Jasper Hsiao arrived in California from Taiwan seven months ago. "The first month when I came here, I feel very alone," says Hsiao, a lively young woman who worked as a taxidermist in a Taiwanese nature museum. "I cannot work here. So I try to find an adult school to improve my English and find friends. I have found English and friendship here."
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Elvira Ade
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Here, in this case, is an ESL classroom at Bella Vista Adult School in Montebello. Her new friends, who range in age from 19 to senior citizens, hail from Mexico, Columbia, Korea and Japan. As new arrivals to the United States, many of them share a common bond. And now, thanks to ESL teacher Phyllis Butland, they are able to communicate with each other in a common language.
Butland, a member of the Montebello Teachers Association, asks her students to "interview" each other about jobs. "Have you worked in sales? Have you worked in a factory?" they ask. Some students say they are working as janitors, baby sitters or waitresses, and hope to soon have better jobs now that they are learning English.
When the interviews conclude, Butland reads a book to them, pausing at the end of each sentence. If students understand what she has said, they hold up a green card. If not, they wave a red one.
"It is very exciting to see them learning English so they can become contributing members of society," says Butland.
"We provide hope to adults. We teach them how to access community services, such as the health care system, the bank and the post office. This makes for productive community members and good neighbors."
ESL adult education classes do more than just teach English, agrees Raul Macias, an MTA member who teaches a beginning ESL conversation class at nearby Ford Park Adult School. "It helps to assimilate newcomers. A lot of them are in culture shock when they first arrive; some have been here for years but have not been integrated into society because they don't know English. They have felt a barrier because they couldn't communicate with people. But now they want to learn. They want to be involved."
Students learn American laws, customs and culture as well as language, says Macias. If they were not literate in their native countries, they also learn to read and write.
"For some students, this is really a first chance," says Macias. "Some of my students have not gone to school beyond third grade in their countries. Now, they are learning to read and write, and you can see their self-esteem increasing."
Because his students have enough stress in their lives juggling work, school and family, he tries to make his classes as stress-free as possible. Instead of calling on people for answers, he asks for volunteers.
"When someone who has not spoken in a long time volunteers to say something in English, I find that very gratifying," he says. "I try to ask them questions about things that interest them, like food, cooking or things in the community. Sometimes they will really open up."
When new students transfer into his class, they are often intimidated, thinking that everyone but them knows English. "They say, 'I need to be in ESL Level 1' and I tell them that they are. They get scared when they hear other students talking English. They may not feel like they belong. I tell them that, yes, they do belong here."
Among his students are young mothers, who sometimes bring their babies. "I don't encourage them to bring their children, but I don't want them to stay home if they have problems getting baby sitters," he says. "I try to accommodate them as much as possible."
His class also includes senior citizens. Gabriel Macedonio, a native of Mexico, and his wife, Juaoquaina from El Salvador, come faithfully every day.
"I like speaking English and I like learning," says Macedonio with a broad smile. "I come, even when it is raining, because I like it."
Elvira Ade, an MTA member who teaches Advanced ESL on the campus, is amazed at the progress she sees in second language learners. "They have so many obstacles. They work and have families and yet they put forth so much effort."
She has been in their shoes. At age 16, she emigrated from Panama. "I know what it feels like when you want to communicate and you can't. It's so frustrating. You feel bad and embarrassed. I let my students know that, here, it's okay to make mistakes. I push them a lot and tell them they can do it, whether they are 20, 40 or 50 years old."
Sometimes, because all her students are Hispanic, they will speak Spanish to each other when they think she isn't listening. "I tell them that English is spoken here. Anything they can say in Spanish, they should try to say in English. This is an English-speaking society and, if they really want to improve themselves and progress, they have to learn English."
Her class is the "last stop" before students go on to adult education basic subjects classes to earn a high school diploma.
Alejandro Baron, 35, recently learned English in adult ESL classes and is now putting it to use in high school courses. He lived in the U.S. for 18 years before deciding it was time to learn English.
"When I first started taking classes in this school, I don't understand anything," says Baron. "Now I still have problems understanding, but it's getting better."
It wasn't until he injured his back and neck in a warehouse accident that he decided to enroll in adult education courses.
"I want to improve my English and get a high school diploma because I want a better future," he says. "I am also able to help my four children with their homework. Maybe when I finish high school, I can continue on to college. I think I would like to run a business by myself. There are many things I would like to do."
