by Minta Trivette and Matt Arnold
Positive experiences in the classroom allow students to approach English with confidence. In our two classroom programs, Family Learning and ESOL, we aim to help students feel welcome and open about their experiences. It diminishes the sense of intimidation that learning a language can bring, which can mean the difference between taking ownership of the experience instead of resisting it.
During the spring quarter, 320 students were enrolled in LCNV's classroom programs-110 students in the Family Learning program and 210 students in the ESOL Classrooms program. 164 of these students were taking an LCNV class for the first time. Nine out of our thirteen classroom program sites are managed by LCNV's AmeriCorps volunteers. Matt Arnold, one of the AmeriCorps members, taught a high-beginning, level three class at our home site, the James Lee Community Center. He has helped several of his students graduate from our program and advance to Fairfax County Adult Education classes. One of these students, Amarinda Quiroz, is a 43 year-old mother of four from Bolivia who started taking classes with LCNV in the winter session of 2007.
At first, Arminda was shy during group discussions but gained more confidence over time. During one of her last classes before graduating, we had an open discussion about applying English in real world settings. One of her classmates spoke about discrimination against non-English speakers where she works. This inspired Arminda to tell her story as a cook at a chain restaurant. She told her class how her boss used to get frustrated with her lack of English. "But now," she said proudly, "I am promoted" and the new boss was happy. She now serves as the intermediary between her English speaking supervisors and Spanish speaking coworkers in the kitchen. Much of the English that she has learned has come from her own curiosity and self reliance as she frequently came to class with a handful of burning questions to be answered. Although Arminda graduated in the fall, her fascination with language kept her coming to LCNV once a week to have two hour tutoring sessions. It was not uncommon that these sessions lasted well over three hours, however, because she enjoyed discovering relationships, root words, and cognates common to both English and Spanish, as well as discussing cultural similarities and differences between the United States and Bolivia. As she continues to learn English, she is finding that she can communicate more and share vignettes about her life. This experience has been immensely empowering for her because she is gaining a greater voice.
Arminda is just one example of a successful graduate. Every session, we graduate students who have reached a low intermediate level of English proficiency. In FY 2010, 101 students graduated from LCNV's classroom programs. To encourage students to continue studying and gaining proficiency, we provide each graduate with a $50 voucher to help pay their tuition for more advanced classes through Fairfax County Adult Education. Fifteen of this year's graduates have already used their vouchers to enroll in these advanced classes. Because the fall semester is the first opportunity for spring graduates to enroll in Fairfax County classes, we expect that many of our spring 2010 graduates will use their vouchers when classes begin in September.
This fall, Fairfax County Adult Education will offer English classes for the first time at the James Lee Community Center. We hope to create an easy transition from our lower level classes to their high beginning and low intermediate classes. Arminda, for one, is excited to seize this opportunity.
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