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Edition # 6 June to August 2012

I hope you are enjoying the start of warmer weather and you are looking forward to a

summer filled with special times with family and friends. Summer is a wonderful time to

participate in activities around your community, practice your English and have fun!

The teachers and administrators at ISSofBC have been busy thinking about the kinds

of community connections that might be important and interesting for you. Being in the

community helps you to learn more English, and also helps you to become more in-

volved in Canadian life. So teachers arrange field trips (when you go out with your

classmates and visit places in the community) and guest

speakers (when people from the community come to your

class and talk to you about their services). Both of these

kinds of events are very important to your learning, be-

cause they give you chances to speak English to different

people, and you learn about different services, and how

things are done in Canada.

This summer, your teacher might take your class on a

fieldtrip to a community centre where you can learn about

the activities you can do there, or they might bring in a

guest speaker to talk to you about becoming a Canadian

citizen. Since summer is such a great time to be outside, teachers might also plan a

barbeque or picnic in a local park. You will have fun with your classmates there, and

maybe you will want to return to that park with you family or friends later in the sum-

mer!

Whatever you do this summer, I hope that you find lots of ways to practice your English

(both in and outside the classroom), be safe and have fun!

A welcome from New Westminster ELSA Manager Andrea Solnes

In the June 2012 issue of the ELSA News:

News Bulletin………………………Pages 2 – 5

Name the Newsletter results…………Page 5

Student Submissions……………Pages 6 – 8

Community Event Listings……Pages 9 – 12

Did you know?.………………………..Page 13

Word on the Street……………………Page 14

Tips for learning English…………….Page 15

Our Class Field Trip………………….Page 16

THE

ELSA News

- Andrea

THE ISS ELSA Newsletter • June to Aug. 2012 2

MAPLE RIDGE It is amazing that classes

at our Maple Ridge ELSA lo-cation are almost wrapping up for summer holidays!

June 28, 2012 will be our last day of classes before the

summer break for our loca-tion and we will reopen on September 5.

It seems like it was just yesterday that our ELSA

Maple Ridge program started, but in fact we have been operating in Maple

Ridge for nine months al-ready.

Our students, teachers

and staff in Maple Ridge have created a strong bond

over this period of time, as well as a tight-knit working circle that has generated a

positive and diverse learning environment where students

are truly enjoying their Eng-lish learning experience and gaining a sense of cultural

awareness that is open and welcoming.

One of the most exciting

parts of our program and a favorite event for students

in Maple Ridge is our monthly guest speaker or field trip. We have had a

variety of guest speakers and field trips take place at our Maple Ridge site, some

of the most memorable guest speakers have been a

visit from the Ridge Mead-ows RCMP, the recent TransLink presentations

and tours, and an informa-tive overview of how Work-

Safe BC can be accessed. In regards to fieldtrips, stu-dents have enjoyed visiting

various services and agen-cies that have taught them

aspects of Canadian culture and civil society such as the trip to the Ridge Meadows

Recycling Depot, a visit to the Maple Ridge Friends in Need Foodbank, and a tour

of the Maple Ridge Public Library.

As a relatively new ELSA location and based on the feedback received from both

teachers and students, I’m proud to state that we are

all thriving and sharing newcomer experiences and stories and best of all learn-

ing from each other. We certainly look forward

to receiving new students to

join in on the experience, so if you know anyone who

might benefit or be inter-ested in taking FREE Eng-lish classes at our Maple

Ridge ELSA location please tell them to contact Eysa Al-

varez at 604-942-1777 (ext. 1586) or email her at

[email protected]. Please note, our Literacy/Level 1 and 2/3 Level

classes are filling up quickly; however, we still

have plenty of room for stu-dents interested in joining our Level 4/5 class.

Most importantly, please remember that despite the ELSA summer closure you

are still welcome to come in to our office during the

summer break if you need any assistance from our Building Together team re-

garding settlement, employ-ment and volunteer issues.

Also, if you have any questions or wish to register into the ELSA program you

are welcome to drop-in dur-ing our summer hours on: July 3 to July 12, July 30 to

August 2 and August 21 to August 31. The ELSA Maple

Ridge office will be open during these dates Monday to Thursday from 8:30 am

to 4pm.








News Bulletin

mailto:[email protected]


RICHMOND

ISSofBC is starting tutoring

classes in Richmond for adults

and high school aged students.

Some of the classes already of-

fered are: Phonics (Literacy/

Level 1) and Oral English Skills

(Level 2/3) and Preparing for

the Citizenship test. Theses are

classes of 12 to 16 stu-

dents. One-on-one tutoring or

small group tutoring for two to

six people is also available.

For students from Grade 7

to 12, After School English Up-

grading is available.

For students in Grade 8 to 12,

ISSofBC is offering a Summer

English and Arts Pro-

gram, from

August 13

to 31 2012.

For more

informa-

tion on

any of

those classes, please contact

Karen at 604-233-7077 ext.

1353.

Amy, the ISSofBC Settlement

Worker in Richmond is at the

Alexandra site every Friday.

You can see her directly to

make an appointment.

TRI-CITIES

It has been a very busy year at

our ELSA Program in Tri-

Cities. As you might know,

most of our classes have been

full with some having very long

waitlists. Just to remind every-

one, August 10 will be the last

day of classes before summer

break and we will re-open on

Wednesday September 05,

2012. The ELSA office will be

open during that time in case

you have questions and need

assistance.

ISSofBC is excited to offer sum-

mer English course for immi-

grant students in Coquitlam

(Grades 8-12) from August 13 –

31. Classes will be held at #136-

3030 Lincoln Avenue .

Students will be able to polish

critical English skills in our

three hour morning class, and

enjoy dramatic self-expression

in the two hour afternoon class,

with energetic, professionally

certified instructors.

Register before July 16th and

get 10 per cent off! To register

for classes call 604-684-2561

ext. 2180. Find out more at

issbc.org/afterschool.

Learning in Action Program

has proven to be a very success-

ful program. Our first group

field trip was to hockey game at

Poirier Sports and Leisure

Complex in Coquitlam. We

watched Coquitlam Express vs.

Nanaimo Clippers game. Co-

quitlam Express won! All of us

really enjoyed the game. Even

Mayor Richard Steward

joined us for a picture opportu-

nity.








News Bulletin

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Steward joined the Tri-Cities Learning-in-Action students at the

Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre to watch the Coquitlam Express hockey team play a game.









NEW WESTMINSTER

The New Westminster

ISSofBC ELSA program contin-

ues to help students make vital

connections to the community

through various guest speakers,

field trips and other special

events.

A recent highlight was a visit

by Translink – complete with a

tour of an actual Translink bus

where students learned how to

be polite and helpful on the

bus, how to put bikes on the

bike rack, and about safety fea-

tures on transit.

Other guests speakers in-

cluded a visit by Constable

Bruce Ballingall from New

Westminster Police Commu-

nity Services who shared safety

tips with students and informa-

tion about calling 911, Brian

Oentoro from Community Vol-

unteer Connections who talked

about the importance of volun-

teering in Canada and informa-

tion about finding volunteer

work, and Harvinder Dhariwal

from People’s Law School

about employment laws. As

well, our afternoon level 2 class

was lucky enough to have four

special lessons presented to

them about dental care by a

group of UBC dental hygiene

students.

Recent field trips included

visits to BCAA to find out more

about travel and auto insurance

from an Insurance Advisor, the

Fraser Discovery Centre to

learn about the local history of

the area, the BC law courts to

observe how the court system

works, Pacific Central Station

in Vancouver to find out how to

take buses and trains to travel

throughout Canada, and a com-

munity walk-about to explore

places in our local neighbour-

hood.

Teachers in New Westmin-

ster are busy planning more

events for the upcoming

months to help students learn

about services and places in

their new community. We rely

on student feedback to help us

improve these field trips and

presentations and to match

your needs and interests. Re-

member to talk to your teacher

about what you like and don’t

like about every trip and

speaker! And don’t be afraid to

offer suggestions about the

kinds of community connec-

tions you want to make.

VANCOUVER

As of March the ELSA Regis-

tration Office has moved from

their location of

four years on

the 6th floor

to co-

locating

with the In-

ternational

Studies pro-

gram on the 5th

floor. If you

haven’t seen our new office

space yet, please feel free to

come say hello to our friendly

office staff in room 515!

A few classrooms have a

new technology called a

SMART board installed which

is very similar to a large touch-

screen computer. The teachers

are very excited to have this in-

teractive and fun technology in

the classroom and we hope all

classes will have a chance to

use this technology in their les-

son every now and then.

Client washrooms are being

renovated to have a new and

fresh look. The student lunch-

room and client study room has

also been recently renovated

into the new student lounge

and lunchroom. We apologize

for any inconven-

ience these con-

structions may

cause but we think

you will really like

the new facilities

once they are all

complete!

News Bulletin









News Bulletin SQUAMISH

With classes nearly at

maximum capacity and the ad-

dition of a 6/7 class, the

Squamish ELSA program had

plenty to celebrate during its

first Open House on May 24,

2012. Since opening its doors in

Sept. 2011, the Squamish ELSA

program has continued to grow

each and every month. New

students are starting in the Lit-

eracy-Level 3 as well as the

Level 4/5 morning classes on a

regular basis while many more

potential students are asking

about starting classes in the

evenings.

Thankfully, so many higher

level students asked for evening

classes that the program is

happy to announce Squamish is

scheduled to start offering eve-

ning ELSA classes in August

2012. The new 6/7 class will

take place on Monday and

Wednesday evenings

from 6:30pm to

9:30pm at the

Squamish Language

College, in addition to

three hours on

weekly online in-

struction via the

ISSofBC Moodle site.

The announcement of the new

6/7 evening class has been so

well received the class was half

full within the first two weeks

of registration.

If anyone is interested in eve-

ning classes in Squamish,

please register at the downtown

Squamish ELSA office soon.

With many hopeful students

visiting the Squamish office

regularly, Squamish also

started offering International

Studies tutoring sessions in

April. The tutoring topics vary,

depending on the needs to the

students but sessions

may include gram-

mar, pronuncia-

tion, reading, or

writing develop-

ment. Tutoring

takes place

throughout the

week in the after-

noons in groups or in one-on-

one sessions. Visitors, landed

immigrants and Canadian citi-

zens are welcomed to sign up

for the fee-for-service program.

For details on the available In-

ternational Studies tutoring

program, visit the Squamish

Language College located at

38085 Second Ave, Unit #101

in downtown Squamish or call

604-567-4490.

The Language College will be

closed for the summer from

July 16 to July 27 but will re-

open on Monday July 30.

Results of the Name the Newsletter contest

The ISSofBC ELSA newsletter has a

new name! Students, teachers and ad-

ministrative staff voted for the new name

of the newsletter to be ELSA News!

The winning name received 35.5% of

the vote , followed by ELSA Express re-

ceiving 14.5 % of the vote, ELSA

Reader and Onward

Immigrant both re-

ceived13% of the

vote.

Thank you to everyone who participated

in the contest by submitting name sug-

gestions and to everyone who voted!

THE ISS ELSA Newsletter • June to Aug. 2012








Do you have an opinion about

something you read in the

newsletter?

If so, we want to hear from you. Write a

LETTER TO THE EDITOR!

Write about something you

read in the ELSA newslet-ter, but please keep it short.

Don’t forget to write you

first and last name on your

letter and please also in-

clude your class level and location.

Please send all submissions to:

[email protected]

6

Student Submissions

In my English class in the

ELSA program…

My English learning experience

in the ELSA program has been

unforgettable. The content was

rich and functional, and the

teachers were helpful and pa-

tient. It helped me to improve

my English effectively. When I

joined the class one year ago, I

couldn’t speak English

smoothly. However, I could

communicate with local people.

During this period, my teachers

gave me lots of help and my

English improved

every week. All of

them are good

teachers, including

level 4,5 and others.

They listened to my

questions carefully then pa-

tiently answered me even

though my questions were not

always clear and accurate. They

also corrected my mistakes,

step by step, and gave me the

right advice time after time.

Every teacher in our school has

lots of different ways to assist us

in improving our English by lis-

tening to the radio, watching

DVDs, group discussion on

some popular topic in the news-

paper, guest speaker presenta-

tions, field trip, etc. I got many

opportunities to talk and discuss

with teachers, other people and

classmates. All of them are very

interesting ways to learn if you

participate in the activities. I’m

into this class, and I like it.

Furthermore, my English class

is very functional class, espe-

cially my EFW class which in-

cluded the main job search com-

ponents: for example, how to

position yourself in Canada’s job

market, how to find a job suc-

cessfully in Canada, basic skills

you need, etc.

All of this knowledge is very im-

portant and useful, and it was a

new experience for me to learn

about it. Recently, I got an op-

portunity to join a meeting about

Introduction to Work-

Safe BC Hiring Proc-

ess. The speaker was

a Human Resources

manager. She told us

the WorkSafe BC inter-

view must include a

“behavioural interview” process.

Then there were lots of people

who asked questions about it. I

think it may have been a very

new concept for many partici-

pants in this meeting but not for

me, because I had just learned it

in my EFW class two weeks

ago. Thanks for our teacher’s

work.

So, if someone wants to ask me

what kind of English school is

better for new immigrants in

Metro Vancouver, and my an-

swer is that ELSA program at

ISSofBC is one of the best

choices. — Wayne Wu, Level

5, Vancouver.

In my English class in the ELSA

program… Sometimes we laugh to-

gether and sometimes we share anxi-

ety together. Even if I have any ques-

tions or any problems about living in

Canada, I can solve them by myself

because you

are beside

me.

Before I

met you, I

was con-

fused about

everything.

Where

should I go? What should I do? But

now everything has changed.

This class and my teacher helped me

adapt to Canada. This class means to

me, no more roaming as a new immi-

grant!

– Nami Cho, Level 4, Squamish.



In my English class in the

ELSA program…

It was a really huge surprise

that I couldn’t understand and

speak English after landing in

Canada even though I studied

English for a long time in China.

This was true and it made me

feel very helpless at that time.

One month later, I

began my English

class, Level 4 in

an ELSA program.

There, the teach-

ers are so nice,

friendly and

knowledgeable

and they under-

stood newcomers

very well. I felt re-

laxed instead of

nervous. They not

only taught me

lots of information about Can-

ada, but also gave some good

suggestions to solve problems

that I had never had before. As

well they have many different

ways to teach me, for example,

playing games, watching TV or

video, listening to radio or

tapes, showing pictures, dis-

cussing some topics, field trips

and so on. This makes leaning

easier and more interesting. Af-

ter two or three months, I found

I could speak and hear English,

maybe not very fluently, but I

did communicate in English.

This gave me more confidence

and I felt more hope for the fu-

ture.

On the other hand, I met many

new friends who came from

many different countries. In

class, we learned English to-

gether from the teachers and

discussed different cultures with

others. This opened my eyes

and mind, and made me think

about this big com-

plicated world. After

class, we kept in

touch and some of

us became good

friends who cared

and helped each

other. And we often

get together to have

meals, visit some

one’s home or go

shopping. This is a

good chance for me

to practice English, improve my

communication skills and to get

to know each other well.

The ELSA program is really a

good place for newcomers to

learn English and meet friends.

Now I am continuing to learn

English in Level 5 class and

hope to make big progress as

soon as possible. Then I can

find a job here without language

difficulty. I know it is not easy

but it will come with the help of

the ELSA program.

– Kathleen Li, Level 5,

Richmond.








Student Submissions

In my English class in

the ELSA program… I

started my ELSA class

from September 2011.

Before the class my Eng-

lish reading was good

but my speaking was

poor because I had few

chances to speak to

other people in my own

country.

When our family arrived

in Canada my wife

wanted to improve my

English quickly. She

even spoke to me in Eng-

lish. When I answered

her, she always com-

plained I could not say a

whole sentence fluently. I

didn’t like to speak Eng-

lish to her.

In ELSA class, the

teacher told us we need

to practice more - as

much as possible - and

didn’t mind if we made

some mistakes when we

spoke. Every day in class

we talk to each other and

talk with our teacher. We

had a couple of field trips

where we can talk to na-

tive Canadians. I feel my

speaking is much better

now.

–Lancher Zhang, Level

5, Maple Ridge

8 THE ISS ELSA Newsletter • June to Aug. 2012








Student Submissions

Thank you ELSA!

I had a car accident al-

most one month ago in

Canada. This was the first

time ever and it was abso-

lutely not my fault. Still I

was worried about it be-

cause I am a newcomer

here and I have difficulty

speaking English, particu-

larly in an accident when

I feel scared and worried.

After that accident, I

was very shocked, but I

tried to think and act

quickly. Fortunately the

monthly curriculum in

March was Law at that

time at ELSA,

and I got

some informa-

tion about ac-

cidents. I took

pictures and

wrote down

the plate

numbers.

Later I re-

ported the ac-

cident to the

police officer.

That was the

first challenge and then

my challenges continued:

I called ICBC to report my

accident, I visited the

RCMP to ask about the

police report paper, I met

the adjuster at the ICBC

claim centre to check and

estimate my car’s damage

and reported again (I had

already practiced twice, so

I could ex-

plain calmly),

and finally, I

talked with

the auto body

shop man-

ager… Any-

ways, I

learned with

papers at

ELSA, but

thankfully I

could use

what I had

learned quite well.

I moved here one

and a half years ago and

started attending ELSA

class. I am happy to learn

and especially enjoy

learning information

about Canada that my in-

structor teaches based on

a monthly curriculum. In

addition to this, I am

happy to keep in touch

with good classmates.

They help each other and

provide many kinds of in-

formation, too. That is one

of ELSA’s big benefits.

One day I have to

say goodbye to ELSA.

That is just goodbye to

the class. I already have

good memories of my life

in ELSA and the nice peo-

ple I met there. These will

be very important sources

to have a successful and

happy life in Canada.

- You Mi Kim, Level 5,

Coquitlam

Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Rich-

mond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ●

New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ●

Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ●

Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancou-

ver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-

Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New West-

minster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple

Community

Event

Listings


TRI-CITIES

Looking for something to educate, entertain or

inspire your kids over summer? Check out

these summer activities:

www.coquitlam.ca/ www.artsconnect.ca

● Celebrate Canada’s 145th

Birthday in Tri-

Cities! COQUITLAM – Free, family friendly

events with fireworks in the evening will be held

at Lafarge Lake and Evergreen Cultural Centre,

1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam starting at noon.

PORT COQUITLAM - check for more informa-

tion at http://m.portcoquitlam.ca/

Page5974.aspx

PORT MOODY – festivities will begin at Rocky

Point Park at 12– noon.

● Coquitlam Farmers Market - Farmers Mar-kets are community gathering places where lo-cal producers sell their goods directly to the public, and where residents can enjoy the tal-ents of local musicians, socialize with their neighbours, and connect with and learn of the resources available within their community.

Poirier Street Market SUNDAYS, May 13th – October 28th, 2012, 9 am – 1pm Dogwood Pavilion Parking Lot (624 Poirier Street at Winslow, Coquitlam) Spirit Square Market FRIDAYS, June 15th – September 14th, 3pm – 7pm Spirit Square (3005 Burlington Drive at Pinetree, Coquitlam) SFU Pocket Farmers Market WEDNESDAYS, May 16th – October 31st,

11am – 3 pm (Cornerstone Square, University High Street at SFU, Burnaby) ● Golden Spike Days Festival - Come cele-brate with us June 30, July 1 & 2, 2012 at Rocky Point Park! Festival Hours on Saturday are 11am-11pm, on Sunday 11am-11pm and on Monday 11am-6pm.

●11th Annual Korean Heritage Day Festival

will be held on Saturday August 4 at Blue

Mountain Park, 975 King Albert Street. Free ad-

mission and shuttle service between Lougheed

skytrain station and festival site.

●Summer is a great time to explore many local

farms where you can pick up your own fresh

fruit such as strawberries, blueberries and oth-

ers. A local favourite is Krause Berry Farm. You

can learn more about them at http://

www.krauseberryfarms.com

For a list of other U-pick blueberry locations visit

http://www.bcblueberry.com/site/

find_bc_blueberries/u-pick_blueberries.html

http://www.coquitlam.ca/Libraries/Recreation_Parks_Culture_Documents/Programs_-_2012_Summer_Program_Listing_Guide.sflb.ashx

http://m.portcoquitlam.ca/Page5974.aspx

http://m.portcoquitlam.ca/Page5974.aspx

http://www.krauseberryfarms.com

http://www.krauseberryfarms.com

http://www.bcblueberry.com/site/find_bc_blueberries/u-pick_blueberries.html

http://www.bcblueberry.com/site/find_bc_blueberries/u-pick_blueberries.html

http://makebakegrow.com/









Ridge ● Squamish ● Vancouver ● Richmond ● Tri-Cities ● New Westminster ● Maple Ridge ● Squamish ●

Community

Event

Listings


MAPLE RIDGE ● June 2 – Pitt Meadows Day & Youth Fest: Start the day off with a delicious pancake breakfast than watch the parade. After the Parade watch live youth bands from 12-6pm. For details call 604-465-2447. Pitt Meadows Day event ends with a spec-tacular fireworks finale. ● June 23 – Webster’s Corners Day: This annual family event features games and interactive activities for kids of all ages at Webster’s Corners Neighbourhood Park (256th Street and Dewdney Trunk Road). For de-tails email [email protected] or call Val at 604-463-5311 or Mary at 604-466-3333 ● July 1 – Canada Day Celebration: The official ceremonies, flag-raising and awards will begin at 12:30pm. Entertainment, singing, dancing, ac-tivities, food and fun continue through-out the day. Also, come out to the Haney Farmers Market from 9am-2pm while you are celebrating Canada Day. The market & celebrations will be held in Memorial Peace Park located at 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, BC. ● July 8 – Adstock 12: Adstock is an annual free out-door mu-sic festival that showcases local youth bands in Memo-rial Peace Park from 1-8pm. For more information email [email protected] ● July 9, 23, August 13, 27 - Music on the Wharf: Join us beside the Fra-ser River for a summer mu-sic series at Port Haney

Wharf. For more details email [email protected] or call 604-463-5311. ● July 4, 11, 18, 25 – Summer Sere-nade: Come to Spirit Square in Pitt Mead-ows from 7-9pm to enjoy summer music series of performances organized by Bruce James Orchestra ● July 14 & 15 – The 12th annual Carib-bean Festival!: One of the best Caribbean festivals in BC, it fea-tures live Caribbean bands, colourful cos-tumes, dancing, arts and crafts, a draw for a trip to the Car-ibbean, and delicious food! For de-tails, visit www.caribbeanfest.ca. The Caribbean festival is held at Memorial Peace park located at 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, BC. ● July 19-22 – Pitt Meadows Bard on the Bandstand: Come out to Spirit Square in Pitt Meadows and watch an amazing performance of

Shakespeare’s classic: Love’s Labor’s Lost. This is a free

event put on by Emerald Pig Theatrical Society.

Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, your family and a donation for the Friends in Need

Food Bank. For de-tails, email [email protected] or visit www.emeraldpig.ca.

● July 26-29 – Maple Ridge Bard on the Bandstand: Come out to the Bandstand at Memorial Peace Park and watch an amazing performance of

Shakespeare’s clas-sic: Love’s Labor’s Lost. This is a free event put on by Em-erald Pig Theatrical Society. Bring a lawn chair, a blan-ket, your family and a donation for the Friends in Need Food Bank. For de-tails visit www.emeraldpig.ca. ● July 28 & 29 – Country Fest!:

Come out to the Annual Country Fest at the Albion Fairgrounds! For details, visit www.mrpmcountryfest.com. ● August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 – Summer Serenade: Come to Spirit Square in Pitt Meadows from 7-9pm to enjoy summer music series of performances organized by Bruce James Orchestra. EVERY Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in August – Lunchtime Concert Series: Hosted by the BIA. Bring your lunch and lawn chair or blanket to Memorial Peace Park at 12 noon for an hour of free music featur-ing performances by local musicians. ● August 18 – Breastfest: The fifth annual Breast-fest fundraiser musical event at the Memorial Peace Park from 3-9pm will promote breast cancer awareness among young adults. Mu-sic and entertainment will be featured by local youth bands. For details, visit

their Facebook page.

http://www.caribbeanfest.ca

http://www.emeraldpig.ca

VANCOUVER

● Vancouver Farmers Mar-

kets (at various locations)

www.eatlocal.org/

markets.html

● May 29th - June 3rd Van-

couver International Chil-

dren’s Festival (not a free

event)

www.childrensfestival.ca/

●Car Free Vancouver -

Saturday June 16th Kitsilano

www.carfreevancouver.org/

locations/kitsilano/

Sunday June 17th Kitsilano,

Main Street, Commercial

Drive, West End

● June 22nd – 24th Point Grey

Fiesta (some events are not

free)

www.pointgreyfiesta.org/

● June 24th – July 3rd TD Van-

couver International Jazz Fes-

tival (some events are not

free)www.coastaljazz.ca/

td_vancouver_international_j

azz_festival

●June 28th – July 8th Greek

Summer Festival

http://

vancouvergreeksummer-

fest.com/










Community

Event

Listings


NEW WESTMINSTER

● IMBY (In My Back Yard): Con-

necting seniors to Services Fair is

at the River Market in New West-

minster on June 2, 2012 9:30am

to 1pm. This annual information

fair is for seniors and their families

wanting free information and re-

sources about not-for-profit sen-

iors services.

● Westminster Savings Free

Swim & Gym: Starting June 6,

Westminster Savings and Canada

Games Pool have partnered to

provide a free swim and gym on

the first Wednesday of each

month in 2012. Free admission

will be offered from 2:30 - 4pm.

● Sapperton Day Street Festi-

val: This is a non-profit community

event that brings over 10,000 visi-

tors into Sapperton between Sher-

brooke and Braid Street. Enjoy

live music, craft fair, market place

and much more on June 10, 2012,

11 am to 4 pm. Admission is free

and proceeds go to the Royal Co-

lumbian Hospital Foundation.

● Arts in the Park: This is a free

event with children’s entertainer,

hands on art stations and all day

entertainment for the whole family

at Moody Park, June 17. Watch

Moody Park burst with colour, mu-

sic and dance! Bring a picnic

lunch or buy one from the conces-

sion stand.

● Royal City Show & Shine: On

July 8, hundreds of custom, vin-

tage, and generally cool cars are

coupled with live entertainment,

great food, fun interactive activi-

ties and 100,000 people on Co-

lumbia Street of Downtown New

West! More information - 604-524

-4996.

●T.G.I.F. Dancing in the Square:

Dance under the evening sky in

Hyack Square, downtown, foot of

8th St. at Columbia, New Westmin-

ster. Learn from some of the best

dance instructors starting at 7 pm

and bop till you drop until 9pm.

FREE July 6 – Zumba, July 13 –

Break-dance and Ballroom, July

20 - Belly Dancing, July 27 –

Salsa, August 10 –Latin, August

17 - Belly Dancing, August 24 –

Swing Wrap Up Party!

● Queensborough Community

Centre Summer Sizzle: This is a

free event every summer Wednes-

days, 1 pm, rain or shine, at Ryall

Park, 920 Ewen Avenue, New

Westminster. July 4 – Pancho and

Sal, July 11 – Magic, July 18 – 1

woman circus, July 25 – Shar-

maine and Luvena, August 1 –

Bobby Boogaloo, August 8 –

Magic, August 15 – Clown, August

22 – Ventriloquist, August 29 –

Giovanni Zenone. For more infor-

mation, call 604-525-7388.

http://www.eatlocal.org/markets.html

http://www.eatlocal.org/markets.html

http://www.childrensfestival.ca/

http://www.carfreevancouver.org/locations/kitsilano/

http://www.carfreevancouver.org/locations/kitsilano/

http://www.pointgreyfiesta.org/

http://www.coastaljazz.ca/td_vancouver_international_jazz_festival



http://vancouvergreeksummerfest.com/



http://www.newwestcity.ca/database/rte/files/Canada%20Games%20Pool%20poster.pdf










Community

Event

Listings


SQUAMISH

● Every Saturday from May 12 to Oc-

tober 27—The Squamish Farmers'

Market from 10 am to 3 pm. The

Squamish Farmers' Market Connect-

ing the Sea to Sky Corridor with their

food, the arts and community spirit!

We have a fantastic venue of live mu-

sicians and community performances.

The farmer’s market is located near

the intersection of Cleveland Avenue

and Victoria Street.

● June 4 to June 15 -Microscapes: Minerals Beyond the Naked Eye from 10 am to 5 pm Microscapes: Min-erals Beyond the Naked Eye show-cases how beautiful rocks can look in thin section, which is a technique for identifying rocks. Free for members or with regular admission, on now until June 15th.

● July 11 to 15 Squamish Mountain

Festival. Various Venues throughout

Squamish. The Squamish Mountain

Festival features climbing events,

shows, film and more. See website for

information.

www.squamishmountainfestival.com/

● August 2 “Into the Woods” art ex-

hibit opening soiree from 7 to 9 pm at

the Squamish Arts Council Building

park located at 37950 Cleveland Ave.

● August 2 to 6 55th Annual Squam-

ish Days Loggers Sports Festival.

Free events include World champion-

ship chair carving, bed races, down-

town parade and more! For more de-

tails, visit: squamishdays.ca.

RICHMOND

● Black Bond Books' Annual Charity at Lansdowne Centre -

May 25 to June 2. Pick up some summer reading and support a

great community cause at Black Bond Books' annual charity side-

walk sale. Five percent of all sales will be donated to the Richmond

Food Bank Society. They'll also be collecting canned food and gen-

tly used books for donation. www.lansdowne-centre.com

● Community Picnic - June 21 Join the Thompson Community

Association as it celebrates the coming summer season. Free BBQ,

games, activities and entertainment. This event runs from 6:30 to

8:30pm at Thompson Community Centre 5151 Granville Ave Rich-

mond, BC. For more information, call 604-238-8422.

www.richmond.ca/news/richmondcalendar/EventSearch.htm

● Summer Night Market - The Summer Night Market in Richmond

is back for 2012 from May 11 to September at 1612631 Vulcan Way

in Richmond. There are street snacks from all over Asia and

Europe, lots of mini-festivals, tons of shopping and plenty of enter-

tainment on the performance stage. For more information, call 604-

278-8000. Fridays and Saturdays: 7pm - 12am. Sundays and Holi-

days: 7pm - 11pm

http://www.summernightmarket.com

● Music at the Cannery - Join the Gulf of Georgia Cannery every

Friday night from July 6 to August 31 for their summer music se-

ries. A wide range of musical tastes will be represented at Gulf of

Georgia Cannery 12138 Fourth Ave., Richmond, BC. Performers

take to their outdoor stage at 6:30pm.

www.gulfofgeorgiacannery.com

●Steveston Dragon Boat Festival - August 25. Steveston Village

and the waters of the Fraser River will come alive with the 3rd An-

nual Steveston Dragon Boat Festival. More than 40 teams are ex-

pected to compete in fun and exciting races. Other activities include

dragon boat instruction, non-stop entertainment and fabulous food

and beverages. Admission is free, and funds will be raised for the

Richmond Food Bank.

http://www.stevestondragonboatfestival.ca

http://www.squamishmountainfestival.com/

http://www.lansdowne-centre.com

http://www.summernightmarket.com

http://www.gulfofgeorgiacannery.com

http://www.stevestondragonboatfestival.ca


BY CLAIRE PINKETT

Are you looking for a fun way to improve your reading and listening skill during the summer

months? How about taking a vacation in your own home or in the library? All you need is a com-

puter and the Internet.

Did you know that you can learn a lot about British Columbia and the interesting things that you

can see and do in our province by visiting the www.hellobc.com website? In addition to the infor-

mation about places, transportation, and activities that you can read on the website, there are

many videos that you can watch to practice your listening skills. One great thing about the videos

is that you can listen to them again and again. Each time you listen you may understand a little

bit more and may learn a few new words. There are three kinds of videos: Documentaries, Field

Reports and Video Blogs. Try them all. Another great thing about the videos is that you can

travel to different places in BC without leaving your own home.

Here are a few tips to help you when you go to this website. First enter the website address:

www.hellobc.com. Next, look at the menu bar below the large picture at the top of the page. It

looks like this:

1. Choose a topic you are interested in and click on the menu. If you move your

mouse over some words they may change colour or you may see a small hand

on the screen. Click on these words and you will go to a new page.

2. Maybe you don’t want to see this new page. You want to go back to the previ-

ous page. Don’t worry. You can click on the “back” button in the top left

corner of your computer screen to take you back to the other page. If you

click the “back” button more than one time, you will keep going back to

pages that you saw earlier.

3. Do you want to go back to the “home” page or first page? It’s easy. Click on the word

“Home” in the menu bar or click on the logo in the top left corner of the page. This

will take you back to the beginning of

your search.

Have fun learning about BC with your family and

friends!

Home About BC

Regions,

Cities &

Routes

Transpor-

tation &

Maps

Things to

Do

Accommo-

dations Blog Videos

Special

Offers

Learn about BC online while improving your English









In each issue of the newsletter, we will ask ELSA students a question and we want to know your answers.

In this issue we asked: “What is your favourite way

to spend your holidays in Can-

In the next issue, we

ask:

“What is your

best memory

of school?”

Anyone interested in responding to the

Word on the Street questions can email

their response to:

[email protected]

by August 15, 2012.








Word on the street

“My favourite place that I spent in

Canada was in Steveston Wharf. It is

located at the border of south Rich-

mond. It was a beautiful day during

last summer. My friend and I saw a

lot of ships at the wharf. We took a lot

of pictures of the day. “ — Qing Yun

(Kevin) Liang, Level 4, Vancouver

“ My favourite place is Banff Na-

tional Park. This is the largest

natural park. The scenery is beau-

tiful. Lake Louise is exceptionally

very beautiful. Mountains and

trees reflected in the water, like a

beautiful picture. I walked around

the lake, enjoyed the good times

and was very pleased. I hope to go

to Banff National Park again for

the holidays.” - Hong Liu, Level 4

Vancouver

“My favourite place in

Canada where I go dur-

ing my holiday is Whis-

tler because I love to go

on top of the mountain

to take pictures of the

beautiful scenery. I like

to go on vacation there

because I enjoy the

night life as well. And I

like to also ride the

gondolas.” - Arlene

Alviarne, Level 4,

Vancouver

“The Steveston Village south of

Richmond. When we arrived

there, first we went to Gulf of

Georgia Cannery National His-

toric Site. After that, the public

fishing wharfs is next choice. I

like to sit in the coffee shop,

have dinner and watch the

beaches.” - Chao Ping (Victor)

Tsao, Level 4, Vancouver



Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for

learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning

English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English

faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ●

Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for

learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning

English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English faster ● Tips for learning English

Tips for Learning English Faster

BY CLAIRE PINKETT

Summer is almost here. What are you

planning to do during the summer

months? Will you travel or stay at home

with family and friends? Do you want to

improve your listening skills and learn

more about your province at the same

time? Here is something you can do at

home or at the library – anywhere that

there is a computer and the Internet. Visit

www.hellobc.com and watch some of the

videos about places and activities in British

Columbia.

You think listening

to English videos

is difficult. How

can you improve

your listening

skills?

First, go to the “Videos” page on the web-

site. Look at the different topics in the

three categories: Documentaries, Field Re-

ports, or Travellers’ Video Blogs, and find

one that you are interested in. Next, go

back to one of the other pages on the web-

site (About BC; Regions, Cities & Routes,

Things to Do, etc) and read a little bit

about the topic you are interested in, mak-

ing note of any important new vocabulary.

Now go back to the “Videos” page. Turn off

the volume on your computer or external

speakers. You are

going to watch the

video without any

sound. Watch the

video – without

sound – and try to

imagine what the

speaker is saying

about the images

and pictures. Tell

the story to your-

self. Next, watch the video again, this time

with sound. Do not stop the video. Relax

and listen to the whole video. How much

did you understand? 50 per cent ? Less

than 50 per cent? More than 50 per

cent? Watch the video with sound a sec-

ond time – pausing the video when you

want to check a word or phrase. Finally,

watch the video with sound a third time.

How much did you understand this time?

Did you understand more than you did the

first time? You can do this with other vid-

eos too!

The secret to improving your listening is to

relax. Don’t try to understand every word.

Try to understand the main idea. Watch

videos without sound and try to imagine,

predict or guess what the speaker is saying

before listening to the video. Get into the

habit of doing this and you will be sur-

prised how much more you understand!

Improve you listening skills easily









Our class field trip

Connecting a field trip

to real life

On May 23, an ELSA Level 1 class in Vancou-ver went to the library. Ten out of thirteen stu-dents got library cards, everyone looked at the ESL books and the books in Chinese, Viet-namese, Farsi and Rus-sian and everyone en-

joyed reading some of the books in the

children’s section.

The students decided to read children’s books to the children in the Child Care Centre. They spent some time in class reading the books with a partner. On May 29, the students went into

the Child Care Centre and read their books to the children. It was a

good time.


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