Cornerstone has several partnerships with local residences for students. Some of them are available throughout the year. Please contact us for full descriptions. Cornerstone can also place students at Roomstay, where students are provided a furnished room and bathrooms and kitchens are shared.

Switching homestay families within the first week of arrival is acceptable. However, if students wish to move to another homestay family after this probationary period, they must give Cornerstone’s Homestay Coordinator and their host parents at least 2 weeks’ notice. Students requesting to switch host families must provide sufficient reasons to the Homestay Coordinator. If proper notice and reasons are not given, a switch will not be possible. Students are allowed to change their homestay family a maximum of 3 times. After that a fee of $100.00 will be charged by Cornerstone for each change.

The average is 30 minutes using the public transportation system in Toronto. Remember that once you get in the transportation system, you do not have to go outside to get to the school.

Yes. Students receive ‘Living in Toronto’ and ‘Studying at Cornerstone’ guidebooks which include a lot of useful information about the school, programs, homestays, and Toronto. Our Homestay Coordinator always willingly helps students and makes them confirmable staying with a family. Please never hesitate to speak to the coordinator or one of our staff.

Yes. Students are explained the rules by the homestay family on the first day. Students are expected to follow the rules. All the rules are common sense ones, for example, “call the family when you do not need dinner”; “use a calling card when you make an international phone call” etc.

They are middle class families who welcome our students as family members.

Yes. Our coordinator always communicates with both students and families in order to provide a comfortable stay. The coordinator also gives students a homestay orientation on the first day.

Our Homestay Coordinator visits every homestay family before we send any students there. There are many requirements each homestay family must meet and Cornerstone evaluates them strictly.

It’s totally depends on your interests; however, we do recommend visiting the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, French Canada, and maybe New York. We recommend you experience this multi-cultural city as much as you can. Visit local events and have conversation with local people using English that you have learned.

Yes. Cornerstone offers Open Conversation every Monday and Wednesday. All students are welcome to attend. Cornerstone also offers Open Tutor every Thursday which is a free extra lesson taught by our ESL teacher, so students can ask questions and receive extra materials.

Cornerstone offers many types of activities to make students’ lives happy. The activities include visiting the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, French Canada, New York, going to watch NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS games, local events and festivals, pub nights and more!

Yes. All students who successfully complete programs/courses, by achieving over 70% on their evaluations and by having a good attendance record, can request a certificate or Diploma. Cornerstone has graduation ceremonies every Friday to congratulate graduates and give them the opportunity to have one last unforgettable memory. The graduates have the opportunity to give a short speech. Some students thank friends; other students express appreciation for their experience in Canada, some cry, some make others laugh. It is always a great ceremony!

Do your best. Students who come everyday, do homework, are active in class and pass all exams and/or short quizzes during a session may be able to move up to the next level earlier if the instructor and Academic Director agree; therefore, do your best.

Students receive an evaluation every 4 weeks. The evaluations include marks on attendance, participation, homework, understanding of the subjects, and test scores. Students must achieve over 70% each month in order to be able to move to the next level.

Cornerstone offers 8 levels of ESL from Beginner to Advanced. Levels 1 to 5 take 8 weeks each to complete, and levels 6 to 8 12 weeks each. Sometimes students are allowed to move up to the next level earlier, e.g. if their evaluation is high enough and they are very motivated.

The Work & Study program allows international students to study English, but also allows them to work after completion of their study. For more information, please visit Work & Study program.

You may think it would be better to learn English skills separately in order to improve your English abilities, in fact, it is NOT. TESL Canada regards the Integrated Methodology as the most modern methodology for teaching English and that is what Cornerstone is using. The integrated-skill approach, as contrasted with the purely segregated approach, exposes English language learners to authentic language and challenges them to interact naturally in the language. Learners rapidly gain a true picture of the richness and complexity of the English language as employed for communication. Moreover, this approach stresses that English is not just an object of academic interest nor merely a key to passing an examination; instead, English becomes a real means of interaction and sharing among people. This approach allows teachers to track students' progress in multiple skills at the same time. Integrating the language skills also promotes the learning of real content, not just the dissection of language forms. Finally, the integrated-skill approach can be highly motivating to students of all ages and backgrounds.

* The TESL Canada National Certification Standards for Instructors of English as a Second Language or Foreign Language in Adult Programs was developed for instructors trained in Canada.

• General and Intensive ESL
• Intensive Business English Diploma
• Real Speaking Diploma– focuses on improving Speaking ability
• TOEFL preparation
• TOEIC preparation
• TESOL Diploma – ATI certificate
• TEYC Diploma – ATI certificate
• CEEP – College Entrance Exam Preparation
• Youth program (age 7 – 17 years old) – elementary and high school transfer preparation
• College Transfer Program (CEEP)
• Summer Camp (Age 12 – 17 years old)
• Unpaid Internship
• Work & Study

Class are small; on average 8 – 12 students per class. Max 16 students.

• Cornerstone’s classes vary according to the program:
• General Program: 8:45 – 12:30 (20 hours / week)
• Intensive Program: 8:45 – 15:45 (28 hours / week)
• Afternoon Program: 13:30 – 15:45 (10 hours / week)
• Over 90 % of students studying at Cornerstone register for Intensive programs

Yes. Cornerstone thinks it is very important as a language school that all the students speak English only during their stay. Cornerstone informs all the students of the English only policy. For more details, please visit the policy page. English only policy page

To ensure the continued quality of the teaching, teachers are monitored regularly. They are evaluated by the students each session and receive feedback from the Academic Director about these evaluations. Teachers’ lessons are regularly observed by the Academic Director and strengths and areas to be improved upon are discussed in a follow-up session. Finally, Cornerstone holds regular professional development workshops for teachers in-house and provides a professional development budget for teachers which can be used to attend conferences and workshops outside of the school.

• TESL Certified
• University Degree
• Friendly and have a passion to teach English
• At least 4 years of teaching experience, some over 20 years. AVG 8 years
• Prepare tight and well-planned lessons every day

We have students from Korea, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia, followed by Russia, Turkey, Taiwan, Colombia, Venezuela, and Spain and a few other countries such as Italy, Germany, Poland, Swiss and more. Cornerstone has accepted students from 37 different countries.

Cornerstone staff can speak/understand Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, and French.

• 24 hour security, business building with modern facilities
• Student cafeteria
• 30 computers with free access to high speed internet
• FREE wireless internet available at the campus
• FREE practice software installed on each computer, TOEFL preparation software and Pronunciation software
• Huge screen TV for students’ presentations

There are 11 classrooms in the main campus and 5 classrooms in the second Scollard Campus. The classrooms are comfortable and designed to allow all students to see and interact with each other and to be able to pay attention to the teachers. Each classroom is equipped with desks and chairs.

This location is in the prestigious & exciting Yorkville area of downtown Toronto where many prominent people such as Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes, and popular politicians like to socialize. During events such as the Toronto International Film Festival, many celebrities visit the area, so you may be able to have unforgettable memories.

Cornerstone is located on the 8th floor in a full-service, 24 hour security, business building directly above BAY subway station. Students do not have to go outside to get to the school. There are two exits from Bay station. Students should take the Bay Street exit. You will see the entrance to the 80 Bloor Street West building right behind the fare booth. Walk down the hallways, take an escalator at the end of the hallway and you will be in our building. Take an elevator and come to the 8th floor where the Cornerstone campus is. This indoor route is something you will especially appreciate when winter arrives in Toronto.

Yes. Currently we have partnerships with Centennial College, Algonquin College and Lambton College.

• LC (Language Canada) / In Process
• AILIA (Association of Language industry)
• American TESOL Institute
• TKT Testing Centre (Cambridge ESOL)
  
• ETS Authorized TOEFL iBT and TOEIC Centre

Cornerstone will send you a payment confirmation sheet and Letter of Acceptance after we confirm payment at Cornerstone. The payment confirmation sheet and Letter of Acceptance indicate that you are accepted to Cornerstone Academic College.

Most students arrive in Toronto on Saturday or Sunday and will start on Monday; however, some students arrive in advance, and Cornerstone has no problem with earlier arrival as far as students inform us of their arrival date in advance. If students are doing a homestay, they can check in any date they request; however, students who stay residence might only be able to check in on weekends.