Fall in San Diego

As fall begins, you can find lots of fun activities happening in and around San Diego. From the Apple Harvest in Julian to several Halloween events, there is plenty to do this time of year. Check out this website with lots of info on what is happening for the next three months http://www.sandiego.org/article/Media/1163 and start planning. If you have any questions, please come see us at the Front Desk and we will gladly assist you.

The October Calendar is finally here!

Lots of great Halloween-inspired activities! Start thinking about your costume!

The September Calendar

Start planning your month - the September calendar is now ready!

ECI Profile: Kenji

The English Conversation Interns, or ECIs are one of the things that make our classes here at Intrax special. Every week, students get the chance to practice their English with a real native speaker -- not just a teacher. We wanted to take the chance to get to know our ECIs better. Today, we talked to one of our new ECIs, Kenji! Here's what she had to say about herself:

Name: Kendra Houston

Nickname: Kenji

Age: 19

Where are you from? San Diego

How long have you been in San Diego? Almost all of my life

Major/Schooling/Field of work: Physical Therapy

Goals: To Teach English In Japan and to tour Asia!

Hobbies: One of my hobbies is badminton, I love playing because in the two years I’ve played in high school I’ve made a lot of friends and learned about a new sport I’ve never considered playing before. Another hobby is listening and discovering new music in different language, then learning to sing them. I love it because it has helped me become familiar with many different languages! I practice singing in Japanese and Korean a lot and it has helped me immensely with pronunciation.

Favorite places to go in San Diego/Southern CA, Favorite things to do: I love going to Clairmont Mesa to eat Asian food and buy expensive Japanese stuff from the markets!

Favorite Quote: I wanna know, Can you show me? Something is familiar about these strangers like me -Phil Collins “Tarzan OST”

Teacher of the Month: August

Every month, the students and teachers elect a teacher to honor for their contributions to the school. For the month of August, we chose Holly Edwards! Congratulations, Holly!

To get to know Holly, we asked her some questions...

1. Tell me about yourself:

I am 100% always curious. I've always been afraid of the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat." I'm kind of just waiting for a time when my curiosity leads me somewhere dangerous. I'm also naturally shy, but my students don't usually believe me because in class I become a different person. The two things I hear most often are that I sound like Sarah Jessica Parker and I could have been an actress (not because of my looks, but because I usually act things out for my students). (I think my dream is to be a musical actress, but I can neither sing nor dance)

2. What would you say is your style of teaching?

My style is to try to keep students interested. No matter what the material is or how important it is, if the students are bored, they're not learning well. Engaging all as many of the senses as possible while studying helps learners remember better. Sight, sound and touch are pretty easy, but taste and smell...well, I still haven't figured that out yet. My style also incorporates my openness to constantly learning. How can I teach if I'm not willing to learn?

3. What advice would you give students for improving their English outside of class?

TALK IN ENGLISH! One of my biggest pet peeves is when I am sure that students are speaking only to people from their countries after class. I love it when I meet students who came here not knowing much English (starting in high basic), but try to speak to people from the U.S. or other countries. Their English almost always improves much more quickly than those who don't. Studying from a book at night can only get you basic knowledge. You have to practice to truly improve. I'm currently studying Spanish--let's see if I can practice what I preach.

Thank you Holly! If any of our readers have had Holly as a teacher, you can tell us why you voted for her for Teacher of the Month in the comments!

ECI Profile: Derek

The English Conversation Interns, or ECIs are one of the things that make our classes here at Intrax special. Every week, students get the chance to practice their English with a real native speaker -- not just a teacher. We wanted to take the chance to get to know our ECIs better. Today, we talked to one of our new ECIs, Derek! Here's what he had to say about himself:

Name: Derek Jeppsen

Nickname: Debo, Deebs

Age: 25

Where are you from? Brigham City, Utah

How long have you been in San Diego? 3 Years

Major/Schooling, Field of work: Electronic Music (Bachelor's Degree), also working as a live sound/recording engineer

Goals: Go to grad school, Become a teacher, Write about music, Play weird music to unsuspecting audiences.

Hobbies: I've been obsessed with computers since I built my first one when I was 13 years old. I love that computers are predictable, and that when they have problems they can be fixed. Studying other languages has been a hobby of mine since 8th grade, when I started studying German. Then in college, I also studied French, Russian, and general linguistics.

Favorite places to go in San Diego/Southern CA, Favorite things to do: The beach at midnight. Toronado (bar in North Park). Cafes with shaded patios and electrical outlets to use.

Favorite Quote: "Thought is made in the mouth." Tristan Tzara What’s your favorite part about being an ECI at Intrax? That I get to talk to people from different cultures who are at Intrax because they want to learn, but they end up teaching me a lot about their cultures and perceptions, which is fascinating.

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, here in the US.

Labor Day is a holiday, celebrated on the first Monday in September, that honors workers. Because this day is meant to honor workers, it’s traditionally celebrated as a day of rest and relaxation. It’s also traditionally seen as the symbolic end of summer.

Most Americans celebrate this holiday by going out and barbequing with family and friends. We like to spend time swimming, relaxing, and playing sports. School is closed on Monday, so we hope you enjoy your three (or four) day weekend. We will! Here are some quick ideas for things to do this weekend:

First, Labor Day is a great day for sale shopping! I recommend going to Las Americas – you’re sure to find some great deals.
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=76

Friday through Monday, the Festival of Sail will be taking place here in San Diego. This is a great time to listen to some music and see ships from around the world.
http://www.sdmaritime.org/festival-of-sail/

Friday through Monday, the San Diego Symphony will also be doing a special performance in the Embarcadero Marnia Park South. They will be ending their summer concert series with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture complete with booming cannons over San Diego Bay.
http://www.sandiegosymphony.org/calendar/view.aspx?id=2408

This is the last weekend to go see the Del Mar Races! Although it’s a little far away, if you don’t have a car, the Coaster provides tickets to Del Mar.
http://www.dmtc.com/ http://www.gonctd.com/delmarraces2011

On Monday, you might want to do something really special and join the Hornblower for a BBQ and beer cruise! This is something I recommend everyone try, at least once – it’s a great way to see San Diego and relax at the same time.
http://www.hornblower.com/hce/port/overview/sd+labordaybbq

The Ivy will be having events all weekend, too!
http://www.ivyentertainmentsandiego.com/Calendar.aspx

Of course, you could also celebrate in more typical American style and have your own BBQ. Whatever you do, enjoy your day off of school! Just make sure you’re practicing your English. ;)