Cornerstone Academic College

Cornerstone Academic College is a private language school located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Canada. Our school is conveniently located directly above a subway station, surrounded by boutique shops, restaurants, museums, theatres, a central library and many other attractions. We offer Intensive and General ESL programs, TOEFL and TOEIC preparation courses, Academic Preparation for University, TESL Diploma Program, Executive Business English / Internship Diploma Program, Special Elective Courses, Bridge Program for children and teenagers, and Summer and Winter Camps. We also offer placement services for those students who wish to further their studies at a Canadian elementary school, junior or senior high school, or university. We believe the school environment is critical to learning English. This is why we invest much of our time, energy and resources to provide the highest quality when it comes to our facilities. In fact, students, teachers and educational consultants all agree that Cornerstone has one of the best learning facilities in all of Toronto. Our computer lab is equipped with the latest and fastest computers; our student cafeteria is truly a student lounge where students love to eat and chat. It comes with a kitchenette, cold vending machines and ever more computers for free internet and email. Our classrooms are all clean, bright and airy with comfortable chairs and tables. You will truly feel a sense of comfort the moment you step into the school.

We can take advantage of what the city of Toronto has to offer because we are located in the premiere part of downtown Toronto. The subway station is underneath our building. Trendy boutiques like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and specialty cafes surround our building. The city’s museums, parks and tourist attractions are minutes away. You will not be disappointed with the life and vitality of this city. And Cornerstone Academic College is there in the center. One of the most multicultural cities in the world, Toronto is home to more than 80 ethnic groups and more than 100 languages, and is marked by the diversity of distinct neighbourhoods, cultures and communities. Yonge Street, known as the longest street in the world, is the main north-south road and divides the city into east and west. Major intersections include: Bloor/Yonge, King/Bay, Yonge/Dundas, Yonge/Eglinton, Yonge/Sheppard, Queen/Spadina, Broadview/Danforth. Main east-west avenues include Eglinton Avenue, Lawrence Avenue, Steeles Avenue, Wilson Road, and Bloor Street-Danforth Avenue. Distinct neighbourhoods include Little Italy (west of College/Bathurst), Queen Street West (a soho-style strip east of Spadina Avenue), the Entertainment district (bounded by Front and King Streets, University and Spadina Avenues), the fashion district (Spadina and King), Greektown on Danforth Avenue, Little India (Gerrard Street East), and three Chinatowns.

The Intensive ESL program is made up of 8 levels, divided into two different streams: Lower level ESL and Upper level ESL (please see the chart below).This division reflects the different needs of beginner to intermediate and high-intermediate to advanced learners. The first four levels offer a challenging program which includes a 90 minute Grammar class each day, followed by two hours of Listening / Speaking & Pronunciation. The students have the opportunity to make use of our language labs during these classes. These morning classes are followed by 2 hours of Reading, Writing and Discussion in the afternoon. Many ESL schools do not offer beginning students the chance to explore English through reading and writing. At CAC, we believe that an early emphasis on these skills will have a positive impact on students' language acquisition. The emphasis on all four skills is carried through our program to the upper levels. These Levels also have a 90 minute grammar class each day, but the following two hours of instruction are presented in a different format: the integrated skills workshop. We have chosen the integrated skills format for a very simple reason: high-intermediate and advanced learners need to explore their language skills vertically, approaching the content of their courses from different linguistic angles. These workshops allow the students to practice all four skills while exploring a given theme or topic. This approach encourages language learners to gain a more holistic view of English as a living language. A second difference between lower and upper levels is that students in the upper levels do not remain with their classmates in the afternoons. They choose from an impressive array of electives such as Marketing Idioms and Slang Speech Communications Urban Development Journalism Business Presentations International Business Everyday Situations and more... The elective program at CAC is designed to stimulate the students to be creative with their language skills, and to allow them to study content-based courses of interest to them while focusing on language acquisition and practice. Each elective is structured as a month-long course. Each of the first five ESL levels is designed to take 2 months to complete. The three highest levels run for three months. The text books have been chosen so that a student may enter a class in the first, second or third section of the class. After two (or 3) successful months in a level, the student is allowed to progress to the following level the next month. The eight levels are: Elementary Pre-Intermediate Low-Intermediate Intermediate Upper-Intermediate Pre-Advanced Advanced Upper-Advanced

We carefully select our Homestay families based on their experience, friendliness, and interest in hosting international students. We offer private or shared homestays which include 3 meals per day. All of our students stay at homestays, where they share daily life with a Canadian family. The family will treat you as a member of the family and will help you adjust to the Canadian way of life!

All work and no play can drive even the most serious of students crazy. Throughout the week, we have scheduled activities that will enrich your experience in Toronto. We take advantage of the theatres, shops, museums and outdoor facilities. Our students loved the LION KING and MAMA MIA musicals – all given at special discount rates for our students. We visit the Royal Ontario Museum, get wet at Niagara Falls, see the city from the CN Tower, take a boat ride to Centre Island, enjoy an evening drama at High Park amphitheatre, play soccer, volleyball and softball and the parks, and go dancing in the evenings – to name just a few. In the Winter, we ski, snowboard, ice skate, and dance some more in the evening! Whenever possible, we make sure the student is given ample opportunity to explore the city through great activities.