Our School Values

Christian Values

At ICOS we want our students to learn language with the goal to become a godly person as well as a good English speaker.

At ICOS we want our students to learn English with the goal to become a godly person.

• I want to find my own life purpose and destiny.
  
  
• God Loves me.
  
  
• Learning English will help me love people.

International Christian Online School provides Christian discipleship through:

• Christian Educators - Our Master ESL Instructors, Course Developers, Language Tutors, and Support Staff are all Christians who care about students and their learning. It is our goal that students will develop meaningful relationships with their Language Tutors and ICOS staff.
  
  
• Christian Curriculum - Our courses are designed to prepare students for life with a Christian perspective of the world. Each lesson demonstrates what the Bible teaches about specific English topics and our “ESL youth”, who are illustrated characters, share about their life experiences.
  
  
• Christian Social Network - Our students can like us on Facebook. Additionally, our students become part of a larger group of schools, as International Christian Online School is a branch of Heritage Christian Schools that are dedicated to the discipleship and growth of their students. 

Free English Level Test!

Measure your abilities in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing with our quick free online test.

Christian Social Network - Our students can like us on Facebook.

Canadian Culture

Our students will study with Canadian Language Tutors and learn about Canadian culture.

Canadians value multi-culturalism and are considered some of the friendliest people in the world.

• "Canada is one of the planet's most comfortable, and caring, societies… it is the most desirable place in the world to live." Time Magazine

Our students will learn about Canadian culture by:

• becoming part of the lives of our “ESL youth”, who are featured as seven young Canadians.
  
  
• Reading about Canadian living through “Culture tips”  in each lesson.
  
  
• listening to native English speakers with Canadian and British accents.

International Christian Online School is part of a Canadian system of Christian schools. This is the Heritage Christian School System that does both Traditional Campus style K to 12 education and a full Online Educational System for K to 12 students in Canada. These schools are part of the British Columbia Independent School system and have Group 1 status. This is the highest level of status an Independent Christian school can have in Canada. Heritage Christian Online School is the largest distance learning school in British Columbia and the largest Christian Online School in Canada.

Free English Level Test!

Measure your abilities in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing with our quick free online test.

Reading about Canadian living through “Culture tips”  in each lesson.

World Benchmark

More than 8,500 employers, universities and government bodies around the world recognise Cambridge qualifications.

Cambridge offers the world's leading range of certificates for learners and teachers of English - taken by over 3 million people in 130 countries. More than 8,500 employers, universities, and government institutions around the world recognize Cambridge qualifications.

ICOS courses help prepare students to take several of the Cambridge Exams. 

• ESL Beginner Course helps prepare students for the Key English Test (KET).  KET is an exam which recognises the ability to deal with everyday written and spoken English at a basic level.
  
  
• ESL Lower and Upper Intermediate Course helps prepare students for the Preliminary English Test (PET).  PET is an exam for people who can use everyday written and spoken English at an intermediate level and covers all four language skills.
  
  
• ESL Advanced Course helps prepare students for entry into an English speaking High School.  It covers both the learning outcomes of the British Columbia Year 9 as well as some of the Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE).
  
  
• ESL Expert Course helps students prepare for the Cambridge International English Language Testing System (IELTS).  IELTS is increasingly recognized by Educational institutions, employers, and government agencies, as proof of English language skills.

Free English Level Test!

Measure your abilities in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing with our quick free online test.

ESL Advanced Course helps prepare students for entry into an English speaking High School. 

Sensitive to their students

English learning is heightened when there is a combination of learning about a foreign culture and teaching others about your culture.

Many English courses will teach you the language within a Western cultural context. As more and more English speakers stay outside of this context, we have determined at ICOS to ensure that we are also sensitive to the culture that we are targeting. Our cultural modules such as Chinese Characters, Korean Heroes, and Spanish Proverbs provide familiar cultural concepts.

Western cultural scenarios are still interspersed amongst our cartoons, dialogues, idioms and our Canadian Tips. These highlight discussion points for the student and their Language tutor (Native-English Speaker). Students then have an opportunity to practice their English while learning about Canadian culture or while explaining or relating to their own highlighted cultural concepts. English learning is heightened when there is a combination of learning about a foreign culture and teaching others about your culture.

“A culture-sensitive classroom is that in which the teacher integrates materials, concepts, and values of local culture into pedagogy…”

“Teachers who are sensitive to their students’ unique cultures will be able to relate to the students more easily, leading to more successful instruction and more fulfilled students willing to embrace both a new language and a new culture.”

Free English Level Test!

Measure your abilities in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing with our quick free online test.

Western cultural scenarios are still interspersed amongst our cartoons, dialogues, idioms and our Canadian Tips.