Aline Mazeto Roldan was one of our most enthusiastic students at ECSF, an English Language School in San Francisco.  She was a fantastic creative writer and would like to share one of her short essays with everyone.  Read her description of the Redwoods here… Purposes Dancing, Time Changing It was a cold sunny day, with a clear blue sky. The sunlight was shinning through the trees and creating patches of bright color in the middle of the forest. Each tree with particular pulse kept in the thick and soft brown bark. The bird’s sound decorate (garnish) the vertical silence of the redwood trees. The sound of the little rocks and humid foliage on the ground were the only things talking between the footprints and the space that is to come. Time is in everywhere. The water runs in the river. You could see everything that didn’t move below, everything that was still, watching movement while keeping secret rhythms inside. The trunks were looking like old men or strange animals lurking on the curves of the trails. The sunlight was running away from the hungry night pulled by the moon. The fresh mysterious air, full of beauty and harmony during the day, gave place to a dark fear and lonliness. She wasn’t alone there anymore so she started to run from the unfriendly noises. Would she arrive at home at this night? Time was present in everyplace. Time is full of purpose. With the sweet memories on the one hand, a strong and tight bat in the other, the unknown in the eyes, she kept going in the direction of human voices. At the end of the trip, three people within in the sigth of the trees were joined new journeys. The redwoods with their 2000 years, still watching. Time, the constant changing river of purpose expressions.

We recently asked several of our Brazilian students to write about their experiences here at our English language school in San Francisco.  This is what they wrote… 1)      Two things you enjoyed and gained from your experience: Loved the integrated approach between academic and cultural activities: great way to learn the language and the culture I’m really learning English; I feel really welcomed by my host family and this is a great city for cultural exchanges Made lots of friends; I’m learning to speak and understand English really fast People (school and city) are friendly and multicultural Quick adaptation, my family was incredible in all aspects; met people from all over the world; so far the best experience in my life Friendly, fun and welcoming environment; very organized and supportive staff Made friends, learned English fast, especially my listening and speaking skills Gaining more and more confidence to speak Made friends, learned about other cultures and cultural differences 2)   Teachers and teaching approaches/methods: Loved the teachers: Kelly, dynamic, interactive, good-humored and fun; A/B teachers provide great balance and variety Tim R. is excellent, good-humored and always receptive to our questions; Judith is a great teacher, interactive and tries to correct our pronunciation Gifford and Anthony are excellent and friendly Good method Karl and Kate are very good and I’m learning a lot; I love the school because it has everything I want and offers all the help I need Tim R is the best teacher, he explains very well and always uses words we understand. He was amazing! Tim M, Kelly and Drew are incredible, dynamic and very creative; they’re engaging and make learning fun Tim M is flexible, funny and his classes are very dynamic; Kate’s pace is excellent, her classes are challenging and I’m learning a lot Judith’s … Read more

At ECSF, a downtown English language school in San Francisco, we offer a Communication for Business class that focuses on entrepreneurship and includes a string of guest speakers.  Sam Catalina, an owner of Prudential Real Estate Company, spoke to the students last month about a variety of topics related to business.  Afterwards, the students wrote essays summarizing and analyzing his lecture.  This stellar essay was written by 3 ECers: Aynur Ismailova, Carlos Rombaldo, and Eugenia Schall.  Great work, students!   On February 12th, 2013, in our business class we had a special visitor Sam Catalina – an owner of Prudential Real Estate Company, a professor at CCSF City College, a director of a bank and also a good family man.  He told us about his own background and his friends’ experiences.  The purpose of this visit was to show us the many opportunities and possibilities that exist to start a career.  Below we highlight some details about his speech.                   The speech was about good and bad experiences from his and his friends’ lives, showing in different ways how we can reach our dreams.                   A couple of words about his background.  His parents are originally from the Philippines, but he was born in the USA and grew up in San Francisco area.  He has been married more than 40 years, his wife is a teacher.  They have 3 children: a girl – she is also a teacher, and 2 sons – one is an orthodontist, another one is a manager in a large sporting goods store.  His favorite hobbies are cooking, singing karaoke and race car driving.                   He got in the real estate business when he saw his neighbor driving a lot of new fast cars.  After taking classes and educating himself, he applied for a job … Read more

Communication for Business is a popular afternoon class at EC San Francisco.  A couple weeks ago, Sam Cadelinia, a real estate expert, was invited as a guest speaker and spoke to the class about entrepreneurship based on his experience in the real estate field.  He focused his speech on dedication and the desire to learn.  Sam personifies the American Dream.  He was born in the Philippines, came to America with little money in his pocket, and early in his career, became the largest distributor of karaoke machines.  He asked the students to talk about their dreams and aspirations and to explain how those fit into their career goals.  After getting his real estate license, Sam tried to get a job at Century 21 but was turned down because there were too many agents working for the company at the time.  With determination and drive, he eventually bought a major mortgage company. Sam spoke about San Francisco as a hub of culture and entrepreneurship.  When a student asked, “What is the most challenging part of your job?” he delved into the importance of self awareness and emotional intelligence.  He also made an important comment: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”  In order to be successful, according to Sam, it’s vital to have a positive attitude, be persistent, have a distinct vision/focus, keep learning, and find something that you love doing and do it.  Passion is key…being passionate about what you’re doing is the way to succeed in a bad economy. We’re looking forward to having more successful guest speakers visit us at ECSF in the future!