Chapter I, Part 1

The English used in most of our units is Canadian English. When you listen you will hear the thoughts and feelings of Canadians.

By listening to the interviews you can gain a small amount of Canadian experience. If you become familiar with Canadian experience you will gain a feeling for life in Canada. This will help you improve your English. When you study English, or any other language, you must learn the whole context of the language. It is not just words and rules of grammar. It is phrases, sentences, paragraphs and a broader context of living and thinking a new language that you must learn.

That is what we try to teach in this system. To improve your ability in a new language it is important to gain an understanding of the culture of the new language. If you are a foreign student studying English in Canada your studies will go much better if you gain Canadian experience and make Canadian friends. If you just stay with friends from your native country, your English will not improve very much.

The same is true for immigrants to Canada. When you go for a job interview you can expect the question "Do you have Canadian experience?". If you are new to this country you obviously do not have Canadian experience. If you do not have Canadian experience you may not get the job. It seems unfair. How can you get Canadian experience if you cannot get a job first? It is necessary to understand the reason why the employer asks this question. What is the employer really asking? I think the question really means the following. Will you fit in to our work place ? Will you be able to get along with co-workers, suppliers and customers? Do you understand Canadian culture? I once asked a Manager at a large manufacturing company if he hired recent immigrants as engineers and technicians. He replied that his company used to hire the people with the best qualifications.

These people were often foreign trained or recent immigrants. However, his company has stopped doing this. Now they hire people whom they think will get along well with others in the company. He explained that when they hired foreign trained engineers these people had trouble communicating with the factory workers. The engineers and workers could not work together well to find solutions to problems. So they no longer hire these kinds of people. They get better results now when they hire people with the ability to get along. I have heard the same comments from other industries and professions.