Blog

Are you studying English in the UK, USA or Canada this Winter? Get ready for the Christmas season with these seasonal expressions, from Frances, our Director at St Giles Vancouver.

• Ho Ho Ho! – this is what Santa always says!
• Bah Humbug! – this is what grumpy people say when you say Merry Christmas! (this comes from Charles Dickens)
• Boxing Day Sales – common in North America and the UK, most stores have big sales on December 26 (so make sure to visit them if you are here then!)
• Mistletoe – If you are walking or standing under this plant, you should kiss your partner!
• St. Nick – another name for Santa Claus or Father Christmas
• Christmas Crackers – colored paper rolls with a toy, a hat and sometimes a joke inside.  They are placed on the table with Christmas Dinner and it is a tradition for two people to hold the paper roll end and pull to make a loud “SNAP” sound.  Then you open it to get your hat and toy.
• Egg nog – a traditional Christmas drink that is made of egg, milk, and alcohol
• Wreath – a circle of pine branches to put on doors at Christmas time
• Tree Skirt – a decorated cover for the bottom of the Christmas tree to hide the tree stand
• Christmas gifts – presents, prezzies, stuff under the tree, what Santa brings!
• Christmas cake – made of fruit and nuts with alcohol
• Christmas pudding – similar to Christmas cake but has more alcohol and is served with cream
• Christmas stocking – these are hung near a fireplace if there is one and filled with small gifts. They are opened first on Christmas morning, traditionally with a mandarin orange in the toe of the sock

Do you know any more seasonal expressions that we have not included? Comment on this post if you do!

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you very much to our student Julien Clerc who studied recently at our St Giles Vancouver school. He wrote us this lovely account of his time learning English in Vancouver with us:

Hello. My name is Julien. I spent 8 months in St Giles Vancouver. And I will tell you about my amazing experience I had here.

My first impression when I arrived at the airport was what a big mistake I made because I spoke just a few words in English. However I took my courage with two hands and said to myself then ok my little Julien don’t be scared, it’s a new and exciting challenge.

Now when I think about this, I think I made the right decision, because I could enjoy plenty of different and sensational things like skiing, walking, bears and whale watching, NHL games and many others.

I started from Elementary with a funny Australian teacher and he gave me the passion to study English. And 8 months after, I am leaving from the Upper Intermediate level.

Everything has changed except the good ambience and the nice teachers.

I met many friends from diverse countries, which for me is the value of gold because I could learn something new about many various cultures. I’ll miss my friends and the good restaurants in Vancouver.

Are you thinking about coming to learn English in Vancouver with us as well? You can find our more about St Giles Vancouver here or you can email us at english@stgiles-canada.com to ask any questions. We look forward to having you at the school and helping you have a great experience like Julien!

If you haven’t already heard the news, our St Giles Vancouver centre has recently undergone a complete renovation!  We are delighted to be able to show off our newly refurbished school by posting just a few photos from our recent photo shoot!

The school, located in downtown Vancouver, now has more classrooms, most of which also have Interactive Whiteboards! In addition, there is a new café where our students can chill out and have a tasty snack between lessons, and a new office for our wonderful staff.  The new photos taken by Juna Photography show St Giles students enjoying the school’s great new facilities.

Check out these photos on the St Giles facebook page and let us know what you think!

If you would like to find out more about St Giles Vancouver please contact our team there at english@stgiles-canada.com or visit our website.