Many Improve English Skills With Free Classes

When Equiselda Jimenez came to Henderson four years ago from Mexico with her sister, Claudia, to find work, she knew very little English. That language was not taught in school in the small town of San Pedro, in the state of Coahuila, where she grew up.

 It didn’t take Equiselda long to realize she needed more English to get a decent job. Since March she has been enrolled in VGCC’s English As A Second Language (ESL) classes, which she attends days and evenings on the main campus in Vance County.

ESL is offered by VGCC on all four of its campuses, according to Jimmy Johnson, who coordinates the classes. Currently, about 200 people are enrolled in the free classes. In addition to the day and evening classes at the main campus, ESL is conducted four evenings a week at Franklin Campus, two nights at South Campus and one evening at Warren Campus.

ESL classes are not just for Hispanics, although they make up the majority of attendees. They are for all persons for whom English is not their native language. “The program has evolved from basic survival English to a multi-level program,” Johnson said. “Students can learn numbers, dates, to spell and to pronounce words. We practice basics a lot,” he said.

When students attain a measure of mastery of those basics, they can progress to three higher levels. There is learning language software available in one of the computer labs on the main campus, and it will soon be on all four campuses, Johnson said.

How is Equiselda Jimenez doing?

“It is helping me to read and write English better,” said Equiselda, 22. She also said she is beginning to understand conversation better.

“I practice a lot at home,” she said. “I find pronouncing words is the hardest.”