Programs try to teach English to residents

This area in Texas has several programs to teach English to residents. In churches, and schools, with students from many countries. DP

By John Tompkins, The Facts

LAKE JACKSON — Shobha Bhange is educated as a design engineer, but for now it’s not doing her much good.

The 28-year-old mother of an 18-month-old child moved to the area from Pune, India, with her husband, who works as a chemical engineer for Dow Chemical Co.

She is in the country on a dependent visa but doesn’t have permission to work.

So Bhange spends Thursday mornings working on her English at the International Friends program at Lake Jackson Baptist Church. Bhange, whose first language is an Indian dialect called Marathi, has lived in this area for six months and is taking reading classes at the church to improve her speaking skills.

“I’m confused by American accents,” she said, pausing several times and repeating words to make sure her English was correct. “My main purpose is just to get where I communicate.”

According to a recent report, Bhange has plenty of company. More than 11 million people in the United States could not read or write basic English in 2003. The study, released by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Adult Literacy two weeks ago, puts the illiteracy rate at 14 percent. The numbers showed no change in the national illiteracy rate since the last survey in 1992.
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