With some English help, immigrants back in business

These adult students range from only 8th grade education to others with law degrees in their own countries. But all are in class to improve their English to help them in their jobs. DP

Classes strengthen language, job skills, boost confidence

by Kristina Gawrgy | Staff Writer

gazette.net: As the students trickled into their customer service class, the instructor set up a relay race to teach English verbs. Each immigrant student had to conjugate a verb into the past tense or past participle and then hand a marker to a teammate.

The students were serious, but also had fun as they learned words like ‘‘cost,” ‘‘choose,” ‘‘buy” and ‘‘burst.”

When one student pronounced ‘‘shoes,” instead of ‘‘choose,” professor Anna deSimon pointed to her feet, hinting that the pronunciation was a little off.

A handful of students from countries around the world are improving their English and learning customer service skills through the MontgomeryWorks Sales and Service Learning Center in Wheaton and Montgomery College’s Workforce Development & Continuing Education department.

DeSimon, a professor at Montgomery College, helps the students not only learn the appropriate English that goes along with customer service but gives them scenarios to act out and problems to solve.
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