5 By BRYAN Mc GOVERN language-learning smartphone application is helping Korean students connect and get together in unofficial study groups to practise English. Clement Tsang said he started using the HelloTalk app to meet people who speak Korean and would teach him. The app offers users an option to choose the language they are experienced in and in return they can request to get connected with someone who knows the language they desire to learn. After helping people improve their English through the app, Tsang said, he started weekly meetings last summer with his friends who wanted to learn Korean and the students who needed to practice English. “T wanted to create a safe haven for Korean-foreigners to meet new people while learning both our culture and our language where they won’t be harassed or abused,” Tsang said. According to Tsang the biggest hurdle for the people he tutors is the fear to explore the language. In his last meeting Tsang hosted over 19 people. “[Korean students] learn in a classroom environment where they are not really using the language in a conversation,” Tsang said. DongWoo Yoo said he has been attending the group meetings since he came to Canada from South Korea earlier this year. “T need someone to listen to my English speaking, but usually many students don’t have confidence to speak [in] English,” said Yoo, who goes to King George International College for learning English. For him, the best way to learn English is talking among friends, like Tsang, who are patient with him. CLEMENT TSANG SUBMITTED photo This unofficial Korean language group engages Koreans with locals in a one-on-one tutor-like setting to practise English language skills. New club for Korean ESLs Language app inspires local to bring foreigners and natives together “Learning a language takes a lot of time and patience. The group can help make it a more enjoyable experience to learn a language,” Tsang said. Naomi Bird, English instructor at David Thompson Secondary, said the biggest problem for people learning a language is the fear to “sound stupid in front of a group of people.” She said the students who learn faster are the ones who don’t have a large cultural group to rely for the comfort of their native language. “Tf you [speak] Cantonese, Mandarin or Filipino you have a huge network and basically you can function in this city without very good English skills,” Bird said. For Bird the ideal scenario would be a strong mix of cultures put together in the classroom, which would force the students to speak English as the only common language in this international group. CLEMENT TSANG Founder of the unofficial club 66 Iwanted to create a safe haven for Korean foreigners to meet new people Wear crystals and heal your soul Fashionable and healing, crystals are apparently serving multiple purposes By OWEN MUNRO ing or are spiritually and physi- cally ill are turning to crystals as a new- age remedy. Brian Liu, owner of Amethyst Creations on W 4th Avenue, has been selling rocks and crystals for over 30 years. Liu said lately he has noticed more people coming into his store, particularly students and young people, looking to learn more about crystals and their healing properties. “People want to find something they connect to energetically that’s pleas- ant,” Liu said. “It may come in the form of fascination, it may come in the form of ‘wow, I just can’t put this down.” Liu’s store is filled with various rocks and crystals from all over the world. He said each crystal is different because of its energy. According to Liu, people can be attracted to different rocks they feel content with because Pr: having difficulty with sleep- each crystal holds different properties. Erin Erskine, who graduated from UBC with a bachelor’s of science in biology, started making necklaces using crystals after her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about a year and a half ago. “My mom and my family started really getting into the metaphysical aspects of crystals,” she said. “Even if I don’t really believe in it, they do and I respect that. Even if it is a placebo effect, it works for some people.” Erskine said she is skeptical about the properties each individual crystal has. She said she has come across crys- tals from different countries that list different healing factors. She designs the necklaces she makes for family and friends based on what they are going through in their lives at the moment. “Usually Pl go to a store, and whatever is happening in their life, [J pick rocks specifically for them be- cause of the meanings [the crystals] had,” she said. Liu’s advice for people looking to become more conscious of themselves is to decide for themselves what is the right crystal for them. SSS ERIN ERSKINE SUBMITTED photo Healing crystals are often worn or carried around. Rivalry not on tap at beer week As craft beer culture grows in Vancouver, so does collaboration between breweries By MICHAEL LYLYK and breweries owe it all to a strong community. And for Red Truck Beer Company, which is working on the official beer for the upcoming Vancouver Craft Beer Week, the process has been more collaborative than solo. “It’s a collaboration beer, we've worked hard with our friends at Parallel 49, as well as Main Street Brewing just down the street,” said Sam Payne, director of sales at the Red Truck Beer Company. According to Payne, this beer week event is brings the craft community together. “Eighty-five different breweries around B.C. helping out with collaboration celebrating each other, it was a great day,” he said. It’s all about a sense of community for Jody Hammel, a brewmaster at Big Rock Brewery. “Were all going after an ever-expanding piece of pie,” he said. “It’s fresh, it’s local. The brew we make is brewed here, sold here ... The money C:: beer is a growing industry goes back into Canadian’s BEER pockets.” Sebastian tours in Van Saltzer said he and his friends from Kelowna, B.C. see it that way as well. “That’s all we drink,” he said. Saltzer said craft beer helps the local economy and he really appreciates Parallel 49 Brewing Company Bomber Brewing Granville Island ao Ff ®© NH = . Brewing it. “I like Steamworks Steamworks for its Brewing Company history, Gastown roots and Steel Toad Brewpub steam-powered & Dining Hall beer. It’s amazing,” he said. Conse- quently, when a larger corporation buys out a small brewery, Saltzer said he and his friends stop drinking that beer. “It’s off the list,” said Saltzer. “A small business owner isn’t a million dollar corporation. I’'d rather support my neighbour than some rich guy.” Although there are many craft beer breweries out there, Hammel isn’t worried the market is becoming overrun with them. “T don’t see the bubble bursting anytime soon as far as saturation goes,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve reached that stage yet.” =e mm Source: Vancouver Brewery Tours MICHAEL LYLYK photo Red Truck Beer is at E 1st Avenue.