So, you’re thinking of going to Canada, eh?
For many people around the world, when they hear the word Canada, they instantly have the image of cold snowy winters, maple leaves and hockey. While these things are certainly part of Canada and Canadian culture, more and more foreigners are discovering it is also a great place to study and learn English.
Each year more people are flocking to the Great White North on ESL exchanges and vacation. So why are so many people increasingly choosing Canada over countries such as the USA or England? There’s no single answer to this question, but rather there are a number of factors in play which have been affecting people’s decisions. Let’s take a look at some of them.
This is a guest post by star Canadian teacher, Santino Filoso. Santino lives and teachers English in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and has a really useful and dynamic facebook page dedicated to learning and teaching English through visual vocabulary, online ESL games, interesting ESL articles and songs. It’s updated daily and !
THE DREADED CANADIAN WINTER
Contrary to popular belief, winter does not reign supreme in Canada. For most of the country, winter lasts around four months, from mid/late November to March. While Canadian winters can certainly live up to their reputation as being cold, snowy, icy and dark, this is no reason to avoid them.
In fact, you should embrace them! If you come to Canada from a country that typically does not experience winter, this is your chance to try your hand at a number of new and exciting winter sports ranging from snowshoeing, tobogganing, skiing and skating. Despite the cold, winter can be an extremely beautiful time of year. There aren’t too many sights that are more breathtaking than looking out over a forest full of tree-tops covered in snow.
One thing often overlooked by people outside of Canada who are worried about the winters, is that they can always buy proper WARM winter clothes from practically any store! We know it gets cold and so we are prepared!
FOUR DISTINCT SEASONS
One of the biggest advantages of living and studying in Canada is that you will get to experience the full range of weather as you pass through the four seasons.
Julian Douglass