I came to Canada 35 years ago as a refugee from Somalia. I had moved away from the fighting in my own country and I had not really been to school. I came to Canada alone and I could not speak any English, I could not even spell out my name! I have done a Read More …
Crystal, LELL – Literacy for English Language Learners
My name is Crystal Liu and I am from Taiwan. I wanted to immigrate to Canada because I feel it is a good country to live in. When the opportunity came I emigrated. Before coming to Canada I could speak a little English. In Taiwan every student studies English stating in junior high school, but Read More …
Yohannes, LELL – Literacy for English Language Learners
My name is Yohannes, and I am from Eritrea. I am very pleased to share my story and my learning journey at P.A.L.S. with you this evening. I was introduced to P.A.L.S. in 2012 by my first cousins who tutor at P.A.L.S. In Eritrea I was an assistant nurse and an orthopaedic technician in Uganda. Read More …
Jeanne, Literacy
Before I came to P.A.L.S. I winged it. I couldn’t read a lot of basic words and it was such a struggle. I didn’t understand what I was reading. I couldn’t pronounce a lot of words or understand what they meant so I slurred my speech. I knew that I sounded bad because people made Read More …
An, LELL – Literacy for English Language Learners
My name is An. I was born in Saigon, where I was an elementary public school teacher for about 22 years. My sister and her family sponsored me and my parents, and we came to Canada on the night of September 8, 1992. After about three months in Edmonton, I found a job at Lilydale Read More …
Stephen, LELL – Literacy for English Language Learners
After I finished LELL school, I started to work. My English was still not good. I felt that I needed more practice, and that I still needed to improve my new language. My friend heard that in Edmonton there were a few organizations for newcomers, like Catholic Social Services, the Mennonite Center and P.A.L.S.