So you want to study English. Are you afraid of flying? No? Then get ready to open your parachute and jump. If you catch a prevailing wind, you’ll end up in Canada, probably in the province of Ontario (which means ‘Beautiful Water’), and quite likely in the beautiful city of Toronto.
But before you jump, ask yourself a couple of questions. Could I survive in a land with thousands of lakes and rivers, wild parklands with towering cliffs, waterfalls and sand dunes, dense forest, canyons and gorges, caves, moose, wolves and black bears, farms, and ranches, where I could walk a thousand kilometres and not meet one other human being?
Would I like a place where the sweat pours off me in the summertime and I’m too hot even in a bikini, and in the winter I need snowshoes just to get across the street, and I’d rather just lock the windows and doors and sit in front of the fireplace with my friends while the wind howls outside and the snow is piling up to the roof?
How about a country billed by the United Nations as the best country in the world in which to live, a city international ratings agencies call one of the top ten cities in the world in which to live, the United Nations calls the most multicultural in the world, and the business magazines call one of the best cities in the world in which to do business? If yes, then ….. Welcome to Ontario!
Tell Me More!
Ontario is a million square kilometres of natural wonder. It is Canada’s first choice tourist destination.
Ontario has 250,000 lakes and more kilometres of rivers and streams than anywhere else in North America and more lakeside resorts than anywhere else in the world. The Great Lakes are the largest body of fresh water in the world. Ten percent of Ontario is parkland, divided among 260 provincial parks, much of which can only be reached by boat or plane. Would you believe that southern Ontario is in the centre of North America!
Ontario is a place of contrasts, with the most snowmobile trails in the world and yet 400 golf courses. The First Nations’ Pow Pow is North America’s largest; we hold one of North America’s largest winter fairs; and one of North America’s largest winter carnivals, alongside the longest skating rink in the world, takes place in Ottawa. The biggest Oktoberfest beer festival outside Munich is in Kitchener.
Toronto means ‘Meeting Place’ in the Huron language - a good name for the world’s most cosmopolitan city. It is Canada’s 1 visitor destination. Toronto is the home of 45,000 Koreans, 60,000 Poles, 100,000 Greeks, 200,000 Chinese, 300,000 West Indians, 400,000 Italians.
Some of its names and nicknames past and present are Toronto, York, Muddy York, Toronto the Good, The City of Steeples, Hogtown, Hollywood North, T.O.
Toronto has the world’s largest Caribbean festival, and the biggest Country Fair in the world (CNE).
Only London and New York sell more theatre seats; and the second largest film festival in the world takes place in Toronto every year.
If you don’t know how to reach all of these amazing places in Ontario, simply follow Yonge Street, at 1900 kilometres the longest street in the world.
What will it Cost?
Rent will cost you CD$350 or $400/month; Food maybe $250 or $300/month; school fees are typically $500-$800/month.
Toronto is half as expensive as Paris, and twenty percent as expensive as Tokyo. Canada has the lowest food costs based on income and the value of the dollar in the industrialised world.
So?
In, Toronto, you will feel more welcome as a visitor from another culture than in any other place in the world. Toronto is a bid, international city with every kind of convenience you can imagine, yet we live on the edge of a natural paradise for pleasure seekers.
You will find a large number of schools and colleges in Ontario with programs in English as a Second Language, some of them the oldest and the largest in Canada. Our school serve as training grounds for the TOEFL, TOEIC, Cambridge Certificate, and Michigan exams, as well as College-Entrance, Technical and Business English, and schools and universities for the specialised training of Translators and Interpreters. There’s likely no subject in the English Language that you won’t find in Ontario, with its very high standard of education and its powerful economy (40% of Canada’s total production).
A great many of our schools organise activities for the students. These include trips, to Niagara Falls, New York, Chicago, Quebec, the North, Theme Parks, and Casinos, sports such as tennis, skating, rollerblading, skiing, soccer and baseball, often involving a little friendly competition among schools; and student parties.
So, have a look at your goals. If they include an excellent education in the English Language in an exciting place that feels as cosy as a warm blanket, then come to your second home in Ontario.
Enjoy your stay!
