Are you interested in gaining work experience in English? With CISL’s Career English Program, students first attend classes to gain the English skills they need in the business environment. During this time, students work closely with the Career English Coordinator to find a company that meets their interests and career goals. After interviewing (in English!) students...
Category: <span>Student Life in the USA</span>
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Choosing University Abroad: The Advantages of a U.S. College Degree
Over 700,000 international students will come to the U.S. this year to study at an American college or university, and many will enter these institutions through programs like CISL’s Pathway Program, which provides academic English classes that prepare students for the rigorous American university setting. Why choose to study at an American university? Here are just...
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What to Pack for CISL’s Berkeley Juniors Program
Are you coming to California to study English at one of our camps for teens, such as our program at UC Berkeley? If so, you’ll soon need to start preparing for your trip by doing some packing! (And maybe a little shopping, which we all know is the best “homework!”) Our packing guide includes the...
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St. Patrick’s Day inspired drinks you should know + Irish expressions
There’s Guinness, there’s a glass of whiskey . . . but there are also plenty of Irish inspired cocktails that you should try this month! Have you sampled these tasty drinks? St. Patty’s Day Inspired Drinks Irish Coffee Irish whiskey, hot coffee, and brown sugar syrup are combined and then topped with whipped cream. Drink...
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Grammar Lesson of the Month: Collocations with GET (+ Irish pubs in SD and SF)
March is the month associated with St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S.: the month of all things green, corned beef and cabbage, leprechauns, pots of gold, four-leafed clovers, and luck. To GET LUCKY is an expression often used in English and it is a perfect example of a collocation with GET. The verb GET is...
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Language classes and love: newlyweds visit CISL, where they met!
CISL students don’t just receive the language skills needed to succeed: sometimes, they also find love! Recently, former CISL San Diego students Ho-jun and Eunyoung (both from Korea) stopped by Converse to say hello and to visit the school where they studied English 6 years ago. But they weren’t just reliving their time as CISL students: they were visiting...
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Haircut Vocabulary + Hair Salons in SF
If you’re studying English in San Francisco for more than a few weeks, you are probably going to need a haircut! Many people have close relationships with their hair stylist, and going to a new person for a haircut (or color) is frightening . . . but doing it in another language? That’s another level...
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Grammar Lesson of the Month: Three Word Phrasal Verbs + Things to Look Forward To While Studying English at CISL
It’s Phrasal Verb February! To “celebrate,” we are taking a look at three-word phrasal verbs that are commonly used in English. What is a three-word phrasal verb? To understand, we must first look at “regular” (two-word) phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs most often follow this construction: verb + particle Examples: I decided to take up surfing while...
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Common English Prefixes + the best places to start your day in SD
January is coming to an end, but we are still thinking about beginnings: specifically, the beginnings of words, and how we begin our days while living and studying English in beautiful San Diego. Learn all about prefixes, and enjoy our suggestions for ways to begin your day while studying at CISL! What is a prefix,...
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Five Things You Never Knew About Americans and the USA
Do you enjoy helping people, love pizza, and possibly have some British heritage? Then you just might be American! Perhaps it’s not that simple, but these five facts about the USA and Americans (as originally published by “Reader’s Digest”) are quite interesting. Read on and discover some things you may or may not have known about...