This text is part of the special Literacy notebook
The organization Littératie ensemble (formerly Collège Frontière) will hold its annual national forum on October 16, this year devoted to literacy and immigration. “It’s important to talk about it, because a lot of people are affected,” summarizes Joëlle Marion, program manager at Littératie ensemble.
Taking the bus. Attending a parent meeting. Understanding the dosage of medication. These are mundane actions that we rarely stop to do, but which, for people with low literacy, take on a whole new dimension. Now imagine the challenges that are added to the daily life of an immigrant whose level of literacy in the host language prevents them from fully participating in their new community.
“For someone who is not able to read and understand, it becomes difficult to navigate a new life,” observes Sahar Asefi, community coordinator at Littératie ensemble. A low level of literacy can prevent a person from integrating professionally, participating in the education of their children, accessing health services or developing their financial independence. In short, from fully participating in their host society.
Multiple challenges
For learners, community workers and trainers alike, the issue of literacy among immigrants presents many challenges. First, the level of literacy in the mother tongue varies, which can complicate learning a new language. “Not everyone chooses to immigrate,” Joëlle Marion points out. An economic immigrant is likely to have a higher level of literacy in their mother tongue and to have the tools to find the information they need.
But for some people forced to leave their country and their families, and who carry a heavy baggage of trauma, “it adds a layer of difficulty,” notes Mme Asefi, who settled in Sherbrooke 14 years ago, says she had to redo all of her studies in French while she was a second-year medical student in Afghanistan. “It takes a lot of time, energy and mental health,” she says.
Many immigrant women also have to deal with their own internal problems in addition to the daily obstacles they face in finding housing and food. “People don’t always have the mental availability to learn a new language,” says M.me Marion.
For flexible programs
Some learners have no prior knowledge of the new language or have learned it in completely different education systems, for example, ones that place more emphasis on speaking than writing. “This requires a lot of adaptation on the part of trainers,” observes Joëlle Marion.
This is why “literacy and literacy programs aimed at people from immigrant backgrounds require even more adaptation,” she believes. “Newcomers do not all have the same level [de littératie]the same [besoins] “In mental health, we cannot have the same expectations for everyone,” adds Sahar Asefi.
For the coordinator, this flexibility must be possible both in the pedagogical approach and in the modalities of the program. The pedagogical days in adult education centers do not always coincide, for example, with those of primary and secondary schools, which complicates participation in French language courses for people who have children.
In addition to these French language courses offered by the government, organizations like Littératie ensemble support immigrants and provide them with additional tools in their language learning. The literacy organization offers individual or small group tutoring services free of charge. “We can personalize the learning. We want to be as concrete as possible, to meet the needs of learners,” explains M.me Marion. “With adults, we establish a game plan to adapt to their needs, so that they can learn at their own pace. The organization can also work with the entire family and organizes literacy programs in the workplace,” she adds.
Because if immigrants are sometimes singled out for not learning the language quickly enough, the scale of their task is often underestimated, believes the manager. “Newcomers want to be able to work, integrate quickly and be part of society, which is much easier with a good knowledge of the language. But integration goes both ways, society has to want them,” she concludes.
The virtual event will take place on October 16 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.