Stream 3 Success Story

English Languages Services for Adults Success Story: Dragan Todorovski

Only five months after arriving in Canada from Macedonia, Dragan Todorovski could speak English and was learning to write it.

"My wife, Silvana, got a job at the hospital here in Prince George, so we moved to Canada,"Todorovski says. "She knew how to speak English, but I didn't. So I went to IMSS English classes and they helped me to learn."

Immigrant and Multicultural Services or IMSS delivers government-sponsored English Language Services for Adults (ELSA). ELSA services are available in a number of communities throughout B.C.

For Dragan, going to English classes each weekday means he meets other people who are learning the language and can build his circle of friendship and support.

"This kind of school for adults is very nice for us immigrants,"he says. "Sometimes we meet socially and we play basketball together."

He says that he has discovered his new community and his new country by visiting the Prince George library, the hospital, museums and even by going shopping.

"In these places, we learn how to use the English we have learned in class,"he explains.

When he can speak and write English well, Dragan intends to take more courses to become more employable. In the meantime, he is applying for work in areas where he already has skills. He was the manager of a fur company in Macedonia and believes he would do well in a job where he can use his business skills, perhaps as a salesperson.

"In ELSA, we also learn how to look for a job. We learn how to write resumes and what to do in a job interview,"says Dragan.

Dragan, Silvana and their two daughters look forward to the day when they become Canadians because, Dragan says, "We have a very nice life here in Canada."


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