I encourage each of you to talk to your friends, family and members of your community about the LINC program. Below is a brief description of the program where I have emphasized some sections.
Background
A key strategic goal of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is to support the settlement, adaptation and integration of newcomers to Canada. Settlement involves meeting the initial, basic needs of newcomers; adaptation refers to immigrants’ ability to realize some of the benefits of settling in this country; and integration is the ultimate goal of this process, whereby immigrants become fully functioning members of Canadian society. CIC’s three settlement programs, individually and collectively, contribute to this strategic outcome: Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC); the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP); and the Host Program. The 2003–2004 actual expenditures for these three settlement programs were $92.7M, $36.7M and $2.9M, respectively.
The LINC Program, established in 1992, is a key element of the federal immigrant integration strategy. The program aims to facilitate the social, cultural and economic integration of immigrants and refugees into Canada, by providing language instruction in either English or French, as well as information that helps newcomers to become oriented to the Canadian way of life. In addition, the program endeavours to train the same proportion of women and men as is reflected in the local immigrant population. The LINC program involves three major areas of activity:
Language Assessment: Clients are first assessed — using the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) framework for English and the Standards linguistiques canadiens (SLC) framework for French — in order to determine their level of language proficiency. These assessments are conducted by 60 LINC-funded Assessment Centres across the country. Ontario has the largest number of Assessment Centres (24) of any province or region. Based on the language assessment results, a client needs assessment is then done (e.g., to assess the client’s personal circumstances, needs and readiness for language training) and clients are referred to a suitable language training provider in their community.
Language Training: The language training is provided in a variety of ways (e.g., full time, part time, home study, distance learning, training at/near work site, itinerant teachers serving small communities), and the amount of training varies depending on each client’s background and abilities. The progress of each client is rated and monitored based on CLB/SLC level descriptors, and he/she is awarded a LINC certificate upon successful completion of training. The service provider organizations (SPOs) delivering the language training (e.g., not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions) are typically different from those providing the language assessments, though in some small communities the same SPO may provide both services.
Delivery Assistance: Funding to assist with or improve the delivery of LINC activities for the direct benefit of clients is available for a number of activities (e.g., analysis of training needs of local immigrant client groups, development of training materials, training for assessors, research and innovation).
a) Program Rationale
There is a clear rationale and continuing need for language training in English and French for newcomers to Canada. Both existing research and the views of CIC representatives, LINC service providers, and clients and graduates of the program strongly confirm the necessity of adequate language skills for newcomers to successfully settle, adapt and integrate socially/culturally and economically in Canada. While most newcomers are apparently somewhat prepared for settlement in Canada prior to their arrival (e.g., through information about Canada and some language instruction in their home country), they clearly need further assistance in learning how to communicate effectively in Canada, so that they can adapt to Canadian society and gain employment in this country.
b) Success
Overall, the evaluation findings indicate that clients are very satisfied with and appreciative of the services provided by LINC and they feel that the program is, for the most part, meeting their needs. As already noted, the major issue not being fully addressed is newcomers’ perceived need for higher-level language training, which they believe is necessary for them to gain employment in Canada. In addition, the findings indicate that the program has successfully contributed to its intended immediate outcomes: improving newcomers’ language abilities, their knowledge of Canada and Canadian civics, and their skills for interacting in a culturally diverse environment. The fact that the classes of LINCstudents are multicultural is thought to greatly facilitate this latter outcome.
Given the methodology used above, roughly 19 out of 20 (94.3 percent) clients who complete a LINC course either meet or exceed the language competencies associated with the LINC level they completed. In contrast, 1 out of 20 (5.6 percent) clients who complete a LINC course do not meet the language competencies associated with the LINC level they completed
Hi Class,
I encourage each of you to talk to your friends, family and members of your community about the LINC program. Below is a brief description of the program where I have emphasized some sections.
Background
A key strategic goal of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is to support the settlement, adaptation and integration of newcomers to Canada. Settlement involves meeting the initial, basic needs of newcomers; adaptation refers to immigrants’ ability to realize some of the benefits of settling in this country; and integration is the ultimate goal of this process, whereby immigrants become fully functioning members of Canadian society. CIC’s three settlement programs, individually and collectively, contribute to this strategic outcome: Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC); the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP); and the Host Program. The 2003–2004 actual expenditures for these three settlement programs were $92.7M, $36.7M and $2.9M, respectively.The LINC Program, established in 1992, is a key element of the federal immigrant integration strategy. The program aims to facilitate the social, cultural and economic integration of immigrants and refugees into Canada, by providing language instruction in either English or French, as well as information that helps newcomers to become oriented to the Canadian way of life. In addition, the program endeavours to train the same proportion of women and men as is reflected in the local immigrant population.
The LINC program involves three major areas of activity:
a) Program Rationale
There is a clear rationale and continuing need for language training in English and French for newcomers to Canada. Both existing research and the views of CIC representatives, LINC service providers, and clients and graduates of the program strongly confirm the necessity of adequate language skills for newcomers to successfully settle, adapt and integrate socially/culturally and economically in Canada. While most newcomers are apparently somewhat prepared for settlement in Canada prior to their arrival (e.g., through information about Canada and some language instruction in their home country), they clearly need further assistance in learning how to communicate effectively in Canada, so that they can adapt to Canadian society and gain employment in this country.b) Success
Overall, the evaluation findings indicate that clients are very satisfied with and appreciative of the services provided by LINC and they feel that the program is, for the most part, meeting their needs. As already noted, the major issue not being fully addressed is newcomers’ perceived need for higher-level language training, which they believe is necessary for them to gain employment in Canada. In addition, the findings indicate that the program has successfully contributed to its intended immediate outcomes: improving newcomers’ language abilities, their knowledge of Canada and Canadian civics, and their skills for interacting in a culturally diverse environment. The fact that the classes of LINCstudents are multicultural is thought to greatly facilitate this latter outcome.Given the methodology used above, roughly 19 out of 20 (94.3 percent) clients who complete a LINC course either meet or exceed the language competencies associated with the LINC level they completed. In contrast, 1 out of 20 (5.6 percent) clients who complete a LINC course do not meet the language competencies associated with the LINC level they completed
Below is a link for the online course:
https://youtu.be/dQIArGHuVB0