Orem High Offers ESL Instruction for Parents

Michael Rigert, North County Staff, Daily Herald
Wednesday, July 19, 2006

With a diversified student body, a significant portion of students at Orem High School have parents whose native tongue is something other than English.

And though parents' bilingual children may be able to shift smoothly between languages, it doesn't mean they can.

Based on that reality, administrators at Orem High School decided their students' parents might benefit from a special night class to assist them in improving their English.

Terri Martin, a staff member at Orem High, said Principal Jane Lindhout invested $6,000 in a phonetics computer program called Reading Horizons that supplements classroom instruction. Martin said it was Lindhout's brainchild to extend the use of the program to parents through the creation of a special English as a Second Language course.

"She wanted to share it with people in the community," Martin said.

Because of Martin's experience with English teaching as a former ESL support representative for Alpine School District and an instructor for an ESL course at Brigham Young University for the spouses of foreign students, she was handpicked to be the instructor for Orem High's pilot ESL class for parents and community members.

Joel Miller, an assistant principal at Orem High, said the course for parents and adults is actually an extension of the school's ESL program for OHS students offered during the school year. Both the regular class and the adult trial class are being paid for through donations to the school.

Students attend the free one-month class Monday through Thursday from 7-9 p.m. in the school's ESL writing lab, where the emphasis is on reading and conversational English. Martin said students who take one course may enroll in future ESL classes to further hone their reading and speaking skills.

Most students in the class are immigrants who, though they've been exposed to language by living and working in the community, are reading at below a fifth-grade level.

Terry Moreno, Martin's aide and interpreter for the class, said Lindhout and others expressed interest in trying out a program after receiving calls last year inquiring about improving their English. After they got the green light from Lindhout, Martin and Moreno posted fliers at locations — such as the Many Lands supermarket — where those wanting to learn English would see them.

And not all enrolled in the class are native Spanish speakers. Moreno said between the June and July sessions, they've had adults from Japan and Brazil sign up.

"We have right now about 15 students," she said.

Martin said one of the most inspiring stories from the class is a parent and student duo in which the 17-year-old Orem High senior is tutoring his mother.

"He's been so sweet and good to help his mom," Martin said. "That's been fun to watch."

Though the summer ESL course for adults is being held on a trial basis — the current class ends Aug. 1 — Martin said if its success thus far is any indication, it may return to stay.

"At this point, it looks pretty promising," she said. "I've gained so much appreciation for people who are immigrants ... a deeper respect for those willing to come to a different country."

For more information about the English as a Second Language class offered by Orem High School, contact Terri Martin at 225-4240 or Terry Moreno at 426-9515.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.