Passages Canada Learning Tool: LINC/ESL Adult Classes

Passages Canada Learning Tool: LINC/ESL Adult Classes

Summary:

This educator resource is designed for use in a LINC/Adult ESL classroom at CLB Level 5 and up but can be adapted to different levels. The guiding themes of this resource are immigration, identity, refugee experiences, and adjusting to life in Canada.

This resource is centered on five video interviews, each focusing on a different aspect of leaving one’s place of origin and adapting to a new life elsewhere.

• The first video features Andre Goh (Malaysia) who talks of immigrating, adjusting to a new life in Canada, and being a visible minority.
• The second video features Azim Lila (Tanzania) who gives advice on overcoming the challenges of settling in a new place.
• The third video, with Claudia Covalciuc (Romania), describes the challenges of being a child refugee and overcoming incredible obstacles.
• In the fourth video Saroj Sharma (India) tells a story of building a successful career and becoming a Canadian citizen.
• Finally, the fifth video features Jessica Walsh (Newfoundland) who talks about coming to an appreciation of her identity as a native Newfoundlander after moving away from the province.

All videos are accompanied by language development activities including pre-viewing guiding questions, comprehension questions and activities, vocabulary development, and post-viewing writing and speaking activities.

The final activity encourages students to share their own story of coming to Canada in the Passages Canada Story Archive.

Objectives:

This learning resource aims to:

• Highlight stories of immigration to/within Canada,
• Foster discussion on cultural identity, heritage, immigration, refugee issues, adapting to a new environment, and overcoming hardships,
• Focus on specific areas of language development (speaking, listening, vocabulary, reading, writing); and,
• Prepare students to share their own story of coming to Canada.

Language Skills:

• Listening comprehension
• Speaking/presentation skills
• Vocabulary development
• Reading skills
• Writing skills

Sharing Our Stories: Passages Canada Videos

Introductory Activity: Where Are We From?

Note to educators: The aim of this activity is to establish the context for the Passages Canada videos. The activity also helps students get to know one another and draw similarities between their immigration experiences.

Start this introductory activity by distributing the chart below to each student. First, ask students to interview each other and share with their partner the information in the chart. Once students are finished talking to each other, use the blackboard or chart paper to create a similar chart and ask each student to introduce his/her partner’s details. Note the information on the blackboard/chart paper for the whole class to see. At the end, ask students what similarities they notice in their experience of coming to Canada (e.g., two people in class are from India; three people left their country because of political instability).

Pre-viewing Guiding Questions

Ask students to work in groups or pairs to answer these questions. Discuss the responses with the whole class.

1. What are some of the reasons for leaving one’s place of origin?

1. Why do immigrants choose Canada as their new home?

1. What are some of the biggest challenges when arriving in a new place and adjusting to a new life?

1. What/who helps new immigrants overcome some of the challenges they face?

1. What are some of your first impressions/memories of Canada after your arrival? What surprised you the most and the least?

1. What dreams or goals do immigrants have for themselves and their families in Canada?

1. Who can offer the best advice to new immigrants on adjusting to life in Canada?

Part A: Watch Andre Goh’s video (Malaysia)

Andre Goh’s video is available for streaming at: passagestocanada.com/videos/adjusting-to-life-in-canada/

Or, you may request the free beCOMING Canada DVD at

passagestocanada.com/dvd-form/

Activity 1: Vocabulary - Opposites

After watching Andre’s video, ask students to match the words/ideas on the left with those on the right that have the opposite meaning (e.g., to speak up vs. to stay quiet). Explain the meaning of each word or concept where necessary.

Activity 2: Andre Goh’s Story - Listening Comprehension Questions

1. How did Andre’s parents tell him and his brother that the family was moving to Canada?

1. How did Andre and his brother prepare themselves for their life in Canada?

1. What was the weather like when Andre arrived in Toronto? How did he react to this?

1. After arriving in Canada, Andre and his family lived in a working class community in Toronto. Was it easy for them to integrate? Why or why not?

1. How was Andre treated by his peers at school?

1. Did Andre want to stand out or blend in? Why?

1. Why did the Canadian-born Chinese student say to Andre, “Don’t look at me, don’t talk to me, don’t ever say anything (to me)”?

1. What was the additional challenge that Andre faced in regards to his sexual orientation?

1. How did Andre ‘come out’? What was the reaction of his peers?

1. What made Andre really appreciate Canada? Why does he say he is lucky?

Part B: Azim Lila’s Video (Tanzania)

Azim Lila’s video is available for streaming at: passagestocanada.com/videos/advice-to-newcomers/

Or,you may request the free beCOMING Canada DVD at

passagestocanada.com/dvd-form/

Activity 1: Understanding Azim’s Story

Listen to Azim’s video and mark True for statements that are true and Falsefor those that are not true.

Activity 2:Visual Representation (Poster) - “My Immigration Journey”

Ask students to create an informational poster or art piece about their immigration journey and their life and dreams in Canada. You may consider providing them with the following ideas:

• A before and after poster depicting what life was like before and after arrival in Canada
• A picture of what they hope their life will look like in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years. Where will they live? Who is in the picture with them? What are they doing?
• A timeline showing the major events in their life up to this point.

Encourage students to use visuals as well as text. Consider providing materials for drawing, painting, and/or collage. Invite them to present their work to the other students in the class.

Part C: Claudia Covalciuc’s Video (Romania)

Claudia Covalciuc’s video is available for streaming at: passagestocanada.com/videos/refugee-experiences/

Or, you may request the free beCOMING Canada DVD at

passagestocanada.com/dvd-form/

Activity 1: Learning about Refugees

Prior to watching Claudia’s video, ask students to do online research about refugees.

1. What are the biggest refugee camps in the world?

1. What are the reasons for leaving one’s home and becoming a refugee?

1. Select a particular refugee camp to examine. What are the conditions in this refugee camp? Consider housing, schooling, and health care.

1. How many refugees does Canada admit every year? Who can claim refugee status?

Resource:

The Canadian Encyclopedia – Article on refugees (This article’s readability is at a Grade 12 level and above.)

Activity 2: Pre-viewing Activity - Vocabulary & Key Concepts

Use the following chart to learn new vocabulary prior to watching Claudia’s video. Use your dictionary or the internet to find definitions and then write a sample sentence using each term. The first one was done for you as a model.

Activity 3: Vocabulary in Context

Listen to Claudia’s story and fill in the blanks below with the words you hear.

Video Interview: Claudia Covalciuc

Introduction

My name is Claudia Covalciuc. I first immigrated to Canada in December of 1990. I

returned to Canada as a Canadian citizen in August of 2006.

Early Life

My father was never part of my life even before I was born. My mother was a (1) in Baden in Austria. She was originally from Romania, and my father was originally from Italy. So I’m half and half. I was born in the refugee camp May 1st, 1990.

The reason my mother was at the refugee camp was she (2) Romania after the Romanian Revolution in 1989. At the age of six months old, we were forced out of refugee camp, and we immigrated to Canada.

A New Beginning

We arrived in London, Ontario with a garbage bag full of clothes, middle-aged, young mother. That doesn’t actually work – young mother. But a middle-aged mother with a young, six-month-old baby girl. And we didn’t (3) at the time, no money, so that’s basically how we arrived here.

I was a student that really enjoyed going to school. I absolutely loved the learning process, formally and informally. So I was always that young child in school that was always interacting with the activities and other students.

Mind you, this came with its own challenges, being an only child with a single mother, an immigrant, low income, poverty-stricken family, (4). We always had our challenges, especially in school. Ever since I was younger right through until I was finished school in Ontario, I faced bullying on a daily basis.

It’s something that I don’t regret it happened because I learned from it. I just don’t want to see other students have to go through the bullying process. Ethnicity and being an immigrant definitely had a role to play, being an outsider, not being seen as a real Canadian in their eyes kind of fuelled the bullying.

But from my eyes, I was always so confused because I said, you know, “I’m Canadian just like you are. This is who I am. I grew up here. This is what I know.” So there was always that kind of tension between being seen as a foreigner but not seeing myself as one.

So I still kind of get that even today. I really identify myself as a Canadian even though others may not see that all the time.

When Claudia was 11, her mother decided that they would return to her homeland of Romania.

We were really being kind of forced out of our community in London, Ontario. It was a community that was growing at a rapid pace, and the economic development was just out of control. We lived in a (5) apartment building. Management switched over, and they were hoping to turn it into university condos because it was more profitable.

As a result, they quadrupled our rent in a span of one month and already being (6) and with minimal income, just enough to get by, there was no way we could financially afford to remain where we were. We didn’t have many alternatives, many support networks to kind of find a safe haven within the community.

Returning to Romania

I had just turned 11 years old, so I was still very much a child. I had never really left the country before then, so to me, it was a new experience. The pretences surrounding our departure, I sort of knew what was going on, but my mother didn’t really tell me the whole situation. She didn’t tell me that we basically left with no money and we had a one-way ticket.

So my initial reaction was excitement: “Oh I get to experience my culture. This is where my mother is from. This is going to be amazing. I’m going to have a fabulous summer.” But reality soon set in after we arrived that this wasn’t the case.

Claudia and her mother arrived in Romania with no money or family support.

There was also like a huge (7) for me because growing up in Canada as a Canadian, I didn’t really see myself as an immigrant. I didn’t see myself as a refugee. I really identified with that. And going to Romania was just like whoa, I had to take a step back and think, “Oh my goodness.” Even just the language and the culture and the community and how everyday life was so different than what I was used to.

In that following fall, I was registered in a local school, and they refused to acknowledge my (8). They actually wanted me to repeat grade five even though I had passed with flying colours. They basically didn’t see the Canadian system as equivalent to theirs. So they said, “Okay, well we’ll put you into grade five.”

Basically there were no resources for me. There was a huge language barrier and obviously a level barrier because whatever they were doing in math and sciences, geography, was completely different than what we were learning in our Canadian system.

I was discriminated against and (9) heavily in the first three months. I was in and out of six different local schools in a span of three months. After the three months, my mother pulled me out of the last school, and she said, “That’s it. You’re not going to school here in Romania ever again. The next time you’ll be going to school will hopefully be back in Canada.”

So, after I realized that I wouldn’t be in school, it was probably in November of 2001. So, I was still 11 years old and I realized that I’m not going to school; we have no income coming in; my mother is unable to look after me. There’s a huge problem here. Something needs to happen.

So basically, I was(10) in my own sense, and I started a small business within the flea market setting. It was rough at first. Obviously. I still had the language barrier. I couldn’t really speak Romanian, and people didn’t really know a lot of English.

So there was a huge barrier. Also, people saw me as a foreigner, a young, foreign girl. There was always that (11). I’ve encountered a couple of different, unique situations where it could have turned out really bad for me.

While supporting herself and her mother, Claudia worked diligently to return to Canada.She encountered significant challenges appealing to various agencies and obtaining a passport.

I was not in school. I had no legal guardian looking after me, no income, no stable residence. I’m a child in need, do something, help me in some way. It almost made me re-evaluate: am I a real Canadian or am I something else?

These were questions running through my head. Obviously, I do identify as Canadian and I love being Canadian. But with that, there comes challenges and room for improvement. So we need to realize that our government’s not perfect. Our society, Canadian society isn’t perfect either. So, we just need to work and acknowledge those (12).

Returning to Canada

After saving enough money for a one-way ticket to Canada, Claudia traveled for 48 hours and arrived in Halifax late at night in August 2006.

When I arrived at the airport, I basically had no supports. I had nobody there waiting for me, no family to look after me, no community agency or resource that was there. I was a young, naïve 16-year-old girl that had gone through extreme (13). Here I was almost reliving my mother’s experience 16 years earlier, arriving at the airport with a bag of clothes and basically that was it, an expired passport. That’s all I had.

So I was at the airport, the Halifax International Airport for a couple of hours, and it was really late at night. Our flight arrived at 11:30 p.m. So, I was there for most of the night. I was above and beyond exhausted. But before being (14), I was extremely nervous, thinking, “Okay well what’s going to happen to me now, you know. I’m a 16-year-old girl who just came back to Canada. I don’t know anybody. I don’t have a home. I don’t have a base. What’s going to happen?”