Language & Training Services

LANGUAGE TRAINING - TORONTO

Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)

• Full-time and part-time day, evening and weekend LINC classes from Literacy to Level 5 available Monday to Saturday
• FREE TTC Tokens for eligible applicants upon application
• FREE Childminding Program for 19 months - 6 year old for weekday classes.
• Computer-assisted learning

Objective & Eligibility

With funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, LINC is a language training program offered at no cost to newcomer adult learners since 1992. The objective of the LINC Program is to provide English language instruction to adult immigrants to facilitate their social, cultural, economic and political integration into Canada. To be eligible, applicants must:

• Be an adult immigrant 18 years of age or over;
• Be a permanent resident, Convention Refugee or a newcomer allowed to remain in Canada to whom Citizenship and Immigration Canada intends to grant permanent resident status;
• Have their language ability rated by an assessment centre.

To obtain an English assessment appointment in Toronto, please call the YMCA Language Assessment Centre at 416-925-5462 or visit Language Assessment and Referral Centre. If you require assistance with making an assessment appointment, please call us at 416-299-8118 ext. “0”.

Program Features

Distinctive features of the program include:

• Transportation assistance for needy students upon application and screening;
• Provision of free childminding service while parents attend classes;
• Flexible class schedule 6 days a week catering to individual needs;
• Access to a computer laboratory facilitating interactive learning;
• Experienced and committed teachers adopting student-centred approaches in the learning process;
• Access to settlement orientation, information and awareness services, as well as community connections programming at all LINC sites.

To facilitate language learning through multimedia, two of our LINC class locations are equipped with a computer laboratory with 21 computers to facilitate computer-assisted learning. The variety of language software available makes the learning of English and cultural knowledge interactive and fun. 

As the LINC Program aims to facilitate integration of newcomers, we regularly organize field trips to a variety of destinations in the neighbourhood as well as cultural events to enhance our students’ understanding of the Canadian way of life.  Class presentations are also scheduled to pass on updated settlement information to our students to keep them well informed. 

Please click to see the details about the LINC Childminding Service.

LINC Locations & Class Schedule

Our LINC classes are offered at 3 locations in Scarborough:

Please click to see the details of the LINC Class Schedule at various sites.

Integrated Settlement Services for Newcomers 

Clients and students coming from different source countries help make our LINC Centre a multicultural hub.  The key languages spoken by our LINC students include Mandarin, Cantonese, Dari/Pashto, Hindi, Persian/Farsi, Arabic, Spanish, Tamil and Urdu.

In order to link up our newcomer students to settlement support and information, CICS settlement workers provide supportive counselling services and needs assessment at our 3 LINC Centres.  On a regular basis, our LINC clients are invited to join information sessions on a variety of settlement topics on site.  Our LINC students are informed of the variety of CICS educational and recreational community service programming organized for children, youth, families, seniors and women.

Registration and Enquiries

Please call 416-299-8118 ext “0” for registration & enquiries related to language training services.

The Sheppard Site is open 6 days a week for in-person or telephone enquiries about language training and settlement information.  Please drop by during the Sheppard Office opening hours (closed for lunch 12:30 – 1:30):

The Midland Site is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for enquiries about CICS programs and services. Please call (416) 292-7510 ext. “0”.

Forl enquiries about classes offered at the Woodside Site, please call 416-299-8118 ext. “0”, or visit our Sheppard Office during opening hours from Monday to Saturday.

LANGUAGE TRAINING – YORK REGION

Language and Training classes for adult newcomers aged 18 and over are available at the Welcome Centre Markham South:

Location:
Welcome Centre Immigrant Services - Markham South
7220 Kennedy Road, Unit 8, Markham, ON (north of Steeles, south of Denison)

Classes offered:
Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5.

All participants are required to take a placement test based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks before starting classes.  The placement test can be arranged by calling the CLARS Centre at 1-855-330-8655.

At present, we are experiencing significant wait times for all classes, especially Levels 1, 2 and 3.

For more information, please call (905) 479-7926 or visit the Welcome Centre in person to find out more about the Language Program, workshops, and settlement services available.