STUDENTS VOLUNTEER IN LANGUAGE PROGRAM FOR NEW CANADIAN WOMEN CONTINUED
Fatima with her extensive EAL background was willing
to teach a language and literacy class. This would also
provide ELNG 200 students with new opportunities for
volunteering.
Thus resolved, Fatima and Meredith began looking for a
space, and were at first discouraged because they had no
budget. Meredith, then, applied to the Saskatchewan Synod
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)
for funding. The ELCIC awarded them $1,100. Central
Lutheran Church offered them space without charge. “This
is the most important part,” says Fatima, “It’s amazing,
and we wouldn’t have been able to offer the program
without it.” The funding, then, went towards refreshments
for the students and their children as well as the services
of coordinator Cynthia Schultz, a University of Regina
master’s student in the Faculty of Education.
With a space, a teacher, a coordinator and volunteers in
place, it was time to find students. They advertised the
course, with the first class offered on October 4. After five
classes, "11 women [had] attended with nine attending
regularly, and about nine children under the age of five
attending," reported Schultz.
Others from the Faculty were also involved. Dr. Christine
Massing helped with the children on Tuesdays. The
students from ELNG 200 and students from Fatima’s
master’s classes donated items such as diapers and
clothing for the EAL students to take home. Yan Yang, a
PhD student, tutored each week. Some women from the
Lutheran Church also volunteered, helping with set up and
bringing homemade halal snacks once per week. Bernice
Casper, a volunteer from Our Savior’s Lutheran Church,
says, “I think this is so wonderful for new Canadians to
have this opportunity to learn English one-on-one—it’s
one-on-one—that’s what I want to emphasize about this
program. I also love the interactions between the U of R
students and the English students.”
Miriam, a mother of four, found the program helpful, with
everyone helping her to learn English. She has also found
new friendships through the program. U of R students
Taylor Raby and Darian Kaszas worked together with
Miriam using a picture dictionary. Speaking to the value of
this tutoring experience for her as a future educator, Darian
says "We are bound to have students who don’t speak
English,” and Taylor adds, “or students who are trying to
learn another language.” Taylor says she has learned that
when teaching EAL, “it really helps if you go slowly and
repeat a lot.”
Coordinator Cynthia Schultz focuses on the value this
program has for the women who attended: They were
no longer at isolated at home with their young children.
They came for four hours per week, and had the chance to
socialize with other women as well as to learn a variety of
English language and literacy skills. She found it wonderful
to see their language skills improving.
By Shuana Niessen
“I will be using this [experience] in the
future—I think it is very important work...It
is good to see this kind of program show up
in a grass-roots scenario. This is beautiful—
it is the goodness of people.” ~Jonah
Norman-Gray
EAL student Rasha who attended the program said she
liked it and had found new friends through the program.
University of Regina student Jenna Magnusson worked with
Rasha as her EAL tutor. Jenna said the program was "a
good experience." She had gained "insights about people
learning English.” One of her strategies was to use her
Google translator to look up Arabic words when her student
got stuck on a word.
EAL student Finda Sam worked with U of R student Jonah
Norman-Gray. Finda came to the program because she
wanted “to learn to read, to read and write.” What did
volunteering teach Jonah? “Awkwardness [when teaching
EAL] is not a problem. Situations where you are not sure
what to say are normal. Awkwardness just means you care
about the situation.” Working as a volunteer in this program
was important to Jonah because, he says, “I will be using
this [experience] in the future–I think it is very important
work.” Jonah adds, “It is good to see this kind of program
show up in a grass-roots scenario. This is beautiful–it is the
goodness of people.”
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