1.ELC Mission

The mission of the ELC is to create opportunities for students and professionals who are seeking higher education or career advancement and recognize English as a major asset in a technologically-advanced world of intercontinental communication and leadership. We believe this can be accomplished by teaching English in a supportive environment where teachers and students interact in the pursuit of professional and personal development.

2.Purpose of the ELC

3.ELC History
The English Language Centre (ELC) was started in 1998 as an international exchange school for international students who want to either polish their English or develop proficiency in English for the purpose of career/personal development or university/college preparation. English was recognized as a major language of business in our rapidly changing and technologically advanced world of intercontinental communication.

In the beginning, 5 levels of Basic English courses were offered to provide a strong foundation for listening, speaking, reading and writing skills required for success at school or work. The focus has always been on the development of students’ independent reading and writing skills as well as on the clear and coherent use of spoken English.

In addition to the Basic credit courses, the ELC has also offered other credit and non-credit courses at Intermediate and Advanced levels of English language training; such as Daily Conversational English, Business Conversational English, Practical English Writing and Writer’s Craft.

In preparation for entry to university or college, ELC also offered English proficiency training programs for TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT to ensure that students meet the requirements for bachelor, masters or PhD programs.

As an alternative to TOEFL, ELC offered an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) program in collaboration with the University of Alberta, designed for students who plan to go to university but do not have the time to prepare for the TOEFL test.

Finally, in an effort to develop the whole person, ELC collaborated with Toastmasters International to set up a public speaking club at the school. Students have enhanced their communication and leadership skills while developing their English proficiency in the Toastmaster Club’s mutually-supportive environment.

4.ELC Strengths
Faculty and Staff:

Our high-quality teaching, and academic management is focused on improving student achievement, and creating a safe, clean and comfortable environment. All our teachers possess a Bachelor, a Master, or a Doctor degree and have valuable prior teaching experience. All administrators possess a PhD or Master degree with teaching or management experience in Canada, the United States, or abroad.

ELC takes care of students from the date of their registration to their graduation day. Guidance includes course selection and adjustment, university major selection, university application, visa extension, etc

• Accommodation and Facilities:

ELC has the most competitive tuition and accommodation fees in the Metro Toronto area. Students can enjoy the best dormitories, in terms of attractiveness and facilities, including central air-conditioning, furniture, appliances, fully equipped kitchen and washroom. A meal plan provides breakfast, lunch and dinner, 365 days per year.

• Preparation for Work and Career Advancement

To provide for professional and personal development needs of both young and mature students or professionals who want to enhance their career potential, TAIE has created the English Language Centre where business people of any age and academic background can come and develop or simply polish their English language skills before returning to work.

TOEFL classes are jointly run by Beijing New Oriental and TAIE. In-class lessons are supplemented with computer and multimedia software.

To ensure that students can enter a top Canadian university directly, and without TOEFL, TAIE has also an exclusive EAP (English for Academic Purposes) program.

• Student Services

ELC provides students with a Placement Test free of charge. Students have access to more than 20 kinds of free services that include: cable internet (in school and dormitories), free email, visa extension advice, local telephone, computer rooms, cable TV, hot coffee, tea, ice water, etc. There is also a wonderful library and reference material room.

• Graduate Success Record:

ELC prepares students well for taking credit courses to get good scores for entering universities. Most graduates have gone to top Canadian universities such as: University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Queen’s University, University of Western Ontario, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, York University, University of Ottawa, McMaster University, etc. Some students have received CN$2,000-6,000 entrance scholarships, as well as teaching assistant jobs.

• Academic Speaker Series of Talks and Lectures:

After-class academic activities include talks and lectures by famous scholars and celebrities, education consuls from local embassies and consulates, and speeches by U.N. officials etc.

• Student Life Activities:

Students’ activities are organized on a monthly and weekly basis, with the larger activities happening monthly. These include the English Speech Contest, English Singing Contest, English Writing Contest, Typewriting Contest, English Debate Contest, Middle Autumn Festival Poem Conference, Halloween Masque, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Christmas Day Party, New Years Party, Chinese New Year Party and Dinner, Orientation Conference, Graduation Ceremony, New Student Welcome Conference, Table Tennis Contest, Basketball Contest, Football Contest, Volleyball Contest, Barbecue, Farm Visit, Museum Visit, University Campus Visit, Canada National Convention Centre Visit, Art Gallery Visit, Dragon Boat Contest on Lake Ontario, Canoeing on Lake Ontario, Sand Beach Volleyball, Fruit Picking, Niagara Falls and Thousand Island Tour, Visits to the United States, participation in Canada’s National Day Festival, City Hall Visit, Ice Wine Factory Visit, Centre Island Visit, Casa Loma (castle) Visit, etc.

• Convenient Location:

The school is within walking distance of downtown Toronto. By foot, bus, streetcar and/or subway you can reach the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, George Brown College, the Ontario Art Gallery, the Royal Ontario Museum, the CN Tower, the Skydome, Lake Ontario, City Hall, the Eaton Centre, Toronto Public Library, St. Michael’s Hospital, the Toronto Stock Exchange, CBC Headquarters, No-Frills Supermarket (walking distance), banks, theaters, Moss Park, the Convention Centre, Central China Town, China Town East, etc