EC San Diego English Language School

Salvatore Barone is a 34 year old student from Switzerland. After spending four months with us here in San Diego, Salvatore will return home.Before leaving, he wanted to share some advice for other EC students! Here’s what he had to say:

What as your favorite thing about EC San Diego English school?

The school is in a great location! There are shops and restaurants, plus you can walk to the beach! The people are also very kind and helpful.

What would you recommend to new students?

Try to see as much as you can in San Diego and all of California because it is such a beautiful state. Also, try to meet as many Americans as possible to practice your English.

What is your favorite thing about San Diego?

The amazing sightseeing! And the shopping, of course.

Will you use the English you learned after you return home?

Salvatore relaxing after class on EC San Diego's balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean!

Thank you, Salvatore! We enjoyed having you here at EC San Diego!

We want to welcome our new Student Services Advisor, Valerie! Val comes to us from NYC! At least most recently… She has also lived in Miami and all over California. But her favorite city is, of course, San Diego! She has been working in the field of international education for four years now, and still loves every minute!

Valerie loves travelling! She has had the chance to see so many fantastic places over the last couple of years. And the best part about working with international students is that she gets to meet people from all the places she’s been, as well as places she wants to go! Val also enjoys fast driving, live entertainment and is an avid shopper.

Like most Californians, Valerie is laid-back, friendly and likes to chat at length. So come to our reception area and say hi! She’ll love getting to know you!

Globalization is making the world smaller. It’s now easy to see how everything and everyone is closely connected.We can all see the impact of our everyday actions on the planet and we share the same social and environmental concerns.  Essentially, we have a responsibility to take account of our impact on the world in the way we operate.

At EC San Diego, along with other EC English schools around the world, we strive to support humanitarian efforts and we are taking steps to address the issues that affect us all. You can find more information at: http://www.ecenglish.com/ec-cares

In addition, EC supports each and every staff member in achieving their personal goals. We are especially proud to support EC Regional Sales Manager Michael Dewar, as he endeavors to meet his personal goal of running the London marathon with his humanitarian efforts in support of LEPRA, which aim is to improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people living with devastating disease and illness such as leprosy, HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB around the world.

Michael Dewar showing us his game face!

You can find more information on the following sites:

http://www.justgiving.com/michael-dewar

http://www.leprahealthinaction.org/

Here at EC San Diego English School, we like to go all out on the holidays.  That is why this Valentine’s Day, we decided to do a couple different things for our students!

First, we had cut-out hearts available for students to come and write down who or what they loved.  They then got to pin the heart on our “Board of Love” at the front of the school.  The most common thing our students loved?  The top choices included family, friends and chocolate!

Staff and students also participated in our annual Traffic Light Game!  In this game, you wear red if you’re taken; yellow if you’re not sure; and green if you’re single and ready to mingle!

LyKai and three of our students representing all three colors!

Last, but certainly not least, we played Jeopardy – with a twist!  Questions covered everything: from verb tenses to San Diego fun facts to celebrity trivia!

Getting set up for the game.

Focusing on the game!

Spectators enjoying the show!

Our two winners – they got lunch on us!

We also had an overload of sweets, treats and candies!

EC San Diego’s Assistant Director, Mardy, having some fun!

Hi! My name is Anja. I’m the new intern at EC San Diego English School!

I was born in Berlin, but moved a lot from place to place within Germany during my school time. After high school I went to the Netherlands to study International Marketing – a great choice! During my study program I got the chance to study also in South Korea and Spain. I gained so many interesting experiences and got to know people from all over the world. What an amazing time!

Because I was having such an amazing experience, I decided to do also an internship abroad instead of going back home. And this was when I got to know EC English schools for the first time – what a great opportunity to work for a company, which offers students the possibility to gain such amazing experiences abroad as I did before. Thus I moved last summer to the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea to attend a two week long English language course at EC Malta. I then started a five month internship in the Sales and Admissions Department at EC’s headquarters: EC Central. I learned a lot and really enjoyed my internship at the same time.

Helping my colleagues at EC Central organize the students’ stays abroad and looking at all the wonderful pictures of EC’s worldwide schools made me realize that I was not ready yet to return to Germany and began to dream of a further internship in a foreign country.

Since I was a child it was one a dream of mine to live for a time in the US. I now had the opportunity to make my childhood dream come true with EC! And where in the US could be better for someone from Northern Europe than sunny Southern California?! Thus I applied for an internship at EC San Diego English school, had pleasant conversations with Center Director Martha Delgadillo and was given the chance to start my internship in the beginning of February and will stay until June – my dream came true! And after only a short time, I already love the school and the city.

After organizing the students’ stays abroad at EC’s headquarters, I am enjoying communicating daily with students on site at EC San Diego. It brings me to joy to see so many smiling students enjoying their lessons as I walk through the hallways or glance in the classrooms. It is so rewarding and such a gift to be involved here with EC!

Check out what’s happening this month at EC San Diego!

It may be the shortest month, but it is definitely full of events, holidays and activities, which of course gives us the opportunity to practice English in all different kinds of situations.

Valentine’s Day is coming up – so make your dinner reservations soon!  Although it is celebrated nationally, it’s not a day off, so make sure you are in class that day!

It is also Chinese New Year on Feb. 3!  Go downtown to check out the 29th Annual San Diego Chinese New Year Food and Cultural Fair on Saturday, Feb. 12.

February is also Black History Month in America, so check back for various events around the city celebrating African-American history!