For them, second language is job one
Many are Spanish speakers. Others call Russian, Polish or Portuguese their mother tongue. At Clifton Avenue Grade School, people of different backgrounds gather in the evenings for a shared purpose — to learn English. Domingo Marcial, who works all day in Lakewood as a landscaper, says his reasons for studying are simple. “My work. I need to shop. For everything,” said Marcial as he struggled through a composition exercise on the first day of class. For five years, the Lakewood Community Services Corp. has been holding free English classes for Lakewood’s bustling immigrant population.
There’s a couple reasons for the program’s success, Weisberg said. Chief among them: the classes are held in the heart of downtown, they’re conducted in the evening, and they’re intensive. The classes are divided into four levels, and for the next couple weeks registration will remain open. “Through word of mouth it gets much bigger,” said Ada Gonzalez, LCSC’s director of ESL services. “We have people from different cultures all in one room and it works.” Grants pay teachers’ salaries, and the school district donates the classroom space.
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