Many of them were worried that the courses would be turned into "party classes," and that some of their fellow students would no longer take them seriously - coming late, leaving early or just skipping entirely if they didn't feel like attending.
"Does this mean you won't be teaching grammar anymore?" asked one of my Advanced level students. " I can't get a better job if I don't improve the grammar in my writing." " Is this the end of academic reading and writing practice?" asked another."
Although I was a little surprised at their reaction, I laughed and told them that nothing would change - at least for now. I would still be teaching exactly what I had been teaching for the past 15 years.
Still, their questions were quite valid..
Up until this week, British Columbia has offered free settlement ESL classes to beginner and intermediate students in a program called ELSA (English Language Service for Adults) Students in other more "academic" programs have had to pay tuition fees. Those who couldn't afford the fees have been given government sponsored "grants", which they have not had to repay. However, starting this April, these "academic" classes have become tuition free for citizens and landed immigrants.
Of course, "free" doesn't really mean "free." The federal government will be covering the cost. That means ALL Canadians will be paying for these classes through their taxes. This is the reason foreign students will NOT be getting the same deal. Neither they or their parents have ever paid Canadian taxes, so they will have to pay for the privilege of learning English in Canada, just as they always have.
The question of whether or not ESL classes should be entirely free right up to the highest level is a controversial one.
Would the Chinese, Korean, or Indian government offer language education to any adults immigrating to their countries, or would the immigrants have to pay for their own instruction?
Will students who can get this language education for free take it as seriously, and do the same amount of work as they would if they were paying for it? Even my own students were worried that this might be a problem.
How do YOU feel about this?
I would like my readers to voice their own opinion on this issue. I don't care if you live in Canada or any other country, whether you are immigrants, citizens, people with working visas (caregivers, etc) or international students.
What is YOUR OPINION?
- Should ALL ESL classes be free? Why or why not?
- Who, if anyone, should have to pay? Why or why not?
- If people should pay, how much should they pay?
- What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of free ESL classes?
- Include your reasons about whether you think this is a good thing, or whether it will have negative consequences.
Write your answers and opinions in the comment box below. If you are not sure how to do this, read the article on How to Post a Comment on the left hand side.
In my opinion the ESL class should be free because most of the immigrants wants to learn English but they can't go to school because of financial reason.
ReplyDeleteI myself pay 500$ to do this ESL course it's really hard for me to give up the money because it's really a huge money. But thinking about the things that I will benefits in this course make me feel satisfied.
I am very thankful that the federal government covered the cost of ESL classes for Canadian Citizens & Immigrants living in BC. It is a privilege for me as a Canadian who can't afford the tuition fee. This will give me a big opportunity to improve myself in English skills.
ReplyDeletefree ESL is really a great idea ,however;i afraid that it might not be as effective as it used to be
ReplyDeleteI agree that the ESL course should be free.
ReplyDeleteThe reason is that without it we can not do anything.
I think not all ESL classes be free because some of students would not learn English and disturbe the class. One way will be great if they have a cost (for sample, 10%-20% over the price of course). In addition, some students as work permit
ReplyDeleteVery surprising and interesting! now i don't need to worry anymore about paying my tuition fees no matter how far i want to go with in learning english.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this news is very helpful to those newly immigrated to Canada as they starting to have their new life here.
Thanks Michelle for this message as it is very helpful to everyone.
free ESL is really a great idea ,however;i afraid that it might not be as effective as it used to be
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the Esl classes shouldn't be free because if you don't pay you are not focused on it.Other problems will be the number of students on the class, huge classes bring more problems for the teacher.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it shouldn't be totally free(except for the registration fee)for no matter who you are and where are you from, because it is just not fair for those students who have paid their full amount of tuition fee previously. In my opinion, the tuition fee should reduce down to $150-$200 dollars for all the ESL courses. Therefore,it's much more affordable for most students who want to keep study English.
ReplyDeleteLast week when I went to register center to register for Upper Advance course, the staff told me all courses of ESL are free for all canadians and immigrants. I was so surprised and happy that I didn't need to pay the tuition and I could save the money for my car insurance. I am totally agree with this bonus. Most of people who are on low income like me worry about their tuition. They have to work for their living and pay the tuition fee at the same time. It's very stressful. On the other hand, because of the different cultures most of immigrants have the problems to understand english, so some of them need to retake the course after they don't pass the examinations. It means they need to pay more for the study. I know the person who has failed to pass the examinations of ESL courses for 3 times gave up to continue to study english because of the costly tuitions. As the result of the expensive tuition fee, some people will quit the courses in the future because of the mentioned reasons which our gavernment won't want to see. It's very helpful for those people who can't afford the tuition when our gavernment decided to cover the cost.I can imagine that many previous students or new students will come to school to improve their english in the future since the tuition is free, thus these people can easily join the native communities with the same language.
ReplyDeleteLast week when I went to register center to register for Upper Advance course, the staff told me all courses of ESL are free for all canadians and immigrants. I was so surprised and happy that I didn't need to pay the tuition and I could save the money for my car insurance. I am totally agree with this bonus. Most of people who are on low income like me worry about their tuition. They have to work for their living and pay the tuition fee at the same time. It's very stressful. On the other hand, because of the different cultures most of immigrants have the problems to understand english, so some of them need to retake the course after they don't pass the examinations. It means they need to pay more for the study. I know the person who has failed to pass the examinations of ESL courses for 3 times gave up to continue to study english because of the costly tuitions. As the result of the expensive tuition fee, some people will quit the courses in the future because of the mentioned reasons which our gavernment won't want to see. It's very helpful for those people who can't afford the tuition when our gavernment decided to cover the cost.I can imagine that many previous students or new students will come to school to improve their english in the future since the tuition is free, thus these people can easily join the native communities with the same language.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMoney is Honey. If some one pays to gain something, He/She will try hard to achieve it. However, it is completely different for ESL students. As long as students have a desire to learn English effectively, they will never care about the money and cost of the education,even if there is no tuition. Although most of student paid for their education, they didn't pay attention to pass their courses.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, it is important for courses to be free since most of immigrants can't seek jobs because of their lack of English skills. If students learn English for free, they will get a job and become an incredible human source which government promotes their economic from.