You might have already read our post on ideas for Canadian summer activities you can do to explore Canada and practise English at the same time. But what can you do with your spare time during the long winter months? For this article, we’ve compiled a list of suggestions for in the colder half of the year.
With the exception of coastal BC, it gets just as freezing cold in the rest of Canada as it does in Quebec. Many Canadians are outdoor enthusiasts, even in winter. While skiing in the fresh at one of the Rocky Mountain ski resorts is probably on the of any alpine skier, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing are more accessible (and less expensive), as you can practise these sports pretty much anywhere. If the motorized kind of skiing, there are fantastic snowmobile trails all over the country.
Of course there is also Canada’s national winter sport: hockey. Maybe you like to skate and play on the ice yourself? You’ve got your choice of natural lakes or artificial . Or maybe you would like to watch an all-Canadian NHL game in English? Your best chances are early in the season when the Canadian teams play mostly each other.
If you prefer to spend the cold season indoors, you are not alone. A lot of people love to in winter. You could join a craft meetup which gives its participants a chance to work on their knitting, crochet or embroidery projects. Working with fabrics, especially , is a traditional hobby in all of North America. Early European settlers did not have much fabric, so they used the small remnants to sew patchwork blankets as protection against the cold. Pottery and wood-working have also become more and more popular in recent years.
A lot of good books appear in autumn, so how about joining a book club? Maybe it is hard for you to find an English book club in Quebec but there are a lot of book clubs online that cover a huge variety of topics. Another idea would be to challenge yourself to read a certain number of books in English. A great app to keep track of your books and discover new ones is Goodreads. Speaking of apps – LIKEWISE is a great resource for getting recommendations for books, TV shows, movies and podcasts. What makes it unique is that it relies on human suggestions and not algorithms. When does that ever happen in this day and age?
Last but not least, there are always streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ that let you watch movies in English (with English subtitles, if that helps you). If you’re a fall is the season for you because most films that are expected to win prizes launch this time of the year.
Do you have other suggestions? What are your favourite winter activities? Let us know on social media, or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.