The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka is teaching newcomers English, daily life skills, and more

Imagine moving to a new country for work and having little, if any, knowledge on how to speak or understand the local language.

How would you go shopping? Arrange for doctor appointments? Get a driver’s license? Fill out official documents? Get medicine? Or any other daily living needs.

Perhaps moving to a big city, especially one as multicultural as Toronto or New York, wouldn’t be so bad as you would likely find someone to help you in your own language.

Now, what about moving to a small town anywhere in North America? How about Huntsville or Gravenhurst or Bracebridge?

While it’s not new to see immigrants choosing to be in Muskoka, there are more workers than ever before being recruited by local companies who have positions to fill.

Helping them become a part of the community, learn English, and navigate daily life is where the ESL (English as a Second Language) program presented by the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka comes in.

Program coordinator Nancy West, who is also the Team Leader for Literacy and Special Projects, Community Experience Ambassador, says the need for this program has seen ebbs and flows over the years.

“It started with the Syrian refugee crisis,” she recalls. “When that happened, we saw a need for ESL programming. There were a lot of Syrians coming here and there were not supports whatsoever for newcomers in our community.”

Back then there were ESL instructors running classes out of Huntsville only. The pandemic ground the program to a halt, but it started up again when the Ukrainian crisis began. They now have classes in Huntsville and Gravenhurst.

“I would say we’ve served about 75 people since that from 17 different countries,” says West of recent results.

FILLING A NEED

With an intense labour market shortage impacting several businesses in the past two to three years, many community employers, including MBRP and Sandhill Nursery, have needed to utilize the ESL program for groups of employees.

Those individuals had a job already when they arrived in Muskoka. However, there are several who came from war torn nations and are here working hard to build a better life for themselves and their families.

“These refugees and newcomers have been contributing a lot to our communities,” says West.

Joanne Lea is the volunteer teacher for the Huntsville-based ESL classes. She has taught 46 people this year in the various levels offered – beginner, pre-intermediate, and intermediate.

Lea is a retired teacher who has been helping teach English to newcomers in Huntsville since the early 1990s. She says it’s been an amazing opportunity to be able to help our recent arrivals.

“It’s helping them become part of the community,” she says. “They’ve been welcomed by the community, even the mayor has come by to welcome them, but also we give them a community where they get to meet each other and talk about things with each other.”

Group gatherings for the ESL students are planned and encouraged. They are looking to do field trips in the colder months to do things like cross country skiing, skating and other Canadian winter activities.

“We had a big party this summer for all of them, so they could meet each other,” says Lea. “And we had a big soccer game, I think it was Spanish speaking versus Ukrainian speaking. Looking to have other parties in the future as well.”

While Lea focuses on Huntsville, the Gravenhurst ESL teacher is Xavier Lambert. She also gives credit to the teachers who laid the foundation for this program to continue and expand, particularly Cathy Patterson, who passed the baton to Lea.

Though many programs are run in the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka offices, there are also some that run evenings at Trinity United Church, who donates the space.

LANGUAGE BENCHMARK

Thanks to an out of district non-profit organization, the Thunder Bay Multicultural Centre, several Muskoka ESL students were able to get language tested to see where they’re at in terms of the Canadian Language benchmark.

The Thunder Bay centre did the language testing as there were no other options available. West says she is very grateful that they decided to help and at least 20 students have been tested so far.

“When they get the testing, if they qualify, they can go into the LINC program, which they have to take for citizenship,” says West. “So, they come through the ESL program and then if they test well … the LINC program.”

LINC stands for Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada. LINC is an immigrant settlement service provided through the National Settlement Program. It is funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and tuition is free for eligible participants.

ESL program is immersing these newcomers into the community so they can become a part of it. YMCA Employment and Learning Centre’s staff and volunteers are there to assist those in need learn new skills and find employment.

However, when other situations require specific professionals, they enlist the appropriate people to help.

“A couple of staff from the Newmarket Welcome Centre, came up here and sat down with a few of our ESL workers and helped them with settlement questions,” explains West.

Questions that were asked and answered included, “I have a visitor Visa, how do I get a work permit?” Or, “how do I go from a permit to citizenship?” “How do I get my documentation translated into English?”

Funding for the YMCA ESL programs comes from a variety of sources, including the Muskoka Novel Marathon, donations from employers in the community, and their own staff.

“It’s all through fundraised dollars,” says West. “We (the YMCA) have something called Move to Give, where all the staff from throughout Simcoe-Muskoka raising money for programs. Locally, we raise money for our ESL program.”

DAILY LIFE

Lea says helping adults learn English is not only about the language itself, but teaching about everyday scenarios that could pop up. The students need to learn how to get doctor’s appointments, get prescriptions, do driver’s licenses, call 911 in an emergency, how to buy clothes using Canadian sizes, and other necessary things to live life daily.

“You start with that,” says Lea. “Partly because it’s topics that are covered in the Canadian Language Benchmark, but also look at LINC topics as well, so we cover similar things.”

How do you find your way around a map? Where the bus stops in town?

“The need is going to continue to grow as more immigration occurs,” she says.

Joanne speaks French and English, but most of the recent ESL students have been Spanish, Ukrainian, Farsi and Hindu speaking individuals.

“With the beginner epopele who have virtually no English, you just start with the alphabet, how to read words, read numbers, you start at the beginning,” says Lea. “You can use pictures or point to body parts or items in the class and have them practice the words.”

With ESL, people who are instructed in ESL, it’s not about knowing the other language, you learn how to teach from the ground up: immersing the students in the new language.

Starting with survival words and phrases builds a solid foundation so they can quickly develop a working knowledge of their surroundings.

“Those who want to stay have to reach a level 8 on the test, which is basically university level English,” explains Lea.

(Ed’s note: here is the point I joke that most people born in this country can’t speak, read or write at a university level).

“They are great students,” says Lea. “A lot of them are well educated in their own country and they want to learn.”

Contact Nancy West at Nancy.West@sm.ymca.ca if you know of someone who needs the service, or if you are a business … She will help coordinate whether it’s in Huntsville or Gravenhurst.