About 50 students new to the English Language Improvement Program and the Master of Management got a taste of Canadian culture Thursday, watching the Windsor Spitfires defeat the Brampton Battalion 3-0 at the WFCU Centre.
The students hailed from many countries unfamiliar with ice hockey, says Jennie Atkins, director of the Centre for English Language Development.
For Tiffany Lu, the English language is more than a means of expression. It is a key to making more friends and getting better career opportunities.
The first-year accounting major is one of 300 international students starting the English Language Improvement Program this month. The Centre for English Language Development welcomed the students Friday with a free barbecue luncheon to meet their classmates, instructors and staff.
“English is very important in the professional world today,” Lu said. “This knowledge will open more doors for me back in China.”
As an airport worker, Hiromi Ishikawa believes it would serve her well to speak English. When the opportunity came up, she chose Windsor.
A native of Japan, she is one of about 150 students starting classes in the English Language Improvement Program this month. A barbecue luncheon at the Centre for English Language Development welcomed the students Friday as they completed their first week of orientation.
“I picked Windsor because it offers three months of study,” Ishikawa said. “I want to stay and learn longer.”
