English Corner in Charlottetown

During my short stay here, I have experienced the generous, friendly, and do it spirits of the Maritime folks.  In Charlottetown, I feel a strong sense of community. A community that reaches out and looks after its neighbours.  Anyone who wishes to could easily find a community to which to belong.  It might be that you are athletic and are interested in fitness, or an artistic person interested in arts or music;  you may be a traveler passing through, a newcomer, or someone with needs and are having a rough time temporarily. No matter who you are; there is a community for you in Charlottetown.

Charlottetown may not be large in population, however, it does offer much support and assistance to its inhabitants.  I wrote about the Friendship Room and the Community Sharing Day in my previous blogs. I have learned that there are many more examples of how the residents of Charlottetown reach out to lend their hands  to one another. Here is another example:

Newcomers practise English & connect with others

English Corner –  My new friend at the hostel, Yoko, is here to learn English and the first thing she looked up after she arrived was the English Corner. I knew such groups in big cities, but I did not know that Charlottetown has one.  Steve, one of the volunteers of the English Corner program, even offered to come to the hostel to pick up Yoko for the meeting, so I went along for a ride.

Small group allows participants more time to talk

We went on a Monday evening when The English Corner usually meets at the Bhai Faith Centre.

That evening when I sat in for the lesson, there were twelve EAL ( English as an  Additional Language) learners and four volunteers. The meeting started with one of the EAL participants leading the entire group for a fifteen minutes of Tai Chi exercise. Afterwards, the group was asked to vote whether they would stay as a large group or split into two smaller groups to allow more opportunities for the EAL learners to speak.  voted for the two smaller group.

During the small group session, the volunteer in charge asked everyone to talk about him/herself so  people could get to know each other better. In this supportive environment, everyone had a chance and ample time to talk and practise his/her English.  All the participants shared about their family stories and some talked about their struggles, hopes and dreams in Canada. 

After about  an hour of sharing  in the small group, everyone grouped together again and enjoyed some home made treats brought in by one of the participants. It was a time to socialize and just chat.

 In addition to learning English, the English Corner makes the newcomers to the city feel welcome and provides opportunities for its newest residents to meet, make friends, connect with each other, and form their own community of friends and support.

English Corner, another example of how Charlottetown volunteers help their new islanders to create a sense of community among themselves.

R.T. Charlottetown
July 1, 2012