Attendance in ESL classes is on the rise

ESL classes are the fastest growing adult education programs in the country. And they are so necessary. DP

BY CONNIE LLANOS, Staff Writer

dailynews.com: SANTA CLARITA — Learning English has liberated 58-year-old Delfina Guevara. She's finishing her third English-as-a-second-language course this summer after spending a couple of years learning the language of her adopted country.

"I used to feel stupid when people would talk to me on the street and I wouldn't understand," Guevara said. "Even though many times I would go to class hungry or tired, learning the language here is a foundation we all need."

Guevara is one of hundreds of adult students in Santa Clarita who are filling up ESL classes every semester — in line with nationwide trends.

According to the National Institute for Literacy, ESL courses are the fastest growing state-administered adult education programs in the nation.

As the nation continues to debate immigration, these foreign-born students and their teachers say politics and government are not a part of their curriculum.

"They are aware that this immigration bill had a clause that required them to learn English," Doris Hiller, a 51-year-old semi-retired schoolteacher, said of federal immigration reform legislation that failed this week.

"But we try not to discuss politics in class."
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.