Acadia hosts English summer school for new immigrants

An influx of refugees from Syria and other areas has led to Acadia University hosting its first-ever English-language summer school for newcomers.

"Some of these people just arrived in the spring and they may have had a few weeks of instruction. But to have a gap of two to three months with no English, they would have started right back at the beginning," said Sharon Churchill Roe, the manager of English-language programs at Acadia University.

Churchill Roe says there is usually funding for language instruction at the school for newcomers between September and May, but because they "never really had this many newcomers in the Annapolis Valley before," there was no need for a summer school until now. 

Giving back

"We felt it was imperative that they have a bit of linguistic support, language support, as well as integration and settlement support in these first months that they have just arrived. It's kind of a crucial time for them to get settled into their new lives here ... We felt this was something we could do for our community," said Churchill Roe.

Thirty volunteers are working with 40 newcomers — 25 children and 15 adults. While some volunteers spend their time in the classroom, others are driving the students to and from school and monitoring the children during lunch hours.

While most of the students are from Syria, Churchill Roe says families originally from Somalia and Eritrea are also taking classes. 

Child and adult classes

There are separate classes for the adults and children. The children are split between a junior class for those between ages five and eight and a junior class for those ages nine to 15.

In addition to learning English, those students are also learning classroom etiquette so they know what is expected when they start school in September.

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Traci Crouse, a Grade 6 teacher at Windsor Forks District School, is one of the volunteers teaching the junior class. She said helping the children learn English is her way of giving back to the community.

"They are doing really well. They're very excited to be there. They're a group of kids, they're almost like little sponges. They are very excited to soak up everything new. If they don't know what something is, they'll ask what it is," said Crouse.

Churchill Roe says she's glad the university supported the program — which started in late June and will end Aug. 19.

"Acadia is paying for some of the language instruction and providing the facilities and I'm very proud of Acadia for being community-minded," said Churchill Roe.