Talking to the people at our child’s school is not a big deal for most of us. But for those whose first language isn’t English, the task can range from challenging to impossible. As can simple errands like shopping or calling the phone company.
A quiet little program in Sturgeon County is helping its residents gain confidence in the English language so they can tackle these everyday tasks and reach their goals, which vary from securing better employment to attending college.
Not speaking the local language can be very isolating, especially in a rural area where there are few people who speak their native tongue.
“I meet a lot of really lonely people,” said Dyvonna Inkster, an English language instructor with the Sturgeon Adult Learning Council.
Inkster runs a free, weekly class at Bon Accord. About a dozen people come to practice their speaking, reading and writing. The class provides a low-pressure setting where students can practice English with others who are in a similar situation. It’s a break from the daily challenge of dealing with fast-speaking Canadians.
“The mom and dad are trying to register their child and they’re breaking down in tears because they can’t get through that basic communication,” Inkster said.
The classes have been operating for two years. Inkster created the program as a pilot in 2007 and it took off. The program recently received a two-year funding boost of nearly $50,000 that will enable her to add more sessions next fall.
The class begins after warm greetings. The people assembled live throughout the county and hail from places like Mexico, Quebec, Greece and Ukraine. A basket in the corner holds a number of well-worn children’s books, including “Leprechauns Don’t Play Basketball.”
The students converse about daily issues, practice reading exercises and complain about the idiosyncrasies of English.
“Why do Americans say night? It’s not night, it’s evening,” blurts Nikolay Sokurenko, a native of Ukraine.
Inskster assesses each student before the eight-week session and tailors the lessons to accommodate everyone’s level and goals.
Gibbons resident Sabas Serafin-Torres, 47, said he and his wife attend so they can better communicate with others.
“English is very important especially for us because we don’t have any family here,” said the 47-year-old who works the fields for Kuhlmann’s Market Garden.
The Mexican native has been in Canada for eight years. He’d like to learn to write and improve his speaking but he thinks the writing may be beyond him at his age.
“I have three kids in school so it’s hard for me because sometimes they need some help and sometimes I am not able to help on everything that they need,” he said. “But like I told them, I’m going to do what I can.”
Luz Maria Groot, 44, also from Mexico, is hoping to improve her skills well enough to go to college.
“I can understand English, the writing is my problem,” she said. “That will help me go ahead in the future to college or something.”
The university graduate was a social worker before coming to Canada 12 years ago. She likes the small class because it helps her conversation skills.
“You get a little bit intimidated with language, mostly when we are with Canadians because they speak very different,” she said. “We have an accent and we speak slower.”
Writing is also the focus of Toula Prins, 55, a native of Greece who’s spent the last 32 years living near Gibbons. She wants to improve her writing so she can further her career as a clay artist.
“With my craft, I get a lot of emails,” she said. “I need to be able to write these people back.”
