YMCA makes sure seniors are not left behind

By Cody Wall

Immigrants from around the world are learning English and social skills thanks to the help of the YMCA and their language skills teacher.

There are currently 14 students attending a language skills class at the YMCA; all of which are senior immigrants. The ages of the students in the class ranges from 69 all the way to 86 and consist of retired engineers, teachers and doctors. The student’s level of English varies from being able to have conversations to barely being able to write basic sentences.

“I like to speak English. In China I [did] not study English. When I go to Canada [I] need to study English,” said Baohua Yang, 74.
The class starts off the same every day, taking turns looking at the weather report and giving the infomation to the class. This is one of the many techniques their language skills instructor uses when teaching.

Kelly Morrissey, 54, has been the language skills instructor at the YMCAfor the past four years.

“We may do a role-play, we may do little dictation quizzes, lots of discussion time where we pair up differently,” said Morrissey.

Morrissey is very hands on when teaching her class whether it is using the app Flipgrid or going on a field trip. She feels that when working with seniors it is best to be hands on and do stuff in repetition.

Recently the class went on a field trip to the François Baby House to learn about the history of the French and the role the François Baby House played in the War of the 1812. While the class is still quite small, it has grown over the past few years.

“When we started out we had eight and we were only allowed a maximum of 10,”said Morrissey. “But because it was so popular we had to go back to the government and ask for two more seat and then three more seats.”

Along with the field trips and in class lessons Morrissey sets time aside for guests to come and speak to the class. For example Morrissey scheduled a social worker from Windsor Women Working with Immigrant Women to come and teach the class some mindfulness and wellness techniques, as well as some ways to deal with issues such as culture shock, stress and social disorder.

When asked why the students enjoy the class, most of them had very similar answers. They like their teacher.

“I like our teacher Kelly, really like her,” said Huarong Zhang, 77.

The class continues to grow as the students continue to tell their friends and family members about how much they enjoy their time in class.