Today, EC Montreal surprised its March teachers of the month!  Every month, we distribute voting ballots to all our students asking them who their favorite teacher is and why.  It is always so nice to see our students so enthusiastic about their teachers!  We had a great voter turnout this month with about 70% of our student population voting! Cynthia was named our English teacher of the month and Essadia won for the French department.  We surprised them in their class with a special Teacher of the month certificate and gift.  Essadia was delighted to win two consecutive months in a row!  Cynthia was also delighted and posed with her group of students with so much pride! A world of thanks to all the students who took the time to vote and for all the wonderful comments!  We are so happy to share them all with you! Funny Classes Friendly Really good explanation Parce qu’elle est une bonne prefesseur She is so nice  She is friendly She is very smart, very happy and available for all. When I grow up, I want to be like her She is nice and funny He teaches well She is amazing! Love her! Great teacher! He always takes care about the classmates and help us. I like him I love her way of teaching! Because his classes are funny and interactive Parce que je pense qu’elle est une bonne professeur Because his classes are funny and usually I learn a lot with him! She is the best teacher ever and she teaches so well She is so nice and her classes are very funny Good teacher She is PERFECT. I have learned a lot, I speak really good French. She is the best teacher and so funny! She is really helpful Good teacher She … Read more

Last Wednesday, EC Montreal held its annual Sugar Shack Festival in the student lounge!  We transformed the student lounge into a real Cabane à Sucre and had maple treats, decorations and information on every table! We served maple tea and students had a chance to browse the different tables and read all the information we had available. Maple season is a much anticipated time in the province of Quebec!  We look forward to the traditions of visiting a maple farm and experiencing the local foods, music and activities the season brings! We gave our students a taste of this tradition and they enjoyed it tremendously! Life is sweet at EC Montreal!

Last Friday, EC Montreal staff and teachers went to a local Sugar Shack for our annual team-building activity!  As it is maple season in the province of Quebec, we thought it would be a wonderful idea to share the “Cabane à Sucre” experience with the team! It is important for our team to be given opportunities to spend time together outside the school and the stress of work, to learn about each other and to have bonding experiences.  We spend so much of our time at work and we know from experience that a united team is a more productive and motivated team! We went to a nearby maple farm and had a traditional sugar shack meal that was served family-style!  The meal consisted of local flavors including ham, baked beans, omelette, sausage, meat pies, meatballs, pickled vegetables and pea soup.  Of course, the most anticipated part of the meal was dessert!  All maple flavored and delicious!  We had a taste of pancakes, sugar pie and doughnuts! They served us Quebec beer and a shot of a liquor called Caribou, that is intended to keep you warm as you venture the cold outdoors! After our tasty lunch, we went on a tractor ride of the maple farm and ended with a taffy maple treat before boarding the bus back home! We enjoyed our time together and feel energized to serve our EC Montreal students!   Follow the link if you would like to learn English in Canada.

The month of March is maple season in the province of Quebec.  It is tradition to visit a sugar shack, also known as a Cabane a Sucre, in French.  Sugar shacks are located on maple farms where they extract sap from the trees and convert it into maple syrup. Quebec produces 80% of the worlds maple syrup.  It is a big industry and we are very proud of this fact. Today, EC Montreal held its annual maple syrup festival for our students.  We served all kinds of sweet maple treats including cupcakes, donuts, tarts, cakes, popcorn, cookies and pies!  The students loved getting a taste of our very own maple syrup.\ Next Saturday, EC Montreal will take our students to visit a real sugar shack in the country.  They will get a tour of the maple farm and have a traditional sugar shack meal that consists of eggs, ham, meat pie, pea soup and of course lots of maple desserts! Next Wednesday, we will convert the student lounge into a sugar shack and give students information on maple syrup and of course, serve more tasty treats! Life is sweet at EC Montreal!   Follow the link if you would like to learn English in Canada.

EC Montreal is delighted to see Montreal being featured in such a popular publication!  CNN released an article which talks about Montreal’s 12 great neighborhoods! The article begins with a description of Montreal’s make-up and its strong ethnic diversity!  It is seen as a strength and contributes to the uniqueness of each district. Little Italy, Old Montreal, The Plateau and the Gay Village are among those neighborhoods featured in the article. At EC Montreal, from a student’s very first day, we encourage them to discover the different neighborhoods as each one has something special to offer! A visit to the different areas is also reflected in our monthly events calendar where we often have outings in Old Montreal, Chinatown and the Plateau! Montreal seems to be increasing in popularity and interest for our city is growing at a fast rate! Join us and discover Montreal with EC! Check out the CNN article in its entirety:  http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/travel/montreal-most-interesting-neighborhoods/index.html.   Follow the link if you would like to learn English in Canada.  

On Sunday, March 19, EC Montreal students will participate in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.  As Montreal is celebrating its 375th Birthday this year, the parade is going to be even more festive than usual! The parade takes place at noon on Ste-Catherine Street.  It will start at Fort Street, which is just a few blocks away from the EC Montreal school.  The parade will travel down Ste-Catherine Street until Philip’s Square. Everyone is encouraged to wear green!  Mother Nature seems to be cooperating this year – it is supposed to be a sunny and mild day (1 degree above zero). The parade will have floats from different associations and radio stations as well as pipers, dancers and other entertainers.  The mayor will be there and so will the Irish delegates and court. If you are looking for something to do in Montreal this weekend, the St. Patrick’s Day parade is an annual tradition that cannot be missed! There is a lot of drinking on this day, so please, be careful, be safe and don’t over do it!   Follow the link if you would like to learn English in Canada.

EC Montreal staff and students were Irish for a Day!  With the large Irish community in Montreal, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are always something to look forward to in this city!  EC Montreal likes to give our students a taste of all the festivities that Montreal has to offer and then we encourage our students to go out there and experience the real deal! We asked all our staff and students to come to school dressed in green!  A lot went beyond our expectations and came to school wearing green wigs and hats! We decorated the student lounge with St. Patrick’s Day symbols and served green beer, hotdogs and other fun refreshments to our students!  We played some traditional Irish tunes and created a very festive atmosphere at the school. We had a wonderful afternoon at EC Montreal and look forward to attending the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday! Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone! Follow the link if you would like to learn English in Canada.

EC Montreal has one of the best and most experienced summer teen camps in Canada! We welcome teen students from all over the world! Montreal is the ideal destination for our younger clients because although it is a big city, it has a small town feel to it, which makes it safe, comfortable and exciting! Montreal is known for its fashion, food and arts; however, there is truly something for everyone in this amazing city. We are able to offer our teen students, who are here to study English or French as a foreign language at EC Montreal, many thrilling and age-appropriate activities. Unlike many camps, EC Montreal offers a mix of cultural, tourist attractions, sports activities and various workshops, giving our young clients an opportunity to get a taste of everything our city has to offer and great occasions to learn something different. From our sports classes, cooking lessons, art lessons, museum visits, boating activities and much, much more!! The students are grouped by language proficiency not by age. We find that the intermingling of ages and cultures makes for a more interesting adventure for our teens! We have French and English programmes available. This summer, EC Montreal will be introducing a new Young Learner’s programme which has after-school activities linked to the level curriculum.  Every week will have a special theme and the class activities as well as the afternoon activities will be related to that theme. If you want an exciting summer and want an opportunity to meet friends from all over the world? Join EC Montreal’s Young Learner’s Programme!  The programme is available from July 3 to August 11, 2017.  We have Day Programmes and Classic Homestay options available!   Follow the link if you would like to learn English in Canada.

It is maple season in the province of Quebec and EC Montreal is no exception!  We will be introducing students to so many maple activities including a maple syrup festival at the school as well as sugar shack outings and the Verdun Maple Syrup food festival. Today we learned that there will be a pop-up sugar shack restaurant in St. Henri, a neighbourhood close to EC Montreal. Quebec eco-entrepreneur permaculture community, Terra Perma, has just announced they will be hosting a popup sugar shack in Montreal between March 18th and April 30th. At 3580 Notre-Dame Street West in the neighbourhood of St. Henri.  It will feature an all you can eat menu filled with maple treats. The menu includes the following: Fresh, rustic bread Soup of the shack – pea soup Eggs – rustic style Cabbage salad Big daddy beans Home-style potatoes with Quebec thyme and garlic Cold maple wood smoked bacon Merguez with smoked adobo peppers Grandma’s marinades and ketchup The pie – pure butter, pure maple The pancakes – a perfect vehicle for syrup Extras can be purchased such as maple caviar, forest sausage, maple donut holes, super bacon (maple glazed bacon), and maple-glazed salmon. All of these side dishes are $5 each. Once you’re done eating, be sure to try Sirop Urban Shack’s signature cocktail created by Quebec mixologist, Alyssa Shahin. The drink contains gin, maple syrup, and foraged herbs. Plus, the atmosphere is said to be both fun and enchanting, with a mixture of laid back and gourmet vibes. Tickets cost $20 each so be sure to get yours before they’re gone! This is one of the best opportunities you’ll get to experience a sugar shack without leaving the city. A seasonal must for our EC Montreal students!   Follow the link if you would like to learn … Read more

Juliana Neves is a student from Brazil who came to EC to learn English in Canada. Here is what she would like to share about her English courses at EC Montreal: I chose Montreal because it is a bilingual city and I wanted to practice French and English. I think I improved a lot here. I can listen and understand better when people speak in English with me and I also can speak in English more naturally. My favorite EC activity was the ski trip to Mount St. Bruno, because I had never skied in my life, and then I had this first opportunity. My host family ins very receptive and friendly to me. My host mother cooks very well and she respected me and my own privacy. Mostly my new friends are from Brazil as well, but I had the chance to make new friends from South Korea and Colombia. I truly enjoyed my classes at EC and both teachers Frederic and Maria Elena were awesome. I am very thankful for the experience I had at EC. Juliana Neves