| January 18, 2010 VALEMOUNT– A renewed $40,000 investment will continue to help new immigrants and refugees in the Valemount with the important goal of improving their English language skills by giving them access to free one-on-one tutoring. “Helping newcomers feel welcome benefits our community and our economy,” says Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond. “This program has been very effective in assisting immigrants and refugees overcome language barriers and attain levels of English that will maximize their success, transition, and integration into Canadian society. The volunteer tutors have been doing great work and they are very deserving of this continued, ongoing support for the year ahead.” Building on their success in the past year, Valemount Learning Society will receive an additional $40,000 in partnership with the College of New Caledonia to continue delivering the English as a Second Language Settlement Assistance Program (ESLSAP) in Valemount. The funding allows for a coordinator to recruit and train volunteer tutors and match those tutors with community members who want to improve their English language skills. Tutoring is focussed on the language goals of the learner and can vary from learning how to read a menu and ordering a meal at a local restaurant to learning sufficient language skills to function in a workplace. Learning takes place in a variety of locations depending on the community and the learner’s preferences and needs. The English as a Second Language Settlement Assistance Program is delivered through WelcomeBC with federal settlement funding. This year an investment of $2 million will enable 39 service providers to deliver tutoring services in 58 regional and remote communities and their surrounding areas. Last year, 35 service providers arranged for 541 volunteer tutors across B.C. to provide English language tutoring to 894 immigrant and refugee learners. Since 2007, a total of $127.6M in federal and provincial funding has been invested in ESL services for immigrants under WelcomeBC. Information on becoming an ESLSAP volunteer tutor can be found at: http://www.mytrainingbc.ca/eslsap/recruitment/ Information on WelcomeBC can be found at www.welcomebc.ca -30- | |
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