Free ESL classes to be offered by Cape-based adult literacy program

Free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes will soon be offered in the Missouri communities of Kennett and Sikeston to help improve literacy in the region.

The classes will be offered by the Cape Girardeau-based Adult Education and Literacy Program, which serves Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, North Stoddard, North Scott, Pemiscot and Perry counties.

“In the Southeast Missouri area, literacy levels need to improve, and programs like the Adult Education and Literacy can offer assistance in those areas to improve their abilities, and that can help adults [and] help their children overcome those obstacles,” said Pamela Riehn, coordinator for the Adult Education and Literacy Program. “Statistics say that when adult literacy levels are lower, that will continue through their children.”

There are many reasons a person may not have completed their education, Riehn said, which may include income levels, family needs or a situation that caused an individual to drop out of school.

“They could have lost their jobs and were located here to seek additional employment,” Riehn said. “And as a result of being moved from one location to the next ... and working hard, it’s difficult to find the time to learn [English] or even [find] the location that could provide that in these small rural communities.”

The Adult Education and Literacy Program is part of the Career and Technology Center in the Cape Girardeau School District, Riehn said, and receives funding through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The ESL courses are possible thanks to a bonus grant of about $15,000, which Riehn said was based on the program’s performance last year.

Riehn made the decision to spend part of the grant money on an ESL pilot program in Kennett and Sikeston after she was asked to launch one by the Education Department. The grant for the pilot program ends in June, she said.

“Then we get a new grant, and if our classes are well-attended and we have a great response rate, then we definitely will include that in our new grant, and hopefully it will be accepted, and we’ll continue these [ESL classes] for many years to come.”

The classes will teach English reading, writing, speaking and listening skills to adults 17 and older who are not enrolled in a public school system. No proof of residency or other documentation is needed to attend.

And though the classes are free, Riehn said prospective students must attend an orientation, and there will be a minimum requirement of 40 class hours of instruction for each student. It’s important for students to complete the course and take a post-class exam, Riehn said, in order to document what kinds of learning gains students make through the course.

“We are monitored on those gains and we have an established percentage of expectation for our program,” Riehn said. “It’s important that [students] don’t leave prior to that because then ... we can’t show any levels of progression.”

In the case of Kennett-area learners, Riehn said this season is the window in which many workers will actually have time to take classes.

“Most of the ESL learners in the Kennett area are migrant workers,” Riehn said. “And right now, they’re between working at the cotton gin and working in the fields in the spring. So, they’re kind of free right now for the ability to take classes.”

Riehn said the difficulty level for each course will vary among beginner, intermediate and advanced and will be based on pretests students will take during orientation.

Interest in the Kennett-based course has already been high, Riehn said by phone Tuesday.

“I believe we already have the maximum class capacity and may have to look at opening a time, day, new instructor, that sort of thing,” Riehn said.

The Kennett orientation will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 609 N. Everett St. in Kennett. Following the orientation, classes will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the same location and will run through mid-April.

There are two dates for the Sikeston orientation, which will be open-house style from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Jan. 31, both at Miner Baptist Church, 416 Route H in Sikeston. Specific class times have not been determined, and Riehn said they will depend on student interest and availability. The Sikeston class will likely run through the end of May, Riehn said.

The classes will have a maximum enrollment of 15 people and a minimum of five. If there is enough interest, Riehn said they may try to offer another class.

“Learning to speak English will help [students] to communicate with their children, teachers, health care providers [and] to obtain employment as they complete applications,” Riehn said. “Speaking English in interviews can help them receive better paying jobs and then help to supplement their income to make income sustainable for their family.”

For more information or to register, contact the Adult Education and Literacy Program at (573) 334-3669 or stop by the office at 409 N. Clark Ave. in Cape Girardeau.