New to Canada

Are you looking for a friendly, relaxed environment to practise your English by reading with others from great books and sharing your ideas about them? Please join us at the free, drop-in ESL Reading Circle at the Toronto Reference Library.

We meet from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays usually in the Beeton Auditorium of Toronto Reference Library. The dates for this Winter are January 22, February 5, February 19 and March 5. There will be more dates coming up for each season. It is a free program and no registration is required. For more information, call the User Education Department at 416 393 7209.

Today, January 22, is our first meeting for the new year. The librarian has selected two folk tales for the reading: The Hungry Coat is a Turkish folk tale by Demi who is an amazing storyteller and illustrator. The second story is the Korean folk tale The Tiger and The Dried Persimmon.

During the first part of the meetings everyone in the circle take turns reading aloud parts of the story. This way everyone gets a chance to participate.

During the second part of the meeting we discuss the story and learn new vocabulary. We may talk about the characters, the illustrations, or what people liked or did not like.

"Folk tales are really cool, because people often recognize the story from their home country", shares the librarian who facilitates the ESL Reading Circle and selects the stories. "People have fun."

Each library in Toronto has a collection of folk tales and stories. Check with the Children's Department at your local branch where you can browse the shelves with books numbered with 398.2 or ask the librarian to help you find folk tales from your country and from around the world.

Reading aloud in a circle or in class helps develop your communication skills in many ways. It is used by teachers in primary school, ESL classes and adult literacy. Reading aloud can give you topics to talk about and you see the written text while you hear how a word is pronounced. You improve your reading and listening comprehension in English. You are also able to share your ideas about stories that are older than us.

Try it and enjoy!