EC Montreal was delighted to read an article released by Living In Magazine this week!  They listed Montreal as one of the three best cities for dating! Many would agree that Montreal has something special!  It is a magical city with picturesque views that add to the romance and charm that are embedded in our different neighborhoods. Whether you are in Old Montreal strolling along the cobblestone streets, on Mount-Royal park picnicking with your significant other or dining on a patio in Little Italy, it is difficult not to fall in love in this city! Our students can definitely attest to this as many romances have begun right under our roof at EC Montreal.  Sometimes we feel like cupid at EC, because so many students began dating and even went on to marry their EC sweetheart!  It makes us feel special to think that we played a part in making these love connections! Looking for love?  Join us at EC Montreal and meet new people who may change your life forever!  To read the article, click on this link:  http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140612-living-in-the-worlds-best-cities-for-dating/2

Today, EC Montreal held its training day for our Young Learner’s team!  They are so excited to lead our group of teenagers on the many wonderful activities we have planned. We took the time to brainstorm some new activity ideas and came up with amazing down time activities and rainy day alternatives! We also discussed EC’s many services and how their role is so important in ensuring our teenage students have a rewarding and memorable experience in Montreal! Heather, our Young Learners Coordinator recruited the best candidates to fill these positions!  Milena was a monitor with us 2 years ago and today she gave a wonderful example of how she took initiate during one of the activities.  She explained that one afternoon, the group of students were scheduled to go on a cycling tour in Old Montreal, however, 2 of the students told her that they never learned how to ride a bike and could not participate.  She had the other monitors accompany the group of students on their cycling tour while she stayed behind with the 2 students and taught them how to ride a bike.  She helped them throughout the afternoon until they were able to go a short distance.  She further explained to us that she has remained in contact with these 2 students from Mexico and they let her know that they bought bikes when they returned home and are now experts!!  Milena said she cried when she received pictures of them riding their bikes.  They said it was thanks to her and they will never forget what she did for them.  It’s amazing what an impact our Young Learner’s programme has had on so many students! We are also delighted to welcome Elysia and Siya to the team this summer and are confident they will … Read more

This week, EC Montreal held a summer picnic party in the student lounge!  We have a lot to celebrate!!  Everyone has World Cup Fever, summer has arrived, on the 24th of June we celebrated La Fete Nationale du Quebec and on July 1st it’s Canada Day!!  The sun is shining, the weather is nice and warm, everyone is in a party mood!  It is difficult not to smile! We decorated the lounge with checkered table cloths and served refreshing lemonade, hot dogs and potato chips!  The students lined up to get a taste of the hot dogs roasting on the grill.  The lounge smelled like a summer BBQ! We had enough hot dogs for 2 or 3 servings!  It was beautiful to see everyone smiling, interacting with one another and enjoying every bit of our summer picnic! This was the last June complimentary activity!  We look forward to another very festive month at EC Montreal!  We have a lot of wonderful surprises in store for our students!

June 24 is a national holiday in the province of Quebec.  According to the catholic religion, the 24th of June is St. John the Baptiste day.  French Canadian, being extremely religious in the past adopted St. John to be Quebec’s patron saint.  Over the years, this holiday became very special to Quebecers and has come to represent pride and love for our province rather than a religous holiday. EC Montreal will be closed on the 24th of June, however, we have made plans for our students to enjoy all the festivities taking place around the city.  There are celebrations, concerts and fireworks in many parks around the city! We will be going to the de Maisonneuve park to enjoy the free concerts followed by fireworks at the Old Port! At EC Montreal we like to give our students many opportunities to interact with local poeple and to get a taste of all our customs, traditions and flavours! Happy Quebec Day!

The month of July is quickly approaching and EC Montreal has a ton of exciting events planned!  July is definitely one of EC Montreal’s most exciting months!  It is festival season in Montreal!  We plan to give our students a taste of everything Montreal has to offer! Our free weekly activities will include a sounds of Jazz cocktail lounge during the first week.  We will play Jazz music while serving our students our signature EC martini cocktail! EC Montreal will host a beach party on July 9.  We will decorate the student lounge into a tropical paradise with palm trees, beach balls and surf boards!  Students will enjoy tropical drinks and BBQ hot dogs! The following week, we will give our students a sweet treat with an ice cream bar!  Students will have a chance to build their own sundaes with many flavours of ice cream sauces, whipped cream, fruit, nuts and sweet sprinkles! Salsa dance lessons with margaritas is on the menu the following week.  We will have a professional dance instructor come in to teach our students some spicy moves! The month will end with our annual African dance lessons!  A professional performer for the Festival Nuits d’Afrique will come in again this year to teach us the smooth moves of Africa! We will also offer a lovely variety of optional sports, cultural and tourist attractions throughout the month.  The weekend excursions will include trips to Quebec City, Ottawa, New York City and Toronto / Niagara Falls. We can’t forget to include the many wonderful welcome parties!  Look out for Karaoke nights, Bowling, Pub nights and of course, the many tastes of Montreal! What a festive season we look forward to at EC Montreal!

With 32 countries represented at the World Cup, did you ever wonder what languages the referees speak to the players on the field?  The answer is English!  All FIFA staff are required to speak English to the players, managers and coaches. English continues to be an important global language.  If you want to have more employment opportunities, being able to communicate in English will open many doors for you!  Everyone wants to have the competitive advantage, no matter what field you are in, in the business world and even on the soccer field! All the soccer players that are presently participating in the World Cup soccer tournament must be able to communicate at some level in English to their competing players and to the referees.  Want to talk your way out of a foul?  Maybe your level of English could help! We encourage everyone to learn English in Canada with EC Montreal to get that advantage!

Last Tuesday, EC Montreal hosted a FIFA party at the Varcity 515 Residence!  It was an exciting match as Brazil was playing Mexico.  EC Montreal presently has 15% Brazilian students, so our Mexican supporters were a little outnumbered. We served traditional Brazilian snacks and the very popular cocktail Caipirinha.  We also had nacho chips and different salsas.  It was a Brazilian / Mexican fiesta!! Most students came dressed up with their team’s jersey and waving their flags! It was such an intent game that ended with a 0-0 draw!  The Mexicans felt victorious while the Brazilians took this as a big loss. We look forward to many more games with our EC Montreal students until the World Cup final match on July 13!

It is strawberry season in the province of Quebec!  There are so many fruit farms that grow berries.  It has become tradition for families or school groups to head out to these strawberry fields and spend the day picking and eating delicous berries. At EC Montreal, we like to give our students a taste of local flavors.  Yesterday we held our annual strawberry festival at the school. When the 10:30 bell rang indicating it was break time, the students headed towards the student lounge as usual.  What they weren’t expecting was tables and tables filled with fresh strawberries and strawberry baked goods.  We even had a chocolate fountain set up where students could dip their strawberries! Our students really enjoy these events that we call ” a taste of Montreal’ and all the opportunities we create for them to interact with each other and make friends! Life is sweet at EC Montreal!

We are delighted to introduce you to Naila Kouidri, EC Montreal’s Seasonal Academic Assistant.  She will be assisting our academic programmes in both our adult and junior campuses this summer. Here is what she would like to share with all of you: Hi!  My name is Naila.  I am from Algeria.  I have been living in Montreal for the past 4 years.  I came here to finish my studies and to start a new life.  I am studying psychology and criminology at the Université de Montréal.  My dream is to work as a profiler for La Sureté du Québec. I grew up in Algeria where there are two languages; French and Arabic.  I wanted to learn English because it’s the first international language of the world, so I joined EC Montreal’s language programme in 2008 and 2009.  I loved my experience as a student there.  I’ve kept great memories from my time as a student!  It gave me the opportunity to get to meet new people, discover new cultures and make new friends. I am passionate about music and Bollywood dance since I was six years old.  I have participated in many shows at my school and at university. I am really happy to be part of EC Montreal’s team!  I am sure it’s going to be a great experience!

EC Montreal is proud to introduce you to Sacha Khoury!  She recently joined our team of English teachers.  She is extremely passionate about teaching! Here is what she would like to share with all of you: Hi! My name is Sacha I am half British and half Lebanese and have been in Montreal for 10 months! Before coming here I was living and working in Beirut, Lebanon in the American school as an early years teacher.  I came to Montreal and decided to change things up a bit and get my CELTA training which has now led me to EC to teach English to adults. Growing up in Lebanon where there are three official languages (Arabic, English, and French) I know the importance of becoming bilingual and how useful it is in our everyday lives and for our futures. Teaching is my passion because I enjoy building great rapport with my students, getting to know them and their life journey. It is also so rewarding to see how much the students improve from their first day of class to their last! Montreal has been one of those cities that has inspired me to discover myself, other people, and different cultures.  I am really passionate about teaching and super excited about this opportunity, to get to meet new people, make new friends, and most importantly to help students learn a new language!