English language skills wanted

These students all understand how important it is to learn English, so they can get ahead in this country. DP

Immigrants face a long wait for classes that lead to opportunity -- and more respect

BY ARTHUR KIMBALL-STANLEY, Journal Staff Writer

The Providence Journal: Street. Tree. Three.

The 14 students in Scarlett Riservato's English as a Second Language class at Progreso Latino in Central Falls work on sounding out the differences in these English words. They practice making these words roll off their tongue naturally. It's a high school Spanish class in reverse, but everyone is paying close attention, because the stakes are different.

For Henry Monterroza, 17 and recently arrived from El Salvador, who said he planned to go to high school here in the fall, this class means getting an opportunity he would never have had back home. That reality is clear with every movement of Monterroza's pen as he furiously writes down what Riservato is saying.

These students are not studying for a grade. They are studying to be able to interact, communicate and work in a society where speaking English, they said, means the difference between being a respected member of society and a second-class citizen.

Most of these students, all from Latin America or Cape Verde, have lived in the United States for some time, and it is clear that it's easier for them to turn English words into Spanish or Portuguese than to go the other way. They also learn harder lessons, such as how to use American expressions and strange American words.

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