mature person to join our friendly production team and operate our bottling machines 1-2 days per week. Phone Lois 66809433

Today we said goodbye to a very special student… Gustavo our Brazilian star left GV Byron Bay but not without a few tears and presents from his classmates and a card signed by all!!

Gustavo came to us in September last year with beginner level English, he looked so worried and very confused in his first few weeks here!! Gustavo worked very hard and always asked a lot of questions which kept his teachers on their toes. His laughter carried outside his classroom and into the front office daily. With his amazing work ethic and passion to learn, Gustavo is now at a place where he can understand and communicate effortlessly with everyone he is in contact with.

We will miss your magical smile, your high energy and your big heart. From all of us here at GV Byron Bay, we wish you all the best for the future.

Just a little reminder that the Blues Fest is coming.. and don’t forget if you are a “local” if you buy two tickets for the Thursday event, you get another FREE!!

If you need any help with tickets come and talk to Justin or Rebbecca in the office.

Today is Simon’s Birthday, which meant cake for the FCE class…

Happy Birthday Simon! We wish you a wonderful year….

CHEF - Required for busy Byron café, straight shifts, casual, view to full-time for right person. Phone 0411738547

FARM HAND – For organic orchard, experience with machinery required, possible accommodation available. Phone Steve 0418866525

EBAY SPECIALIST – Needed to sell popular shoes, high commission. Phone 0421195997 or sales@mtjewelry.com

GARDEN MAINTENANCE – General labour in exchange for accommodation in Myocum. Phone – 66847065 or 0423936745

We had a traditional Chinese Cooking day, which was great fun and most importantly DELICIOUS! Thanks very much guys for all your effort!

Before the upcoming IELTS Course start date on the 22nd of March, GV Byron Bay’s Director of Studies, Justin, has given us some helpful tips on the Listening component of the exam.

GV Byron Bay's Director of Studies, Justin

The IELTS Listening Test:

Key facts:

-          30 minutes to listen plus 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto the answer sheet.

-          Four sections

-          40 questions in total.

How to PREPARE for the test:

In the test you have to listen to a wide range of accents: Australian, New Zealand, British, American, Canadian etc. The best way to practise this is to listen to as many different sources of spoken English as you can. Easy ways to access a wider variety of accents is through watching things like the Australian Network, the BBC, CNN etc. Within the test, there will also be a variety of different situations in which people are speaking. For example, you might hear examples of radio shows, friends hanging out, lectures at University etc. A good way to prepare for this is to practise listening to different situations such as TV soap operas, lifestyle shows, radio shows, and other media which have less formal spoken English, as well as things like documentaries or the Discovery channel, which are usually more formal in their spoken form.

TOP TIPS TO FOLLOW DURING THE EXAM:

You have time to look through the questions at the very start of the exam. Make sure you get used to using your time in the most efficient way possible. PREDICT what kind of information you think you will hear, and also try and predict what kind of word or words you will need to use to answer the question.

Think about the form of the words, are they looking for adjectives, nouns, adverbs etc? Try and guess as much as possible BEFORE the listening starts.

Listen REALLY carefully to the introduction of each question. This will give you useful clues about the situation and the topic you are about to listen to.

At the end of the listening test, CHECK YOUR WORK carefully. You have ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Make sure that you use this time wisely. Have a look at your answers. Do they fit grammatically? Is your spelling correct? Remember, spelling is important in the IELTS exam.

Have a look at this Listening task type as a quick example:

Listening task one:  table completion

You have to complete the table with words from the recording. You should write no more than three words or a number in each space.

Study the table carefully before doing the listening.

Strategy: Try and predict any possible answers. This will help you when listening to the key words in the test. Also have a close look at the parts of the table that are complete. These will help you predict the type of answer that is needed.

HINT: Always check the numbering to see whether it goes across or down the table.

There are several different listening task types. If you are interested in learning more about the exam and our courses come and see the Director of Studies in the office any time.

***Click here for the answers***

Music Teacher – required for new music school in Byron. Music & teaching qualifications required. Please call 66808432 or 0438620261

Housemaid – required for Byron motel, part-time / Casual,  must be available weekends, no experience necessary. Mature, honest, reliable, own transport. Phone 66808275

Dance Teacher – Ballet, Contemporary and / or Jazz. Phone 66847779

Today some of our students decided that instead of waiting for the circus to come to town, they would be the circus!! As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words….

We had a lot of fun for Australia day doing a wide range of activities from egg and spoon races to the traditional throwing of the thong!

Over the last few weeks our Upper Intermediate Options class has been learning about “situational proverbs”.

Since we have a few natural actors in the class we recorded them. This has been a great exercise in learning, and has proven to be a really useful tool in error correction! Thanks for making us all laugh with your antics guys!

If you cannot see the video above, you can visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdsBP4X04Kw

Today was both Gabriel and Fabienne’s birthday, which of course, just gave us all an excuse to eat cake!!!

Happy Birthday Guys!  Have a brilliant day.

Federica Roganti from Italy has just completed her studies here at GV Byron Bay and is about to head off on her travels up the East Coast of Australia. Before she leaves, though, she shares her thoughts on her time in Byron Bay with us.

Federica is off on her travels

“I chose to study at GV Byron Bay because it’s a small town with not too many other Italian students, which means I have to speak English all the time. Although I studied grammar back in Rome, when I arrived in Australia I really couldn’t speak much at all. Now I really feel that I have improved my speaking a great deal.

I’ve been lucky to have Angie as my teacher as she is great and has helped me a lot. Our lessons are never boring and I have a fun group of classmates from all over the world, including Brazil, Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Japan.

Since I arrived in Byron Bay I’ve been living in the Comet Close student house, which is about a 5 minute walk from GV. My housemates are all cool people and we have a great social life. Getting into town at night is easy and the nightlife is amazing, especially over the Christmas and New Year holidays when there are lots of people in town.

Byron Bay is such a beautiful place with great beaches, good surf and friendly local people. I have made so many friends here that it will be hard to leave.

Now that I have finished my course I am planning to explore the East Coast of Australia and will be heading up to Noosa, Fraser Island, the Whitsundays and Cairns.

After the great time I’ve had at GV Byron Bay, my advice to other students thinking of coming here is simple: “Just go for it!”

We’ll all miss you, Federica, have a safe trip and keep in touch!

Experienced wait staff - chef – for Brunswick Heads restaurant. Night & weekend work. 0431 344 821

The Balcony – Experienced Chef needed – Creative, energetic, chef, fast paced kitchen. Must be available nights, days and weekends. Drop in resume or contact Tom on 0411 216 248.

Byron at Byron – Kitchen staff required – Casual Chef / Cook – Fulltime and casual kitchen hands. Email resume to gavinh@thebyronatbyron.com.au or mail it to PO Box 1835 Byron Bay, NSW, 2481.

Don’t forget tomorrow’s Job Workshop with Monica, Room #1 at 2pm

This mornings Intermediate and Pre-Intermediate classes visited the markets to conduct a survey and find out more about our local produce.

It was a beautiful day to be out and about in Byron and the Dragon fruit Icey poles went down a treat. Where’s mine?!!

Barista / Front Counter – Busy backpacker, exp essential. Phone 0417 657 059.

Cleaners – motivated, experienced, hard working. Monday to Friday, Casual hours. Phone 66884777 or email  greenrocket@bigpond.com.au

Kitchenhand / Apprentice – Experienced kitchenhand or apprentice chef for Byron eatery. Opportunity to learn new skills in friendly team with flexible hours.

Riverside Cafe Brunswick Heads / experienced short order cook and kitchenhand / Dishy – required both fulltime and casual, some weekend work, great team environment. Drop resume to cafe. 6685 1799

Floor Staff & Baristas – Immediate start. Email your resume to: byronfresh@live.com.au

Only Top Cleaners need apply for holiday rentals & homes. 0413 190 266

On Monday, we created a famous Australian Christmas Dessert – Rum Balls!

Some people’s recipes differ, but there are some ingredients that are always the same. They are: coconut, cocoa and RUM!

The batch that we made are going to be enjoyed at tomorrow’s Student Christmas Party! A big thanks to Simon, Jane, Maria, Marc, Olivia, Jon and Benjamin for all your help!

As Christmas is just around the corner, students and staff have been having fun doing different types of Christmas activities.

Merry Christmas to all! And don’t forget, BBQ and Christmas fun on the 24th!