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March 7, 2025
News
TIES (The Immigrant Education Society) is assuring newcomers that it is still offering free English language classes in Calgary.
The assurance follows news that some organizations are either eliminating or scaling down their LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) programs.
TIES says its LINC program will continue, adding it has received additional funds from the Federal Government to be able to add five extra classes (125 students) and 60 additional LINC Home Study Seats.
“TIES has just received an additional $450k from IRCC (Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship Canada) for our LINC program,” TIES President and CEO Sally Zhao says.
“We are grateful for these additional funds so we can serve more clients on the waiting list.”
The waitlist for LINC classes at TIES is long — with some 2800 clients currently waiting for a spot. That spot can take upwards of a year to get.
Other programs, at other organizations across the city, have similar wait times.
Zhao says she doesn’t know if TIES will be able to accommodate students from any recently cancelled programs, adding those on their waiting list will take priority.
Viktoriia Kucheruk is a few months into her LINC classes at TIES. She waited about eight months for a spot and says it was “worth it”.
The Ukrainian native moved to Canada two years ago with her family and says the struggle to make this her home — is real.
“When I moved to Canada, I don’t understand people at all,” Kucheruk says. “When somebody asked me questions I had zero idea what that means.”
After going through several levels of LINC classes, she now knows about Canada’s work culture, its banking system, its healthcare system and most important to her — the language.
She can now go to parent-teacher interviews, the doctor’s office and the bank. She also doesn’t feel alone or depressed.
“You cannot communicate with people. It’s not a good situation.”
The situation now is that she can plan for the future. A future that includes contributing to Canada and its economy.
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It’s a contribution Marite Rojas is also excited to make. Rojas, who moved to Calgary from Bolivia two years ago to be with her husband, says she learned how to speak English watching movies and television back home.
But, what she’s learned in Canada, she says, goes far beyond “just language”.
“How to live here in Canada. How the country works. How is the culture. How to express myself,” she says.
She too waited around 8 months to get into a class, and she too says she’s glad she did.
“I was lucky to get in. It’s a very important first step not just to express myself or communicate with people, because if I want to start my life in Canada and get a better work and better life.”
That better life includes going to University and continuing her passion of music.
A passion she hopes to one day share with Canadians.
Related News:
GLOBAL NEWS: Bow Valley College eliminating language instruction for newcomers to Canada
CBC: Thousands of Newcomers on Wait Lists to Enroll in English Language Programs
Media RSVP, Interviews & Inquiries:
Tomasia DaSilva
Media and Relationship Strategist
Email: tomasiadasilva@immigrant-education.ca
Phone: 403-291-0002
Get involved with TIES on our social media platforms.
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