Languages International Toronto

LI Toronto is located in an office tower in the heart of the downtown Toronto business district. Surrounded by restaurants, cafés, theatres, shopping centres and major tourist attractions, LI is just steps away from public transportation and minutes away from Lake Ontario. Languages International has a professional and dynamic teaching staff with extensive experience in Canada and abroad. All of our instructors have a university degree and professional teacher training. The teachers and staff at LI are sensitive to student needs and have a genuine interest in their students\\\' progress and success. Everyone works together to create a helpful, warm and friendly learning environment for students.

The United Nations has ranked Toronto as the most multicultural city in the world. Like all international cities, dozens of languages are spoken in Toronto, although English is the official and most dominant language. The main linguistic groups are: English, Italian, Chinese and Portuguese. For this reason, anyone from anywhere in the world can feel at home in Toronto. Besides offering a wonderful variety of restaurants, the large immigrant population has given the city two large, popular cultural events every year: Caravan and Carnival. Caravan is a festival celebration of the many nationalities that make up the city and takes place in June. Carnival is a celebration of Caribbean culture which takes place at the beginning of every August. Toronto is the third largest city for English theatre (after New York and London) so students may take advantage of seeing such shows as Mamma Mia or The Lion King. Toronto has many beautiful parks and other recreation facilities. Although it has a metropolitan population of 5 million people and is Canada\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s largest city, students can be comfortable knowing that the rate of crime is very low by Western standards. Toronto is physically a very large city that in many ways has the best transit system in North America. It is a modern transportation system with interconnecting subways, buses and streetcars that allow a passenger to travel across the whole city. There are also many expressways leading to the suburbs and out of the city.

The Languages International teaching approach is highly student-centred and communicative. We have small groups of 8 - 10 students and offer 8 levels from beginner to advanced. Our emphasis is on conversation, although all components of language are covered, including reading and writing. Grammatical and functional structures are presented in as natural a way as possible and students are taught to apply what they have learned in and out of the classroom setting. The LI approach uses illustrated material, dialogues, role play, classroom discussions, debates, presentations, language games, audio and visual materials and writing activities. The Speak English policy encourages students to speak only English while at the school, both during and between classes.

The LI Homestay Department visits and interviews each host family that accommodates our students. To ensure that our students\\\\\\\' stay is as pleasant as possible, students are asked to complete a Homestay Evaluation Form during their stay. The Homestay Coordinator is always available to discuss any issues or difficulties with students. With our students cooperation, we can maintain the excellence of our accommodation. Our homestay families enjoy sharing their Canadian culture with a visiting student. Families can mean different things - married couples with 3 children, young couples with no children, single people who live alone, or single people with children. Homestays may be between 30 - 50 minutes away from the school; students travel from home to LI by foot, subway, bus or streetcar. There are many advantages of staying with a homestay family: a great opportunity to speak and listen to English in a natural environment, a safe and secure environment to live in, and total immersion in Canadian culture.In a homestay, students become part of the family. Breakfast and dinner are shared with the family, and the student is encouraged to join in any family activities. Some students prefer the independence offered by residences. Throughout the summer month, LI can arrange accommodation in one of several residences associated with the University of Toronto. Year-round residence is also available. All residences are within a 15-minute walk from the school. Each residence is slightly different, but they all generally contain the following: -private bedroom -shared bathroom -shared kitchen -shared TV lounge -laundry facilities -cafeteria

Our activities program provides a great opportunity for students to explore Toronto and make new friends from LI. The LI Activities Coordinator organizes exciting weekly activities and excursions within and outside Toronto. Students can choose the activities they wish to attend and are accompanied by an instructor from the school. Toronto has so much to offer visitors to our city; there is something for everyone, no matter what their tastes may be.