ESL Wilderness Ranch

Winter riding for our students

2012-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

It may be winter and we may have snow on the ground but it is still fun for our students to go riding. The horses really seem to enjoy being out in the snow as much as our students do. Although we can not go up into the mountains, there are still plenty of trails around the ranch to have fun on.

Winter is not all gloomy at the ranch

2012-01-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

January is a slow month for students at our school. I guess most students are looking for summer riding up in the mountains but winter also has its special attractions.

Classes are usually held informally around a log fire in the school with Hot chocolate and muffins for snacks. This makes for an even more relaxed atmosphere and when the students are relaxed they always tend to speak more freely which in turn helps to improve their fluency.

Daybreak at the ranch

2012-01-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

Winter in the Chilcotin Mountains is something special, either we have snow or the days are sunny, crisp and clear. Rain is rare here so we do not suffer from the usual depression that affects most city dwellers.

When the sun rises in the morning, the mountain tops are the first to feel the rays of sunlight. Soon the horses will move into the open to feel the warmth of the new day, an eagle flies to the top of a tree and inspects it's domain and a new day starts.

Christmas time at the Ranch

2011-12-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time and students went out in to the forest to select and bring back a nice Christmas tree. They chose a 16 foot (just over 5 metres!) tree which just fitted in the ranch house.

The next problem will be finding a way to decorate it!

The ESL Wilderness Ranch is open year round for language studies.

Lunar eclipse at the ranch

2011-12-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, December 10th there was a lunar eclipse. Because we are up in the mountains, the air is clear and there is no ambient light to spoil the night time view. It is also very possible to hear the wolves howl at night.

Holding 2011 prices!

2011-11-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

We are holding our 2011 prices for anyone who books a 2012 course before December 31st. Our website has recently been updated and includes much more information about our programs.

If you are thinking of registering for a course in 2012 don't hesitate to contact me before the end of the year

Winter School

2011-11-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Winter is here at the ESL Wilderness Ranch, the first snow of the season is on the ground but this is not stopping our students from riding! If anything, the horses seem to enjoy going through the snow.

The ESL Wilderness School is open all year, some of the activities may change but there is never a dull moment !!!

New legislation for Immigrants

2011-10-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

The federal government wants immigrants to prove their fluency when they submit citizenship applications.

Here at the ESL Wilderness ranch we concentrate on student fluency. We are 100% English immersion which makes us the perfect choice as a school if you are planning to immigrate !!

Visit to Germany and Switzerland

2011-10-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

I will be visiting Germany and Switzerland from November 2 - 15 ! During this time I will be visiting agents in Frankfurt, Muenchen, Berlin and Bonn but I will be available if anyone else would like a visit !!!

ESL movie on Youtube !!

2011-10-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Check out our new ESL Movie on Youtube! See how much more we have to offer over the usual "city schools"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjDtIweeyp8

2011-09-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Students are already booking for 2012, First class will be in April and July / August look like they might fill up really quickly.

We will hold 2011 prices until the end of December so if you are considering a course next year you should get in touch with us soon.

2011-07-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

Level I, our ESL Standard course with activities

Our Standard course consists of 15 hours classroom study per week followed by “Western” riding experience and other ranch based activities. Conversational English with the staff in the afternoons and evenings greatly enhances the student’s language skills. Courses longer than 4 weeks are available. Afternoons are spent practicing English in fun, interactive activities around the ranch. Whether it is learning the parts of a horse, riding a horse to a hilltop to look out and describe the valley, hiking through the forest to look for animal tracks in the snow, or learning how to throw a lasso, students will go through lots of exercises to improve their communication.

Level II, our ESL Wilderness Activity Based course

Our Wilderness Activity Based course also consists of 15 hours classroom study per week, but the afternoons take the Student onto a more advanced program. Instead of casual riding or fishing, we take the Student on a more formal approach to learning the arts of being a Wilderness, Horse Guide and the use and care of horses in the backcountry. Topics covered include;

1. Wrangling: catching and releasing
2. Saddling: saddles, bridles,
3. Riding: horsemanship and horse sense
4. Packing: equipment, horses, knots and hitches
5. Shoeing - Trimming and Shoeing your own horse:
6. Staking, Hobbling and Belling:
7. Basic Horse Training:
8. Back Country Vet:
9. Harness work and Basic Horse Logging:
10. Wilderness skills:
11. Map Use:
12. Bear and Cougar Safety:

School in the alpine meadows

2011-07-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

This summer we are trying something new. Taking the classroom into the alpine meadows! For no extra cost we are taking the classroom up to one of our alpine camps. The classroom studies are the same, 15 hours per week but the students are sitting in the open air enjoying all the nature that they can handle.

Last week lessons were interrupted by the appearance of a Grizzly bear with 4 cubs in the meadow below.

email us at info@eslwildernessranch.com for more details

Bears and Spring flowers

2011-06-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

The ESL school took a few days up in the mountains to enjoy the wilderness and nature. The hills were covered in Spring flowers and we even saw a momma Grizzly with 4 cubs! This is definitely so much better than studying in the city

Spring arrives at the school!!

2011-06-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Spring arrives at the school!!

Spring has arrived here at the ranch and our students are making the most of all the opportunities available. Trail riding up among the flowers is becoming really popular, warm sunny days and the chance to view a Grizzly bear with her cubs in the distance.

This is a perfect environment in which students can immerse themselves in true Canadian culture. Classroom study in the mornings followed by activities on the ranch. Riding is the most popular but we also include other diverse activities such as learning how to shoe a horse, target shooting, driving a tractor and we even still manage to get up into the mountains to go snowmobiling!

International University Internships

2010-04-09T16:32:00.001-07:00

Internships for business administration, sales marketing, accounting, forestry and wildlife lodge and hotel management take place in a Canadian Wilderness Ranch setting. A training and mentoring program takes place 24 hours a day during work and recreation time.

Living on a farm with so many people is pretty intense. It shows you all sides of yourself as you grow and learn through the challenges you are faced with.
Hi there, my name is Cornelius, I am 26 years old and I am from northern Germany. I learned carpentry and worked as a carpenter for some time. Now, however, I am a forestry student near the black forest in southern Germany. I came to Canada for my practical semester; for when we Germans think about Canada, we think about forests. Guido, the woodlot and wildlife manager here at Chilcotin Holidays offered me an internship and it is the perfect place for me. I have worked hard and learned a lot and it has all been very worth it. Besides my work, I have had so much fun. All the sport related things, like hiking, climbing, riding, shooting and archery... And it has improved my English, and somehow my French, Spanish and Japanese. I made friends from all over the world and we will stay in contact. I learned how to drive a skidder, a back hoe tractor and the best... I learned how to ride a horse. There are so many new things I had never done before, just far too many to list! Thank you for everything, Kevan. I have to go back to Germany, but one day I will come back with my family. I promise.

English Study and Application

2010-04-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

In a wilderness ranch setting with horses and nature all around, have English classes in the morning and English applied in the afternoon on daily ranch tasks. English speaking recreational activities include horse riding, gold panning, Grizzly bear viewing, mountain hiking and others.

Hi, my name is Nina de Wit. I left the Netherlands in the beginning of September to go to an English-speaking country to gain more fluency in English. I did not have much work experience, as I was twenty years old, and when I left the Netherlands I had only been in college for two years. I chose a guest ranch, because I wanted to do something different from my classmates. Everybody else went to go and work at a translation agency, like our supervisor wanted us to do. I, however, saw this as a chance to see more of the world and to experience those five months in a place I would feel at home and would be able to learn more than just translating. I found this place at Chilcotin Holidays. Besides me improving my English skills while working in the office, I also did horseback riding, archery, target shooting, taking shoes off horses, and experienced true Canadian wilderness while staying at one of the camps for a weekend. I now know that I can do a lot more than I think and that I can easily rely on myself and my knowledge to survive in a for me, unfamiliar environment. Connecting with the rest of the staff was really easy, since everybody is here to be educated or to experience the ranch lifestyle. You have a lot in common with the other foreigners, since they have not got the ability to speak the language as well as the Canadians either. Besides this, you can relate to almost everyone here, because this place becomes a home away from home. You are here together and together you can make it an enjoyable experience. After Chilcotin Holidays, I plan to go back to college and get my degree. After that, I am sure I will return to Canada for more adventures.

Work and Travel Visa for a Unique Work Environment in British Columbia Canada

2010-04-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

For anyone on a work and travel visa, this includes working with horses in the Canadian Wilderness, interacting with guests from around the world while learning all kinds of new skills, be they running a chain saw, cooking on a camp fire, shoeing a horse, driving a tractor or practicing English in an English speaking work environment.

In addition to our ESL and Lodge Management courses, we also offer training in wilderness guiding, log cabin building, angling and much more! Have a look at our course descriptions at www.chilcotinholidays.com

We're also hiring staff for a variety of positions. Contact us if you're interested in recruiting foreign students for work permits in Canada. We also offer a variety of internships for interested students looking to gain hands on experience in the wilderness tourism industry.

Students from all over the World come to Chilcotin Holidays to practice their English and meet new Friends

2009-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Just like every year, we have amazing staff from around the world working an enjoying the outdoor lifestyle here at Chilcotin Holidays. This year, two of our staff came from Germany. Isabella and Isabel were in Canada practicing their English skills and we think they’ve done an excellent job. Here is what they wrote about their experiences at the ranch:

Our names are Isabella Pucyk and Isabel Semp, and we are from Germany. We are both 24 years old and we study at a German University. The reason why we came here was to improve our English skills and try something totally different. We always wanted to come to Canada, it is one of our favourite countries, and we did not want to see all the usual tourist stuff. Above that, we thought, that on ranch like this you have a better opportunity to practice your English, because you are forced to speak English.

Our most favourite activities at the ranch have been to dig a hole with an excavator, to ride a lot, and to take part in a horse pack trip to two different camps. There we saw a female grizzly bear with 2 cubs, and many chipmunks! It was a real great experience. Besides this we saw a couple of hummingbirds. Another interesting thing was to see how to pack the horses for a pack trip and how the horses dealt with the very narrow trails in the mountains. The first shower after the trip was the best shower ever!

After our first week we knew all the staff members and everyone was really nice and caring. We had a lot of fun in the ranch kitchen and during our pack trip.

In the evenings we watched movies or did some other activities, like log climbing, taking the dogs for a walk or having a camp fire. Even looking at the stars was pretty exciting, because you can see a couple of falling stars.

To sleep in the tents was also very adventurous, but funny at the same time, because of all the nice neighbours in this nice little village. During our six weeks here at the ranch we learned a lot about ourselves, and where our real borders are. We found a lot of new good friends from all over the world. This stay at the ranch is one of the best experiences we’ve had in our life so far.

English Skills

2009-05-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Simon Zemp – 15 May 1989
My name is Simon, and I am from Switzerland. I finished school last summer. Afterwards I did my military service, which I finished in November. I’ve worked for different companies as a cleaner and as a data collector to save money for my Canada trip.
On January 10th I few to Vancouver where I was studying at an English School during the following nine weeks. I had several reasons to come to Chilcotin Holidays. Firstly I wanted to see an other side of Canada (wilderness after bustling city life), secondly I wanted to become a more well rounded person in life! And finally it is also a good opportunity to have a good an exciting time without spending a lot of money. In my spare time I had quite a lot of interesting things to do. First of all I learned to ride. I was a greenhorn at the beginning, so I am now almost a cowboy! Furthermore I learned to drive a skidder, snow mobile and I improved my modest cooking skills. And the whole time my English was getting better and better.
The relationship with the other staff was always good. I was helped when I needed something. The talks were always fun at the ranch

International ESL Students

2009-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Raffael Schwarz

My name is Raffael. I’m 19 years old and I am from Switzerland. I finished my apprenticeship this summer in an office.
I came to Canada to improve my English. First I went to an English School in Vancouver and after that I came to Chilcotin Holidays. I chose Chilcotin Holidays because my travel partner wanted to go there and also to see another part of Canada and to get some experience with horses.
In my three weeks at the farm I did a lot of interesting things. For example: horse riding, driving snowmobile, skidder driving and cooking. In the evening we had a good and funny time with the other guys.
The relationship with the other staff was always good. I had a fun time. I will stay in Canada for another 6 weeks, then I will go back to Switzerland and search for a job.

Back to Canada, eh!

2009-03-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

It’s a time of year when many university students like to take it easy and catch their breath, before the next semester starts. Not for Samuel! He came to the ranch last spring with a working holiday visa. He wanted to spend the summer working abroad to practice his English skills, before starting university in the fall. Last summer he learned how to be an exceptional ranch hand and assisted on building our new office building, in addition to helping out on some of our pack trips. We also noticed an improvement in his English skills throughout the summer. This busy worker bee has returned to the ranch to work and brush up on his English until the end of April, when his second semester begins at the University in Hohenheim. Welcome back, Sam!

ESL Training and Job Placements in the Canadian Wilderness

2008-06-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

International students seeking ESL instruction want to spend more time in the country they’re visiting by working as volunteers, interns, or taking part in co-op and practicum programs. At Chilcotin Holidays we not only offer ESL classes by qualified instructors, we have a variety of volunteer positions available for students to improve their English skills without worrying about paying for long-term accommodation in a foreign country.

Anyone traveling through Canada on a Visitor’s Visa is eligible for this program option. For students interested in career training, we also offer professional internships and job training in lodge management as well as wilderness stewardship.

We provide both -- quality language instruction and free room and board for our ESL school graduates while they work at the ranch! This enables students to fine tune their language skills and experience the best of what the Canadian Wilderness has to offer. Contact us for more details.

ESL Program Launch

2008-04-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Knowing the personal growth many guests, staff, and guide-school students have benefited from while being at Chilcotin Holidays, we’ve created an ESL Wilderness Ranch Program. Foreign students have the opportunity to learn English and practice it in a wilderness ranch setting – with horse riding as a key focus. We think this is much more appealing than studying indoors in downtown Vancouver!

Click here for more info on our ESL program.