Free movie next Thursday

Coming Soon ... Crank It Up at VIU

Friday,  September 26th  9 A.M. to 1 P.M.

CRANK it up! is a FREE, one day conference designed to provide you with opportunity to gain or improve the skills and abilities required to be successful at VIU. 

The conference includes sessions such as:

*Reading an Academic Article,

*Learning to Learn,

*Working smarter, Not Harder:  Better Research in Half the Time

*Improving Reading Speed and Comprehension,

* Time Management

* Top Ten Tech Tips,

* Getting Ahead of Exam Anxiety and lots more.

Click the link below to find out more and  register

Home Page | Crank it up

The Writing Centre at VIU

The Writing Centre at VIU can be extremely helpful plus has a great roster of workshops happening this semester.   Check it out when you are in the library. Click the webpage excerpt link below to explore their full webpage.  

The Writing Centre | Vancouver Island University (VIU)

Greetings and Welcome Back

Greetings to new Vancouver Island University students and welcome back for continuing students.      We hope you had an enjoyable summer.   

This blog is the digital face for VIU's  English Language Support (for Degree, Diploma, and Certificate students).     You can also access English Language Support resources via our D2L site.      

Les Barclay and Sylvia Arnold from the Faculty of International Education are your primary English language support people and can be found either in the library or in building 255.Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or problems to do with English and your studies.

Click on the following image for Fall 2014 information.

Improve your public speaking with Toastmasters

A great way to improve your speaking ability (listening and vocabulary too),  build your confidence,  engage in networking,  and integrate into Canadian culture is to join Toastmasters.    This is a voluntary organization that meets weekly.   There are 12 clubs in Nanaimo,  and in particular there is one at Vancouver Island University -- Toastmasters on the Hill.  

You can read more about what Toastmasters does on their website.

Toastmasters International - Home

Are you a good presenter?

  vs.



Making effective presentations is a learned skill,  and there are terrific tools and resources available today that make it easier to give great presentations and develop your presentation skills.

Mobile devices like tablets make it even easier,  although their flash limitations make the creation of digital content difficult.     Some experts recommend creating slide shows on a pc,  then using the mobile device to deliver them.

There are far more options than Powerpoint these days,  although it may take some time to learn them.   One of the easiest is  Google Presentation (via Google Drive).     For more dynamic presentations,  you can use Prezi or Haiku Deck.

Compare two different style of digital presentation -- the first with Prezi




And the same content delivered more traditionally.

Presentation Tips from Jennifer Austin

Free Rice -- Try the Vocabulary Learning Game

Here is a good way to improve your vocabulary and help the world at the same time.

Play online, learn online and feed the hungry | Freerice.com

You can play on a pc   or  download the mobile app.    It is free and reputable.