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A $40,000 investment will help new immigrants and refugees in 100 Mile House improve their English language skills by giving them access to free one-on-one tutoring.

“This free ESL tutoring will do a lot to support newcomers build the skills they need to be successful,” says Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett. “I encourage anyone interested in tutoring to get involved and help make a difference.”

Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy will receive $40,000 in partnership with Thompson Rivers University to deliver the English as a Second Language Settlement Assistance Program (ESLSAP). 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 focused on the language goals of the learner and can vary from learning how to read a menu and order a meal at a local restaurant to learning sufficient language skills to function at a workplace. Learning takes place in a variety of community locations depending on the community and the learner’s preference and needs. In some communities, the local public library is the meeting place, while others may meet at a coffee shop, the recreation centre or the curling rink.

The ESLSAP 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

To learn more about MLA Barnett, visit her website at www.donnabarnettmla.bc.ca