ESL tutors help foreign students attain fluency in everyday English

These immigrants all learned to speak English before they came here, but conversational English is still difficult. This class is helping them to be more comfortable at work and in social settings. DP

By Jonathan Devin, Special to The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Literacy Council volunteers Dr. Jose Moréy and Ke Qi began a recent lesson by asking one student to introduce herself to the class.

"I am from Japan," said Makiko Watanabe cautiously, pausing to formulate sentences in her mind before speaking them. "I am a researcher. I am working at St. Jude."

Watanabe is one of a six-member research team at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, four of whom moved to the United States from Japan, another from Brazil, and one from Cote d'Ivoire.

Despite having advanced educations that include years of formal English study, the group's members and others like them struggle with everyday English conversation.

The often-voiced sentiment that immigrants should be required to learn English remains unmatched by federal funding for English classes, leaving churches and nonprofit groups to shoulder what efforts they can. In some cases, the best teachers of English are people who learned it as a second language themselves.

"(The students) work in my department," said Qi, 24, also a St. Jude researcher. "Medical research attracts a lot of international people, and I noticed that they write English better than anyone. They're amazing at comprehending scientific journals, but they can't speak very well."

Qi mentioned her volunteer work with the literacy group to Greicy (pronounced Gracie) Goto, who is Japanese, but was born in Brazil and speaks Portuguese as her native language. Goto was immediately interested in coming to the Memphis Literacy Council with her group.

Qi then approached MLC tutor/student coordinator Vernetta Anderson, who made arrangements for the new class and asked Moréy to teach it.
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