Saana Makramalla’s tailor shop was a long time in the making.
“This is my dream,” she says.
She worked in Egypt where for 19 years she taught sewing and other seamstress skills. She moved to Canada in 2004; she and her husband wanted a better life for their children.
She opened her shop, Personal Touch Fashion and Tailoring, on Quinpool Road in 2007. While she knew she was an excellent seamstress, she knew she wanted to improve her English skills. She took English courses when she arrived in Canada and worked on her skills with other employers.
But she needed different English skills as an entrepreneur. She often had challenges understanding what customers were saying when they shared personal stories about children, families, and vacations. She recalls one client telling her how she was upset about a break up with a boyfriend.
Makramalla remembers not understanding what the term “break up” meant.
Two years ago, she started working with Bridget Archibald, a tutor with the Halifax Public Libraries. Archibald helps Makramalla with her English, primarily helping her understand certain verbs, adjectives, and other words that apply to her trade and business.
“She helped me a lot for business, especially for how I talk with the customers,” Makramalla says.
They did one-on-one tutoring at the Alderney branch of the Halifax Public Libraries. There were no dresses or other sewing instruments there, so Archibald brought fashion magazines that included photos of wedding and formal gowns to their lessons. That tailoring helped Makramalla learn the English words to describe the dresses and how they should fit on a client.
“So when Saana is helping a customer pick a dress, she can say ‘Oh, that is so sophisticated’ or ‘That really suits you,’” Archibald says.
Archibald also helped Makramalla set up a Facebook page and a Kijiji ad, using her new language skills to promote her shop.
According to Heather MacKenzie, manager of diversity services at the Halifax Public Libraries, it’s usually students like Makramalla who want to customize their English training to suit their business needs.
“People are more motivated to learn if they feel they are getting something that is relevant to what they need,” MacKenzie says. “Learning can take place a little faster.”
The Halifax Public Libraries offers an English language learning adult program. Started in 1998, it’s the longest-running language program at the library. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration funds the tutoring program.
It starts with basic to advanced English but can be tailored to focus on business language skills. The program operates in six different branches from September to June each year. As of April 1 this year, MacKenzie says the program had more than 300 learners and 280 volunteer tutors.
Learners must be permanent residents to take part. The program is not open to international students or those with temporary visas.
The Halifax Public Libraries also offer English-language conversation groups at several branches. Learners here help develop sessions for each conversation. MacKenzie says that may include talk on workplace culture and business vocabulary.
But MacKenzie says all of this training offers more than learning English. “The goal is settlement,” she says. “They learn about what’s happening in the community. They learn about Canadian culture. They make very strong connections with their tutors. It really helps them make social connections. Sometimes people get together outside of the program and do things. Very strong relationships can be built.”
The Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS) also offers several language courses tailored for business and entrepreneurs, including profession-specific courses, general workplace English courses, and workplace culture. Student can learn via evening or online courses.
Carol Derby, manager of language services at ISANS, says that instructors with the English in the Workplace program go into businesses and work with employees. “A lot of our immigrant entrepreneurs access that program,” Derby says. “And if they hire immigrant employees, then the employees will access that program as well.”
The program’s curriculum is tailored to meet employers’ needs. Derby says the instructor does a needs assessment, and then meets with the students for three hours a week over 12 weeks. The course could focus on skills such as negotiating, customer service, and communicating via phone and writing.
Derby says students learn direct language skills and Canadian workplace culture. “We want to help you integrate into Canadian society,” Derby says. “You don’t have to do everything as we tell you but we are going to share with you what’s the norm here.”
Derby adds students also learn how to deal with issues like customer complaints. As well, customs such as eye contact or shaking hands differ from culture to culture, so language programs can help decode those customs.
This fall, Makramalla will again work with Archibald on her English skills. She says she’d like to improve her reading and writing skills, and enhance her conversational English to help her sell more of the colourful and formal dresses in her shop.
“I am very good with alterations,” she says. “But I would like to sell [dresses].”
Makramalla and Archibald will spend an hour and a half each week working on these skills. “Time is short and I don’t have too much time to go to school,” Makramalla says.
“That’s how dedicated she is,” Archibald says. “She works in her store from 9:30 a.m. to 7 at night and then she comes to the library to work on her English and everything we’ve been
doing.”
Photos by Steve Smith/VisionFire
