Literacy – Spanning North America :: Chilliwack BC :: Charleston SC :: Prince George BC :: Innisfail AB

Literacy: Spanning North America

Chilliwack Learning

Literacy Volunteers Share Vital Life Skills

The Progress: 9.09.2019

From reading street signs, to applying for a job, to doing the math on a possible new purchase, we use literacy skills every day – skills that include reading, numeracy and technology.

But what if you don’t have those skills?

A recent study indicated 700,000 people in BC experienced significant challenges with literacy.

“When you start to think about the challenges the learners experience, it can be really overwhelming,” says Kathy Ball, Chilliwack Learning Society’s Volunteer Tutor Program Coordinator, recalling one student with a very personal motivation. “She wanted to be able to read to her child at night, and set that positive example. I’m so in awe of learners who walk in to our offices and say, ‘I can’t read.’ It takes such bravery.”  READ MORE >>

@ChasCoLibrary

How One Hour At The Library Is Helping Non-English Speakers In South Carolina

Post & Courier: 9.08.2019 by Caitlin Byrd

It’s just before noon on a Thursday, and reference librarians Rebecca Miller and Laura Grabling are pulling a table into the center of a multipurpose room at a West Ashley library.

They glance around the carpeted room and grab four chairs. Then, they wait for people to arrive and for the conversations to start.

To others, the back-and-forth chatter sounds broken at times with momentary stalls as participants mentally search for the right word.

Other times, the interactions can highlight cultural differences that may otherwise go unnoticed to those who were born and raised in the United States.

Here in this space, stumbling over words is expected, asking questions is welcomed, and practice is gently encouraged. For non-English speakers, the simple setup is a linguistic haven.

“Why is everything here so sweet?” a participant once asked, later noting that the sugar in American food was a major shock to her tastebuds after living in China most of her life.

Since January, the Cynthia Graham Hurd St. Andrews Library has been hosting the “English Conversation Hour” on a weekly basis. Anyone who wants to practice speaking English is invited to attend. To date, Miller said, participants have hailed from many countries, including Colombia, China, Ukraine and Algeria.  READ MORE >>

@BCGovNews

Province Invests $2.4 Million In Adult Literacy

CKPG Today: 9.09.2019 by Veronica Beltran

Stronger reading, writing and math skills, that’s what the province is hoping to develop in more than 80 communities across the province with an investment in Community Adult Literacy Programming (CALP.)

$2.4 million will be shared among 94 community adult literacy programs that are run by 69 different service providers. Post-secondary institutions are one of those providers, and The College of New Caledonia is one of the post-secondaries to benefit from the investment, with programs such as Power of Words running out of the Burns Lake Public Library, Literacy Support McLeod Lake at the McLeod Lake Indian Band, Indigenous Adult Literacy Program at the Literacy Quesnel Society.

The programming will include a variety of learning opportunities, including one-on-one and small group instruction, and supports all levels of literacy from basic to high-school completion.  WATCH 02:03

@hendaylearning

Learning The Value Of Literacy

Innisfail Province: 9.10.2019 by Kristine Jean

Members with the Henday Association for Lifelong Learning were at the Innisfail Farmers Market on Thursday, Sept. 5 raising awareness about the importance of literacy.

Sept. 8 marked International Literacy Day, a day that was first proclaimed during the 14th session of UNESCO’s General Conference in October 1996.

Th

e association is joining other organizations and cities around the world to remind individuals, families and communities about the important role literacy plays in our everyday lives.

“International Literacy Day (helps) create awareness about the literacy issues around the world and how literacy is a matter of dignity and human rights,” said Donna Arnold, executive director at the Henday Association for Lifelong Learning. “This day is to celebrate and create awareness. We are here giving away cake, celebrating the day and raising awareness of literacy and the issues that we have even here in Canada.”

Arnold pointed to literacy statistics across the county.“In Canada, we still have a 42 per cent low literacy rate among adults,” she said, noting the organization’s important role here in Innisfail.  READ MORE >>