In a room near the Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) cafeteria, laughter and giggles are mixed with Spanish and English as a 77-year-old volunteer and a group of sophomore girls who speak very little English try to tell each other about their holidays. The groups on both sides of the conversation work hard together to find the right English words for the presents they received, the foods they made and the guests they had, with the help of pictures in books, hand gestures, and simple descriptive words. They talk with Margaret Boles of Greenbelt, a volunteer tutor for the English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) department at ERHS. Two half days a week Boles tutors students who are new to the country and often do not speak very much English. They are referred by their teachers for additional help. The students are expected to manage seven classes in English including math, history and science. “It’s total immersion into English in a culture you have never been in” said Boles. For more on this story, click here.
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