Vancouver Medical English Institute

A unique Medical English Program for medical professionals 

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What Students Have To Say:

Hi, I am here to write this for everyone that is interested in medical English and even oral English! Are you ready, guys, let's get started!  

First of all, I want to thank this school because I am always thinking that I was so lucky to have chosen this school before! This school is really great, great teachers! great lessons! great classmates and so on....you have to visit here and discover by yourself:)

Actually, I am a Chinese-Malaysian, as everybody knows, the mother tongue of Chinese is Mandarin so, I don't have a lot of chances to speak English even though the official language of Malaysia is English. Because of my job, I have to speak fluent English, so I decided to take a course about medical English. After that, I saw the website of this school and I started to send email to inquire about this school. Every time I sent Pikku email, she would reply to me in a short time; I really appreciated her in that way!

Finally, I decided to choose this school, and I was really shocked when I took her lesson because of her teaching style!! It was totally different from what I had had before. Honestly, I was so terrified at the beginning because I think I had a phobia about speaking English, especially in front of a crowd! So, I really hated the presentations when I first started the course! However, I had fun everyday! Every day was full of excitement! Above all, I just felt that I like studying English much more than before. I found that the teaching style of Pikku is very useful, it did help me a lot because she always wants us to speak, besides, this kind of teaching style is very different from Asian teaching style. In this school, we have a lot of chances to interact with each other, after a while, our English improved quite a lot and our relationship also became better! Teachers are just like our friends!

This school is not just a place for studying, it is also a place for us to relax and enjoy, Pikku always arranges a lot of activities for the students, such as potluck dinner, short term travelling, picnics and so on...I really appreciate the time that we shared together! I learned a lot from this school!

I want to thank this school and Vancouver one more time because you gave me a wonderful memory!

I miss the time that I spent in this school a lot! Besides, I also love this city-Vancouver very much!

I will be back here if I have any opportunity!

Hee Pei Cheng - Doctor

At first I’d like to say thank you for this wonderful meeting with this school, a great teacher Pikku and my precious classmates.

Before coming this school, I ‘d gone to another ESL school. It was fine, but there were too many students in a class. It often happened that I didn’t have a chance to speak English during the class. It was of course up to me, but I still hesitated to speak English and I wondered why am I here and what did I come here for?

When I visited VMEI to ask about it, I had the choice of just going back to Japan without any confidences in my English.  In fact, I almost decided to do it, but at that time I met Pikku and she suggested that I take a trial lesson.

I was really shocked when I took her lesson because of her teaching style!! It was totally different from what I had had before. This is why I decided to extend my stay for 2 months to take her lessons. It seemed to be my last chance to study English in Vancouver. It was, of course, difficult and hard for me to catch up with the class at first.

However, I had fun everyday! And I couldn’t wait to go to school each day! Above all, I just felt that I like studying English much more than before. Enjoying!!! This is the most important thing when I study English!

Because there is no shortcut for learning English.

Fortunately, I had an opportunity to work as a volunteer at a pharmacy downtown for a month. I went there in the morning and after that I went to school. I know that it is not easy to get this kind of chance. It was a really amazing experience that I had in Vancouver. What I did there was help to fill prescriptions etc. The pharmacists and other staff who work there were so nice. I really enjoyed working with them. And I was very happy when I could catch some words or expressions that I ‘d just learned at this school! English that Pikku taught me was very useful .

I thought that just 2 months in this school would not be able to change anything. But I was wrong. Through this time in this school Pikku gave me a chance to notice something important. I changed a lot. It includes many things, not only English. I really feel it!

All my experiences in this school will live in my life forever.

Let me say Thank you once more. Thank you very much!!!   

Maki Maeda - Pharmacist

When I started going this school it was 9 months after I came to Canada.

I did not have enough money and time around that time, so I chose 6 weeks (2 weeks of part time, 4 weeks of full time) depending on content. In the meantime, I took vacation many times, so I think my English skill was improved less than other students. I recommend  taking the class without a break.

Additionally, I volunteered in pharmacy for 2 weeks with taking part time classes fortunately. It was the greatest experience in my Canada life. At first, that was the furthest thing from my mind. Now I really appreciate Pikku's referral. Thank you so much.

First let's take a trial class.

Keiko Suzuki - Pharmacist

If you are looking for a medical English course here it is. If you are really interested in learning medical English and not just from an ESL teacher but by an experienced medical profession, here is the right place. I am a midwife in Japan and have worked for 4 years. And I took the core course at VMEI.

Our teacher, Pikku is very cheerful, smart and passionate. Her class is full of surprise and laughter. She gives us real medical advice from her personal experience. I really wanted to study medical conversation skill not just study from textbooks. Our small class let each students speak up, so I could improve my speaking skill a lot through presentations and role-plays.

I learned many things throughout the course. I am totally satisfied with this school.

Thank you for great classes. I recommend this school for all medical people.

Yuki Terada - Midwife

After I took a few trial lessons including one at Vancouver Medical English Institute, I decided to go to VMEI. During the lesson, the teacher, Pikku, was confident teaching medical English and very kind to everyone. I felt comfortable with her. I took the Core course for a month. At first, I found it difficult to study medical English because of the many unusual words, but I got used to it little by little. With some study I could learn not only medical English but also many common English phrases and idioms. There were four students per class at the maximum, so I also could practice my pronunciation carefully. In addition, there were a lot of activities besides class, so I really enjoyed myself at VMEI. If you are interested in VMEI, why don't you take a free trial lesson!!!

Noriko Ogasahara - Nurse

I'm really glad that I could learn the Medical English at VMEI.  I had wonderful time there. The contents of classes were really instructive.  The teachers always pay attention to make sure the students understand so I could feel at ease when I studied there.   The school is wonderful!   I would like to go back to the school in order to learn more.

Minako Hanaoka - Nurse

For people who are looking for a medical English school

There are lots of schools in Vancouver so it's difficult to filnd a good school. Before going to VMEI, I went to other schools. They were OK but a little bit boring for me. 

Before going to a medical English school, you should ask many people who went there.   You can get information from them. I did that and could find a good school like VMEI.

I would like you to know how this school is great. If you're looking for a medical English school, you can take a trial lesson at VMEI. You could understand why I recommend you this school with confidence.

I was really satisfied with this school even if I only went there for 5 weeks.
I learned not only medical things but also many other things in this school.

Anyway I like VMEI so I hope I can go back to this school.

Megumi Okuyama - Nurse

I took a medical English course at another language school, because I was a nurse and  I wanted to learn medical English. After I studied medical terminology there for two months, I wanted to use it in conversation, so I looked for another school. And then, I found VMEI and I took a free trial lesson. In this school, speaking was the main subject such as a role play (patients vs doctors), so I decided to enter VMEI without debate. The tuition was not so cheap, but I had many opportunities for speaking, because the number of students were four. Also, what I like was that there was an English environment at all times in VMEI even though there were many Japanese in Vancouver. As well as before and after the classes, especially lunch time and during activities for weekends, I talked to Pikku and my class mates in English a lot. Even Japanese students among themselves kept the English policy. Also, Pikku always gave us many topics of conversation, so I learned many words not only medical words but also general words naturally. At first, I applied for a month, but I extended for two months and a half finally. VMEI was really like a family. I'm absolutely satisfied I went to VMEI.  Let's take a trial lesson!

Maki Nagasaki - Nurse

Miyuki Miyahara - Nurse

I studied at VMEI for four mouths to get the diploma. The time passed very quickly. Classes were hard at first but I soon got used to VMEI and then I completely enjoyed every day here.

I was troubled that I couldn’t think in English the same as I feel my first language in my mind. At VMEI, I spoke a lot of English in natural situations and also read and listened. That gave me the hint to solve my problem.

The teachers always gave me exact answers and they thought about the needs of students one by one (we had different professions). That's why I could keep high motivation to the end. I even felt I could improve my English!

I think Pikku is not only a very high level English teacher but also she is a warm and reliable person. I think I am very lucky to meet her from the bottom of my heart. It's my treasure in my life. I hope I will come back to VMEI.

Ikumi Yamamoto - Physiotherapist

You can get what you want at VMEI!

I really enjoyed the school and my English has come a long way. I would recommend VMEI for several reasons. Pikku and other teachers are very experienced and have an excellent ability to recognize what is the most important for you. If you are not good at grammar, they would help your grammatical problem while requesting other students’ demands. You might think that it would be impossible to meet each student’s expectation, but the way they teach is so different from other ordinary schools that they would not let you down. They listen to what each student wants to study, and change contents accordingly. In my case, what I did was to role-play and give presentation every day to improve my conversational English. In short, the class is totally student-oriented. On top of that, school activities would further your English as well as experiencing diverse cultural aspects of Vancouver. Your English would improve a lot while enjoying various activities in this amazing city. Finally, you might have a problem outside school such as finding a good home stay or a reasonable apartment. The principal, Pikku takes care of everything and works very hard to make you comfortable. It is very difficult to find a good school, but VMEI is the answer for those who are interested in learning medical English.

Kazunari Kitazono - Cardiologist

I am really glad that I joined this school. What a wonderful experience! I think it is the best school I have ever seen in Vancouver. If you want to understand and learn English and enjoy the learning process, you must like your school and your teachers and that`s the way this school is the best. Because teachers here care a lot about the students, and they will do their best to make the student improve and further from that we do many activities together so, the student gets to know the other students very well and he or she will be very happy that they have another family here and another lovely mom who deals with the students as her sons and daughters and this person will be very pleased that he has chosen this school and will never forget about this experience. I was very lucky to join this school and I am very happy with the result I got from this school. If you join our school you will see the changes by your self.

Hashim Al-Hassan - Medical Student

My precious time in VMEI.

Come and join us!!

I was in VMEI for 2.5 months last winter.

I really had a great time at this school and of course in Vancouver.

If you really want to improve your communication skills in English you should come and join a trial lesson at VMEI and I am pretty sure that you will decide to be a student.

The reason why I chose this school was very simple.

To be honest there were not many ways to research English Schools in Vancouver before I left Japan for Canada.

I could find hundreds of English schools on the web, but most of them were very similar and I could not see any difference between them.

What I really wanted was improving English conversation skills.

It meant I had to dip into the English world and needed to have a chance to talk.

VMEI had very small classes with maximum 4 students, the web site said.

And also I wanted to learn how to communicate with the patients and other health care givers in English.

For these two reasons I chose VMEI.

The very first day in Canada, the lady waiting for me at the airport was the principal of VMEI, Pikku. She is a very energetic teacher and always tries to seek the best way for us to learn. She always makes a note of the words and expressions that every one of us has not known before during the class, and the next day we have a review test she made from the note which she made the day before. We repeat the words and expressions so many times that naturally we learn. Because there are only 4 students in a class, every one of us has enough time to practice how to express and how to communicate with other people through role plays.

It is the best way to learn, I believe.

Now I am in Japan and always remember what Pikku said to me,

“ All I have to do is just talk talk talk !”

There are a lot of more things that I like about the VMEI, but maybe other students have already mentioned them.

All I want to say is:

 If you really want to improve your English communication skills, take a trial lesson.

You will find!!

Thank you Pikku and everybody I met in Canada.

With all of you I had a really precious time.

 Yumiko Mizuno - Pediatrician 

 "I’ve learned a lot of things not only Medical English but also natural conversations in VMEI.

I’ve felt my English improved dramatically because the class mates are 4 students and speak English all the time, besides we have the same professional background. So here is the best environment to improve your English.

The teacher arranges the way to teach for each student and she helps us so that we can step up gradually. VMEI is an excellent school so that you can improve your English amazingly. And it is also a very cozy and comfortable place.

After school, and on the weekends we had lots of activities so I went to many places such as restaurants, skating, field trips, tours to the care home and so on. We are like a family.

I extended the class after taking the Diploma course. The program is a 4 months cycle but the teacher taught me lots of new things after 4 months. I think I could not learn such a lot of things anywhere except here.

I’m happy that I could take her class."

Tomoko Okada - Nurse

"All of the things I learned and experienced at the school were authentic and valuable. I don't come from a medical background , so it was hard for me to learn a technical field. However, it was a very enjoyable time because our teacher always encouraged us and chose a suitable way to learn. I was never bored in her class. I learned something new and important to my life during each moment I spent with her. 

The program is very high quality and unique. The teaching style and classroom presence captivates the students. 

I highly recommend this school. You should visit it and see for yourself!!"

Natsumi Takata - Massage Therapist

"I was very comfortable in the school. There are only a few students in each class so the teacher knows exactly what should she teach us. I could request what  I wanted to learn. I told the teacher I wanted to speak more and more so she changed the lessons and she increased the time given to speaking. I felt my speaking was improving rapidly. The teacher knows everybody's weak points so she concentrates her teaching on our shortcomings. She told me good ways to study.

I would have wanted to have classmates who have even more nationalities so we can exchange useful information about medicine in another country. I spent a very good time not only class time but also lunch time, after school and  holidays. The school always had a lot of activities so I have carried away many good memories."
Keiko Yoshida - Nurse

"TWO THUMBS UP.  This school is VERY unique. This rareness comes from Pikku. Her personality is open-minded and her teaching is organized with interesting lesson plans.

However, she is very flexible and changes the plan according to each student's needs.

I always felt safe making lots of mistakes because she created such a secure atmosphere. On top of that, I always had fun! Having fun is the best way to learn. Why don't you take a free trial lesson. You'll find out what I mean."

Akiko Kurosawa - Medical Office Assistant

"Pikku Vichert opens her heart to her students. She didn't treat us as students but as her sons and daughters and as her friends. However, she was always our teacher, anytime and anyplace. She made sure we learned how to think in English and how to use English. It was a pleasure to be her student."

Mohammed Al-Yousef - Medical Student

'There are many ESL schools in Vancouver now. Many students are confused at the time of choosing the best school and teacher for themselves. Since I have learnt English from Pikku, my English has certainly improved so fast, particularly my pronunciation and speaking fluency. 

Pikku can absolutely guide each student to encourage them to learn English through her own rich experiences and skills. I am very happy that I could study English with her. I had a very good time with her not only studying ESL but also using English in medical contexts. I would recommend her school, Vancouver Medical English Institute, to anyone who engages in the medical field. Let’s try it!"  

Kayo Margarita Nagata - Nurse

"VMEI is a very well-constructed English Institute with multi-active programs that were developed by the extraordinary teacher, Mrs. Pikku Vichert. The programs are suitable for those looking for different ways in addition to the standard normal ones to learn - it changes the idea of the old boring classes."

Ahmad M. Thuaimer - Medical Student

"I learnt a lot not only about Medical English but also how to communicate with patients and other medical professions because Pikku always tried to give us a good atmosphere in her class and good materials for study. Besides, I had a great time while I was studying it under her because we always laughed and had fun during lessons. I thank Pikku for teaching me a lot of things."
Naomi Kanai - Pharmacist 

"I took Pikku's class for 2 months in Vancouver. She taught us not only Medical English but also regular English. She can speak several languages. It means she knows how to learn foreign languages, and what is the best way to study foreign languages. She is a really powerful and funny teacher. I never got bored of her class. There is always a laugh in her class. She always makes students speak, think, give their opinions. If you take her class, you will find that learning English is quite fun. You might even think you are not learning English but you are enjoying speaking English with people."

 Mayumi Uchida - Nurse

"When I went to Vancouver to study Medical English for two months, the season was the worst weather in Vancouver. However, I really enjoyed studying English, because I met a brilliant teacher, Pikku. 

She can distinguish each student's English level immediately, and she knows what is the best way of teaching for each student. She also gave us special hints and recipes which made it interesting and exciting to learn foreign languages. Moreover, I felt that due to her personality, she taught us some special things, such as People, Love, Life, etc.

I absolutely had fun, although my study was so hard. I really appreciate meeting her. I am definitely sure that her school is 'an Institute for students who really want to learn'”.

Mitsuru Nakajima - Nurse

"I learned Medical English from Pikku. I really enjoyed studying it. Because she was a great teacher and she knows not only how to teach medical English, but also English language. She always fixed my bad English. She understood we already knew about medicine in our own language, so she had us to explain it in English. I think it's a good way to learn Medical English.

Another reason was her good personality. When I asked stupid questions, she answered with her smile. She always thought about whether the students were comfortable or not. She is friendly, so she often goes somewhere with her students after school. I think the most important thing is having lots of fun during studying. That's why I recommend her!!"

Sachiko Oka - Pharmacist

"Do you want to study English abroad by just following some text books? If that is what you want to do, I think you can do it by yourself. But If you don't, here is the  best opportunity to learn  English in a unique way. I was in Pikku's medical class for three months last year. It wasn't so long  but  I really  enjoyed her class because I  felt my English was improved and had a lot of fun in her class!! 

What I learned is not just new words or new medical terms but also how to use English, how to use all my knowledge of English and built up my confidence to speak! By the time I finished her class I even could enjoy a  lot of jokes too.  First of all, I was so relaxed  in her class. I did not have to use correct English. Her policy is speak out what is in your mind! So I just tried to express my thoughts without worries about making  mistakes. Usually she understands what I want to say. After that she taught us how to express the correct way  until you understand completely. That why students are so relaxed and have so many opportunities to speak.  I think this is a very useful way to learn English.  

Secondly, there are many different tasks she prepares every day so you never get bored. For example, role-playing  in many medical situations, watching medical topic videos, how to do presentations, reading many medical articles, learning the medical situation in Canada, how to write a letter in medical words, how to write a medical record and so on. Anyhow, Pikku has great skill for teaching English in unique way and loves it. 

If you want to have a new experience for learning English, just join her class. You definitely will have fun and a great time in Canada!!"

Mine Takamatsu - Nurse

"I had a great time in this school. I could feel that my English skill improved. I could learn not only medical English but also general English. I had many opportunities to talk in the class. And I could ask the teacher in the class without being nervous, she always paid attention to each student. So if I couldn't ask her, she asked me if I could understand or not. There were few students in each class. So students and teacher could be familiar with each other. We often went out to have dinner and to see something. It was very fun! I was delighted to go this school."

Yumiko Aoyagi - Nurse

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