Palm trees line the beach at English Bay.

ESL students and tourists often ask me, “What should I do while I’m in Vancouver?”

The city of Vancouver looks to answer this question by providing a comprehensive guide full of Top 5 lists in various categories.

I usually answer tourists and my students by giving them a few options. Keep checking ESLroom.com for updates, as I make my own Top 5 List of things to do in Vancouver.

1. Explore the Seawall on a bike, rollerblades, or your feet!

The Seawall routes (in red).

When most people think Seawall in Vancouver, they think of the Seawall surrounding the perimeter of Stanley Park. However, what many people don’t realize is that the route continues along the beach of English Bay and over the Burrard Street Bridge! The route then continues along the seawall separating downtown Vancouver from mainland Vancouver. The Stanley Park loop is approximately 9 km while the inner Seawall is about 12 km.

There are many bike and rollerblade rental shops on Denman Street, near Robson Street. Bikes can be rented for as low as $4.75 per hour.

The cast of Entourage.

Entourage is back! Fans of the popular HBO show are happy to see their favourite show back for another season. For those who don’t know, Entourage is an HBO show which follows a young movie star named Vincent Chase as he navigates his way through the ups and downs of Hollywood life.

Movie star Mark Wahlberg is an executive producer on the show, and it has been said that Entourage is loosely based on Wahlberg’s experiences as a young star in Hollywood.

In the season premiere, Vince visits Jay Leno on The Tonight Show to promote his new movie, a Martin Scorsese adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby.

The Magic had a chance to win it with 0.6 seconds left, but rookie Courtney Lee missed a nearly open layup to send the game to overtime.

Game 3 is tonight (Tuesday June 9 at 8:00pm EST) as the series shifts to Orlando. Magic fans hope that Dwight Howard can rescue the Magic from their 2-0 series deficit.

Glossary
♦ teamed up – the two players combined

♦ Spaniard - a person from the country Spain

♦ open layup – a clear chance to put the ball in the basket

♦ 2-0 series deficit – the Magic are down two games to zero in the best-of-seven series

Actually, they are both correct!

Some English words have both British and American spellings. Colour is the British spelling, while color is the American spelling. Which one you see usually depends on where the writer comes from. It is okay to use either spelling.

♦ Some other words that have both British and American spellings:

British spellings: favourite, organise, centre, theatre, jewellery, judgement, defence, catalogue, arguement

American spellings: favorite, organize, center, theater, jewelry, judgment, defense, catalog, argument

Hello. Hey. Hi.

How are you? How’s it going? What’s up?

Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening!

There are many different ways to greet somebody in the English language. The most common way is to say hello.

Hey and hi mean the same thing, but they are less formal than hello.

Which greeting we use often depends on who we are talking to or where we are.

How do you say hello to your friends? Is it different from how you greet your grandparents?

Next time you see a friend, try to think of a new, fun way to say hello.

Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese RF.

The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) has come to a close, and Japan has once again been crowned champions.

Japan won the event by narrowly defeating South Korea in an exciting extra-innings victory. Japanese superstar and Seattle Mariners rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the 10th inning to lead Japan to a 5-3 victory over their rivals from South Korea.

The game was exciting, and 54,846 fans at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, USA, seemed to enjoy it. There are other people however, who think that the WBC needs to be improved.

Some fans complain that the tournament is too long, as it takes 18 days to complete. Others complain that the scheduling is not very good, saying it is boring to see Japan and Korea play each other five times in the same tournament. Lastly, because the WBC takes place during Major League Baseball’s (MLB) spring training, many players are not yet in mid-season condition, and some players choose not to play at all.

• What did you think of the WBC? Did you enjoy watching it? Who is your favourite team?

Post your comments below.

Glossary

♦ WBC – World Baseball Classic

♦  come to a close – finished

♦ crowned champions – won the event

♦ narrowly defeating – winning by a very close score

♦ extra-innings victory – when a game is tied after 9 innings, it goes to extra innings; victory means win

♦ two-out, two-run single – with 2 outs, a 1B base hit which scored 2 runners

♦ top of the 10th inning – the first half of the 10th inning

♦ mid-season condition – a player’s physical fitness is best during mid-season

What else can you do in the ESL Room?

• Click your flag at the bottom of this page to translate into your own language.

• Try out the VozMe application, which will turn your text into speech. This tool will help you learn how to pronounce difficult words.

• This page will be updated regularly with new lessons, focusing on common mistakes in English, pop culture, and confusing idioms.

• If you live in Vancouver, Canada, I will meet you for private tutoring. The first tutoring session is always free! Visit the Tutoring in Vancouver section for more information.

Thanks for visiting, and keep checking back for updates!