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At last, the long awaited Summer videos from ILSC-SF are finished and starting to come online. By following this link, you can check out “Sex and the City By The Bay” You can also type “Sex and the City by the Bay” on Youtube. Keep watching for the “2-Person Scenes.” They should be on Youtube before the end of the week  (from left to right) Jessica, Pooja and Mallika ILSC-New Delhi has take the initiative to put together an educational sponsorship program that takes poor and under-educated Delhi girls and put them into its English classes at the school. The program has been running for 4 months now to great success. Below is a letter to the director, Jason Flaming, from Pooja Singh – one of the girls in the program (she is the one in the middle of the picture). ……………………. Jason sir,
2. Pamchuila who took real pain for me 3. Isha who took interest in me 4. The company of international students where I left behind my hesitation as everybody was at my level at some point of time or other 5. Healthy learning atmosphere/environment at ILSC, Delhi 6. Last but not the least your able guidance and confidence in me and a challenge within ILSC that an uneducated and never been to school before girl can learn a language and make a place for herself in this competitive world.
By Ji Hye Kim I want to talk about my interesting experience when I visited a nightclub in Toronto. Actually, I love clubs. When I’m in Korea, I go to clubs every week, so I’m no stranger to club culture. However, I was really curious about Toronto’s clubs, so one Friday I went to Frequency near Osgood Station. There I found out the differences between Korea’s and Canada’s club culture. First, before we got in, we had to wait in line outside. In Korea we don’t usually have to wait outside before we enter the club. Koreans don’t like waiting, but I’m here in Canada, so I had to wait about 7 minutes. Then the club’s security body-searched me and rummaged through my bag. ‘What are they looking for?’ I thought. The second difference was the entrance fee. Koreans also pay an entrance fee, but it is included in the first drink, and it’s normally about $10 in Korea, hut here you pay over $15. Third, the club has 2 floors. One floor had a kind of stage with many people dancing on it. You could see dancing people on the second floor too, where there was a different room playing a different type of music. In Korea, even big clubs have only one D.J playing music, so we can’t choose which music we want, but in Canada you can, and I like that. If you are not easily shocked, read on. Continue reading Culture Shock and the Curious Korean Club-goer by Sofia Krysiak Vallejos When you hear the word manga, you may instantly think about nerdie teenagers, but actually it has room for everyone. Manga (the Japanese word for ‘comic’) was born in the 19th century in Japan and reborn in the postwar period (1945-1952). Some years later it arrived in western culture and became very popular among young people, and this may be the reason why it’s always been associated with teenagers. Actually, many artists were influenced by manga style and took some features and techniques. One of the most evident examples is Frank Miller’s work. He is an American comic book creator who worked for DC Comics and Marvel. It’s also easy to find manga features in western action films like Kill Bill or in TV series like South Park. What people do not know is that there are a lot of different types of manga aimed at different ages and genres. Shonen, which is the most popular, is aimed at young men and is about sports or action. Shojo is read by girls, while Josei is aimed at adult women, and Seinen is for adult men. Even little kids can start reading manga with Kodomo. We can even enjoy manga on screens, where it’s called anime. There are very popular films like Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and Akira, and also the animated version of manga stories like Hellsing, Naruto or Sailor Moon. To sum up, it doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re a woman or a man or what kinds of stories you like, you will always find a suitable manga for you! By Bob Let’s assume that you finish your English course and go back your country. I guarantee that you will think of your English. Probably, when you arrive your country, your friend will ask that “It’s a big question but could you show me the accent of Canada?” If I were you, I would like to say “Hey, this is the accent of Canada! Penny, Dime, Quarter, ODD-uh-wuh, Tim HHorr-tuhnz, CAN-uh-duh! How about it? Are you satisfied?” For us who are not from Canada, it is too hard to sound like a Torontonian, even though you have been in Toronto over 1 year. In order to stop regretting what we have been doing in Canada, we need to analyze the cause of potential failure which screws our English. In order to know what the worst problem which could be an obstacle is, I decided to ask people in our school how often you speak in English and what you do to improve your speaking skill. Through this one, I will let you know which thing is a bad influence on our English and help them realize that they are missing the most important things now. Even though these are typical questions, their answers were pretty varied and interesting. By the results of the survey, I could divide people into two groups which have something in common. In the case of High-level students, they always try to speak in English all the time, but in the case of Low-level students, when they meet their friends who come from same country, they usually speak in their own languages. The data suggested that the rate of language use has a decisive effect on English ability. For my second question, some people I talked to were quite arrogant and thought learning English was not so daunting anymore. As you know, it would be foolish to pretend that there are no problems along the way. You can’t be a native speaker, unless you were born in an English-speaking family. That’s why we each have a special accent that essentially reflects our linguistic background. It is often easy to hear the difference when someone speaks with a different accent from their own. Here are a few examples of people with strongly accented English. See if you can guess which countries they are from and at the end of this article, I’ll give the answers. Speech sample 1 There are lots of commercials related to English education, but no expedient way to improve English skills. The only way is to try to speak in English all the time, and accept our problems and try to fix them. Don’t forget why you came here and that somebody is paying a lot of money for you. Keep in mind, having personal insolence is an easy way to stifle growth. By the way, those speech samples—from the Speech Accent Archive—were by people from 1. South Korea, 2. Saudi Arabia, 3. Brazil, and 4. Venezuela. By Ji Hye Kim When we travel to another country, what do we want to experience? Food, culture, places, etc. As you know, the most important thing is food. If we don’t like food, travelling will be hard. I want to introduce different kinds of food to ILSC students. I asked students and teachers where they go to get the real thing when it comes to national dishes. 1. Korea Bukchangdong Sundubu (북창동 순두부) The restaurant main menu is Tofu soup. Tofu is a common food in Asia. Also western people have started eating it as a healthy alternative. BUKCHANGDONG SUNDUBU, sells different kinds of tofu soup and bulgogi. When you want to eat tofu soup, you can choose how spicy you want it. They have 3 levels of spicyness; mild, normal and strong. I chose seafood tofu soup and bulgogi. Seafood tofu soup has Sundubu, which is called soft tofu and is uncurdled bean curd. The Sundubu is very soft like jello and tastes like soy milk. The seafood soup is a little spicy but goes well with rice. The rice is cooked in a special stone pot. Koreans call this stone pot rice. After eating rice, we can make rice soup, which is a kind of slightly sweet dessert with an appetizing smell. Bulgogi is beef with spices, sugar, salt, garlic, black pepper, and sesame oil. The taste is a sweet kind of beef barbecue, so many western people like it. And when you order food, every times will be serve 3 kinds of side dish; Kimchi, shredded daikon and bean that boiled in soy sauce. The side dish is kind of Korea food culture, when you go to Korea restaurant, you can see that different kind of side dish. But Kimchi always will be serve, because Korean can’t live without Kimchi. The atmosphere is that of a kind of family restaurant, so you’ll feel comfortable. Location: Christie station Price: All TOFU soup $7.89/Bulgogi $9
2. Mexico El Trompo This restaurant is very popular, so expect to wait at least 20 minutes for a table. I ordered traditional bean soup, taco ‘Bistec con queso‘ and ‘Molten cheese with sausage‘. Bistec conqueso is grilled beef tacos cooked with onions, molten cheese and topped with coriander. Being Korean, I’m not used to coriander(=cilantro, kind of herb) , so when the tacos weren’t really my favorite part of the meal. The second time, I picked out the cilantro. The tacos contain beef and cheese mixed a perfect flavor. The tacos go well with beer. Mexican sausage is served in a pot with four warm wheat flour tortillas. And I spread with white sauce and melted cheese for a topping. The combination of cheese, sausage, sauce and tortillas is fantastic. And I chose a Mexican soft drink Tamarindo (a kind of fruit). The taste for me was really strange. I’ve never had that kind of drink: sweet and sour with a unique smell. Location: Kensington Market, 277 Augusta Avenue, Toronto price:$5~11 3. Pakistan Lahore Tikka House The Lahore Tikka House sits on the edge of Gerrard Street East’s Little India, named for Pakistan’s second largest city and the Hindi term for kebab. Tikka means type of Indian food, usually marinated in spices then dry-roasted in a tandoor (a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking). It took over residence of a former KFC restaurant. The casual restaurant offers entrees with vegetarian biryani (rice-based foods made with spices, rice and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables) served on a picnic table. The restaurant also features a massive patio (a paved outdoor space) during the summer months that can seat up to 200 people. When I visited the restaurant many people were already eating there; it’s a popular place. The atmosphere is also comfortable, so many families were enjoying the meals. In front of restaurant there’s a beautifully decorated rickshaw (a kind of bicycle taxi), a popular method of transportation in Pakistan and other Asian countries. I ordered ‘sizzelling ribs (barbecued) with potato‘, recommended by server. The taste is not strong. Maybe the chef used a small amount of spice. I guess it is a kind of fusion food, a mix of Pakistani and Canadian tastes. Next I ordered grilled pepper skewers; it is similar to a kebob. The skewers were so hot, I had to drink water, again and again. But if you like spicy food, you’ll definitely love it. I’m sure most a students are going to enjoy this place. Location: 1365 Gerrard Street East Price: $5-12 4. Taiwan Go For Tea House My Taiwanese friend always told me, “Chinese food and Taiwanese food look similar, but the taste and style are totally different!” I’d already tried Chinese food, so I wanted to try Taiwanese cuisine to see what the difference is. I visited ‘Go For Tea House’ with some Taiwanese friends. When I entered the restaurant, I was surprised by the scale and atmosphere of the restaurant. It is really huge, with a really high ceiling, which I am told, is typical of Taiwanese restaurants. It is a mix between a restaurant and a café in style. Many people were enjoying a meal, having a chat over a cup of tea or just surfing the internet. Most of the customers were Chinese or Taiwanese in their early 20s. We ordered 4 types of food and drinks. First, ‘Shrimp with salty pepper’, which is roasted in a pan with shrimp, leeks and red peppers, salt, and black pepper. The food had a pleasing aroma, which whetted my appetite. The taste was spicy and a little salty with a distinctive flavour. Second was the ‘stewed pork in Taiwanese style’. The pork was boiled, let to simmer gently, and stir-fried in a pan with black bean sauce. The meat was so tender that it melted my mouth like ice-cream! Third was ‘pork and dried squid with bean curd’, the pork and dried squid were stir-fried with bean curd and lots of vegetables with red pepper oil. The taste was little bit spicy and had a sweet aftertaste. Fourth was ‘pan eggs with radish’, which was a kind of omelet with a distinctive smell of chives and a soft texture. We drank bubble tea, which is very popular in Taiwan and is sold on the streets of Chinatown, but the taste was more delicious in the restaurant. The bubbles have a chewy texture and are sweet. For dessert we had ‘crushed ice with taro and condensed milk’, which is quite popular with Koreans during the summer, so it was familiar to me except for the taro, which we eat as a soup during Thanksgiving. The taste of the red bean, taro and milk was fantastic! Location: Unit 113 & 115, 3700 Midland Ave Price: $5-13 By Jaime Regalado In the last article, I wrote about fashion in general and took photos of different type of guys (musicians, DJs, skaters, etc.) and talked to those guys about what they think about fashion nowadays. They always said that they don’t care what’s “in” or “out”, nor do they care what people think about them because men never criticize other guys’ clothes. I’m just going to write about what I see, not what I think about girls’ behaviour. Girls always care about their image because it represents who they are: all the expensive clothes and sometimes expensive jewellery. You can start with the hair style. There are a lot of different styles: long, short, extravagant, and so on. Women always spend a lot of money on hair products, such as shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, styling aids, hair colour maintenance, oil products. Then of course, there are all the accessories, such as curling irons, hair brushes, and hair dryers, and that’s only the hair! I haven’t even mentioned clothes, shoes, accessories, handbags, or gadgets. For women, everything is related to fashion. On TV shows, they can see what’s “in” this season. The magazines they buy are full of advertising for the latest fashions. Not only that, but the music they listen to is related to what’s “in” or what the big music industry tells them what to buy. In music videos you can see how the “big stars” dress. As with the last article, we went outside to take photos and talked to people. This time we spoke to girls of different ages with different styles, different points of view, and we found out that girls only want to express what they believe. Sometimes they try to express their feelings or their own culture. Here are the photos. Thanks to all our fashion models, each with a smile on her face. by Jaime Barraza Regalado What is fashion? Why do we say something is IN or OUT? We can say that the word “fashion” could be the definition of the style of a person, or the term can mean clothing in general and sometimes the study of it. The media tell us what is IN or Out, and the worst part is that people believe this. We have to stop and think about all the expensive clothes we are buying. We buy them just because (for the time being) they are fashionable. I’m not talking about accessories but about everything else, like gadgets, cars, food, music, and so on. The main topic of this article isn’t common fashion that you see on television, in magazines or what ever medium you prefer. We are going to look at the “fashion” outside on the street: the way that people who are not afraid to express themselves dress every day. We went to Queen Street in Toronto to take photos, and these are the result:
By Bob It was a regular day in the classroom. As I was going over my vocabulary homework, my friend asked, “Bob, how do you describe the way you dress?” “What?” I overcuriously replied, “Why do you ask? Don’t you like the clothes I wear?” The point she was trying to make was that she thought I ‘looked gay’. At the time, I was shocked by her question, but I am able to understand her way of thinking now. She had become guilty of sexual stereotyping. As you know, Canada is characterized by multiculturalism, yet there are some people who find it hard to understand the subtleties of other cultures. I want to try to help people understand different styles of dress and fashion, and make them realize their culture’s sexual stereotypes by knowing the differences between homosexual and metrosexual. What is a stereotype? The Oxford Dictionary defines a stereotype as “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” I asked some people on the street these two simple questions: “What do you think of these guys?” Many thought that these guys were all gay, especially people over 40. They said that “It is impossible to think that a man takes good care of the way he looks.” I asked 15 people, “Do you know what a ‘metro-sexual’ is?” Most of them told me that they had no idea. This ignorance is not surprising. Many who come from Latin culture have learned that a guy must be macho. This sexual stereotype had taken place before they were born. But, nowadays, It’s no longer a secret that guys voluntarily visit cosmetic shops and clinics to improve their appearance and put on the clothes like skinny pants, colorful shoes, pink shirts, and so on. This is a metro-sexual, an urban male whose choice of cosmetics and clothing is all too often confused with homosexuality. Metro-sexual and homosexual are totally different. Basically, the word ‘metro-sexual’ is based on ‘homosexual’, but makes a reference to how the modern urban man dresses and preens. That’s where the similarity ends. Homosexual refers to sexual preference but metro-sexual refers only to skin care and sartorial style.
 Stop talking when the teacher is talking, foo! by Ya-Ting Chung and Soon Woo Kwon How long have you been studying English? Do you have any problems learning the language? What are your study methods? Do you want to know what teachers say? We went around the school and interviewed three teachers about students. We asked them 3 questions: 1. What kind of students’ behaviour don’t you like? 2. Do you have any study tips for students? 3. What is the most common problem when learning English? Here are the teachers’ answers: Graham 1. I don’t like students using cell phones in the class, and I don’t like students speaking to other students while the teacher is speaking. 2. It depends on what they want to study. My best study tips for students are that you should speak as much as you can. You should use [English] outside the class, especially when you learn some vocabulary. There are many ways to improve. For example, stopping, pausing, and copying speakers on TV. Ask teachers to check your pronunciation. 3. I think it’s speaking confidence. Most students are shy; they don’t speak much, they’re afraid to make mistakes. Actually, they should practice speaking more and not worry about making mistakes. Mark 1. I don’t like it when students ignore advice. For example, if you ask them to not speak their own language, and they still do it. Another one I really hate is when students stand around near the doorway chatting, so people can’t get through, so I have to push past. 2. While you’re in Canada, you should speak as much as you can. This is probably the only chance in your life here to speak English. It’s very expensive. Somebody’s paying a lot of money, and you must take the opportunity to speak English as much as you can. You don’t need to understand everything; the truth is that you should listen to how people speak in reality. It’s not the same as in a text book or on CDs; that’s not how people speak English every day. Here you have access to English language radio, TV, concerts, libraries, and people on the street. Go to a store, ask somebody to tell you about the product. 3. Fear. Many students lack the confidence to speak English. If you come to Canada for a vacation, that’s fine; why waste money going to school? If you’re serious about learning English, you should apply yourself! Guy 1. I don’t like students speaking when somebody’s talking, and when they don’t pay attention to stuff. 2. That is a hard one. Do your homework. Be your own teacher. Don’t expect the teacher to tell you what you need. Be critical of yourself, and appreciate your chance to come here. Take care of the culture, the culture will teach you the language. If you’re interested in something cultural, it’ll make learning less difficult. 3. Lack of heart. Many students refer to their language. They’re not actively trying to learn. Free your mind and learn not only with your minds, but your eyes. Don’t think too much about learning. — The most interesting things are that all teachers want students to pay attention in the class and speak English as much as possible. So I think ILSC students should follow their advice. It will help improve their English skills. |
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