EC San Diego English Language School

Lykai Nash, EC San Diego’s Student Services Coordinator, celebrated her birthday with many different versions of the “Happy Birthday” song, thanks to EC students who love her so much. Not only that, she was surprised with a great big chocolate birthday cake that she was kind enough to share with students and staff.

Do you have problems pronouncing words like “the”, “thing”, “although”, and “thorough”?  Well, not to worry!  Here are a couple of tips for you to follow so that you can improve your pronunciation. 

 

The TH sound can be made by sticking out your tongue, placing the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth, and blowing out.  Please see the picture below.

There are two kinds of TH sounds: voiced and voiceless. 

 

To make voiced TH sounds as in “the” and “although”, make sure that when you blow out, that sound is also made.  You know you are making a voiced TH sound because when you touch your throat, you can feel a vibration. 

 

To make a voiceless TH sounds as in “something” and “thorough”, make sure that when you blow out, no sound is made.  You know you are making a voiceless TH sound because when you touch your throat, you cannot feel a vibration. 

 

Practice these fun tongue twisters to improve your TH sounds!

 

Th=voiceless                Th=voiced

 

1.

King Thistle stuck a thousand thistles in the thistle of his thumb.
A thousand thistles King Thistle stuck in the thistle of his thumb.
If King Thistle stuck a thousand thistles in the thistle of his thumb,
How many thistles did King Thistle stick in the thistle of his thumb?

-Courtesy of http://www.esl4kids.net/tongue.html.-

 

2.

One way to outthink others is to make them think you think you’re not really thinking what you’re trying to get them to think you think.

-Courtesy of http://www.esl4kids.net/tongue.html.-

Giusanto Rainone is a very interesting student from Italy. He arrived in San Diego in October 2009 and is studying English because he wants to improve his English skills, explore California, and meet new people. Read the interview below to learn more about Giusanto.

What do you like about EC San Diego?
The people who work at EC are very kind and give me a familiar sensation. I am very lucky. The teachers explain in a good way to let me understand words, and if I have some problems, I can ask. They make the classes interesting.

Are you learning English effectively?
Everybody tells me “yes!”, but I really don’t know. I see that I speak more fluently. I can explain my point of view better than before. Sometimes I think that I am not really sure if my English is improving the way I would like.

Do you have any advice for students who are interested in studying at EC San Diego?
Once you begin, you have to understand in which classes you really belong because sometimes the student can be too shy to ask if he or she can change to a more challenging class. This is important because, if not, you will return to your country with little improvement. You should make your own way. If you have to ask something, you must ask for more material and anything that stimulates you more. Don’t worry because the people at the school understand the feeling of the students. You have to understand, choose, and ask!

What is the best thing about San Diego and La Jolla?
It is beautiful, relaxing, and the people are very kind. From San Diego you can go to SF in one and a half hours by plane. Los Angeles by car in two hours. Hawaii in 5 hours by plane. Las Vegas by plane in 1 hour. Plane tickets are cheap.

How is your life in Italy different from your life now in San Diego?
Completely! Everything is different. From the system of the school to the restaurants, and meeting people in bars and nightclubs. It is a very different kind of life.

What are your goals in life?
My goal in life is to achieve a good work position in a bank. Through this experience at EC San Diego, I would like to get a better life; most importantly a wife and kids. Normal things and, of course, to be happy!!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I never like this question, but if I should think about…I think I will be in a good way with a good work position and a family.

On Thursday December 10, 2009, EC San Diego students and staff gathered at The Living Room Café in order to get into the holiday spirit. Students demonstrated their English speaking and singing skills as they prepared holiday-themed skits and songs to perform in front of the entire school. Since it was a potluck, everybody brought a delicious dessert to share. The party was concluded with a fun gift exchange!

Delicious desserts brought by the students!

Super Secret Fruit Punch…Non-alcoholic, of course!

Christian is one surly reindeer! 

Leigh Ann, EC San Diego Director of Studies, acted as emcee and did a wonderful job!

Doug, EC teacher, plays his guitar for his singing students.

Students pass around gifts for the gift exchange!

Italian students, Giulia, Michaela, and Carlotta, love the gifts that they received!

Michael, from Switzerland, is very proud of the chocolates he received.

Abdulrhman poses with his new gift: a cute, little coin purse.

Hyekyoung from Korea and Juliana from Brazil pose with their new gifts!

Korean student, Minsoo, can barely hide his excitement about his present.

Hi and greetings potential students! I am a host Mom who has been hosting students for almost nine years. I began hosting when I became aware of the fact that my daughter, then only 10 years old, could use some more exposure to other cultures other than what she was learning in school. Since then, we have hosted over 55 students and have loved every one of them. Each student has helped brighten our family.
We have taken our students on hikes in the local mountains, have shared many holiday traditions with them including cooking cultural foods, and have had many students come back for visits and vacations to revisit beautiful San Diego! We plan to visit some of them in the near future in Turkey, Switzerland,and Italy. We also email our students regularly to help them continue to practice their writing skills.
The benefits of living with a host family is the rich experience of practicing your English while you study at school. Being able to practice English in a comfortable, nonjudgemental home atmosphere like at the dinner table daily helps many students perform better on many of their exams.The more you practice, the better your English becomes! Living with a host family is also a great way to tap resources available to you through brochures we keep in our home about things to do and see both in local cities and states.I have a library shelf filled with books and maps for our students to browse. We hope this is helpful in making your decision about E.C. English schools
MaryAnn Lentini

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to get together and eat delicious pumpkin pie topped with fluffy whipped cream?  On Wednesday November 25, 2009, EC students and staff gathered in the courtyard to fill up on a traditional Thanksgiving dessert.

 

 

EC San Diego students and staff have a lot to be thankful for: a beautiful English school which offers the best English courses and located in the most desirable area of San Diego. On an autumn-colored leaf, students and staff wrote down all the things they were thankful for and placed it on the branches of the Tree of Thanks. Check it out below!

EC San Diego Volunteer Placement Program

Miki Shimamura, La Jolla Elementary

 

 

 

Miki Shimamura is an EC student with a love for kids.  When she returns to Japan, she plans to teach English to kids.  In order to gain experience with kids, she decided to become involved in EC San Diego’s Volunteer Placement Program.  She was placed at La Jolla Elementary School as a Child Care Volunteer.  Read more about her wonderful experience below!

 

Why did you choose to volunteer with kids?

I chose to volunteer with kids because when I go back to Japan, I want to start teaching English to kids, so I think I need to have experience.  When I was in high school, I studied in Australia and I had a small host brother.  When I was in university, every year I would go to Portland and live with a host family with kids.  My experience with kids made me want to volunteer with kids.

 

What was your first day like?

Before I went there, I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t know anything.  Also, I was excited because I didn’t know what I would do.  But the first day, the kids came to me and asked “who are you?”  And the teacher introduced me and told them to ask me if they had any questions.  It was amazing.  The kids are so cute.  They are like the kids that I see in a movie.  They always run away and scream.  It was like a zoo.  They always make me laugh.  It was so great. 

 

What do you do as a Child Care Volunteer?

I play with kids.  I play tag because they tell me to play tag. I make origami.  Sometimes, if I can, I help with homework. I also draw pictures and play football on the field.  I teach them Japanese words like “hello” and “goodbye”.  I do as many things as they want.

 

What is your relationship with the YMCA teachers like?

The teachers are so kind to me!  When I first opened the door, they greeted me.  They want me to do many things and they are very patient with me.  They gave me their email addresses and want to keep in touch with me.  They want to know about Japan, and so I talk about when I was a student and the school system. 

 

What is the most memorable thing about this experience volunteering with?

My favorite thing is playing tag because they always invite me to play tag.  When I first arrived there, they wanted to play tag with me.  Also, on my last day, last Friday, the kids made me cards.  They jumped on me and they said to me “Don’t go! Don’t leave me!  I am sure I will go to Japan when I grow up!”  I really wanted to cry at that time.  When I go back home, I will read the cards and then cry again. 

 

How has volunteering helped to improve your English skills?

I think that even though the words that the kids speak are not always correct, it is good for my English because it is easy to listen to.  I have to listen carefully.  I think I have to answer correctly, but I can’t always because it is difficult; more difficult than studying here at EC San Diego.  I really feel that my listening skills and speaking skills have improved because I learned new words and I learned kid’s songs.  The kids recommended some songs that they like.  The teachers taught me how to take care of the children. For example, when someone is crying or when they are noisy and have to be quiet. 

 

Do you have any advice for people who are interested in volunteering with kids?

Just enjoy.  I really enjoy myself with them.  I never had this experience in Japan.  Students should do this because you can have a new experience which you cannot get in the classroom.  Volunteering with kids is a real experience and prepares you for the real world. 

Have you taken an English language course at EC San Diego? Here’s a great chance to share your experience with other English students. Mylanguagetravel.com is a new website for language learners. The site lists language schools as well as comments from students. Time to tell the world about your wonderful time at EC San Diego:

http://www.my-language-travel.com/language-school/EC-SAN-DIEGO