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Language Skills

As is known to all, English is the one of the two official languages in Canada. If you have a good command of English, it will be very useful when you move there. It will be much easier for you to work in a technical English-language workplace in Canada.

It will not only help in your job, but also enhance your integration into the new community. Many communities are multilingual so that you can find people who speak your mother tongue with no difficulty. But if you would like to immigrate to Canada permanently, you had better learn English well.

Besides, a strong English ability of your children can be of great help to their development. They can learn their courses more quickly instead of having difficulty understanding the subject matter in class. They can make friends with other English-speaking children, which is essential to their growth. What’s more, learning English is one of the best ways to learn about Western Culture.
At the same time, don't forget the value of understanding other languages in the labor market, for example your native tongue. The ability to speak other languages can be very useful when searching for jobs in multinational enterprises that face markets in other countries.

If English is not your native language, the immigration application will demand that you take an English test. Getting a high score in this sort of test does not mean that your English is good enough for an employer. After you get to Canada, you can take some English classes. However, to be honest, these classes don’t necessarily prepare you for the workplace.

Many English classes for newcomers in Canada are based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks Assessment - levels of English ability (spoken, written, comprehension). Most English classes teach you up to level 5. But the truth is, most employers need newcomers with at least a level 8 of English ability. Besides that, employees are supposed to communicate effectively in the technical English required for your work, which is an obstacle to most newcomers.

At present, job-specific technical English is not taught in most English classes. In order to settle the problem, the government is funding some Enhanced Language Training programs, which you’re likely to be able to learn on your own.