The English As A Second Language Course Is Now Up And Running At The Goderich Library Branch

by Bob Montgomery

The new English as a Second Language Course for Newcomers has been running for two weeks now and it's offered every Saturday from 10:30 until noon at the Goderich Library Branch.

Library Assistant Alina Oomen says so far they have six newcomers attending the course. The biggest challenges newcomers face are language barriers and the shortage of housing, followed by transportation and finding a job. But she says language is probably the biggest barrier because it's very difficult to get a job without being able to speak some English. The current program will run until September 28th and then they'll asses where they want to go from there.

The course is in person rather than on-line. She does assign some projects for students to do throughout the week, but essentially they will build four skills; speaking, listening, reading and writing through real-world tasks. They need to get a library card, be able to fill out an application to get a job, be able to call in to their work if they're sick, or their child's school if the child is sick, be able to make a doctor's appointment, be able to go to a grocery store and figure out what they need for a week, based on their budget. So those are things they will be focusing on in the course

Anyone interested in joining the course can contact them at goderichlibrary@huroncounty.ca or they can go to the library or they can call 519-524-9261