by Sheron Fitzgerald, CISL San Francisco One Tuesday at lunchtime I was sitting in the Multimedia Lab and overheard two students discussing their plans for the week. Andrea from Italy and Pierre from France (originally from Cameroon) were finalizing their ticket purchases for a live music concert in San Francisco. Pierre is a Law student at...
Category: <span>Student Life in the USA</span>
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Road trip to Palm Springs!
Just a two hour drive from SD, in the middle of the desert, is an oasis where Southern Californians flock to eat delicious food, drink poolside, and go bar-hopping with friends. We know what you’re thinking, and no, it’s not Vegas. Grab your keys and your camera, pack an overnight bag (don’t forget a bathing suit),...
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Synonyms for scary (and SD and SF’s most haunted places!)
October marks the beginning of Fall holiday festivities, including the “scariest” holiday of them all: Halloween! To celebrate, we have a list of synonyms for the word “scary.” Use this vocabulary to describe the costumes you see around Halloween, and you will be known as a master of words! Synonyms for “scary” terrifying frightening alarming...
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Fall is here . . . time for pumpkin everything!
The leaves are changing colors, there is a slight chill in the air . . . fall is here! This means something particularly strange for many students who study English in San Diego or San Francisco: with the fall season comes PUMPKIN EVERYTHING! No one really knows why Americans are so obsessed with pumpkin flavored...
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English tense 5 of 12: The Present Perfect
At CISL, we are continuing our series on the 12 tenses in the English language with the tense of the month: Present Perfect. If you haven’t already checked out our first installments in this series, make sure to read up on the Simple Present, Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Past Continuous! This lesson also features...
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Casual greetings while hanging out in SD and SF
One of the most common questions CISL students ask their teachers is how to respond to casual greetings. How do you respond when a friend asks “How’s it going?” Or what about when you enter a store and the friendly salesperson asks, “How are you doing today?” With these questions in mind, we have provided...
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CISL SD activity: visiting the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market!
The Hillcrest Farmer’s Market in San Diego was voted the best market in San Diego. But what makes this market so special? Discover what makes this market so unique, and you just might make it a Sunday tradition while you are studying English in San Diego! What makes the Hillcrest market so special? Of course,...
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Visiting Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay, a five-mile wide inlet of the Pacific Ocean located 40 miles north San Francisco, is a popular getaway for Northern Californians. Between the water and land activities, the adorable town of Bodega Bay and its many shops, and the proximity to many vineyards, there seems to be something for everyone at Bodega Bay!...
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Weekend Adventure in Las Vegas!
7 students, 5 Drivers from 4 different countries, 3 States, 1 Van, All in One Weekend Adventure! Students at CISL San Francisco work hard during the week and plan exciting weekend getaways to enjoy the U.S. as much as possible. I spoke with Thais, a long-term student from Brazil, one Monday morning during Break time...
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British English vs. American English at San Diego’s Princess Pub
Students often ask what the differences are between British and American English. Simply put, there are numerous differences between British and American English: so many, in fact, that there are different dictionaries for each language! In addition to different vocabularies, there are different pronunciations and even different grammar for British and American English. To give...