Tutors needed to help teach Regina newcomers English

If you have a high school diploma and a desire to help refugees, the Regina Public Library wants you.

The central branch is looking for people to volunteer some time and knowledge to help newcomers to Canada learn English.

Library director Jeff Barbersaid they need at least 100 volunteers right away.

"We are looking for as many as we can get," Barber said.

"We have a waiting list from people from all parts of the world looking at learning English and we do know that we have some more people coming."

Anyone with a high school diploma and a bit of extra time is invited to sign up.

All tutors need to complete is an eight-hour training course, either online or at the library.After that, they need to dedicate about two hours per week to teaching English, for at least a year.

Barber said it's not just about teaching English, it is also about helping people integrate.

"People recognize that need to learn English to fit into the city," he said.

Barber said tutors also teach newcomers local knowledge andlanguage, such as what a Tim Hortons double-double is.