BronxWorks ESOL services

Program Overview

The BronxWorks English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL) program is designed to help adults ages 18 to 64 improve or enhance their English language proficiency. The program has been part of our network of services since 1994, when our organization greatly expanded its programming
in response to growing numbers of immigrants in several Bronx neighborhoods.

According to the Census Bureau, more than half of Bronx residents (53 percent) speak a language other than English at home; 83 percent of these people speak Spanish, and 17 percent speak other languages, including French, Arabic, Farsi, Ga, Igbo, and Yoruba.

Over 25 percent of the Bronx's total population speaks English less than "very well," strongly suggesting that English language instruction is a key need. The demand is even higher in
neighborhoods where large numbers of persons eligible for ESOL services reside. In such communities, 34 percent of the
population has limited English language proficiency. These areas often have a substantial number of residents who speak Spanish only. As the demographics of the Bronx continue to evolve, the situation has become even more complex.

Census Bureau estimates reveals that 48 percent of those from Africa who live in some southern Bronx communities do not speak English very well. The comparable figure for Asians is 60
percent. Many African and Asian immigrants face the additional challenge of having limited literacy capacity in their native language.

With these challenges in mind, BronxWorks has structured a unique ESOL program. We offer basic, intermediary, and advance classes that focus on learn by doing. Our
primary goal is to facilitate the acquisition of English language skills, the application of learning theories and teaching methods is reflected in our thematic, communicative approach to curriculum and collaborative learning teaching strategies.

These strategies are structured to thoroughly engage students in real world experiences, foster confidence in their ability to learn, and facilitate a student-centered learning environment.
Since BronxWorks is known in the community as a reliable resource for resolving immigration issues, the majority of students come to us needing English to improve their lives as permanent residents and future citizens.

To meet these needs we offer civics as an umbrella context under which life-skill topics such as personal information,
daily routines, giving and asking for directions, family and friends, safety, health care, food and nutrition, and life
in the city provide relevant avenues for language acquisition. Classes are student-centered, as the teacher (in this case, the program coordinator) acts as facilitator and learning takes
place as a result of collaborative efforts among peers.

To promote confidence, trigger participation, and establish foundations for new knowledge, a topic is introduced by soliciting previous knowledge through vocabulary brainstorming activities, the use of pictures, and provocative questions to induce predictions. Choral drilling for beginners is kept to an
absolute minimum.

Most tasks are executed in small group or partner format and are presented to provide students with real-world communicative experiences. These include communication gap dialogues, surveys, interviews, drama, role play, special individualized group projects and explorations into the community such as
visiting libraries. Such activities provide opportunities to employ relevant language; to revisit vocabulary and structures already presented; as well as to challenge and develop critical and
cognitive thinking skills beyond the individual students' current level of mastery.

Games such as Sentence Scramble, Bingo, Lotto,
Jeopardy, and Concentration provide entertainment, reinforcement, and socialization that will support collaborative learning. Listening skills are perfected through language acquisition activities using the Total Physical Response (TPR) method, pre-recorded guided tasks, songs, and videos.

Augmenting classroom instruction is self-paced online tutorials, self-study resources (e.g., Cell-ed and WeSpeakNYC), and one-on-one or small group (3 to 5 persons) tutoring. Volunteers from the organization New York Cares, local colleges and universities, or prior cycles also provide individual or small group tutoring.

Our ESOL program operates from our Carolyn McLaughlin Community Center at 1130 Grand Concourse near Yankee Stadium. It serves an average of 50 adults per cycle and a total of 200 in a service year.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Fatima was a participant from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She never had a chance to go to school in her country due to
cultural reasons. After she immigrated to the US to join her family, she was satisfied with staying at home, helping her husband take care of the children and family. One day, when she found that she had to take a test for the US citizenship, she found that she needed to get in an ESOL class too.

The first time when she was in our ESOL class, Fatima stayed there for about a minute and then went home without saying a word. Two months later, she came back to the same class. She stayed there for about 10 minutes and then went away again,
even before the instructor had a chance to find out her name her contact information.

Another 2 months passed and Fatima came back to us. That was the first time our instructor had a chance to
speak with her. She was referred to the program coordinator right away. When we asked her why she walked away two times, she said that it was very hard for her because in her culture, a female was not supposed to sit together with a male from their country in the same classroom. She had to leave because each time she came in, she saw UAE males in the class. However, she really wanted to learn English with us.

When we learned about the cultural difference from this country, we switched her to a class that had non-UAE males. She became the first Arabic-speaking female student of our ESOL program. She stayed with us for about six months, starting from the spelling of ABC to a simple utterance, a phrase, and finally a sentence. She came almost every day and became a model student for all the beginning learners. Six months later, upon completion of two quarters of learning, she took the US citizenship interview and passed the history, reading, and
written tests.