This article explains that newcomers to Canada have been struggling with interrupted English language education since the start of the pandemic. Families are concerned that language learners may have lost some of their English skills during isolation, as well as opportunities to meet new people and make friends in new communities.

The author explains that immigrants and refugees who come from countries where there is no online education are feeling disadvantaged in Canada, as classrooms switched to computer mediated language teaching in March. Newcomer families are choosing to send children back to the traditional school system this month (September 2020), so kids can avoid falling behind their Canadian classmates.

I think it’s fair to say that everyone (teachers and students) are feeling degrees of disadvantage as virtual classrooms appeared overnight. I would like to offer a new phrase – computer gymnastics – to describe the high velocity shift to unfamiliar teaching methods, translation of previously physical lesson plans into synchronous and asynchronous lessons, and attempts to explain new software platforms to language learners, while on the platform. It seems comparable to learning to ride a bike while you are reading the book about how to ride a bike.

Interesting, exciting, nerve-wracking… we are going to hear amazing stories about language education in the coming months!