Back where they belong

Two of our classmates had the chance to go to Canada to participate in a training course. This is a good opportunity to hear from them about their experiences. Let´s read what Carlos says and keep the conversation going. I´m sure there are lots of things you'd like to know.



Hello this is Carlos!

I was in Vancouver, Canada. It is 12 hours flight from Bogota, Colombia. It is a very clean place; people are very respectful and love their customs. People are very kind with foreigners, it does not matter wherever you are, you will always be welcome to Vancouver.

It is a cross-cultural city. You can meet people from almost all over the world. I made many friends from Japan, Korea, South Arabia and Switzerland. Most of them were my classmates. I had to present a placement text that located me as an intermediate student. In this class I could learn a lot about the language and pedagogic issues too. My teacher was so creative and used a communicative approach that facilitated the learning process.


Hello everybody. This is Magda

Vancouver is one of the greenest cities in North America. It is situated on the western shore of the continent near the island of Vancouver. This city is the second city of British Columbia and in February 2010, it will be the host city for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic winter games.
Vancouver is one of Canada´s largest cities. It is a cosmopolitan city where everyone feels welcome. Some of its neighborhoods are: Chinatown: rich in history and architecture. Places to visit are Dr.Sun Yat-Sen classical Chinese garden and the Chinese cultural center.
Gastown: Is an excellent area for a walking tour. There are souvenir shops and First Nation Galleries.
Granville island: there is a public market. There you can buy seafood, fresh products like fruits, meat, cheese and breads.
Davie Village: is the neighborhood of gay and lesbian. Rainbow flags and sunburst banners adorn the lampposts. There the bus stops are pink.


Vancouver has a lot of natural parks. There people visit: Stanley Park: This is the third largest urban park in North America. It has 8.8 kilometre sea wall path that you can cross by bike. There are a lot of places like the aquarium, the totem poles, the water park and beaches.


I studied in Pacific Gateway International college located in Robson Street. Pacific Gateway offers different programs, electives, after-school club activities / services and special language workshops to individual needs.



In the first month I was in TOEFL. In this course we improve academic skills for listening, speaking ,writing, reading, grammar and vocabulary development. This is an academic course.In the second month I changed my TOEFL class because I wanted to know other ways to teach English.

Sharing and caring

First I´d like to welcome you to your blog. This is an opportunity for all of us to share our thoughts, experiencies and knowledge in the ELT field. By doing so we expect to grow professionally in such a way that our learners will benefit from every little step we take.

I would also like you to watch the following link to watch a video called "A vission of students today" and apart from the impact it might have on you I also hope it raises awarenees on the way young people see technology and what we as teachers can do in order to meet our learner´s needs.

It would be interesting to know if you have used technology in your classes and what the effect has been.