Restyling! Starting with… the Dashboard!

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If you’ve recently logged in you’ll notice that we’ve restyled the dashboard!

We’ve restyled the header bar at the top to include a more noticeable location for the notifications, and we’ve also added a tiny profile picture beside your name to make the header a bit more “personal”.

 

We’ve also restyled the recent activities just to make it more appealing to the eye :)

Over the next few weeks you’ll begin noticing certain areas become restyled. We’re focusing on improving your user experience and interaction, starting with all the wonderful feedback we’ve received so far, so keep them coming!

ESL Student Stories: Yuri from South Korea

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“OMG. Did I just go from Korea to Korea?”

That was what I thought when I just come to Vancouver. Even I was living with my sister, so it’s natural that I thought like that. It seems like possible that I can live without speaking English. Of course there are lots of other country’s students studying abroad though; still there is lots of Korean too.

But my situation was becoming worse, because of school problem. My school had more than 80% of Korean student at that time, so I really disappointed. When I was in Korea, I really expected that I’m going to have many other country’s friends. It was getting better though I decided quit the school after 3 months.

Actually one thing that I have done is hang out with my sister’s friends! My sister has been here for 3yrs, so she has many friends from other country and also Canadian. So that makes me learn English! After my sister left to the Edmonton, still now I’m really enjoying the Vancouver with “my” friends.

Vancouver can be boring city. But if you have nice friends and also that makes you improve your English skill, then it can be exciting! If someone ask me how about your Vancouver life, then I answer that I’m getting my best experience and friends in beautiful city. THX VANCOUVER!!!!

One of the most important things when studying abroad is to make new friends! It may be easy or comfortable to just talk to friends that speaks your native language, but nothing helps you learn English faster than having casual conversations with friends. It may be hard to meet new people abroad at first, but that’s why we have social networking on ESL Explorer. We make it easier for you to get to know all the interesting English students in your school and city!

ESL Student Stories: Thiago

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Working on ESL Explorer, we meet ESL students everyday; and all the time they remind us why we do what we do. Thiago is one of countless students that didn’t have a good experience with their traditional ESL placement agency. Fortunately he liked Vancouver, at least, and he found us! :)

Six months ago I started thinking about going abroad to study English. I already had a good knowledge of the language because I had always studied at home but still, I thought visiting an English speaking country would definitely help me improve my level.

My parents supported the idea right from the beginning because they believed having a strong English knowledge could make a great difference once graduating from University.

I was so excited about the idea that I started my research right away. I read a lot about cities, where I could go, which schools I could attend and which courses I could take. Internet was an excellent tool but as usual, it would give much more information of what I could read so finally, when I felt exhausted about reading articles and dubious forums I decided to go to an agency to get some advice.

I ended up buying a course at a Vancouver ESL School. The agency told me the School and the Program where the right ones for me and that I would love the city.  They were right about the city but unfortunately they were really wrong about the school.

The class that I was joining had already begun the course two weeks prior my arrival, so when I came in, I had to “jump on the train” and try to catch up with my classmates. Now, and because I started late, I am watching my classmates (and the friends I made) going back to their homes while I still have some weeks to stay and finish the program I paid for, recommended by the agency.

This situation was really disappointing. My whole experience was shadowed because of this situation. I am really sad about the agency not telling me this before I enrolled in the program.

Next time I travel I will probably rely more on other students’ advice, because they are the ones that really know about the schools, the courses, and the cities where they lived.
I hope my story is useful for all of you thinking on studying English abroad.

Cheers,
Thiago S., Brasil.

ESL Student Stories: YoungIn from South Korea

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Youngin with friends.
Youngin with friends.

All experiences in Canada are so precious for me. Before I went to Canada, I was so timid and shy. Whenever I tried new things, I hesitated and I didn’t want to do them by myself. Even though I’m still shy but my experiences living alone in other country changed me a lot.

Going abroad is very interesting but living abroad is quite different from it. That’s why I felt afraid when I decided to go to Canada alone. However, I thought studying English was very important and studying English in English speaking countries was a great way to improve English skill quickly. Also, I felt the need to do something by myself and have confidence.

Finally, I arrived in Vancouver. Everything was unfamiliar. When I first met my homestay mother, I couldn’t speak anything because speaking English was not very familiar. I met Korean friends there and they gave a lot of advice to me. It helped me a lot.

As time passed, I could adjust. I made many foreign friends and although I made many mistakes, I could speak simple sentences. I was still missing my family and friends but living in Vancouver was also good.

I wanted to live near school, so I found an apartment downtown. I have lived with 2 Koreans for 7months. I learnt lots of things about housework while I was living with them. At first, we hadn’t hung out a lot but we were getting closer so we still keep in touch even though we came back to Korea.

I changed schools a lot, so total 5 schools I went. I think going lots of schools gave me various experiences. I met many teachers and friends and took many kinds of lessons. It made me not stay in one point. I could encounter various culture and different ideas from them. My area of thinking widen. Also, I was able to find appropriate way to study for me.

At the end, I found that I was enjoying my life in Vancouver. I didn’t want to go back to Korea. My English skill have been improved and I learnt doing something by myself! How can I forget my life in Vancouver! I will remember it forever.

Team introduction: Frederick Lai

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Rockstar!

Hello everyone!

This week’s introduction will be on Frederick Lai! Fred’s been with ESL Explorer since the beginning and handles much of our business development and marketing. He also loves talking to students and has hosted many conversation clubs right here in Vancouver! Without further ado, here’s Fred!

Name and twitter handle?

Frederick Lai, @flai2five

What do you do at ESL Explorer?

I do a bit of everything involving product and business development but currently focused on marketing and sales initiatives in Seoul, South Korea.

What do you tell people about ESL Explorer?

We’re a community of students, teachers and schools that share knowledge about studying and teaching abroad.  We make international education open, accessible and the best experience it can possibly be.

Where do you currently live?

Seoul, South Korea

What do you love about your city?

Seoul is amazingly balanced and it’s all about yin and yang here.  There is so much history and culture in contrast with a rapidly developing city. Walking through the ancient palaces of Gyeongbokgong while reading about the thousands year old Dynasties on my iPad says it all.   Innovative technology and wifi access is everywhere in the city which makes it easy to stay connected to family, friends and our amazing team at ESL Explorer :)

What are you eating for your next meal?

Coincidentally, I am going to pub called ‘Yaletown’ opened by some Korean-Canadians from Vancouver!  I am going there to catch a Vancouver Canucks game while I enjoy a burger and a beer!  I do love a good local bibimbap though – the restaurants here are plenty and ideally priced (cheap!).

Describe something about yourself that most people would be surprised to find out!

Hmm… I’ve played guitar and song-written for 15 years and when I played in a band many moons ago, we recorded and worked with the pianist from the superstar 70′s rock band that raised a lot of hell, Trooper. I’ve also written and recorded a song in Mandarin before.

 

 

Team introduction: Shelley Chen

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This is our designer. She likes to crash into things!

Hey everyone!

John here. I’d like to introduce you all to one-half of our lovely design team. Shelley handles the majority of our design and branding efforts, as well as our social media. You’ve probably seen her posts already on our twitter account (@ESLExplorer) and Facebook pages… but who is the REAL Shelley Chen? Let’s dive into a quick and quirky interview with this talented member of our team!

Name and twitter handle?

Shelley Chen, @caff3inated

What do you do at ESL Explorer?

I make things look good.

What do you tell people about ESL Explorer?

It’s like having friends any where in the world!

Where do you currently live?

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

What do you love about your city?

FOOD! Amazing people, and the relaxing atmosphere.

What are you eating for your next meal?

My next meal will be breakfast. If I can make it happen, would LOVE to have a waffle sandwich from @miurainc, a gem in Vancouver!

Describe something about yourself that most people would be surprised to find out!

I speak 3 languages and own more gadgets than jewelry.

 

Hi, my name is…

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Hi everyone!

My name is John and I’m a part of the development team here at ESL Explorer. I just want to start off by saying that I’m really excited to be contributing to this blog! From time to time I will be discussing exciting new features to be found at ESL Explorer. These features will not only help you connect with other people, but also help you find an ESL school that is a perfect fit for YOU.

There are some really exciting developments happening here at ESL Explorer and I’m extremely excited to be able to share these with you. Stay tuned everyone! You’re all in for a treat :)

ESL Student Interviews: Diana from Brazil

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Diana in Toronto

Diana in Toronto with friends

My name is Diana , I’m 55, am from Brazil and would like to share with you all a little of the wonderful experience that I had by studying English in Toronto-Canada in July-August  this year.

I’ve been there for four weeks three of them attending classes at Eurocentres, a very good school which I’d recommend to everybody as being an excellent option to learn English abroad. The environment of the school was so friendly that I felt completely comfortable there, even though the average age was quite different from mine, of course.

I had studied English long time ago, but I didn’t remember much of anything, because it had been long time since I had stopped. Two years ago I returned to my studies and it was for strictly personal reasons… a son who lives in Toronto, a  sweet daughter-in-law and Canadian friends,  and  in a near future, I hope, I may have grandchildren who will speak English around me… these are enough reasons, I guess J

All the contacts between the school and me, like my registration, enrollment, payments, etc, were made by ESL Explorer Community. I have to congratulate to this Community. Their work is completely different from the work of “traditional agencies”. Their biggest concern is really with the good quality of the schools and with others opportunities that will be offer to the students. Also, as they work on line, the users can obtain the guidance, advice, directly from others users’ experiences, instead of any individual. This make the big difference because gives to students much more freedom to choose, and let them make friends, explore the city, and access English study tools. In my case, they worked efficiently and everything ran perfectly since the first day until the last day of my staying in Toronto.

In my first day, when I got school, although I was a little late, people from the staff were there, with my registration in hands, and immediately took me to a room to make a placement test and then I was conducted to my classroom.

At school, teachers each week make a sort of personal evaluation to see how students are going. After the first week I moved to a higher level class. At first, I thought I could not keep up with other students, because I could not understand well neither what teachers nor classmates were saying. So I talked to my teacher Teresa (an excellent teacher and wonderful person) about my concern. She told me I should try a little more, not to quit, because if I returned to my old class where things seemed easier, although it was a more comfortable situation for me, I would never improve satisfactorily my English. She said I should feel challenged to become better and better. After few days I saw she was right, and was already able to speak and understand well teachers and classmates. My English really improved from then on.

I really had wonderful time in Canada. When you study a new language, you learn not only rules, vocabulary or grammar, but you learn culture, and this is the most interesting part of the process. Moreover… after studying during a long time, if you can go to a country whose mother tongue is that which you were learning, and stay there immersed into its culture and customs for a while, ah… it’s like a crowning of the whole learning process. It’s really rewarding.

ESL Student Interviews: Suyeon from Korea

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Suyeon with her friends

Suyeon with her friends in Australia

This week Suyeon shares with us her experience studying English in Australia! She points out the big, big, BIG difference between studying English in your home country compared to going abroad. When you study English at home you’re often bombarded with tons of memorizing, grammar lessons, etc. whereas studying abroad means you’ll be chatting with friends, learning while you experience new things and having fun. Not only will you learn English faster, you gain precious memories along the way. :)

I had a really great time in Australia while I was studying English. It was my first time abroad, and I did not speak well in English at the time. Fortunately, I met a super great home stay mom, and she helped me in getting familiar with everything which I felt strange. I settled down in Australia very quickly and accepted Australian culture easily, because of her.

I was a bit tired of learning English in Korea because normally I learned English grammar and prepared for TOEIC. Grammar is certainly important in English, but listening, speaking, and writing are also essential for being good at English. When I started to take my classes in AU, I realized learning English is really fun and enjoyable. The institute taught basic grammar, but they always tried to make students speak a lot with various kinds of games.

There were a lot of foreigner students who want to learn English like me. I met fantastic friends who were from Australia, Brazil, Italy, France, German, Japan, Ireland, Poland, Thai, Taiwan, and so on. It was easy to be friends with them, but you need to be open minded to everyone. Talking with foreigner friends is the best way to improving your English speaking. I recommend hanging out with your friends, and please do not only stay at the library. I saw a lot of students who studied at the library after school. What is difference between studying at the library abroad and studying in Korea? Outside of the library, there are a lot of people who you can practice your speaking in English with you. Of course, I’m still keeping in touch with my friends who I met in AU, and one of my best friends is Japanese. Enjoy the time studying abroad and meet various people who might change your way of thinking and even change your life.

ESL Student Interviews: Yusuke, 29 from Tokyo, Japan

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Yusuke at Banff national park.

Yusuke at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

Studying English abroad is truly a life-changing experience. This week we have a personal story from Yusuke from Tokyo, Japan who knows well, the benefits of ESL Explorer. 

“There are no meaningful things in my life.”  Until now, I had lived with this motto.

When I was in Japan, I worked so hard not only on weekdays but also weekends as a job recruiter.  I had already recognized that Japanese economics would never go up any more.  If I continued to stay in Japan, I would become negative and involved in a negative world.  Then I realized, most Japanese companies have needed a person who can do something with English.  Also I decided I wanted to go outside of Japan to look for something and new myself.  Finally, I decided to go to Canada. Fortunately, I had the experience which I stayed in Vancouver for a short time when I was a University student.  It was easy for me to decide, however I still could not imagine whether I would be able to speak English fluently or see a brilliant future.

First, I went to Toronto with expectation and hope.  At the beginning, it was so hard to have a conversation with Canadian people.  Especially, native English speakers in Toronto spoke so fast that I just focused on beautiful sounds and descriptions in English without learning.  But, eventually I recognized that English is just second language for us.  So, all we have to do was to try and use English practically to have a conversation.  After changing my outlook, I was getting better at speaking than before.

During the first week in Toronto, a very interesting thing happened suddenly. When I told my agent about my business objective of this challenge, I received recommendation to talk with Keiko who was the counselor of Gastown Business College in Vancouver.  She said, “Why don’t you try to take an interview with this college now.”  I didn’t expect I would pass because of my English skill.  However, I tried without hesitation.  After the interview, Keiko said “you got it!”  I was so surprised that I could show that a TOEIC score doesn’t matter and English is just a tool to have a conversation.  I decided to change the city from Toronto to Vancouver at once.  I just believed that this opportunity was going to be the turning point for me.

Through Gastown Business College, I learned how to apply for a job, how to make a resume, how to take an interview, how to make a presentation Canadian style, and so on, using English. It was such a great time to learn many things with English.  Moreover, I met great Korean friends of the same outlook.  I made sure that nationality doesn’t matter when reaching a goal, we can understand and help each other.  I got great friends who might be business partners in the near future.  It was such a great experience with no substitute for me.  Now, I have already graduated from this college and I finished my first internship.  I worked as Marketing Research Assistant for an international trading company.  Needless to say that it was also great experience for me.  I felt I could make quite a few contributions for this company.

Finally, I have no regret to decide to come here at all.  If I were in Japan still, I would not change my life at all.  I have no words to express my gratitude for the many opportunities in Canada.  Now I believe that many fateful encounters will change our life.