Importance of Speaking English.docx
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Importance of Speaking English.docx
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ImportanceofSpeakingEnglish
ImportanceofSpeakingEnglish
ByAdrienneRobertson
Whilemostnewcomerscouldprobablylistaboutahundredthingsthatscareorworrythemaboutleavinghomeandmovingtoanew,unfamiliarplace,alloftheseissues–findingajob,choosingadoctor,makingfriends–areinfluencedbyourabilitytocommunicatewithinourcommunities.
True,manypeoplesettleinareasnearfamilyorotherimmigrantsfromthesamepartoftheworldsothelanguageiseasier,buttherecomesatimewheneverynewcomerneedstostepoutofhisorhersafetyzone.LearningandspeakingEnglishisanimportantstepinthesettlementprocessbecauseithelpsnewcomersobtainbetterjobs,getinvolvedintheircommunities,participateinevents,votewithconfidenceandexpressthemselves.
AccordingtoStatisticsCanada,the2006Censusshowedthat98percentofthepopulationcanspeakoneorbothofficiallanguages.Inaddition,EnglishorFrenchisspokenatleastregularlyathomeby94percentofCanadians.EnglishorFrenchisspokenmostoftenathomeby89percentofthepopulation,sometimesincombinationwithanon-officiallanguage.
Ontheotherhand,only80percentofthepopulationreportEnglishandFrenchastheirmothertongue(58percentand22percentrespectively).Theremaining20percenthaveamothertongueotherthanEnglishorFrench(theseincludeAboriginallanguages).
ThelackofEnglishcanmakeitdifficulttobecomeanactive,happymemberofCanadiansociety.Whiletherearemanyclose-knitgroupsincitieslikeToronto,MontrealorVancouverandplentyofnewcomerswhothrivewithintheirowncommunities,thesepeoplemaynothaveallthesameopportunitiesasotherCanadians.
IbrahimAbsiye,ExecutiveDirectorofCultureLink,aToronto-basedsettlementagencyfornewCanadians,sayscommunication"opensthedoorforemployment,integrationandeducation."InToronto,speakingEnglishcanbethefirststeptoclear,effectivecommunication.Absiyeidentifies"5C’s"fornewimmigrants;theyarefivemajorchallenges,allstartingwiththeletterC:
1.Colour:
barriersasrelatedtoraceandappearance.
2.CulturalConfusion:
newcomersmayexpectonethingofCanadaandexperiencesomethingdifferent.
3.Climate:
itisoftenshockingtonewcomersthatuptosevenmonthsoutoftheyeararespentindoors.
4.Computers:
manynewimmigrantsarenotasexperiencedwithtechnologyasweexpectthemtobeandthiscanpreventthemfromaccessingsomeinformation.
5.Communication:
notbeingabletoconversewiththepeoplearoundyoucanleadtofrustration,isolationandmissedopportunities.
AbsiyecallscommunicationakeysteptosettlementandconsiderslanguagebarriersoneofthebiggestproblemsnewcomerswillfacewhentheymovetoCanada.
Accordingtoa2005studybyStatisticsCanada,oneinfournewcomersfoundlearningEnglishorFrenchtobeoneofthebiggestchallengesintheirsettlementprocess.Theyconsidereditthesecondbiggestdifficultyonlyafterfindinganadequatejob,whichcanalsobeaffectedbyanewcomer’sabilitytospeakEnglish.
Analysesofdatafromthe2006Censusonimmigrationandcitizenship,conductedbyStatsCanada,showedthat70percentoftheforeign-bornpopulationdoesnotspeakEnglishorFrenchasafirstlanguage.ThisgroupisformedmainlybyimmigrantswhoarrivedinCanadabetween2001and2006–closeto1,110,000newcomers.
TickettoEmployment
TheemploymentrateofimmigrantsincreaseswiththeirabilitytospeakEnglish.NewcomerswithstrongerEnglisharealsomorelikelytofindjobsrelatedtotheirpreferredfields.
ThisiswhyitcanbesobeneficialtoattendanESLclass,joinadiscussioncircleorseekoutasettlementagencyforhelpwiththeEnglishlanguage,especiallywhentheseservicesarebothexcellentandfree.Theskillsnewcomerscanlearnintheseclasseswillalsomakeday-to-daylifeeasier,likecommunicatingwithadoctor.
AlthoughtheCanadiangovernmentguaranteesthisfreedom(equalaccesstohealthcare)amongothers,liketherighttoafairtrial,itisnotalwayspossibletofindatranslator,particularlyatthelastminute.ThisiswhynewcomerscanbenefitfromarmingthemselveswithEnglishlanguageskills.
"Therearehealthcareproviderswhotrytoaccommodatetheirpatientsasmuchaspossible,butthesecasesaremoretheexceptionthantherule,"saysDr.MarcoA.Fiola,anAssociateProfessorwiththeSchoolofGraduateStudiesatRyersonUniversity.
Incaseslikethat,itisobvioushowvaluableindependencecanbe.Itisablessingnothavingtoseekatranslatoreverytimeyouneedtobuynewclothesordosomebanking.
ManynewcomersmakeaneffortshortlyaftertheirarrivalinCanadatolearnEnglish.AccordingtoCanada’s2006Census,sixmonthsafterarrivinginCanada,58percentofimmigrantsreportedbeingabletospeakEnglishwellorverywell.Afterlivinghereforfouryears,69percentsaidtheycouldspeakEnglishwellorverywell.Thismaybedueinpartbecause45percentofnewcomerstaketraininginEnglish.
ThisisnottosaythatthesenewcomersareasfluentinEnglishasthosewhohavespokenitalltheirlives–forsomeimmigrants,Englishcomeseasilyinsomesituationsbutnotinothers.
"Forexample,theywillbecompletelyfluentinEnglishfortheirworkpurposes,butoncetheyarehome,theyreverttotheirhomelanguage,oroncetheyareatthedoctor’soffice,theyneedtheservicesofaninterpreter…theydon’tknowthewordsforthingsorconceptsthatgobeyondacertainareaoftheirlives,"saysDr.Fiola.
Whilemoreresearchisnecessaryinthisarea,itisapparentthatnewcomerswhoseekhelpwiththeirEnglishskillswillhaveabetterqualityoflifeinCanada,particularlyiftheywishtobefreeoflanguagebarriersinday-to-daysituations.
Dr.FiolabelievesmanynewcomerswhocanmaintaintheirnativetongueandculturewhilelearningEnglishandexperiencinglifeinTorontocanbeextremelyhappy.
LearningEnglishdoesnotmeangivingupculture,backgroundoranativetongue,it’ssimplyaddinganewandvaluableskillthatwillmakethetransitionmuchsmootherformostnewcomers.
www.G
mag.ca/issue-22/513-importance-of-speaking-english
TheImportanceofSpeakingPractice
Thereare4keyskillswhenyoulearnalanguage:
1.listening
2.speaking
3.reading
4.writing
Whichoneoftheseisthe"Odd-One-Out"?
Whichoneoftheseisdifferentfromtheotherthree?
Theanswerisspeaking.Theotherthreeyoucandoalone,onyourown,withoutanyoneelse.Youcanlistentotheradioalone.Youcanreadabookalone.Youcanwritealetteralone.Butyoucan'treallyspeakalone!
Speakingtoyourselfcanbe"dangerous"becausemeninwhitecoatsmaycomeandtakeyouaway!
!
Thatiswhyyoushouldmakeeveryeffortpossibletofindsomebodytospeakwith.WherecanyoufindpeoplewhocanspeakEnglishwithyou?
Andhowcanyoupractisespeakingwhenyouarealone?
AtSchool
Ifyougotoalanguageschool,youshouldusetheopportunitytospeaktoyourteachersandotherstudents.Whenyougohome,youcanstillpractiselistening,readingandwriting,butyouprobablycan'tpractisespeaking.Ifyourteacherasksyouaquestion,taketheopportunitytoanswer.Trytosayasmuchaspossible.Ifyourteacherasksyoutospeakinpairsorgroupswithotherstudents,trytosayasmuchaspossible.Don'tworryaboutyourmistakes.Justspeak!
ConversationClubs
Manycitiesaroundtheworldhaveconversationclubswherepeoplecanexchangeonelanguageforanother.Lookinyourlocalnewspapertofindaconversationclubnearyou.Theyareusuallyfreealthoughsomemaychargeasmallentrancefee.
Shopping
IfyouarelivinginanEnglish-speakingcountry,youhaveawonderfulopportunity.Practisespeakingtothelocalpeoplesuchasshopassistantsortaxidrivers.Evenifyoudon'twanttobuyanything,youcanaskquestionsaboutproductsthatinterestyouinashop."Howmuchdoesthiscost?
""CanIpaybycheque?
""Whichdoyourecommend?
"Oftenyoucanstartarealconversation-anditcostsyounothing!
PubsandBars
Evenifyoudon'tliveinanEnglish-speakingcountry,thereareoftenAmerican,British,IrishandAustralianpubsinmanylargecities.Ifyoucanfindoneofthesepubs,you'llprobablymeetmanypeoplespeakingEnglishasafirstorsecondlanguage.
LanguageisallaroundYou
Everywhereyougoyoufindlanguage.Shopnames,streetnames,advertisements,noticesonbusesandtrains...EvenifyouarenotinanEnglish-speakingcountry,thereareoftenalotofEnglishwordsyoucanseewhenwalkinginthestreet,especiallyinbigcities.Andtherearealwaysnumbers.Carnumbers,telephonenumbers,housenumbers...Howcanthishelpyou?
Whenyouwalkdownthestreet,practisereadingthewordsandnumbersthatyousee.Saythemtoyourself.It'snotexactlyaconversation,butitwillhelpyouto"think"inEnglish.Forexample,ifyouwalkalongalineofparkedcars,saythenumberoneachcarquicklyasyoupassit.Testyourself,toseehowfastyoucanwalkandstillsayeachnumber.Butdon'tspeaktooloud!
SongsandVideo
ListentothewordsofanEnglish-languagesongthatyoulike.Thenrepeatthemtoyourselfandtrytosingwiththemusic.Repeatthewordsasmanytimesaspossibleuntiltheybecomeautomatic.Soonyou'llbesingingthewholesong.Orlistentooneofyourfavouriteactorsonvideoandrepeatoneortwosentencesthatyoulike.Doituntilitbecomesautomatic.It'sgoodpracticeforyourmemoryandforthemouthmusclesthatyouneedforEnglish.
Aboveall,don'tbeafraidtospeak.Youmusttrytospeak,evenifyoumakemistakes.Youcannotlearnwithoutmistakes.Thereisa
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