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Photograph by George Sakkestad

ESL students Myung Lee Hwang and Wendy Chin practice their new English skills.

Class Action

More than 1,500 adults learn English each year in local ESL classes

By Alan Lertzman

When Angela Ling, a Cupertino resident, arrived in this country several years ago, she spoke fluent Mandarin and Cantonese.

Even so, Ling lost her first job as a clerk in a major discount chain because of poor English-language skills.

In order to qualify for employment opportunities, she enrolled in English as a Second Language classes in the Cupertino-Sunnyvale Adult Education Program, and now that her command of English has improved, she is studying to become a U.S. citizen.

Ling's experience is not unique.

Each year, more than 1,500 Cupertino and Sunnyvale adults enroll in free ESL classes offered through the program, which is an arm of the Fremont Union High School District.

And even though demand for the classes has skyrocketed since the late 1970s, according to administrators, the resources haven't increased due to a financing cap initiated by Proposition 13.

Vauna Pipal, director of the district's adult education department said of the cap, "It makes it very difficult for us to provide all the necessary classes for our local residents."

Pipal said ESL is the largest program in the adult education department, accounting for 45 percent of the $1 million annual budget.

This week, lead ESL teacher Karen Filice estimates 300 adults will take a placement test to enter the program, of which only 25 will be accepted due to limited space.

If a student drops out during the course, Filice said, the next person on the waiting list quickly fills the space.

"Even if there's only two weeks to go [in the semester]," she said.

Local adult-education programs play an important role in the transition from learning basic grammar skills to achieving fluency in English.

However, according to Filice, students' motivations for attending ESL classes vary.

The primary reason people attend ESL classes, other than to master English, is to learn life skills, handle everyday situations and prepare for U.S. citizenship.

"Many of our students can read and write the language," Filice said, "and pass the grammar test with flying colors. But to pick up the phone and order a pizza can be the most frightening thing."

Filice said mothers who want to help their children with homework or be able to converse with their children's teachers are highly motivated, as are older students who have postponed formal education because they were either working or raising a family.

"Another benefit students receive by attending these classes is the opportunity to understand American culture and the ability to appreciate the cultures of other countries as well. Many students come from countries where they never heard people speak a language different from their own," Filice says.

In Marianne Dahl's advanced class at Lynbrook High School, one exercise is to break down into small groups to converse on the lifestyles of their home country.

Last week, a group of four women from China, Belarus, Taiwan and Japan discussed in English the meals they would traditionally eat in the morning and evening.

The discussion only paused when Regina Rudenko told her classmates what her children eat for dinner.

"They eat soap," she said.

When Dahl corrected her, Rudenko blushed and laughed along with her classmates.

"They eat soup, soup, soup!"

Learning a new language is only one of many challenges facing newcomers to the U.S. Preparing for citizenship is not an easy task, either.

"If they want to become citizens," said Gus Vargas, the adult-education teacher of the ESL citizenship class at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, "students must study U.S. history and the political system." In Vargas' class on citizenship, students must speak, read and write about American history in English.

"Americans who have been transferred to other countries can appreciate the efforts needed when they don't speak or understand the language or political system of that country," Vargas commented.

James Lucas, research director for the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, said that Cupertino's superior adult-education classes draw immigrants to the area.

"The programs offered by the local adult education and community college departments are one of the reasons why Cupertino attracts ambitious and hard-working people from other countries," he says.

Ling's experience of losing her first job demonstrates that even with educational and technical skills, English comprehension is required in order to enter a job-training program.

Ling is now married to an émigré from Guatemala and is becoming proficient in Spanish as well as English. She believes her understanding of both English and Spanish will help her to find a position in the retail industry.

One of the largest ESL classes in the adult-education curriculum is Dahl's advanced class at Lynbrook High School.

Dahl has more than 30 students in her class and a waiting list of approximately the same number.

Dahl's class resembles a small United Nations, and students are benefiting from interaction with people from all over the world. Student John Ng arrived in this country four years ago seeking a higher standard of living for his family.

A former taxi driver in Hong Kong, he is now employed as a bookkeeper in a beauty salon.

Ng's goal is not only to master the English language but also to keep up with his 10-year-old son's English skills, which, he says, are better than his own.

Anat Zilcha, a recent émigré from Israel, wants to become a physical therapist and is determined to learn English in order to achieve her goal. Both Ng and Zilcha say an unexpected benefit of the class was the opportunity to meet students from other countries and cultures.

"In view of the increasing immigration trends, Cupertino will need to plan for a growing need for literacy classes," Pipal explains.

"For example, community-based organizations, churches and corporations can sponsor ESL classes to complement the ESL programs now offered in the adult-education and community college programs."

Justin Berton contributed to this story.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 8, 1998.
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