Camden County College offers free ESL course

In a hot, airless classroom on one of the first beautiful afternoons of spring, Carol Dann's students fanned themselves as they bent over their workbooks.

Outside, people grabbed ice cream cones and women pushed strollers along sun-filled streets. Inside, the students in Dann's English as a Second Language (ESL) course stayed focused.

"I want to continue to study and learn," said Armando Rivera, a soft-spoken Camden resident.

Rivera is participating in one of the region's newest efforts to help non-English speakers. The class, located at the Camden City campus of Camden County College, provides a free ESL with Civics course from September to June.

The class is held from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and students receive instruction in reading comprehension, writing, speaking and mathematics. The class uses CCC rooms and teachers and is funded by state and federal grants given to CCC, the lead agency of the Camden County Adult Basic Skills Consortium.

Up to 50 adults can participate in the class, free of charge, yet it usually draws only 10 to 15 people.

Dann, the director of the adult basic skills program at the Camden City campus, has advertised the program throughout the city, hanging flyers and posters "in churches, bodegas, City Hall," she said. Dann even appeared on several Spanish-language radio programs to advertise the classes.

Despite her efforts, Dann acknowledges, "the biggest thing is always word of mouth."

"We would like to have more folks join this class. People want to be able to communicate more effectively," she said.

But while many non-English speakers express the desire to attend ESL classes, the time demands of child care and employment often prevent this from happening, experts say.

"Things become difficult as people are working more," said Janice Frick, the director and coordinator of Partners for ESL Inc., a volunteer organization in Warminster. "You have some people working two or more jobs. They don't have time for classes."

Another deterrent for potential students is identification. Federally funded programs require ESL students to provide proof of legal residency status in the United States, and most classes require at least a photo ID and a Social Security number, which can be problematic for illegal residents.

A special component of the Camden program focuses on civics, allowing students to gain the necessary skills for U.S. citizenship. United States history is studied and the local Camden City government is examined, with students required to attend City Council and zoning or planning board meetings.

"We want to have American citizenship," said a woman who would only identify herself as Mrs. Maks. She was one of a handful of people at CCC registering for the class.

Instructor Mike McNasby said many students "are looking to obtain citizenship," since the process requires knowledge of the English language and American history and political process.

McNasby teaches mathematics in the class, as well as GED classes in the morning and college-level classes at night.

Most students are Asian, Hispanic or African, and proficiency levels vary widely. While some students joked with Dann and appeared comfortable with the language, others, such as Rivera, haltingly read sentences aloud from a textbook.

While the CCC class size remains small, many ESL programs elsewhere in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are full.

"We're bursting at the seams," said Sharon Rogers, the associate dean of business development at Burlington County College.

BCC is part of a federally funded ESL consortium that was created more than 20 years ago. That program is contracted for 250 students, with more than 50 attending classes at BCC.

Although the program tries not to turn students away, demand exceeds supply.

A 2006 report released by the Educational Fund of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials investigated the waiting lists for ESL programs in U.S. cities including Philadelphia. In a survey of 11 of the city's ESL class providers, waiting lists spanned one month to one year.

Yet at the Community College of Philadelphia, which serves more than 1,500 ESL students, the report said, registration for some classes filled up in as little as one day.

"Demand has risen at the same time funding has gone down," Miller noted.