TestDEN.com International Student Lead Generation

ACT360 Media is the industry leader in  international student lead generation. Our team of higher education marketing professionals generates qualified leads from Central America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

If you are the international recruiting director for a language school, university, or online degree program, contact us today for your free international lead generation trial campaign. 

120,000 Saudi Students Studying Abroad

The following numbers came from the Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia via Al Watan Newspaper article dated September 6.

• There are currently 120,0000 Saudi students studying abroad.
• 76% are male and 23% are female
• 45% of students who are paying their own way are attending institutions located in Arab countries.
• 37% of scholarship students are in the USA
• 14% of scholarship students are in Canada
• 7% of scholarship students are in Australia
• 7% of scholarship students are in Egypt
• 5% of scholarship students are in Jordan
• 29% of students are enrolled in Business Administration
• 12% of students are enrolled in Engineering
• 11% in IT
• 6% in medical services 

TestDEN.com traffic and our own internal surveys confirm the above trends.

Canada Expands Permanent Residency Program for International Students

Postnedia news reports that the Government of Canada will expand the Canada Experience Class to 7,000 people in 2012. The program allows international students studying in Canada to apply for permanent residency more quickly. Students will not be required to return to their home country to apply for permanent resident status.

This is a clever move that helps Canada recruit and retain highly skilled international students. So why is the number only 7,000 and not 70,000?

Read the Postmedia article here.

USA Processes a Record Number of Travel Visas from China

The U.S. Mission to China adjudicated more than one million U.S. visas for Chinese students, tourists, and businesspeople during FY 2011, a 34 per cent increase from FY 2010, U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke recently announced in a press release by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. This number consists of the contributions by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, as well as the U.S. Consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, and Chengdu, the press release points out.

Ambassador Gary Locke commented on the US-China relationship:

“The U.S.-China relationship is profoundly important, and welcoming Chinese visitors to the United States strengthens our cultural and commercial ties.  I am very pleased at the success we have had in significantly reducing wait times for visa appointments this year.”

This is fantastic news and we hope that our Chinese guests will enjoy their visit to America.

TOEFL Serves 25 million Students Worldwide

Education Testing Service (ETS), the administrators of the TOEFL test, announced that over 25 million students worldwide have used the test to "achieve their education goals." That means they have used the test to establish their English proficiency as part of their application process to schools in the United States and Canada.

We confirm these numbers as TestDEN.com's traffic has been steadily growing over the past 12 months and we have had sky-high interest in our online practice course.

Foreign Students Worth $18.8B to USA

The 2009-2010 economic impact statement from international education compiled by the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA) was released last week. The numbers are big. International students are worth a lot to the US economy, $18.8B conservatively using NAFSA's methodology.

Here is how the total breaks down for the current academic year:

• 690,923 international students
• Spent $13.1B on tuition expenses
• Spent $12.5B in living expenses
• Received US student aid of $7.2B
• and spent $448M in dependents living expenses
• NET CONTRIBUTION BY FOREIGN STUDENTS: $18,776,000,000

Facing a budget deficit of $1.42 trillion and a trade deficit of $375B, how soon before the Obama administration opens the education door wide open?

ACT360 Moves to Gastown

ACT360 is moving back to downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada. Our new address in the Dominion Building in Gastown, effective December 1, 2010:

Suite 1116
207 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 1H7

Love the 270 degree view!

Andy Krieger Teaches Arizona Teachers

TestDEN accent expert Andy Krieger was in Arizona to train elementary school teachers. Here is a link to the coverage by the Arizona Republic. The feedback from the teachers was gratifying:

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart because it's something wonderful and beautiful what he is doing to help us.

- Margarita Drauden, teacher

TestDEN TOEFL Challenge Launches on QQ Network

TestDEN's Free TOEFL Practice China Challenge launched today on the QQ/Tencent network in China. We are pleased to be working with QQ again in 2010, and we will have additional contests running through the summer of 2010 with QQ in China.

Connect with Andy Krieger on QZone

Andy Krieger launches his Tencent QZone site to connect with young Chinese on China's most popular social media service. Find Coach K on the QQ network at:

QQ: 909748335
QQ空间: http://user.qzone.qq.com/909748335

Accent Reduction Bejing DVD Launch

Andy Krieger spent the afternoon today at the Zhongguancun Book Building in Beijing to attend a book signing event. Andy gave a short talk explaining how the K Method helps young Chinese rapidly improve their speaking ability. A young, enthusiastic audience had the opportunity to see Coach K in action as he demonstrated his speaking techniques. Here is what one student had to say:

Dear Andy,

I am Neo, the Chinese boy you've met at your speech in Zhongguancun Book Building several days ago. Here's something about myself. I am a senior student at USTB,the University of Science & Technology Beijing and majoring in MIS, Management Informationg System.

While studying, I find it more and more important to conquer English because I have got to learn those more advanced knowledge from overseas like the great book "Thinking in Java" which is about computer programing.

And what's more important I think, is that we Chinese should make our voice widely heard throughout the world. At least, I must use English to communicate with you and to e-mail you.

To be frank, I've read some books about how to pronounce in the right way before which are written by Li Yang. It helped me with my oral Englich more or less. It's Li Yang who created the Crazy English to help Chinese people solve their accent problems and I don't know if you have heard about him before. He's very famous in China.

However, I still learned a lot from your speech. I am deeply impressed by your patience, enthusiasm and mostly, your beautiful American accent. I appreciated it a lot you've taught me such a great lesson.

And I have learned one thing from you that while speaking, one should speak as slowly as he or she can which can give him or her enough time to think and to put his or her tongue in the right position in order to pronounce right and besides, one should say 2 to 3 words at a time with the help of one hand, thus he or she could get a proper rhythm.

All in all, thanks very much for your teaching and I hope you can enjoy this trip in China.

Yours

Sincerely

Neo

Thanks to Mei at Chinese Renmin University Press for organizing a fantastic reception. Here are some links to Chinese media coverage of the launch:

Tencent QQ

Sohu

Sina

Xinhua

TestDEN Partners with Chinese Renmin University Press

TestDEN.com brings Andy Krieger's K-Method to China in partnership with Chinese Renmin University Press. The K-Method DVD and Practice Guide have been translated into Chinese and localized for students in China. The package includes 30-day access to TestDEN's Online Speaking Course and retails for 168 RMB.

TOEFL Practice Test Re-design

TestDEN launches its new free TOEFL Practice test interface. As usual, our marketing team is tinkering with various design elements and came up with a much friendlier landing page.

TestDEN Spanish Site Launches

TestDEN.com launched its Spanish version today in order to better server our customers in Central America, South America, and Spain. Visit the site at:

http://www.testden.com/es/index.htm

More languages are coming in March!

English Slang Pronunciation Guide

The English Slang Pronunciation Guide is now available to help English as a Second Language students sound more "American" when they speak English.

The English Slang Pronunciation Guide is written for intermediate and advanced learners of English. If you have already passed your TOEFL test or achieved a TOEIC score of 680, then this slang resource is for you. When you are done with English grammar and formal public speaking, it's time to have some fun. Learn how Americans really speak at home, at the office, and at the shopping mall.

Each entry contains a definition of the slang word, a funny video showing how the word is used, and the English text used in the video. Enjoy!

Google Search and Translate features now on TestDEN.com

With over 200 pages of new ESL and TOEFL content with more to come in 2010, it's time we added a search feature to improve usability for our students.

Check out the new Google custom search bar we added to the top of each page. This is the same Google technology that is being used in the main Google search engine. Love how fast it is!

The second feature we added today is the Google Translate widget. For TOEFL, TOEIC, and accent reduction product pages, our global visitors can now select a language for automatic page translation. We agree that Google Translate isn't perfect, but it's useful for learning about what TestDEN has to offer ESL students that visit our site.

TOEFL home page in Spanish

Let us know what you think.

TOEFL English Grammar Guide

TestDEN's new TOEFL English Grammar Guide for Students is now live. The Grammar Guide provides a complete guide to English grammar for students.

More TOEFL Resources

In addition to the TOEFL guide that we launched last month, we have just uploaded a new set of questions to help students prepare for the TOEFL test. These free resources are now available at TestDEN.com

They include:

TOEFL IBT is a collection of questions showing what the TOEFL IBT test looks like

TOEFL Grammar is a collection of listening and reading questions.

TOEFL Speaking and Writing shows you what the speaking and writing sections look like.


TestDEN.com will be adding additional TOEFL resources in the coming months! Subscribe to this blog by clicking the "RSS" button on the right.

TOEIC Test Guide

The TOEIC Test Guide is now available on the TestDEN.com website. The TOEIC Test Guide is a well-organized resource for students intending to take the TOEIC test in the next three to six months. The TOEIC Guide offers information about TOEIC scores, TOEIC preparation, and even provides sample TOEIC questions.

Visit the TOEIC Test Guide at:
http://www.testden.com/toeic/info.htm

TOEFL Test Guide Now Available

The TOEFL Test Guide is now available for free to all students planning to take the TOEFL test in the next four months. The TOEFL Test Guide is an excellent starting place to learn about the TOEFL exam so students can prepare their study plan.

The TOEFL Guide contains information about the test, how to register, how the scores work, and we even provide free samples of TOEFL questions.

Visit the TOEFL guide at:
http://www.testden.com/toefl/info.htm