Help with Watching & Talking HOCKEY!
As you watch the 2010 Winter Olympics, there is not a sport more exciting to Canadians than Hockey. Watch the games and learn more with this vocabulary. Ask a Canadian or American to explain the ones you do not know. Enjoy! PEOPLE The Referees or “Refs” The Linesman/men The Players The Forwards The Defense The […]
History and Rituals of Halloween
Halloween is almost upon us! I would like to take this opportunity to remind all the readers of this blog that even though the category is called ‘Speak English Better’, the blogs’ focus is also on learning and understanding culture. Why? Because as I have said a hundred million ka-billion times – English language cannot […]
Origins of Canadian Thanksgiving (this weekend!)
Canadian Thanksgiving – How It Began The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North […]
Clink, Then Drink! Do Not Put Down That Glass!
Hello, Here is a tradition that I have always known and obeyed, yet I cannot say for sure if it is a Canadian-only tradition. I suspect not. When someone ‘toasts’ you (proposing a toast means to say something nice about you or your personal/business relationship before drinking) it is polite to listen attentively, make eye […]
Why are Mexican and Czech Visas Now Restricted?
Canada now requires a visa for people coming from both Mexico and Czech Republic. Mexico is the biggest source of refugee claimants in Canada, with claims tripling since 2005 to 9,400 last year, or 25 percent of the total. Only 11 percent were accepted. There is a group of ‘Roma’ refugees from the Czech republic […]
The Worlds Best and Worst Travellers
According to an article on Yahoo! News today, here are some best and worst traveller rankings: French are the worst, Japanese are the best. To learn more about this, plus Americans, Canadians, Spaniards and Greeks, please click the above title to this post or click here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090710/oddities/lifestyle_tourism_travel_france_offbeat What do you think about these results? For […]
Happy Canada Day – Tips About Us
July 1st, 1867, Canada was officially born. At that time of what we called ‘Confederation’, only 4 provinces made up Canada! Now, we have 10 plus 3 territories. Canadians are proud of their country and culture, and I thought it would be good to share with you a few points on dealing with Canadians (whether […]
Canadian English Pronunciation
Today, July 1st, is Canada Day – our birthday. I thought this might be of interest to those who enjoy the sound and study of Canadian English. Canadian English (CanE, en-CA) is the variety of English used in Canada. More than 26 million Canadians (85% of the population) have some knowledge of English (2006 census). […]
Hire an Immigrant
Here is an excellent resource for immigrants who are job-hunting and also for companies, large or small, who want to take advantage of overseas training but are not quite familiar how to do it professionally. This website has excellent free training videos, with actors going over scenarios on the resume, interview and hiring process. The […]
Develop HR, Management and Entrepreneur Skills
As a member of HRPA (Human Resources Professionals Association – http://www.hrpa.ca/hrpa ) I receive regular emails and mailings with information about new services, service providers and detailed Human Resource articles. Here is something that looks interesting and apparently is free. http://www.essentialskillsthatwork.com I am not affiliated with them – I just thought I would pass on […]