English is also vital if you want to study or even just be able to communicate with your neighbours so why not take up the opportunity to increase your language skills this term with free English classes on offer from this week at Cumberland’s libraries.
Community Migrant Resource Centres’ Conscila Emilianus has been supporting the Sri Lankan Tamil community since they started arrived in large numbers 10 years ago.
She said she encouraged all newly arrived people to learn English.
“In our community we have a saying – it’s hard to grow a palm tree and get the palm wine overnight; it takes 11 years,” she said.
“There was a woman I was helping who arrived last year and she said she couldn’t even read or write the alphabet, so how could she learn English?
“I said that back in our home country, many people went to France to work and had to learn French because we always have to learn the language of our new country.“
Conscila says these free English classes are a great opportunity for all migrants so they can gain confidence quickly to move forward in their lives, work, mix with others and speak independently.
“It’s not good when children have to be taken out of school to act as interpreters and translators for their parents,” she said.
The free English classes for beginners to intermediates are on offer daily (except Sunday) at various libraries including Auburn, Lidcombe, Merrylands, Granville and Guildford.
To find out times and for further info, call 8757 9060 or go to cumberland.nsw.gov.au.
