Schools

Federal Program Helps Adults Learn English in Murrieta

Nearly 300 adults enroll each semester in English as a second language classes at Murrieta Valley Adult School.

When Kim Rushton received her bachelor's degree in health promotion, she never thought it would lead to teaching English to immigrants making a new life for themselves in the U.S.

But after obtaining a credential to teach English as a second language, that is exactly what she is doing. Rushton's classroom at Murrieta Valley Unified School District's Adult School is often the starting point for these newcomers.

"I really do find that this is a way to do that because we talk about life skills. We do a lot of role playing," Rushton said.

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Take Heung Koe Cho and his wife Wha Ja Chun, for instance.

The couple moved to the U.S. from Korea a year ago, and said they found the adult school through an Internet search. Together, they attend first-level literacy and English as a second language classes each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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"They really are an inspiration," Rushton said. One difficulty is that sometimes she loses students who can't come on a regular basis.

"They come and go. They'll come back to work on it, but it's not easy."

Rushton said about 50 percent of her students speak Spanish, while the rest come in speaking a variety of different languages. Another of her students, Burhan Ghaseb, is from Syria. He started the classes this semester, after seeing a newspaper advertisement. He's lived in the U.S. for two years.

Nearly 300 adults enroll each semester in English as a second language classes at Murrieta Valley Adult School, according to Karen Parris, spokeswoman for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, which oversees the program.

"The demand for the classes continues to be steady from year to year and they normally have more students who wish to enroll than they have spaces so they usually have a waiting list," Parris said.

The program is funded through the federal Workforce Investment Act, but funds have been cut in half in recent years. Students used to attend 12 hours of class a week; now they attend six.

Once they pass Level I with Rushton, they go onto levels II and III. Joanne Fiske-Love has been teaching English as a second language at the adult school for more than 21 years. By the time students reach Fiske-Love's Level III class, they are learning not the only the language, but American history.

According to Fiske-Love, the historical knowledge helps them in their next task--citizenship, for which classes are also offered at the adult school.

The challenge for Fiske-Love is identifying each student's skill set. The students are tested a few times a year to make sure they are in the correct level for their aptitude.

"Everyone comes in with a different level of English," Fiske-Love said. "Some people come in reading and writing, but have trouble speaking and understanding; some have lived here 20 years but can't read or write.

"I really feel like I am helping change people's lives."

One of those lives is Hadil Hussani, 39, who moved to Murrieta from Iraq four years ago.

"I came here for my kids' future. Iraq is not a good future for my kids," Hussani said, whose native language is Arabic.

She and her husband are in their third year of the English as a second language classes. The couple has three children, ages 10, 15 and 17.

At the front of the classroom, Fiske-Love led the class in a workbook activity.

"This is hard work for me," Hussani said, about learning English.


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