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ESL Standard

Upper Madison College
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Course description

1. Integrated Study

a) Different class structure to core ESL classes, which provide variety.
b) Several classes with same teacher for beginner students to feel comfortable.
c) Opportunity for advanced students to practice learnt skills.

2. Effective Communication

a) Focused lesson on the fundamental aspects of oral communication such as pronunciation.
b) Plenty of teacher feedback.
c) Activity, practice and task-based lessons to ensure exciting and active learning.

3. Grammar
a) New concepts are presented in each level.
b) Focus on practical application and usage rather than only theory.
c) Importance on comprehension and understanding rather than the right answer.

4. Reading/ Writing

a) Combination of reading and writing in one class to emphasize language input for maximum output.
b) Novel studies at each level that encourage intensive reading which leads to autonomous learning.
c) Targeted weekly reading and writing skills which allow for organized learning with tangible goals.

5. Speaking

a) Structured classes that are objective-centred with tangible goals.
b) Clear levels which give students a sense of progression.
c) Connection to Effective communication classes to develop fluency alongside accuracy.

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar

Class schedule

Course duration
2-52 weeks
Start dates
02 Dec 2024, 13 Jan 2025, 10 Feb 2025, 10 Mar 2025, 07 Apr 2025, 05 May 2025, 02 Jun 2025, 30 Jun 2025, 28 Jul 2025, 25 Aug 2025, 22 Sep 2025, 20 Oct 2025, 17 Nov 2025 and 15 Dec 2025
Classes per week
20 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 45 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
23 Dec 2024 - 03 Jan 2025

UMC does not hold classes on the holiday dates above. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Morning session
09:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

All levels, beginner to advanced
You will take a placement test on your first day to determine your class level. You may also take this test before your arrival in Toronto.

Class size

Average 10 students
Maximum 12 students

Student age

Age range 13 - 70 years old
Average 23 years old
(20 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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school

School description

Upper Madison College is a premium language institution dedicated to providing quality language instruction. Our motto is "Commitment, Connection, Compassion."
We are committed to excellence. At UMC, students connect with friends from all over the world. Finally, UMC instills the confidence needed to be compassionate world citizens.

Number of Students: 200-350
Number of Teachers: 14-22
Number of Staff: 10-12
Examples of Countries Represented: Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico,
Panama, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam and South Korea.

Year opened
2004
Number of classrooms
22

Accreditations

Facilities

  • Social Activities
  • Cultural Trips
  • Elevators
  • Free Internet
  • Wireless Internet
  • Computers
  • After-Class Seminars
  • Studying Area
  • Sports Activities

Teacher qualifications

Native English speakers
All
Teachers with English teaching certification
All
Teachers with college degrees
All

University partners

UMC has partnerships with the following universities and colleges in Canada. You can gain full or conditional acceptance into one of these institutions.

Algonquin College
Cambrian College
Canadore College
Centennial College
Conestoga College
Confederation College
Durham College
Fleming College
Georgian College
Hanson College
Lakehead University
Lambton College
OCAD University
Seneca College
Sheridan College
St Lawrence College
Trent University
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Wilfrid Laurier University

Nationality and age mix

The nationality and age mix at Upper Madison College varies over different time periods, courses and levels. Throughout the year, the average age is 23. In the summer, the average age is 20.

UMC teaches students from all over the world, including:

Brazil
30%
South Korea
21%
Japan
6%
Venezuela
6%
Vietnam
6%
Saudi Arabia
5%
Colombia
2%
Ecuador
2%
Italy
2%
Panama
2%
Taiwan
2%
Ukraine
2%
Portugal
1%
Russia
1%
Other
12%

School holidays

UMC does not hold classes on the holiday dates below. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Open dates
Year round
School holidays
23 Dec 2024 - 03 Jan 2025

School location

Upper Madison College is a Languages Canada Certified school that offers a unique learning experience for our students. Our school was founded in 2004 and has been growing year by year and we are going to open another campus in Vancouver soon.

Our teachers are dynamic, world travelers interested in ensuring our students receive the best in English instruction. We keep our classes small, allowing for individual attention. At Upper Madison College we look forward to sharing a valuable educational experience with you.

Our school provides ESL and professional programs such as business English, test preparation (TOEFL, Cambridge FCE) and internship programs to international students. In addition, our school is famous for its College / University pathway program.

Our school is affiliated with Centennial College, Seneca College, Niagara College, Algonquin College, Cambridge Institute of Science & Technology, Confederation College, Brock University, Alexander College in B.C and University of Regina.

In addition, our school also provides high school programs so many high school students register for university through our school now.

Our school has the confidence to provide satisfaction to your students and we are prepared to welcome them.

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photos

Photos

  • Common room at Upper Madison College 1/30
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  • Reception of Upper Madison College 3/30
  • Entrance to Upper Madison College 4/30
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  • Upper Madison College 29/30
  • Teachers and Staff at Upper Madison College 30/30
reviews

Reviews

86% recommend

based on 7 reviews
5 stars
6
4 stars
0
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
1
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"Was a nice experience and I learned so new things"

Kristof Ivancsy, student from Austria

It was good, but I was in a lvl 11 class and it was to easy for me. Thats like the only thing I found bad. Everybody was nice to me...

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
12 Aug 2024 - 23 Aug 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Lama Rahman, regional Marketing Manager at Upper Madison College responded to this review.
04 September 2024

Thank you Kristof for your review.
It was a pleasure having you at school and sorry regarding your level but we are placing students according to the placement test they do. sometimes test is not that accurate so we do have other measurements in place as to repeat the test after one week or if student gets high mark after 2 weeks, he/she would be moved to higher level. Unfortunately due to your short time registration, it was hard to fix such issue.
I really wish you the best in your future and would love to have you again for other programs.
Good luck dear Kristof.

"Clean, friendly, helpful and good to remember to."

Kristof Doboczy, student from Canada

On the first day I was put in the wrong group but apart from that my experience with the school is very good. The teachers are kind, helpful, friendly and so are the students. Right now I can’t think of anything what I didn’t like. The school trips were also very good.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
10 Jul 2023 - 4 Aug 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Lama Rahman, regional Marketing Manager at Upper Madison College responded to this review.
23 August 2023

Thank you kristof for taking the time to write a review. It is highly appreciated.
It was a pleasure having you this Summer.
On behalf of Upper Madison college, I would like to apologize for the first day mistake and the only excuse that we were super busy with the biggest intake during 2023 which push us to act fast to accommodate all the students needs at their first day and as a result I didn't take the time to read carefully the full instructions and sent you to the wrong group. Sorry again for this mistake.
UMC is happy that you had good time during your period of program and looking forward to have you again in the future.
Good luck

"Exceeded my expectations"

Eduardo Da Conceição Alves, student from Brazil

I liked all of the teachers so much. The environment was so good and all the staff were caring.

The school was located at an easily accessible region.

I loved my classmates; all of them came from different parts of the world.

My homestay was awesome. They were attentive and helpful. I recommend them.

I now feel more confident about my English skills. I have improved my English a lot.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
14 Sep 2015 - 25 Sep 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"I absolutely loved UMC for several reasons."

Kamilya Zhumayeva

First, the teachers and staff here were very good. They were always friendly towards students. From the very beginning, they did everything so students would feel home at UMC.

Second, I liked all my classmates! All of them came from different parts of the world, and by talking with them I learned more about different cultures and countries.

UMC was something new for me, and I am happy to have been part of this school!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
11 weeks
Date of study
13 Jul 2015 - 28 Sep 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Excellent!"

Ada Yu

My experience at UMC was great! The staff there were very nice and willing to help whenever I needed their help. The teachers there were patient; if you had questions, they were more than happy to explain it to you. UMC is located right next to the subway station which made the commute easier. UMC also had an English only policy which encourages us to speak English as much as we can on campus. I think this really helped me with my speaking skills.

UMC is located in the centre of north Toronto - there's a big supermarket next to the school which was really convenient.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
11 weeks
Date of study
15 Jun 2015 - 4 Sep 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Best experience in Canada"

Ariel Johh

I really liked UMC; it was my one my best experiences in Canada. The teachers were really friendly and helpful. I made friends with so many people from different countries. I have improved my English a lot. I now feel more confident about my speaking and writing skills.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
5 weeks
Date of study
8 Jun 2015 - 17 Jul 2015
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"I really do not recommend this school"

louise FRANCOIS, student from France

If your journey is less than 1 month, don't waste your time in this school. Everyone is nice but the quality of classes is not good. A lot of teachers were absent and during some classes we just played games and watched movies.

The social activities were organized during the class time and not during the weekend. There were no free activities during the weekend.

I reserved a one week super intensive class (30 courses) and I almost did not have any classes. The school didn't want to reimburse me.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
3 Aug 2015 - 10 Aug 2015
Would you recommend this school?
No
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
UMC, Staff at Upper Madison College responded to this review.
27 August 2015

Hi Louise,

On behalf of UMC we would like to apologize for your unpleasant experience. We are sad to hear that you did not enjoy your time at UMC. Unfortunately, you came on a rare week. The week that you started, Monday was a Statuary Holiday, which is why you started on Tuesday, rather than on Monday, which your agent (Language International) informed you before you registered with the school. In addition, you arrived on the last week of the term, which is quite hectic. We have final exams, and activity day and a field trip. Which is probably why you feel there was not enough lessons.

We do not understand why you were expecting activities on the weekend because most schools do not provide such services. We apologize if you were misinformed.

In regards to teachers being absent, this did not happen as we had teachers conducting each class, each day.

Due to the circumstances, we offered you an extra day of classes to supplement the Statuary Holiday that you missed. Unfortunately, you decided not to come.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Thanks,

UMC Team

visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you. If you wish to receive your paperwork by express mail, you will be charged C$ 75 when you register.

Visit Canada's Citizenship and Immigration website »

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Toronto based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Upper Madison College staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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