Canada is the second largest country in the world and the largest in North America. Renowned worldwide for its vast, untouched landscape and its unique culture, Canada is a major tourist destination and one of the most popular study abroad destinations in the word.
Canada Fast Facts
Currency
Name: Canadian Dollar Code: CAD Symbol: $
Time Zones
Newfoundland Time (GMT – 2:30) Atlantic Time (GMT – 3) Eastern Standard time (GMT – 5) Central time (GMT – 6) Mountain Time (GMT – 7) Pacific Time (GMT – 8)
Language Spoken in Canada
English and French are the only two official languages in Canada. All communications and services provided from the federal government are available in both languages. Many Canadians are functionally monolingual, although some parts of the country have both English and French speakers. Over a quarter of Canadians are bilingual or multilingual. Many people in Montreal are at least conversationally bilingual.
English is the dominant language in all regions except Québec, where French is dominant and actively promoted as the main language. However, there are numerous francophone communities scattered around the country, such as:
- the national capital region around Ottawa,
- some parts of eastern and northern Ontario,
- the city of Winnipeg and areas to the south,
- many parts of the Acadian region of Atlantic Canada, scattered across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and the French Shores of Newfoundland).
Likewise, there are anglophone communities in Québec, such as some of the western suburbs of Montreal.
Canadian English uses a mixture of British and American spellings, and many British terms not usually understood in the United States (like bill instead of check) are widely used in Canada. Certain words also follow British instead of American pronunciations.
Atlantic Canada is reported to have the greatest variety of regional accents in English-speaking North America, largely as a result of the isolated nature of the fishing communities along the Atlantic coastline prior to the advent of modern telecommunications and transportation. A visitor to the Atlantic provinces may have some difficulty understanding strong local accents rich in maritime slang and idiom, particularly in rural areas. From Ontario westward, the accent of English Canadians is more or less the same from one region to another and is akin to that spoken by those in northern US border states.
English-speaking Canadians are generally not required to take French after their first year of high school, and thus many citizens outside of Québec do not speak the French unless closely related to someone who does, or have chosen to continue French studies out of personal or professional interest. Education in many other languages are available, such as Spanish, German, Japanese, etc. However, these are rarely taken and most immigrants are required to learn English or French as opposed to being able to get by speaking in their native tongue.
In Québec, one can usually get by with English in the major tourist destinations, but some knowledge of French is useful for reading road signs as well as travels off the beaten path, and almost essential in many rural areas. It may also be useful to know at least a few basic French phrases in the larger cities, where some attempt by travellers to communicate in French is often appreciated. The French spoken in Québec and the Acadian regions differ in accent and vocabulary from European French. Some Franco-Europeans have difficulty understanding Canadian French.
Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are home to large Chinese migrant populations, and Cantonese is commonly spoken in the Chinatowns in these cities. There are also dozens of aboriginal languages spoken by many Canadians of aboriginal descent. In Nunavut more than half the population speaks Inuktitut, the traditional language of the Inuit.
Popular Places to Study in Canada
Regions
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Quebec
- Yukon Territory
Cities
- Burlington
- Calgary
- Halifax
- Hamilton
- Kelowna
- Mississauga
- Montreal
- Ottawa
- Quebec
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Victoria
- Welland (Niagara Falls)
- Winnipeg
Why Learn English in Canada?
For several years, a United Nations survey found Canada to be the best place in the world to live. Canada earned particularly high marks for its access to education, high life expectancy, and low crime and violence rates. In addition, Canada’s largest cities Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have been recognized as world class cities in which to live and work, for their cleanliness and safety and for their cultural activities and attractive lifestyles.
Value for money
The cost of living is very low compared to the UK and the US, and our tuition is competitively priced. This also means that you get a great deal for other expenses like accommodation, food etc.
High standard of living
Canadians enjoy a standard of living among the highest in the world. More than 65 per cent of Canadians own their own homes, with a higher percentage owning durable goods, such as automobiles, refrigerators, washing machines, television, telephones and radios.
A welcoming environment
Canada is a multi-cultural country and has a tradition of accepting and encouraging multicultural diversity.
Beautiful environment
Canadians place a high value on their natural environment. There are currently 39 national parks and national park reserves in Canada, located in every province and territory. Each province and territory has also designated areas as provincial parks, wilderness areas, ecological and nature reserves. There are over 2000 of these designated areas across the country.
Students who come to Canada will witness one of the most beautiful, natural environments in the world. Canada is also a country of diverse geography, and there is much to experience in its great outdoors: from the lush coastline of British Columbia, the majestic Rocky Mountains of Alberta, the big skies of the prairies, to the ‘maple sugar country’ in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence and the rugged hills and picturesque coastline of the Atlantic provinces.
A safe place to study
Canada is well-known as a safe, and peaceful society. Canadian crime rates have been falling steadily since the 1990s. Unlike our US neighbours to the south, firearms are strictly controlled and generally are not permitted in Canada.
A high-tech country
Canada is an international leader in computer and information technologies and has a reputation for excellence in such sectors as telecommunications, transportation and engineering; and specifically, aerospace, urban transport, microelectronics, medical devices, advanced software, hydroelectric and nuclear power, lasers and opto-electronics, biotechnology, food and beverage processing, geomatics; and ocean and environmental industries.
English Courses in Canada
English courses are designed to provide an immersion experience for students interested in improving their listening, speaking, reading, writing and comprehension skills in English.
There are English programs for complete beginners and also intermediate courses which are recommended for students who already have a basic command of the English language but want to upgrade their skills to university or college level in order to attend an English-speaking educational institution.
Students can sometimes benefit from conversation partner programs in which you are paired with Canadian students for weekly practice in English conversation.
Placement tests and personal interviews enable teachers to place students in the level best suited to their English needs: Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced.
You can select different courses, depending of the date you want to start.
Visa
Schools assist international students with immigration, visa, study permit and health insurance questions. You do not require a study permit to study English for less than six (6) months; however, you may need a visa to enter Canada. Check online with Canadian Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate for more information about visas. When you register and pay your deposit, schools will usually send you an official letter of acceptance which you can use to apply for a study permit.
Accommodation
- Residence: Accommodation in a university residence includes both room rental fees and food costs. Students might need to agree to stay in residence for at least one-three months. Short-term accommodation for the purposes of finding private accommodations is sometimes allowed.
- Family: Accommodation with a Canadian family. Homestay accommodation includes all meals, a private bedroom and access to most facilities in the home.
About Canada
Most people are surprised to learn that Canada is the world’s second-largest country in total area, after Russia. It stretches from the northern border of the continental United States all the way up to the Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island…just 834 kilometres (450 nautical miles) from the North Pole. Within this expanse of land lie a variety of cultures and peoples that is as diverse as that of any nation in the world. From the French-speaking residents of Montreal and Quebec to the inhabitabts of the rugged Yukon territory, Canada’s population runs the gamut from urban to rural and encompasses everything in between.
Canada is such a vast and diverse country that defining it is an effort in futility, and this is exactly why attending college there is so rewarding. From the ethnic melting-pot of international cities like Toronto to the rugged frontier of the North Western territories, Canada is a nation that defies easy description or understanding. The best way to fully grasp the immensity of it, and to reap the greatest rewards, is simply to live there. The benefits are as potentially vast as the land itself.
Culture
Culturally, Canada has historically been heavily influenced by English, French, Irish, and Scottish cultures and traditions. In more modern times, Canadian culture is now greatly influenced by American culture, due to the proximity and the migration of people, ideas, and capital. This does not mean, however, that Canada does not have a distinct national culture of its own. In fact, several highly regarded figures on the world arts stage have come from Canada, including the filmmaker Atom Egoyan and the writer Margaret Atwood.
It is, however, for sports that Canada is perhaps most famous, and nowhere is this more apparent than with hockey, the national pasttime and the nearly universal passion. “Canada’s six largest metropolitan areas have franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL), and there are more Canadian players in the league than from all other countries combined. The three major junior leagues that together comprise the Canadian Hockey League have a combined total of 49 teams in Canadian towns or cities, from all 10 provinces. There are also strong women’s leagues across the country” (www.en.wikipedia.org). Other popular sports include lacrosse and the curiously beguiling sweeping game called curling.