OCE - Students' Guide

THE STUDENT GUIDE to the Orange Carpet Experience

CONTENTS

Pre-Arrival: Setting You Up for Success Before You Even Get Here

Everything you need to know before you travel

Getting ready to start your course

Student check list

Arrival: Making you feel at home as soon as you get here

Arriving at your EC destination

Arriving at your EC accommodation

Enjoy the Weekend Activity

Your First Day at School

Student check list

Your Learning: Helping you fulfil your language dreams

Preparing to learn

Making the most of your classroom experience

Your progression is key

Preparing to leave

Student check list

Your Wellbeing: We’re here to support you

How are you settling in

How can we make it better

We want to WOW you every step of the way

We listen to our students and action on their feedback

Student check list

Before You Leave: See you next time, never good-bye

Things to think about before you leave

Celebrating successes

Staying connected

Overcome the Forgetting Curve

Student check list

SETTING YOU UP FOR SUCCESS before you even get here

1

We understand that deciding to book a language course at EC is a big investment. Our job is to make sure you get the most out of your investment, by ensuring we help you reach your language goals and have an experience of a lifetime.

We want you to be as prepared as possible for your journey with EC, so we will be by your side, supporting you from even before you arrive at your EC destination.

Following our guidelines will help you feel prepared for your arrival at EC. The more prepared you feel, the easier it will be to settle down and start enjoying your time with us!

Following our guidelines will help you feel prepared for your arrival at EC and help you

REACH YOUR LANGUAGE GOALS

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On MyEC (EC Online) you can...

1. Complete your To Do List

- Take your Placement test

- Do your Needs Analysis

- Watch the ‘Learning at EC’ Video

- Set your goals

2. Update your Student Profile

3. Try some Self-Study activities

4. Learn about your EC destination

2 4

On your Teams Account you can...

1. Join your student team

2. Chat with other students

3. Chat with staff members

1. Join Social Media channels

1. Attend your online induction / watch your induction video (on your To Do list)

2. Watch video testimonials

3. Chat with other new students

2. Learn about the Weekend Activity*, and take a virtual school tour

3. Learn about your EC Accommodation

* may be online

Everything you need to know before you travel

Activate MyEC & Teams Accounts

You can find details about the location and your EC school

Learn all about what to expect at EC

You can watch videos about what to expect in your classes

Meet other EC students online

You can hear other students experiences

Please remember to provide your flight details & book your transfer

If you haven’t booked your arrival transfer with EC, we will provide you with information about public transportation options, as well as information about taxis and ride shares.

Getting ready to start your course

COMPLETE your TO DO LIST this helps you get ready to study

Complete your Placement Test & Needs Analysis

This helps us prepare for your arrival

Watch the ‘Learning at EC’ video Set your Goals

This helps you focus and get ready to start learning

This helps you get ready to join your class

Watch your induction video

This helps you prepare for your first day at school

Student check list f

Activate your MyEC Account (follow email instructions received with booking confirmation)

Update your Student Profile

Complete your To Do List: Placement Test / Needs Analysis

Watch the video on Lessons at EC and how to Set Your Goals

Activate your TEAMS Account (follow email instructions received with booking confirmation)

Attend your Online Induction / watch your Induction Video and Set Your Goals

Follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

Find information about your EC location, your EC school & your classes

Learn about what to expect whilst staying in an EC accommodation

Look at what activities you can expect to join as an EC student, and pre-book any you don’t want to miss

Watch video testimonials so you can see what other students have to say about their time at EC

Chat to other EC students online

Complete some of the self-study exercises

We strongly recommend you carry out the actions highlighted in orange as a minimum

As soon as you receive your ACCESS EMAIL

TWO WEEKS before your start date

ONE WEEK before your start date

As soon as you can

MAKING YOU FEEL AT HOME as soon as you get here

2

We know that arriving in a foreign country can be very scary, particularly if you don’t speak the local language very well.

We want to provide you with as much information as we can to prepare you for what to expect from the moment you arrive in country, to arriving at your EC accommodation.

We’ll give you the opportunity to meet new students like yourself prior to starting School on Monday so you’ll really feel settled by the time you start your EC course.

Here’s how we’re going to help you get ready for your unforgettable journey with EC...

Here’s how we’re going to help you get ready for your

UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY WITH EC

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After landing you go to...

1. Passport control

2. Luggage Collection

3. Customs

4. Arrivals Hall

a. Meet your pre-arranged EC transfer Or

b. use Public transportation from the airport Or

c. use Taxis/Ride Shares from the airport

1. Settle in

2. Get to know the area

3. Meet new students

4. Prepare for your first day

2 4

At your Homestay you...

1. Meet your host

2. Receive a Homestay guide

At your Residence you ...

1. Check in

At the Airport & transferring to your Accommodation Your

2. Meet your roommates

3. Receive your residence guide

A warm welcome at your EC Accommodation Weekend Activity

1. Your official welcome

2. Meet the team and other new students

3. Formal registration

4. Receive your timetable

Arriving at your EC Destination

Read the Arrival Process & Insider Tips document

Found on MyEC Shows important information and facilities at the airport

Take your Arrival Transfer

Instructions on MyEC Details about the meeting point. Information about other transportation options

Arriving at your EC Accommodation

Learn how to make the most of your EC Home

Arrive at your EC Home

We’ve created student guides for both homestays and residential stays

It is our goal to make sure you feel welcome in your new home from the minute you arrive

Arriving at your EC Destination

Where you will be warmly welcomed

Settle in at your EC Home

We want you to feel settled and excited about your new EC hosts

If you haven’t booked your accommodation through EC, we still recommend you look through the information available as you may decide that an EC accommodation experience is for you after all, and its never too late to book your accommodation with us.

If you have only booked part of your stay at an EC Accommodation, talk to a member of the team about extending. And remember don’t leave it to the last minute as you may find there is no availability.

Meet other EC students at your Weekend Activity

We strongly encourage you to attend as it’s a great way to meet all the new students

Your First Day at School

Registration & other documentation

Meet all the new students that will start with you and ask any questions. A member of the EC team will also be there.

Ask questions & learn more about EC

We really want to make sure we do everything we can to make you feel at ease on your first day

Meet the team and other new students

Receive your timetable

Get your student card which entitles you to local discounts and do your oral test to determine which level you are at.

Begin your learning with your new classmates and meet student ambassadors who can share top tips with you.

Plan your week of social activities and extra lessons including free group sessions run by the school

Student check list

Read all the information about what to expect when you arrive at the airport

Download map of the airport

Read the ‘Arrival Survival Guide’

If you’ve booked an EC transfer make sure you’ve sent your flight details

By when f

A few days before you leave

At least one week prior to your start date

Make sure you are clear about where you are meeting your EC driver (if you’ve booked a transfer with us) On arrival

Read the ‘Homestay Guide for Students’ if you have booked an EC homestay

If you are staying at an EC residence read the ‘Getting Settled in at your Residence’ guide

Attend the Weekend Activity

We strongly recommend you carry out the actions highlighted in orange as a minimum

As soon as you can

As soon as you can

Weekend you arrive at EC Destination

HELPING YOU FULFIL your language dreams 3

Thank you for choosing EC to learn English. We know that all our students have their own goals and needs. We will do everything we can to support you to set and achieve your language goals.

We will be with you every step of the way.

Our academic teams will monitor your progress. We will ensure you have all the tools & support you need to improve. Your teacher, the EC lessons, and student support will help you reach your language goals.

We will provide you with opportunities to practice your learning inside and outside the classroom. You can attend free lessons and workshops and the learning skills from your lessons will help you to make the most of your free time.

EC will do everything we can to support you to set and

ACHIEVE YOUR LANGUAGE GOALS

1. Access to MyEC and MS Teams so it is easy to contact the school

2. Prepare to learn by completing your To-Do-List on MyEC

3. When you arrive in school meet the team, take your oral test and start your lessons

4. Join your class and meet your new friends

In the EC Lesson

1. Real-life objectives

2. Success criteria to personalise learning

3. Develop learning awareness

4. Homework to practise

5. Feedback Friday to review your week

1. Progress tracking

2. Tutorials

3. Assigned learning activities

EC Advance

1. Personalised assessment and feedback

1. Attend Certificate of Studies ceremony

2. Get a Progress report when you complete your exit test

3. Take time to reflect on your journey

4. Connect with friends

5. Learn how to maintain your language

Preparing to learn

Log in to MyEC to do this

So you are ready to start learning

Also, receive your course materials, and be placed into class

Welcomed into class by your teacher and your new classmates

Making the most of your classroom experience

Discuss any questions you may have

You can choose your focus, and every lesson will have a clear learning objective and success criteria

On a daily basis through your success criteria

We strongly encourage you to participate as much as you can in your lessons

Take advantage of our free lessons and academic workshops

Your progression is key

One-to-one Tutorials

Level Moves

You will review the week with your classmates and your teacher and check your weekly scores

Preparing to leave

Take your exit test

Every four (4) weeks. To formally assess how well you are doing

With your teacher to review your progression

Determine if you should move to a higher level

Get your Progress Report

Set your goals for maintaining your English

Check out options for further study

You will also get three (3) months of free access to MyEC so you can continue practicing using the self-study activities.

You have the option to extend your stay with us either in person or online. School staff can give you more information

Complete your To-Do list

– Take your placement test

– Watch the ‘Welcome to EC’ video

– Find out how we learn at EC

– Set your language goals

– Tell us about yourself (using the info sheet)

Ask any questions about your timetable or course materials

Before you arrive

As soon as you have any

Take your speaking test On the day you arrive

Fill in the arrival survey

Give feedback about your learning

Participate in class

Attend free lessons / academic workshops

Complete self-study exercises on MyEC

Take your progress test

Do your tutorial with your teacher

Take your Exit test

We strongly recommend you carry out the actions highlighted in orange as a minimum

End of first week

Every 4 weeks

After your test

Your last week

WE’RE HERE TO support you 4

Throughout your stay, our teams are there to support you in any way they can.

We appreciate your needs and expectations may be different to other students, so we want to make sure that we give YOU the assistance YOU need throughout your stay.

We want everything you experience at EC to be amazing; we want you to feel like a superstar. We will check in with you regularly to make sure you’re OK. We take student feedback very seriously.

We acknowledge that we don’t always get things right, but we work very hard to turn things around quickly to ensure we are not only meeting but are exceeding your expectations!

Giving YOU the assistance YOU need throughout your stay

EXCEEDING YOUR EXPECTATIONS!

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How are you settling in?

1. First Week – Check In

2. Ongoing Check-ins for Longer Term (AY) Students

3. Welcoming Back the EC Family Students

4. Guides for Homesick Students

5. Meet/become a Student Ambassador

Tell us we listen, we action

1. We deal with your complaint

2. Your feedback empowers our team

3. You ask, we will do it

2 4

1. #delight

Every moment is a wow one

2. Celebrating birthdays

3. Student of the month/week

4. Small Tokens for Great EC behaviour

5. Recognising special moments

6. VIP treatment for everyone

How can we make it better?

1. Actively following up on arrival, touchpoints and relationship feedback

2. Student Focus Groups

3. Regular check-in’s for no reason

How are you settling in

Any questions or concerns you have should be raised here to ensure a member of our team can help you

You will receive an email during your first week

Your feedback allows us to make changes if there is something you are not happy with

We want to WOW you every step of the way

They can help you with any issues you have, recommend local places, introduce you to other students and suggest what activities to attend*

We’ll make sure your special day is a day to remember

We want to make your experience at EC one that you’ll never forget

We will try to exceed your expectations, look for ways to surprise you and celebrate your successes

We will recognise special moments, reward achievements and award the unexpected

Many students suffer from homesickness and find it difficult to adapt to the new environment they are in when they first arrive, so we want to support students as much as we can

Get ready to be Wowed!

We listen to our students and action on their feedback

Tell us if we didn’t get it right

Everything you tell us about your time at EC helps us to improve

How can we make it better

Share ideas that you think could improve your experience

Don’t be shy to tell us about an idea you’ve had that you think could make us better, we’d love to hear from you!

Give us the opportunity to make things better

When we don’t get things right we want to know straight away so we can fix it

Your feedback is important to us, good or bad, so please participate when you can.

Every 5th week of your stay you will receive a touch point survey where you are invited to give us feedback about how we’re doing

A great way for us to receive direct feedback from you that helps us understand what we can do to make your experience even better.

It’s important you let us know so we can correct things as quickly as possible

Keep up to date with what’s going on. Also, we share actions we’ve taken based on student feedback

We strongly recommend you carry out the actions highlighted in orange as a minimum

We never say goodbye at EC as we believe language learning is a lifetime experience, and your connection to EC will be indefinite. However, unfortunately, at some point your (physical) time at EC will come to end. But before you go, we want to celebrate your time with us, make sure you leave with wonderful memories and ensure you have achieved your learning goals. Your last week at EC will be a busy one. We encourage you to take an exit test before you leave so we can get a final view of your progress from when you started. We want to hear your feedback about your experience, what you think of us, and where you think we can do better. We want to celebrate your success.

And you don’t have to stop improving your English when your course has come to an end because we will give you lots of different options on how you continue practicing. And most importantly we will give you tips on how to overcome the dreaded ‘forgetting curve’!

Making sure you leave with wonderful memories and ensure you have achieved your learning goals

WE WANT TO CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS

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Be prepared for your last week

1. Take your exit test

2. Consider extension options

3. Attend the final week meeting

4. Get your check-out information if you’re staying at an EC accommodation

5. Confirm your EC departure transfer

6. Complete your Relationship Survey

2

1. Stay connected with EC students from around the world by joining our Linkedin and EC Alumni Facebook Group

2. If you don’t already, follow us on Instagram and Tiktok

3. Continue to access your MyEC account after you’ve departed

1. Celebrate your progress, and take the time to say goodbye to fellow students and the EC team at the Farewell Event

2. Collect your Course Certificate

4

The Farewell Event Overcome the Forgetting Curve

1. Learn what the forgetting curve is, and how to overcome it

2. Continue to access your MyEC account after you’ve departed

3. Make sure you collect your discount vouchers for future visits

4. Get details about post-stay free lessons

Things to think about before you leave

Take your Exit Test

A great way for you to really see how much you’ve progressed during your time at EC

Consider Extending your Course

Get your check-out / transfer details

Attend the farewell meeting

Complete your Relationship Survey

Sometimes just a few more weeks could get you to the next level depending on where you are

Make sure you talk to a member of the student services team for any information you need about your departure

During your last week join us and other departing students at the farewell meeting to give us your final feedback about your stay

Students that complete the survey will be entered into a prize draw.

Celebrating successes

Celebrate your progress at the farewell event

We love to celebrate every individual success

Collect your Course End Certificate

This is a record of your time with us, and a confirmation of the level you have achieved at the end of your course

Say your final farewells

A great way for us to hear about what we’ve done well and how we can continue to make our students’ experience better

Departing students can get together for one last celebration of their time at EC

If you don’t have time to stay on, what about continuing your studies once you return home?

Our EC Live and Simmula courses offer you the opportunity to continue your EC experience, studying with international students, at a time convenient to you, from your own home

Staying connected

Continue to access MyEC

3 months of free access to MyEC allows you to stay connected to other EC students and teachers

Be part of the EC Community via our social media channels

Instagram and Tiktok are great places to follow what’s happening in the EC world

Overcome the Forgetting Curve

What is the Forgetting Curve?

Memories weaken over time, with the biggest drop in retention happening soon after learning

Access MyEC for up to 3 months after you leave

Make the most of your free access to MyEC once you depart so you can continue to practice your English

Join the EC Alumni

The EC Alumni page on Facebook gives all past and present EC students a chance to stay connected

Look out for opportunities to attend free EC activities

Review and practice what you have learnt at EC to ensure you retain it forever

Use your discount vouchers to continue studying with EC

This could include visiting one of our many EC destinations or joining a class online through EC Live or try a virtual course, Simmula

Student check list

Take your Exit Test

Fill in your relationship survey

Attend your final week meeting

Celebrate your success at the farewell event

Consider ways to continue improving your English with EC

Check what you need to do when checking out from an EC accommodation

Join the EC Alumni Group

Receive your EC Course Certificate

Remember the rules of ‘overcoming the forgetting curve’

Confirm your EC transfer details

Make sure you follow EC on Instagram and TikTok

We strongly recommend you carry out the actions highlighted in orange as a minimum

By when f

When scheduled

As soon as you can

When scheduled

When scheduled

As soon as you can

At least a day before your departure date

As soon as you can

When scheduled

Ongoing

At least 3 days before your departure date

Ongoing