Congratulations to our PALS ESL graduates! The Literacy Coalition had a touching virtual graduation on the morning of February 16th to celebrate this milestone in our students’ lives.
When asked why she was enrolled in the PALS course, graduate Alejandra said “To improve my English, to have more fluency when speaking, to help my children, and to feel better when it comes to communication in this country.” Most graduates felt that their improvement in English will be useful when it comes to helping their children in school, but graduate Raquel also shared that it’ll be useful during doctor’s appointments as well.
Our students were not only proud of themselves for improving their English skills, but also for overcoming any fear or embarrassment they initially felt. Student Marisela shared, “I [surprised] myself. I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle the classes and my two girls.” In response to how her technical English skills improved in the class, graduate Yarid said, “[My English improved] a lot, I have much more vocabulary, better pronunciation, and less fear when speaking.”
All students shared they would would recommend the PALS ESL course to anyone interested in learning English, and others expressed their interest in wanting to continue to learn English past this course.
Students also applauded instructor Stephanie Hobbins and her patience, expressing how much they appreciated and enjoyed being taught by her. Multiple graduates shared that Stephanie’s attitude and teaching style was actually their favorite part of the class. Graduates Erika and Marisela shared that their children enjoyed all the course activities, too.
One student’s special takeaway from the course was the inspirational phrase, “Just try it!” Whenever she’d ask how to say a phrase in English, instructor Stephanie would first respond with, “Just try it!” This phrase became a push of motivation and a form of an encouraging mindset for her in her language journey.
PALS ESL is an English as a Second Language course available to graduates of the Literacy Coalition’s parenting and school readiness program, a 14-week course where parents and caregivers of young children learn how to support their children’s cognitive and social-emotional development, while their children receive early literacy and school-readiness instruction. PALS ESL consists of twice-a-week classes over a 15 week period, totaling 60 hours of unique English instruction customized to parents’ needs.
We are now registering for our Spring 2023 classes! Fill out our interest form to learn more.