Our spotlight on New Brunswick community organizations continues this month with a write-up from Wade Noel, language instructor at The Multicultural Association of Carleton County. Enjoy a glimpse into the great work happening in Carleton Country below. We love to hear what is happening around the province, so please contact us with stories to share with members.

The Multicultural Association of Carleton County (MACC), based in Woodstock, provides cross-cultural English language training that ranges from Introductory and Intermediate levels for new immigrants wishing to improve social communication skills or to join the work force, to the Academic English class for those wishing to attend college or university. Upon registration, students sit a placement test in listening, reading and language use to derive a resulting score which corresponds to one of the first 10 out of 12 bands of the Canadian Benchmark Levels of English. Students with little or no prior experience with the English language are placed in the Introductory level and may progress through the subsequent levels at their own pace. MACC currently offers five courses, both in-class and on-line.

Courses are thematic and modular, with equal weight given to honing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, as well as to basic numeracy skills in the Introductory level. Development of logic skills is also addressed in the Academic English course. In addition to studying at one’s own level, students are encouraged to attend two more courses: the one immediately above and the one immediately below their own testing level, (what Wade calls the Trident approach) in order to: 1) reinforce the knowledge acquired and the skills developed in earlier courses; 2) provide an opportunity to self-assess, measure success and evaluate which skills that still need improving; 3) experience higher-level language skills through interaction with mentors, and “foresee” what the next level of language skills and classes look like; 4) learn at their own pace (or even push themselves harder, if they wish!); and 5) emphasize the concept of mastery of their language and learning skills. If students fail to master any concept, they will be presented with more opportunities to revisit a particular theme or module. Courses at MACC are repeating, student intake is constant, and students progress at their own pace and by their own merit. Missed content or under-developed skills does not have to mean that there will be a hole in their learning; rather, this method can provide more opportunities to master skills or desired content and to take more responsibility for one’s own learning.